Author: Jo Cox

Abbotsleigh Swim Club have a strong team of amazing swimmers entered in both the Open and Age Nationals which will be held at SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre in the second and third week of April.

Representing Abbotsleigh at the Open meet are Shaun Champion, Becca St Vincent, Emily Ong, Natasha Ramsden, Lachie Van Tempest, Alicia Walker and Emily Washer.

And the Age National team will comprise of Holly Nelson, Abby Hartshorne, Grace Michell, Annika Tonuri, Abby Feurtado, Sami Cox, Meredith Wang, Sophie Boden and Felicity Smith. Unfortunately Gabi Schilling sustained a recent injury which has led to her withdrawal; (We wish Gabs a successful and speedy recovery).

KAIZEN
DARE GREATLY
UNITY
FUN

Best of luck to our fabulous swimmers and coaches – Go Team ABB!

Happy Swimming

Worimi Tribe (ORANGE) – Tuesday 9th OCT
We woke up bright and early for our first morning session of the week. It was a challenging set that everyone stepped up to – especially Grace who was the “Spirit” swimmer for the session. To everyone’s delight, a DELICIOUS breakfast was made for us which we ate at the pool in the warm sun. Next up was a tough walk up a very steep mountain (Tomaree). There was a lot of huffing and puffing but the view made the struggle worth it. We realised that the way we approached & climbed the mountain was a bit of an analogy of how we set & achieve goals.; they might seem far away and there might be ups & downs, but getting started and taking small steps and enjoying the journey will make it seem worth it when you reach the goal. After a quick swim at the beach we started our afternoon session with some fun on the water slide!!!! After nearly falling off the slide many times, we got in the pool where we focused mainly on body position & holding our dish position in the water. When we got back to the cabins we had a yummy BBQ and played the game – “Time’s Up” which Worimi won! It was a great day but we all looked forward to a good sleep before another big day.

Biripi Tribe (GREEN) – Wednesday 10th OCT
We began day three with a challenging 2km time trial with Jay taking out the “Spirit” swimmer title. The rainy & stormy weather meant that the pool was closed once we had finished the 2km swim. We were then rewarded with yummy bacon & egg rolls for breakfast. We went back to our accommodation to enjoy some well deserved rest. Black squad also had a chance to reflect on their past short course season by filling out their profile sheets. We also enjoyed our lunch inside our rooms. As the afternoon came, the Coaches & Managers decided that it was too rough for an ocean swim, so instead we were faced with a different beach challenge. All the teams had to build the tallest sand castle they could manage in 7 minutes. Worimi took out the win marginally with Biripi and Awabakal not far behind (noting Awabakal involved Flick in their structure – making her the base & covering her in sand!). Another chance to win points for our team arose when we were faced with a body surfing & running circuit, where teams had to run along the beach & then swim out to Leon three times. The final beach challenge involved two tributes from each team doing a relay where Biripi placed second (yay to Zac & Elsa!). We all ran with Elsa in her final section – making us the Spirit team for the day. After a tough beach session, we went back to our cabins for some more rest time. Dinner was nachos where we sat with our team tribes (in the Rec room) and prepared for Music Bingo. Biripi were announced ULTIMATE CHAMPIONS hence overtaking Awabakal in the overall point score! We are so proud of you Biripi!!!

Awabakal Tribe (BLUE) – Thursday 11th OCT
We had a very chilly and tough start to the day with a challenging morning session. Everyone was faced with a challenge of different strokes and were forced out of our comfort zones. After training we all got back on the bus and went sand boarding. Most people were not totally into the idea at the beginning but after a few wipe-outs everyone was running (not Grace) up the hill – eager to go again. Jay, Holly, Zali and Leon even went down the big hill standing as well as most of us trying on the smaller hills. We made our way back in the freezing cold wind and in the bumpy “Safari” bus. Once we arrived back to the accommodation, everyone had lunch and many took the opportunity for a quick power nap before the afternoon session……which challenged us all mentally & physically!!! Everyone was super supportive of each other after the gruelling day and the encouraging vibes kept us smiling through the team challenge which involved testing our memory of how equipment was set up. We finished of our day with a yummy dinner at the Shoal Bay Country Club.

Congrats to both Sami Cox and Coach Cam Gledhill for being selected into the Swimming NSW 2018 Junior Sharks Squad.

As a follow-up to some training earlier in the year, both Sami and Cam had a jam packed weekend at the Sydney Academy of Sport on the 11th-12th of August, where they had multiple dry land and water training sessions.

I am sure Coach Cam will have a whole bunch of ideas which he will be introducing into the ABB Swim Program.

Well done Sami and Cam.