Category: News

Once a year Abbotsleigh Swimming Club run our development meet inviting clubs from the area to join for a day of fun racing. Swimmers from White & Black Squads brought their strongest racing in our home pool. We were also joined by swimmers from Junior Challenge & Marlins, many of whom were experiencing their first meet with other clubs involved. Lots of energy and good vibes was experienced by all throughout the whole day.

The Golden Flipper brought lots of excitement! Bringing swimmers from each age group and a coach, teams fought hard to take home the Golden Flipper. Congratulations to Knox/Pymble for taking home the Golden Flipper for 2024.

The day was made special by so many volunteers who helped make the day run so smoothly. A major fundraiser for the club, the BBQs, raffles, cakes and silent auctions were in full swing thanks to so many volunteers. A massive thanks to some of these people:

Darryn, Ming & Sean for ensuring meet manager ran smoothly

Ben, Judy and Toby officiating

Shaun Champion and Zac Attard who announced the day.

Jensen supporting our junior swimmers and handing out spot prizes

Gold & Black swimmers who worked as runners, timekeepers, on the cake stall and BBQ, supporting our younger swimmers and any other assistance that was required on the day.

Connie and Jo on the Silent Auction

Erin and Elise on marshalling

Sabrina, Keia, Nancy and Sarah organising food

Sulu and Angie handing out medals

Marni putting together the hampers

Jas on the BBQ

Jie and Cynthia on the raffle

And all those who jumped in to assist on the day with timekeeping and the BBQ!

And of course, thank you to the visiting clubs for coming on the day to support our meet. We look forward to another exciting Development Meet in 2025!

Abbotsleigh swimming club team participated at the NSW metropolitan championships. We had a total of 18 swimmers competing at these championships. We knew that SC metropolitan championships is a tough one where there is combined age groups and a lot of intensity swim after swim. We had great results across all age groups with PB’s, top 10 finishes a bronze medal and a silver medal.

Result totals:

Medals

1 silver – Audrey Jackson 100 Fs

1 Bronze – Audrey Jackson- 100 IM

Top 5 finishes:

Piper Marinas 4^th                       15-16 years old 50 Backstroke

Audrey Jackson 4^th                   15-16 years old 50 Butterfly

April Avery 4^th                             13-14 years old 50 Breaststroke

Zoe Durbidge 5^th                       11- 12 years old 200 Breaststroke

Audrey Jackson 5^th                   15-16 years old 50 Freestyle

Top 10 Finishes:

April Avery 6^th                             13-14 years old 100 Breaststroke

Zoe Durbidge 7^th                       11-12 years old 100 Breaststroke

April Avery 8^th                             13-14 years old 200 Breaststroke

Audrey Jackson 8^th                   15-16 years old 50 Breaststroke

Jasmin Foster 9^th                      17&O years old 100 Butterfly

Oliver Liu 10^th                             13-14 years old 50 Backstroke

Oliver Liu 10^th                             13-14 years old 100 Individual Medley

Marcus Primdal 10^th               15-16 years old 200 Backstroke

Our energy was always up throughout the 3 days meet, the team used SMNE championships as a preparation for this meet and help athletes understand the importance of recovering well, activating properly and warming-up with intent.

Knowing the above our Abbotsleigh athletes were able to get on the blocks race after race and PB until the last race of the day. It was amazing to see how the swimmers are growing and believing what their bodies can do.

The work will keep on going and now we start our preparation for Senior and Junior State championships.

Go Abbotsleigh!

Our team of three have competed and done their best efforts at Trials.

Audrey Jackson experienced her first Olympic Trials and soaked up the atmosphere. Audrey made the most of her opportunity, warming up in the competition pool in her first training session. Audrey spent time watching her peer’s race and enjoyed sharing the marshalling room with the best swimmers in the world. Audrey dared greatly in the 50m freestyle getting a taste of the performance environment. Well done Audrey!

Zac Attard was our last swimmer to reach the qualifying time, doing this in May, in the 100m Freestyle. Zac’s performance was consistent at the meet. Whilst Zac would like to go faster at the meet, he balanced his scheduled and illness to give his best. Zac enjoyed the familiar vibe of energy and pressure that a trials event provides. Well done Zac!

Shaun Champion had three events at the meet, with the final event being the 100m butterfly on the last day of competition. Shaun swam a lifetime best in 50m freestyle and showed his intent at the meet winning his heat from lane 9. Next was the 100m freestyle where Shaun’s heat swim was equal to his season best efforts in this event. 

Now…onto the main event, as it turns out and you most probably know…Shaun finished 3rd. Shaun represented Abbotsleigh bringing all his energy and effort qualifying 4th into the final. We put our plan together for the finals swim and both truly believed in the plan. Shaun executed the best race he could and fell short on the wall, finishing in third place.

Only one swimmer went under qualifying (by 0.02). So there would be no Olympic representation for Shaun this time. This is the sport of swimming. We know the requirements, the objective is clear and it is brutal and harsh and epic at the same time. The courage it takes a person to step into this space and put themselves in a position to reach their cababilities requires deep belief and strong will…our swimmer Shaun, was ready and we just came up short. Shaun gave his best performance putting himself within reach on his last stroke. We are proud of him, as he oozed our values. This is what life is about, and what we dearly respect wholeheartedly.

For now we remember that one minute on Saturday night where you all watched and support Team ABB fly home against Australia’s best. People were at parties and concerts and in rooms with “do not disturb” or restaurants…all taking this moment to watch one of the most anticipated races of the meet…our race…the 100m butterfly. Seeing your teammate dare greatly had you screaming and shouting madly at the screen as you cheered Shaun on.

Shaun is a person who took the time to challenge himself. To see what was possible. In doing this he has become a high performing star, adding more strings to his bow each year. He has grown throughout his 15 years at Abbotsleigh from a young boy to a wonderful young man. Shaun is highly respected amongst his fellow dolphin teammates and amongst the swimming community. He has received messages of support and congratulations from our broad swimming community as the excitement of the possibility of a dream coming true really did draw us in to support our hero.

In the near future we will take time to congratulate Shaun on his performance and share the emotions and feelings we carried during the event and post. We thank him for bringing us along for the ride…what an adventure! Congratulations Shaun! Thank you

As the last main preparation for Olympic trials, Sydney Open meet is a great chance to refine and practice racing. Shaun Champion raced his main races, applying his skills purposefully amongst his peers. Shaun swam another sub 52 swim, placing second in 51.99. Shaun was second in the 50 butterfly too. Shaun maximised his last major racing opportunity, working at his craft in  9 events throughout the 3 days. Shaun was  representing Abbotsleigh and his university, where he is studying Engineering: Shaun will now fine tune things as we step closer to the Olympic Trials in June.

Zac Attard carried his momentum form Australian Open Championships. Zac made his qualifying time for Trials at this meet, making our Team of 3 to Olympic Trials. In fine form, Zac made the A final in his pet event the 200m freestyle. Zac used his experience and knowledge in this race to improve his time from the morning heat to a faster finals time.

Zac is currently balancing his school teaching skills and his swimming ability, and his is also an Australian representative at 2017 World Junior Championships and a national short course title holder in the 200m freestyle. 

Audrey Jackson gave her best at the meet, with all intentions to practice her main race and a few more. Unfortunately Audrey was struck down with sickness, making a decision to look after herself with an aim to get better for her first experience going to a Trials meet. 

Piper Marinas had a breakthrough meet. Piper swam personal bests in the 50 backstroke, 100 backstroke, 50 freestyle, 50 butterfly and 200 backstroke. Piper also made the B final for the 200m backstroke. Pipers determination and commitment to each race presented her with the opportunity to experience a final. Piper handled her final well and improved the way she swam her morning swim. This was great reward for your attention to detail and perserverance. 

Congratulations to Shaun, Zac, Audrey and Piper for bringing their best to the meet.

Go Team Abb!

Zac Attard and Shaun Champion both swam well at the meet.

Shaun did his lifetime best performance in the 100 fly, finishing second in 51.28. 

Shaun has embraced learning opportunities from his experiences on the World Championship Team in Japan last year and at the World Cups. Since these events, Shaun has gone to work, he has extended himself and is putting into practice what he now knows. The results at this meet reflect this growth. 

Shaun also did a lifetime best in the 200 free, he did his fastest heat swim of 50 fly and 100 freestyle was consistently faster than it has been in 2 years. This is a great time to be making these improvements and in a range of distances and events. 

These performances are a result of Shaun’s willingness to push himself. His desire to be the best that he can be is something he is bringing to life and it something we at Abbotsleigh get to share and support this. Shaun’s 100 butterfly time is the 4th fastest swim ever by an Australian. Congratulations Shaun! We are with you on your quest for greatness, keep stepping your path.

Zac swam season best times and missed the Trials qualifying time by 0.2. Zac will attempt to qualify in May at the Sydney Open comp. Zac also swam his fastest 100m butterfly for the season too. Zac has learnt how to move and perform a good 100m swim, being able to put both freestyle and butterfly for his best season results.

Well done Shaun and Zac. You worked diligently at each pool session and you were sharp when the gun went off. 

Go Team Abb!

At our 13^th May Club Night, we announced the winners of our Easter Colouring Competition! Our Team Abb Swimmers were each given their blank colouring page and given a week to produce the best design.

Thank you to everyone who entered! The standard was amazing which made choosing winners very difficult. It was great to see our Abbotsleigh swimmers demonstrate their creative side with many thinking outside the box. Swimmers went above and beyond with their own additions and detailed backgrounds. We got to see fancy patterns, googly eyes and 3 dimensional gems. Some swimmers even gave their colouring different themes from Olympic and Abbotsleigh themes to some striking Shrek theming!

Shaun Champion judged our different entries. It was tough but he managed to narrow down his selection to 3 winners. Congratulations to the following prize recipients:

1^st – Leona Huang with her bright colours and incredibly detailed patterns

2^nd – April Avery with her googly eyes Paris 2024 Olympic theme

3^rd – Lauren Wei with her outside the box Shrek theme

Enjoy your prizes!

Gold coast was again the place of destination for the 2024 National age championships. The sun was out, and the athletes were ready to go. We start by congratulating our two first timers representing the Abbotsleigh swim Team at these championships, April Avery and Marcus Primdal joined the more experienced swimmers and perform in their first National age Championships.  The sense of team was clear and swimmers were supporting each other race after race and together they were able to put together their best races.

The meet started and we had Audrey Jackson representing the NSW State team in the 4×50 Fs relay, this is a team where four of the fastest freestylers in NSW get selected and race against the other states. The NSW state team got the gold medal in this event. How exciting for Audrey to be able to be part of this. 

In the same tone of excitement, this year, we also had a 4×100 Fs relay, composed by Audrey Jackson, Syesha Anthony, Piper Marinas and Grace Black. These girls qualified for this relay at NSW State open as a group and not with their individual times, this by itself shows their fire for the team and how far they can go to support their teammates. At National Ages championships this relay swam a little bit off their Personal team best but with the same fire and gutsy vibe. It was a great exhibition and gets everyone excited for what comes next year.

Audrey Jackson also qualified for the girls 16 years 50 Fs B final and in that final got top 14^th in Australia

Our new-comer Marcus Primdal was also able to qualify top 14^th in Australia for the 14 years old boys 50 Backstroke

Thank you also to all parents, without your support and commitment this would not be possible. The word TEAM includes each and every one of you and we appreciate your support towards us and our club.

Go Abbotsleigh !!

Our team of 21 Abbotsleigh swimmers competed at the Junior State Championships last weekend. As the meet to finish off the Long Course season for our Juniors, swimmers brought together the technique and skills they have been practicing to produce many great swims.

Swimmers had to nail their stroke in their breakouts and also control breathing in order to race well into the wall. In the 100m events, it was a chance to implement race plans, count strokes in order to produce the best race. We saw swimmers dare greatly and show resilience throughout the weekend. Swimmers focused on each race and did not avoid the challenge of executing their race plans. This resulted in many swimmers winning their heats and lots of strong personal bests. Swimmers also took lessons away from the meet to work on at training as we move into the Short Course season.

A highlight for the weekend was finishing the weekend coming in 5^th in the girls 10×50 freestyle relay. This was a great way to bring the team together for some fast swimming.

Our 4×50 Relay Teams took a combined total of 8.21 seconds off their entry time, showing how our swimmers put their all into these teams.

Top Ten Results:

Leona Huang – 4^th 9yrs 100 Backstroke, 5^th 9yrs 50 Breaststroke, 1^st 9yrs 50 Backstroke, 3^rd 9yrs 100 Freestyle

Alice Liu – 10^th 11yrs 100 Breaststroke, 7^th 11yrs 50 Breaststroke

Girls 9-12 10×50 Freestyle Relay 5^th

Thank you to parents for supporting swimmers and bringing them to the pool.

GO ABBOTSLEIGH!!

The best swimmers in Australia embark on NSW Open Championships in preparation for Olympic Trial in June.

The event provides great racing opportunities for swimmers to work on their improvements in the racing environment.

Our Abbotsleigh team had a blend of experience and freshness, with Shaun Champion sand Zac Attard refining their craft and our Age Nationals hopefuls raising to the high performance environment.

For some swimmers, this was the first exposure the best swimmers in the world. They warmed up with them, nearly got swam over and enjoyed the excitement of sharing pool deck and lanes many of their heroes.

This was a great chance to get a taste of what National championships is like. It is busy, warm up is chaos and you have to handle all of these elements to prepare for the actual racing.

With 3 weeks to go to Age Nationals swimmers, our 10 swimmers made the most of the race practice bringing home many learnings.

Shaun Champion showed his intent performing his best race skills against his peers. Shaun placed 2^nd in the 100m butterfly in 51.97 seconds and 3^rd in the 50m butterfly in 23.79, both season best times. Shaun will head to Open Nationals with Zac to continue his journey on the path towards the Olympic Trials in June.

It was the final race of the meet where our values shone brightest. Given a challenge to qualify a complete relay team for Age nationals Syesha Anthony, Grace Black, Audrey Jackson and Piper Marinas jumped at the prospect. Their challenge was to improve from their December State Championship effort of 4 minutes 10 seconds. With the qualifying time being 4.07, it needed to be a whole team effort to achieve this outcome.

At 8:35pm on Sunday night our girls swam their hearts out (after returning from camp on Friday), they all swam their personal best efforts, executing their race plans and swimming for each other. They qualified with a time of 4:06.9! a Massive four second improvement. It is incredible what a team can achieve.

Congratulations to our NSW Open Swimmers.

Abbotsleigh had 5 swimmers represent the SMNE at the Speedo State Finals. Swimmers were selected from the SMNE Heats, with the fastest 4 in each event and age group chosen to represent the SMNE team. To be selected to race at Speedo Finals is already a fantastic achievement in itself!

Swimmers had to dare greatly and stick to their race plans in the face of competition. This was clearly done well as nearly every swim was faster than what was swum at Speedo Heats with many personal bests achieved throughout the day. Our team supported each other through activation and warmups, right through to each other’s races. It was great to also support our SMNE relay teams in which Louis was selected to be a part of.

Results:

Louis

4^th Boys 10yrs 50 FLY

10^th Boys 10yrs 50 BK

9^th Boys 10yrs 50 FR

1^st Boys 8-10 4×50 FR Relay

Lucie

12^th Girls 8yrs 50 FLY

17^th Girls 8yrs 50 BK

11^th Girls 8yrs 50 BR

18^th Girls 8yrs 50 FR

Zoe

20^th Girls 11yrs 50 FLY

4^th Girls 11yrs 50 BR

Alice

13^th Girls 11yrs 50 BR

Harriet O’Hara

11^th Girls 9yrs 50 BR

Congratulations to Louis who participated in the SMNE Relay Team for the Boys 8-10 Freestyle Relay, the team took out first place.

Being 3 weeks from Junior State, this meet is great preparation as we head towards the end of our Summer season. Swimmers can now take what they learnt from the meet and start implementing it at training as we work towards Junior State.

LET’S GO ABBOTSLEIGH!