​22 West Coast Athletes competed in the 2023 SA Country Swimming Championships held at the Wulanda Sport and Recreation Centre, Mount Gambier from the 5th to the 8th of January. Swimmers performed exceptionally well, with several individuals named SA Age Group Country Champion in their individual events. 

​The event commenced with the ‘Superfish’ competition allowing athletes who have not yet met the age or time constraints of the championship to perform. Simmy Larwood (10) was impressive, winning all four 50m events in her age group. Her standout performance was in the 50m butterfly, dropping 2.25 seconds for a time of 41.04 seconds. Dustin Siviour (10) also took out the clean sweep, finishing first in each of his age group 50m sprints. He created a new personal best in the 50m backstroke (46.81) and was the standout athlete in the 50m breastroke (45.37). Nikolas Bolenski (9) finished first in two events being the 50m butterfly (47.20) and 50m breastroke (52.26). In the 9 year age category, Ebony Wright also finished first female in all 4 events. She swam the 50m butterfly in 50.59, the 50m breastroke in 55.43, 50m backstroke in 48.74 and the 50m freestyle in 41.95. Evie Kannussaar (9) had an excellent 50m butterfly swim to finish second female with a 6.25 second improvement (52.16) and was second South Australian in the 50m backstroke (50.94). She also was 2nd in the 9 year 50m freestyle (44.92) and the 50m breastroke (55.43). What a great next generation of West Coast swimmers coming through the ranks. 

 Tyrell Nemeth Ford (11) received the perpetual ‘Bryant Trophy’ for the highest overall point score for 11 year old boys. Tyrell was age group champion in 5 individual events, including the 100m freestyle (1.07.82), 100m backstroke (1.21.82), 50m butterfly (35.26), 100m butterfly (1.24.59) and the 100m breastroke (1.36.05). He received either gold, silver or bronze placings in each of the 10 individual events he entered and was part of the 14 and under 4 x 50m relay team who medalled in both the freestyle and medley event.

Club Captain Cohbin Oestmann (14) recorded excellent personal best efforts throughout the weekend’s racing. He was SA Country Champion in the 14 years 50m butterfly (30.75) and 50m freestyle (27.77). Cohbin secured silver in the 13/14 years 200m freestyle (2.17.98), the 200m individual medley (2.37.72) as well as the 14 years 50m backstroke (33.46) and 50m breastroke (38.02). He dropped a massive 16.48 seconds in the 400m individual medley to secure bronze (5.29.25). Cohbin is edging enviably close to the 60 second mark in the 100m freestyle. He finished in bronze medal position in the 14/15 years age group with a 1.01.75, dropping 2.26 seconds from his previous best. Cohbin also added bronze in the 400m freestyle (5.01.95) and 100m backstroke (1.10.90).

Toby Harris (12) maintained his momentum and experienced his most successful day on the 4th and final day of racing. Toby was named SA Country Champion in 2 events being the 12 years 50m breastroke (40.49) and the 12 and under 200m individual medley (2.47.98). Toby also finished in bronze medal contention in the 50m freestyle (31.29), 100m breastroke (1.30.98) and 50m backstroke (37.48).
​
Braden Holley (14) has come ahead in leaps in recent months continuing his streak of personal improvements. The highlight at these Country Championships was his break through the 30 second barrier in his 50m freestyle where he recorded a 29.85 in the 14 year old final. Both his 200m freestyle (2.29.16) and 400m freestyle (5.26.72) were also significant personal best performances. Braden has always been a strong backstroke swimmer and he was a finalist in the 14 years 50m event, finishing 7th in a 35.86. He also removed 8.78 seconds from his 200m backstroke (2.53.03) to finish 21st in the open event. Braden was a key performer in the 14 and under men’s 4 x 50m relay teams who took out bronze in both the freestyle and medley events. 

Our female Club Captain Adler Larwood (14) progressed though to 3 individual age group finals including the 50m backstroke (36.75 – 6th), 50m breastroke (41.94 – 6th) and 50m freestyle (30.78 – 6th). She recorded strong personal best efforts in her 200m individual medley dropping 5.25 seconds for 5th in her respective age group (2.48.06). Adler was also an excellent contributor to the 14 and under relay team who secured bronze in the 4 x 50m freestyle relay and silver in the medley event.
​
Alice Bolenski (12) is proving to be a swimming powerhouse, creating a swag of new personal best performances at this event. Alice was thrilled to make age group finals in the 12 years 50m breastroke finishing 8th (42.41). She also recorded excellent improvements in her 100m breastroke removing 5.19 seconds (1.36.39) to narrowly miss finals racing, her 200m individual medley where she dropped over 17 seconds (3.10.49) and her 100m freestyle dropping 5.47 seconds (1.13.60). Alice has now achieved bronze status on the Swimming Australia Junior Excellence rankings and has qualified to swim 6 events at the SA Age Championships this coming March.
​
Mum and coach Nicol Wright took home a bundle of medals for her efforts in the 18 and over and open age categories. Nicol was the silver placed athlete in 3 events including both the open and 18 and over 50m backstroke (34.01) and 100m backstroke (1.16.40). Nicol also secured bronze medals in the 18 and over 100m freestyle (1.08.66) and 50m freestyle (30.13). 

​In a super tough age group Romey Larwood (12) pulled some cracker performances. Her 200m individual medley was her standout race placing 3rd in the 12 and unders with a 2.66 second personal best (2.53.35). Romey wiped off 11.3 seconds from her 100m butterfly to place 7th in the 12 / 13 age group (1.23.76) and snagged bronze in the 12 and under 200m freestyle (2.36.28). Romey was a frequent flyer in age group finals, making the cut in 5 individual events. She holds a Silver Junior Excellence ranking for the season and has qualified to swim a massive 12 individual events at the upcoming State Age Championships.

Teah Giles (15) has continued to demonstrate strong personal improvements in her racing. She commenced her individual program with a 7.38 second personal best in the 200 freestyle (2.42.19) and followed this up with personal bests in both the heats and finals of the 15 year old 50m breastroke to finish 5th (41.60). Teah progressed through to finals in the 100m breastroke, finishing 7th overall (1.30.03) and demonstrated her strength in this stroke with a 3.39 seconds personal best in the open 200m event to finish 12th (3.15.46).
​
Jade and Sharni Blacker (16) worked hard throughout the year to qualify for a swag of additional events at this year’s championships. Their dedication to maintaining training over the holiday period, whilst also being key members of the Cummins Vacswim teaching team was commendable. Sharni achieved personal bests in two of her individual events being the 200m individual medley (3.17.35) and the 100m freestyle (1.13.90), whilst Jade dropped time in her 100m freestyle to record a 1.17.52. The girls team spirit and support of their teammates was also highly valued. 

Lucy and Tori Siviour (14) have certainly put in the pool miles over this summer season and had some great personal improvements over the duration of the meet. Lucy was a country finalist in the 14 years 50m breastroke smashing her personal best by 2.20 seconds to finish 7th (42.97). She also had an exceptional 100m breastroke event to drop 4.29 seconds (1.34.59). Tori also dropped time in both the 50m breastroke (44.73) and 100m race (1.38.92) and swam under her previous bests in the 50m freestyle (33.17), 100m freestyle (1.13.61) and wiped off 5.54 seconds from her 400m freestyle to drop under 6 minutes (5.55.06). Both girls were part of age group medal winning relay teams.

Indigo Hood (11) continues her run of steady improvements and has now secured two state qualification standards (50m breastroke and 100m backstroke). Indigo was an 11 year old finalist in both the 50m backstroke (8th 45.32) and 100m event finishing 7th (1.34.73), as well as the 50m breastroke (7th 50.83) and 100m breastroke where she finished 8th (1.55.36). She also posted an excellent improvement in her 100m freestyle dropping 2.46 seconds (1.24.41). 

Bradley Wright (11) had a full program of racing and made frequent appearances in the 11 year age group finals. Bradley swam 6 individual finals medalling in bronze place for the 100m butterfly (2.02.24). He also finished 5th in the 50m butterfly (46.20), 6th in both the 100m freestyle (1.21.25) and 100m backstroke (1.36.76), 7th in the 50m backstroke (45.79) and 8th in the 50m breastroke (53.89). Bradley, together with Nik Bolenski, Harri Ware and Dustin Siviour comprised West Coast’s 12 and under men’s 4 x 50m freestyle and medley relay team. They secured the silver medal in both of these events.
​
Swimming in the same age group, Harri Ware (11) had an excellent first experience of championship format racing. Harri recorded some huge personal best efforts at the meet and was also a top 8 finalist in each of the 4 individual races that he entered. Harri finished 7th in the 100m freestyle (1.23.14) as well as 8th in the 50m backstroke (46.35), 100m backstroke (1.40.07) and 50m freestyle (37.96). In both of his 100m events he removed around 5 seconds from his previous bests. Harri has also achieved a Blue Junior Excellence ranking with Swimming Australia and has now reached the state qualification standard in three individual events. 

Laila Kannussaar (11) was also one of our star 11 year old performers taking a spot in the finals in the 11 year girls 100m backstroke. Laila finished 6th overall with a 10.27 second personal best (1.34.41). Laila also recorded personal best performances in her 200m freestyle dropping 9.31 seconds (3.05.00), 50m backstroke (45.57) and 100m freestyle where she removed 4.94 seconds (1.24.51). Laila is yet another one of our swimmers who has now achieved the Blue Junior Excellence standard set by Swimming Australia.
​
Swimmers will recommence their full training load on Monday 30th of January in preparation for the State Age Long Course Championships in early March. A number of the team have also registered to participate in the Starlight Super Swim which sees them set a personal distance goal and fundraising target, raising money for the Starlight Foundation who support young people facing the challenge of childhood illness. 

Here is the day by day recount of our performance at this year’s State Short Course Championships!

Day 1 and we couldn’t have asked for a better start to State SC Championships for our swimmers. Cohbin Oestmann (13) qualified for finals in the 50m Backstroke (33.47) and placed 10th overall in the evening finals (33.26). He also had a nice PB in the 100 Freestyle dropping 1.29 seconds to record a 1.04.48. Beau Hood (13) swam an excellent 50m Backstroke with a new PB of 36.69 seconds (-.71) whilst Toby Harris (12) narrowly missed finals in his 50m Backstroke finishing in 36.88 (13th overall).

Romey Larwood (11) scored herself 3 finals from three swims (2nd Reserve in 100 Freestyle). She swam an excellent 50m Backstroke to finish 9th overall (37.62 heats / 37.25 finals). Her 200 IM is a very strong event and Romey scored a Silver JX time in the heats with a 2.53.22 (-25.11 seconds) and then went marginally slower in the finals (2.53.49) to again finish 9th. Great swim from Romey in the heats of the 100m Freestyle with a 1.11.41.

At his first State Championships, Tyrell was thrilled to make 11 year old finals in both the 50m Backstroke and 100m Freestyle. Tyrell set two new personal best times in both events going sub 40 on the 50m Backstroke (39.90 - 10th) and 1.10.73 (8th) in the 100 Freestyle. Both evening finals races were faster than his morning swims.

Cracking along on Day 2 of the SA Short Course Championships and excellent drops in time from all our swimmers throughout the heats and finals sessions were recorded.

Tyrell Nemeth-Ford (11) grabbed a finals berth in the 100 Individual Medley (1.25.29 - 7th) 100 Backstroke (1.26.73 - 9th) and 50 Butterfly (37.15 - 10th) making it 5 finals from 5 swims so far. In a very strong age group, Romey swum an excellent 100m Individual Medley to produce a 7.64 second personal best of 1.23.70 (16th) and backed this up with an awesome PB in the 50 Butterfly of 36.56 (16th). Romey headed home to Port Lincoln with her program of events now complete. 

Toby Harris swam a great 100IM to progress through to the evening finals. He finished in overall 9th with a time of 1.17.46 in the finals. Personal best swims as well for Toby in the 100 Backstroke (1.19.78 - 11th) and 50m Butterfly (36.54 - 15th).

With 2 swims on Day 2, Beau Hood recorded personal bests in both races. A sneaky .58 in the 100m Individual Medley to finish in 1.21.57 (24th) and a cracker swim in the 100 Backstroke to drop 2.97 seconds (1.18.43 for 16th)..
​
Cohbin Oestmann produces the goods again with a 5 second PB on the 100 IM (1.14.41 - 15th) as well as a huge drop of 3.08 on his 100 Backstroke to finish 6th (1.09.50). Cohbin was right on PB for his 50 fly (+.02) 33.82. 

Day 3 - and a big morning session for our swimmers with the amazing achievement of 100% personal best times. That’s right - every race, every swimmer; their result was their best ever achievement.

Lucy Siviour (13) knocked off .72 over the 50m Breastroke for a 44.08 (23rd), whilst Tori Siviour (13) smashed her 50m Breastroke PB by 1.34 seconds for a 43.47 (21st). Rebecca Wood (15) progressed through to the age final of the 50m Breastroke finishing 9th (41.10) for an overall time improvement of 1.41. Teah Giles (14) posted a 41.36, a .57 improvement to finish 23rd. Almost cracking that top 20 now!

Toby Harris (12) narrowly missed a final in the 50m Breastroke to be first reserve (11th) with a personal best of 41.74 (-1.66). Beau Hood (13) continues to reap the rewards of his renewed investment in training with a 5.81 second drop on his 200 Backstroke to record a 2.46.09 (11th and first reserve for the final).

Tyrell smashed his 200 Freestyle PB out of the park with a 17 second drop to a 2.33.71 for 7th in the 11 year old final. He was first reserve for the 50m Breastroke (46.08) and swam a cracker 100m Butterfly for minus 8.82 from his PB over the heats and finals. Tyrell recorded a 1.27.75 to finish 7th. Hero effort right there.
​
Cohbin Oestmann (13) swam a brilliant 400IM to medal in 3rd place (12/13 boys). His 5.29.15 was a 16.58 second personal best performance! Seeded as first South Australian after his heat swim in the 200 Backstroke (2.31.72) Cohbin unfortunately had a big slip on his start in the final and was disqualified. His time prior to DQ was a 2.28 and is a great indicator that National Age Qualifying is an achievable goal in this event moving forward. Cohbin picked himself up, put the disappointment behind him and PBed in the final of the 100 Butterfly, finishing 9th in 1.13.68 (-1.45). His morning heat swim in the 200 Freestyle was also a great improvement on his best, dropping 4.59 seconds for a 2.20.40 (13th). 

Day 4 action sealed the deal on an awesome meet for West Coast swimmers. 

Rebecca Wood (15) swam her way into the finals of the 100m Breastroke with a 3.33 second personal best effort of 1.29.36 in the heats. She finished in overall 10th, adding just over a second in the finals. With a little more practice at working the splits and pacing on this race, I’m sure there are plenty more PB’s to come!

Tori Siviour (13) recorded a huge drop of 3.87 seconds in her 100 Breastroke to finish in 21st position (1.35.32). Lucy Siviour also dropped a similar fraction of time to finish just behind her in 22nd (1.35.91). Excellent racing from the twins!

Teah Giles (14) was smack on personal best in her 100m Breastroke race recording a 1.29.53. Going into the meet she had only just set a new PB of 1.29.33 on the 19th of June - less than a month ago. Placing her in 17th position at this meet, it’s certainly achievable that Teah could see herself make a state final in the future. Teah is just about to add a support program in strength and conditioning training that is part of all YMCA Youth Memberships to her weekly training load. Just love seeing how much Teah enjoys her sport!

Toby Harris (12) commenced the morning session with renewed determination and focus having narrowly missed a final on the 50m Breastroke. He made sure the 100m event had his name all over it and hit his previous PB out of the park dropping 4.31 in the heats to record a 1.29.50, putting him ranked 8th going into the final. Toby dropped more time in the final for a 1.28.54. He jumped up two places to finish 6th, with 5th place only .1 of a second in front. Toby’s work off the blocks has improved remarkably and is  just magic to watch. This explosiveness off the block saw him drop 1.85 seconds to record 31.93 for 18th on his 50m Freestyle.

Beau Hood (13) was super pumped for his last event the 50m Freestyle. After some impressive work in pacing before the race, a new personal best was ripe for picking! Beau executed his race extremely well, dropping to 30.36 seconds and placing 18th. So close now to cracking that first 29! Beau has PBed all five of his races at these championships and certainly has a very exciting summer season in his sights!

Tyrell (11) lifted again for the final session. His first experience of managing competition fatigue over 4 days of racing has taught him lots about the importance of sleep and rest between sessions. Tyrell grabbed a 3 second personal best in the heats of the 200 Individual Medley for a 3.04.70. Another finals spot and Tyrell made the most of the opportunity, smashing another 3 seconds off for a 3.01.08 (6th). Rallying for the 50m Freestyle, Tyrell dropped more time for a 31.95 and backed this up with a 32.01 in the final to hold on to his 6th place. Incredible effort and team spirit over these championships and Tyrell was our teams highest point scorer with 33 points.

Cohbin Oestmann (13) finished his States campaign on a high with new personal bests in all three of his Day 4 events. Highlight of the day was cracking the 30 second barrier on his 50m Freestyle with an awesome heat swim of 29.67. We have had lots of near misses in training when trialling this race and as a coach it was fantastic to see Cohbin achieve something he has worked hard towards. Magic swims in both the 100m Breastroke heats (dropping over 4 seconds for 1.24.57) and 200m Individual Medley preliminaries (dropping 3 seconds for a 2.36.59). Finals were marginally slower, but after a packed program the day prior, he held time well in the 100m Breastroke for 7th and 9th in the 200 Individual Medley. Tracking Cohbin’s progress against the Gold JX (Junior Excellence) standards there are some clear opportunities for him to grab that gold standard.

Swimming Australia’s Junior Excellence Standards are a great way to establish age and gender appropriate goals and track personal performance using an age progressed swimming model.

Thanks to all of the swimmers supporters; whether they be parents, grandparents, friends, coaches, competitors or team mates. All of the work concentrating your energies on the personal growth of young people through sport is just such a great atmosphere to be a part of.
​
Great job team - your results are a celebration of your hard work and dedication to your training programs.

West Coast swimmers recently competed in the 2021 South Australian Short Course Championships held from the 7th to the 11th of July at the South Australian Aquatic and Leisure Centre. Alinta Dingwall (13) was named SA Age Group Champion in the 50m (28.01), 100m and 200m (2.10.88) Freestyle breaking the minute mark in the 100m event to record a 59.52 in the final. She also secured a silver medal in the 400m Freestyle with a 13 second personal best swim of 4.45.51. Alinta recorded top 10 age group swims in ten individual events in total.

Bryce Hammond (14) finished first and was named age group champion in both the 50m (28.50) and 100m (1.02.25) Backstroke and medalled in 4 additional events. He finished in silver medal position in both the 50m Butterfly (27.27) and 100m Individual Medley (1.04.56) and received a bronze medal in the 50m Freestyle (25.52) and 100m Butterfly (1.01.05). 

​Oscar Dingwall (12) medalled in 3 individual events with silver in the 50m Butterfly (34.20) and bronze in the 50m (38.32) and 100m (1.24.72) Breastroke. Joseph Perin (17) was recalled to finals in 4 events with his most competitive placing (8th) in the 100m Backstroke (1.10.27). Toby Harris (11) qualified to swim in his first State Championship event and recorded personal best efforts in both races. Toby was recalled to finals in the 50m Breastroke (47.99) bettering his entry time by close to 3 seconds and finishing in overall 9th place. 

Both Alinta Dingwall (100m and 200m Freestyle) and Bryce Hammond (100m Backstroke and Butterfly) have both achieved the preliminary qualification standard for consideration for selection into the State Teams Challenge Event, scheduled to be held at the Australian Institute of Sport in late August. Swimmers will finalise their nomination for this event by Friday 20th of August, with swimmers notified of their selection by Wednesday the 25 of August.

Congratulations to all of the swimmers who attended this event and continue to demonstrate their ability to achieve such an outstanding standard in the sport.

Congratulations to West Coast swimmer Alinta Dingwall who has now completed her first National Age Swimming Championship event. Alinta competed in three races over the week-long event at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre in Queensland. To reach the qualifying targets to race at this level of competition is extremely challenging and Alinta entered the meet having met these targets in the 13 year old 50m, 100m, and 200m freestyle.

Racing against Australia’s best age group athletes, Alinta improved her ranking in the 200m freestyle from 55th through to 18th with a personal best time of 2.14.05 seconds wiping 2.86 seconds off her previous personal best and recording South Australia’s fastest 13 year old 200m time.

In her 100m freestyle race Alinta moved from a ranking of 28th through to 16th with a .17 second personal best (1.01.27). This time was just .35 of a second away from a finals berth in this event.

In her final event, the 50m freestyle, Alinta secured a trifecta of personal best efforts reducing her time by .25 seconds to improve her ranking from 46th through to 33rd. She recorded a lightening fast time of 28.35 seconds in this event.

Based upon this year’s published qualifying times, Alinta has already secured the 14 year old standard in these three events and it’s looking like competing at a National level will be a regular fixture on her competition schedule. Alinta’s dedication, application to her training programs and self-discipline have been exceptional. West Coast Swimming Club would also like to extend our thanks to coaches Grant Muller and Rian Pate from Immanuel Piranhas who were available on pool deck to encourage and support Alinta throughout the competition. ​

West Coast Swimmers travelled through to Whyalla on the 20th of March to support the Whyalla Swimming Club’s Annual Open Short Course Carnival. This event provides swimmers with the first opportunity in the short course calendar of events to post times for consideration in the State Short Course Championships scheduled in July.
​
For the fourth consecutive year, West Coast Swimming Club took out the Rob Simpson Memorial 4 x 50m Medley Relay in a time of 2.13.84. Representing West Coast were Nicol Wright (backstroke), Kye Oestmann (breastroke), Joseph Perin (butterfly) and Alinta Dingwall (freestyle).

Receiving a gold medal for finishing first in a freestyle event were; Tyler Davidson (M12&U 50m 31.76), Kye Oestmann (M13-14 50m 30.85, M13-14 100m 1.09.29), Joseph Perin (M15&O 50m 27.98), Oscar Dingwall M12&U 100m 1.13.52), Bailey Fraser (M15&O 100m 1.08.31), Charlotte Davidson (F10&U 25m 16.21, 12&U 50m 34.94), Alinta Dingwall (F13-14 50m 29.31, F13-14 100m 1.01.74) and Nicol Wright (F15&O 50m 29.75, F15&0 100m 1.06.44).
​
Swimmers recording significant personal bests in the 50m freestyle event were Beau Hood (38.35), Dustin Siviour (45.19), Eddy Dingwall (52.74), Adler Larwood (38.28), Maggie McInerney (39.01) and Indigo Hood (54.31). All of these swimmers improved their personal best by over 2.5 seconds which is a considerable margin over a sprint distance. 

First place getters in breastroke were Oscar Dingwall (M12&U 50m 42.95, M14&U 200m 3.08.41), Kye Oestmann (M13-14 50m 40.39), Joseph Perin (M15&O 50m 36.48), Bailey Fraser (M15&O 100m 1.33.15) Tori Siviour (F12&U 50m 44.81, F12&U 100m 1.39.19), Alinta Dingwall (F13-14 50m 38.68, F13-14 100m 1.24.62, F14U 200m 3.02.35), Kylie Hurrell (F15&O 50m 38.83, F15&O 100m 1.23.06, F15&O 200m 2.56.57) and Charlotte Davidson (F10&U 25m 22.59).
​
Winners in the backstroke competition were Charlotte Davidson (F10&U 25m 19.90, F12&U 50m 41.59), Alinta Dingwall (F13-14 50m 35.02, F13-14 100m 1.16.07), Nicol Wright (F15&O 50m 33.52, F15&O 100m 1.13.30), Maya Fraser (F12&U 100m 1.43.33), Tyler Davidson (M12&U 50m 35.61, M12&U 100m 1.20.61, M14&U 200m 2.46.00) and Joseph Perin (M15&O 50m 33.33, M15&O 100m 1.12.16).

West Coast Medley Handicap Teams also enjoyed success with West Coast G (Jade Blacker - backstroke, Indigo Hood - breastroke, Romey Larwood - butterfly and Maya Fraser - freestyle) finishing first and West Coast E (Beau Hood - backstroke, Bradley Wright - breastroke, Braden Holley - butterfly and Tyler Davidson - freestyle) finishing second!
​
Gold medalists in the butterfly events were Alinta Dingwall (F 13-14 50m 34.03, F13-14 100m 1.18.73), Charlotte Davidson (F10&U 25m 22.59), Oscar Dingwall (M12&U 50m 36.79) and Joseph Perin (M15&O 50m 32.10). 

​With travel to other regional competitions challenging due to significant road distances and flight costs, the Whyalla competition is an important opportunity for all club swimmers to chart personal improvements, demonstrate the result of their hard work in training and work towards the achievement of qualifying times to permit competition at higher levels in the sport. Swimmers will shortly take a three week break following Easter and over the school holidays; with training to recommence at the beginning of Term 2. 

West Coast swimmers excelled at the recent State Age Long Course Championships held at the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre over the Long Weekend, Thursday 4th to Monday 8th March.
​
Congratulations to Alinta Dingwall (13) who secured two additional National Age Championship qualification standards in both her 100m (1.01.44) and 200m (2.16.91) Freestyle to complement her qualification in the 50m event. Alinta will be competing at Swimming Australia’s National Age Championships at the Gold Coast Swimming and Aquatic Centre in Queensland commencing on Monday 5th of April. Alinta secured 2 silver medals in the 13 years 50m Backstroke (33.91) and 50m Freestyle (28.60) and 2 bronze medals in the 100m and 200m Freestyle. 

Tahni Kelsh (12) blitzed the backstroke, setting another SA Country record in the 50m event with a time of 33.11 seconds. Tahni was named SA Age Group Champion in both this event and the 100m backstroke (1.13.14) improving her event entry time by over 4 seconds. Tahni also medalled in the 50m Freestyle, finishing second in a personal best time of 29.74 seconds and made top 5 swimmers in three other events - the 100m Freestyle (1.05.27), 100m Butterfly (1.15.14) and 50m Butterfly (32.68).

Oscar Dingwall (11) has honed his race skills and took away three State Champion titles being awarded for his exceptional efforts in the 50m Breastroke (40.04), 100m Breastroke (1.29.41) and 200m Individual Medley (2.48.34). Oscar also performed well in both the 50m (34.53) and 100m Butterfly (1.20.29) finishing in the bronze medal position in both of these events. ​

Recently recommencing training after the difficulty of COVID disruptions throughout 2021, Joseph Perin (16) certainly demonstrated his capability to maintain his competitiveness as a state finalist. Joseph was recalled to finals (top 10 competitors) in the 50m Backstroke (32.60), 50m Breastroke (36.63), 50m Freestyle (28.08) and 100m Backstroke (1.13.16). He achieved his greatest time improvement in the 50m Backstroke dropping 1.45 seconds.
​
Competing only on the Monday of competition, due to Cricket and Hockey commitments, Bryce Hammond (14) also was recalled to finals in all three of his individual events. Bryce swum his 50m Freestyle in a time of 26.85, 200 Individual Medley in a time of 2.31.24 and 100m Backstroke in a time of 1.07.69. Bryce has also qualified to compete at the National Age Championships on the Gold Coast in the 50m Freestyle and 100m Butterfly, however, will be representing South Australia at the Under 15 National Hockey Championships in Bathurst NSW which is being run concurrently.  

Swimming at their first State Age Championships were Charlotte Davidson (10) and Braden Holley (12). Charlotte achieved some excellent personal improvements shaving 1.63 seconds from her 50m Backstroke (40.67), 1.40 seconds from her 100m Freestyle (1.17.88), 3.22 seconds from her 100m Backstroke (1.30.54), .76 of a second from her 50m Freestyle (33.59) and .71 of a second from her 50m Breastroke (47.78). Braden competed in the 50m Freestyle recording a time of 35.62 seconds.
​
Swimmers are currently preparing for the SAPSASA State Country Finals scheduled for the 26th of March as well as the Whyalla Open Carnival on Saturday 20th of March and Open Water on the following day. 

​Despite the incredible challenges of this past year, West Coast Swimmers competing at the South Australian 13 and Under Short Course Swimming Championships in Adelaide on the 26th and 27th of September have been able to deliver some amazing results; demonstrating their resilience, determination and competitive spirit.
​
Named Age Group State Champion in their individual events were Asta Mickan (11 years) in the 50m backstroke (36.53), 100m breastroke (1.24.30), 50m breastroke (39.16) and 100m backstroke (1.17.98); Bryce Hammond (13 years) in the 50m backstroke (29.86), 100m Individual Medley (1.06.63), 100m backstroke (1.04.53) and 50m butterfly (27.98) and Oscar Dingwall (11 years) in the 100m breastroke (1.29.22), 50m breastroke (41. 36) and 200m Individual Medley (2.57.08). 

​Silver medal performances were recorded by Alinta Dingwall (13 years) in the 50m backstroke (33.74), 50m freestyle (28.61) and 100m freestyle (1.02.30); Bryce Hammond in the 50m freestyle (26.34) and 100m butterfly (1.02.95) and Asta Mickan in the 100m freestyle (1.10.28) and 200m Individual Medley (2.49.10).

Bronze medals went to Bryce Hammond in the 100m breastroke (1.18.38), 50m breastroke (35.72) and 100m freestyle (58.65), Asta Mickan in the 50m freestyle (31.97) and Oscar Dingwall in the 50m butterfly (35.85).

The swimmers recorded numerous personal best performances. Oscar Dingwall set new personal benchmarks in the 50m backstroke (39.89, - 2.31 seconds), 50m freestyle (34.01, - 0.86 seconds) 200m freestyle (2.41.63, -18.44), 100m backstroke (1.30.47, -5.26) and 100m freestyle (1.14.50, -2.52). Alinta Dingwall bettered her previous bests in the 100m breastroke (1.24.56, - 0.64 seconds), 200m freestyle (2.19.42, - 4.09 seconds), 200m backstroke (2.48.24; - 4.72 seconds), 50m breastroke (38.40, - 0.69), 100m Individual Medley (1.14.74, -0.95) and 400m freestyle (5.00.86, -17.03). Also recording new personal bests were Asta Mickan in the 100m butterfly (1.29.06, - 6.61 seconds) and 50m butterfly (37.60, - 2.29) and Bryce Hammond in the 200m backstroke (2.26.04, - 8.90 seconds).