Whether it is your favourite past time or a challenge we certainly had fun deciding which entry was our best bunny.
Thank you to all that participated. Each time you get the opportunity to contribute to an event please delight in it. We are always going to be better when have representation across our community. We love to see your idea of choosing your colours and patterns. As you can see in the photo, the outcome was a visual joy for our eyes and each picture made us feel a sense of happiness. After deciding a winner based on technique, detail and how it made us feel…
Congratulations Ria Kim!
Ria collected her $35 Aqua Shop voucher and we have a participation prize for those who dared greatly 🙂
Three “first timers”represented our club on the Gold Coast during the April school holidays.
The event was long awaited for Jemma Chamberlain, as she has been a qualifier for 3 years. Jemma took her opportunity and swam her season best swims in the 100m and 200m breaststroke. A great effort to do amongst the best in the country. Well done Jemma.
Jensen Goodchild maximized his experience at the meet by qualifying for 5 events spread through the 6 day meet. Jensen learnt something in each race he did and it was good to see him immerse himself in the event.
Jasmin Foster rocketed her way to Age Nationals. As a first timer at State Championships in December and first time finalist at this level, Jazzy’s next stop was Australian Age. Jazzy’s love for swimming shone bright all season as she went from achievement to achievement and it was fitting that she would take this passion to compete against the best in Australia.
Jemma, Jensen and Jazzy bring their experience back to Abbotsleigh and will share this energy and motivation with their Clubmates. They also shared a hug with their parents after each race, to say thank you and grateful for the chance to be there. Thank you swimmers and parents, it is a team effort.
On the 17th of April, the Abbotsleigh swimming club joined the Knox Pymble swimming club on their invitational meet, this meet was quite important as some of the swimmers were having their debut in the world of racing. FUN was the word of the day and being able to have a great first experience was the most important part of this meet. The coaches could not be happier seeing the new juniors getting on the blocks ready to go, being brave and accepting the challenge of standing on the blocks and bring their best. Lots of smiles and great performances trough the morning and we all came back home with a positive attitude and understanding of where we are in the season. It was also great to see the more experienced swimmers being mindful and supporting and guiding the newcomers, showing in this way their amazing team spirit.
On the 27th and 28th March, our Junior team and raced at Junior State championships. The weekend was full of good energy and team spirit. Our athletes raised the standard when racing against the best of the state they showed what Team ABB is made of. Our values Kaizen, Dare Greatly, Unity and Fun were present and the smiles in everyone’s face was noticeable.
When it was time to race each swimmer focused on their race specifics and brought their best performance. The Abbotsleigh coaches could not be happier of how Junior State went, not only in the results point of view but also on the growth that the athletes are showing race after race. This growth is part of our Abbotsleigh values (kaizen – Continues improvement) and we love to see our athletes being able to be themselves and progress meet after meet in a safe and inclusive team environment.
We would like to say thank you to all parents that were able to represent the team and bring the swimmers for the 10×50 girls relay. It was an exciting moment, and it would not have been possible if it were not for all of you working together to get everyone there.
Our boys Medley relay was also an amazing moment where they boys came close to that medal place, finishing an awesome 4th place with the best fighting attitude throughout the race.
Below you can have a look at some of the awesome photos of the day and our Top ten results, a special mention to Leisel Tan and Marcus Primdal that were able to achieve their first Junior State Championship Medal.
Jemma Chamberlain, Shaun Champion, Jasmin Foster, Holly Nelson and Emily Washer engaged in the Olympic racing format. This format of afternoon heat sessions and morning finals, will be used in the 2020/1 Olympics. Because of this, there are a number of competition that will follow this process. So by design the meet had a different feel. Our swimmers enjoyed mixing their best along side the majority of high performing Open swimmers across the country. All swimmers predominantly use this meet to check in on things they are working on under racing conditions. Managing energies to perform in heats at 8pm at night and waking up and getting our body and brain ready to perform in morning finals was a different challenge too.
Overall we take learning back to our training pool as we prepare for National Championships in April.
Well done to Shaun and Holly who competed in finals with Shaun securing 2 medals, Silver in 100 Butterfly and Bronze in the 50 Butterfly.
Well done also to Jemma and Jasmin competing in their first Open meet.
After training on Monday we took the opportunity to welcome the new Abbotsleigh members. We also recognised our Junior State athletes and our National Age and Open athletes that will be representing our club against the best in the State and the best in Australia. It was a great end of the day and all swimmers were happy to cheer for their new members and acknowledge the hard work that the State and National level swimmers put in to achieve their goals through their dedication to their training.
Once again, the Abbotsleigh team show their amazing values and commitment by being present and supporting every swimmer in the club. A culture that we love and we will keep on reinforcing. A club where everyone feels safe and happy to take part in.
On Saturday the 6th of March, a team of 6 Abbotsleigh swimmers was selected to represent the Metro north east area at the speedo sprints finals. This is a meet where the fastest swimmers in the state get together and race against each other representing their areas . In between swimming carnivals and big weeks of work these athletes prove themselves once again and came back home with amazing results. Claudia Liu, Freddie O’Hara, Marcus Primdal, Leisel Tan and Lara Valmadre, and a special mention to Grace Black for stepping in for the very first in a meet like this.
We had a total of 8 Top 10 placings, including 6 Top 4 placings:
Claudia Liu – 50 Breast – 4th Place
Freddie O’Hara – 50 Breast – 2nd Place
Marcus Primdal- 50 Bk – 2nd Place
Leisel Tan – 50 Fs -2nd Place
Lara Valmadre – 50 Fs and 50 Fly – 4th Place
Congratulations swimmers, you performed exceptionally throughout the Finals event.
Well done to everyone and parents thank you again for bringing them and spend another Saturday supporting us.
On the 14th of February, the 19 members of Abbotsleigh swim team went to Sydney Olympic Park to race. For some of our swimmers it was their first time not only representing Team ABB, but also racing in a big competition. We could not ask for a better day, the swimmers got to the pool drop their things and went straight into their activation to then start the warmup at 8AM. The energy that it was possible to feel straight from the start was a set up for what was coming up during the day. Lots of smiles and amazing swims throughout the day and amazing results.
Team ABB had 37 top 10 placings spread across 11 swimmers and in all four strokes. What a great effort. Here is the break down of our placings:
1st place – 3 events
2nd place – 7 events
3rd place – 8 events
We would like to also congratulate the following swimmers for being selected to represent the area at the Speedo sprints finals on the 6th of March at Sydney Olympic park aquatic centre.
Shaun Champion, Holly Nelson and Emily Washer represented Team ABB at the 2020 Virtual Short Course Championships at SOPAC. The event was timed across the country so that the majority of racing was completed at the same time, despite the time zone changes. It was an initiative that connected the best in each State to compete again.
Shaun won 3 events in NSW, 50 butterfly, 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle, placing 8th in Australia in 100 Butterfly. Holly smashed her personal best time with an outstanding swim in the 200 freestyle and Emily re-entered the competitive environment with a fast 50 Butterfly.
Shaun, Holly and Emily brought positive energy to each of the four sessions and I know all 3 swimmers drew energy from our Junior swimmers who were swimming at the Junior Metro Championships on the same weekend. We all inspired each other to be your best and this is what Team ABB spirit is all about.
