Author: Ben Ramsden

The gut and the brain are intimately connected. That was the core message of Nutritionist Brad Pamp’s entertaining and energising talk to the club recently.

Food choices have a significant effect on the things we do in life and the behaviours we display, Brad explained. Any by that he meant how we handle daily life, our temperament, anxiety levels, our results at school and our performance in the sporting arena.

Chris the Pres benefitted from Brad’s advice during his own swimming career and was able to give some interesting perspectives on how sports nutrition has changed over time. We look forward to welcoming Brad back to Abbotsleigh in future.

Download Leanne’s notes.
Link to Brad’s website.

Results (updated 18-Aug-15):

pdf download v2

On a webpage

TM file (zipped)

Thank you for your fantastic support!

Swimming NSW recently confirmed our status as a top 10 club in NSW. This massive achievement, calculated from the 2014/15 point score, has been acknowledged via a large banner now hanging in the Aquatic Centre Office. Massive congratulations to our swimmers and coaches for this awesome team result.

NSW Top 10

1. Carlile
2. Cherrybrook Carlile
3. Tuggeranong Vikings
4. Trinity Grammar
5. SOPAC Swim Club
6. Auburn
7. Abbotsleigh
8. Ravenswood
9. Campbelltown
10. Knox Pymble

Our very own Head Coach, Leanne Speechley, is a keynote speaker at the Australian Swimming Coaches and Teachers Association (ASCTA) NSW conference this September.

Leanne joins a stella line up including Olympic Coach Matt Brown, Australian Age Coach of Year, Justin Rothwell, and NSWIS Biomechanist Job Van Duinhoven. She will be sharing her expertise in developing age group IM swimmers.

ASCTA is the peak body for swimming Coaches and Teachers in Australia. It is dedicated to developing world leading practises in the education, accreditation, professional development and on-going support for swimming Coaches and swimming and water safety Teachers.

Full details of this conference are available here.

Abbotsleigh Swim Club President, Chris Fydler, was in Gallipoli recently to join a commemorative swim in Anzac Cove. Chris, former Australian swim team captain and sprint king, swam the 1,915m event organised by the Turkish Olympic Committee (TOC) to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli. Full story here.

After years of visiting SOPAC, Abbotsleigh parent Ben Ramsden finally made it to the podium. Distinctly average swimmer Ben explained, “I have been training hard for years, and never dreamt that one day I would make it to the podium at Sydney Olympic Park. My kids have both been there many times, but I thought that the opportunity was just going to pass me by”.

Ben didn’t seem a bit disappointed that his appearance at the podium was to present medals rather than receive one. “My daughter presented the gold medal to the women’s 100m freestyle World Champion at Sopac earlier this year. Now I have presented to the 10year old Metro Champions. Everyone needs to start somewhere.”

Copies reproduced courtesy of News Local.

The little green man from Mars hid himself behind his total invisibility vortex. Unseen and unheard he observed the scene unfolding in front of him.

The guards lined up the prisoners, then instructed them to crouch on small tables at one end of a small indoor lake. The chief officer made a strange one armed salute to a side kick who sounded a beep. Upon this signal the prisoners hurled themselves into the chemically polluted water and started to labour along a long black line by moving their arms and legs.

Those who had committed the worst crimes were forced to make 30 laps of the lake before some other guards pressed buttons allowing them to stop. The less evil ones were released after only 8. Wave after wave of punishment was unleashed on the prisoners – some even came back for more. None of the prisoners were allowed to eat but the guards had ample supplies delivered to them on plates.

Mooseglurg had seen enough. In a puff of invisible smoke he engaged his hyperspace drive and zipped home to Mars.

The ‘Agora’ was the meeting ground for citizens in Ancient Greece. In modern day equivalent for Abbotsleigh Swimming Club is the ‘seating’ overlooking the pool.

Today it was the ‘seating’ overlooking Knox pool. And there the good citizens of Abbotsleigh set about their ancient rituals of warm up, marshall, race, debrief, swim down, eat, gossip, play with the iPad, nearly miss out on their next event, etc, etc. All this under the watchful eyes of their elder bag carriers, caterers and financiers.

Whilst the juniors swam, the seniors chatted. Carneades has a new kitten and Nichomedes is expecting a baby. Myia’s daughter has lost her cossie and cap (but not to worry they didn’t fit anyway so a visit to the clothier is due). Phidias has a new job, Nicomedes is baking lamb for dinner, and Isaeus has found a quiet spot to operate his electronic abacus.

And Maximus God of All Swimming was smiling. PBs were swum. State times were achieved. DQs were ignored. Sausages were sizzled. Nobody spent $15 on car parking. All thanks to the almighty Titans of Knox Pymble. Let’s do it all again same time, same place next week at the SMNE Distance Meet!