Noosa Day 2

Day 2 and fierce loyalties are being formed, with Camp Noosa divided between the Amigos, Buddhas, Pandas, Kiwis, and T.O.S.I. Don’t worry parents, there will be no tattoos, but team points are always up for grabs – for breaching No Complaino, leaving water bottles or kit bags behind on pool deck, being late, or having your phone alarm go off in the Phone Box so it wakes the managers at 5AM.. (oh yes, this really happened!) With the passionately designed (and explained) Flags hidden, buried or otherwise disguised around the cabin surrounds, it seems no swimmer will rest until the Flag of a rival team has been hunted down. The plotting and searching is intriguing to watch, but to the coaches this rivalry is not just a game. According to Leanne, the teams are the perfect way of creating great leaders in the club. The older swimmers are the captains because they have earned this status and the younger kids look up to them, and this respect filters down.  The rest of each group is sorted by swimming ability but also mixed so that the swimmers are not with all their usual friends but get to know others on a deeper level as well. While this has required some deep thinking by Leanne, Brandon and Raf, it also creates a whole team of kids who support and encourage each other, enjoy each other’s company – and hence, swim faster!

Today every Abb swimmer had the opportunity to meet two of the greats – Olympic bronze medallist Graeme Brewer and his former coach (now business partner) John Rodgers – our hosts at Noosa Aquatic. JR coached Graeme from ages 14-26 and to two Olympics (he also coached Olympic gold medallist Michelle Ford, and Olympians Max Metzker, Bronte Barratt and Leith Brodie) and spoke to the team about having respect for yourself and your coaches and managers, about lifting up your mates when they having a bad day so they will return the favour when you need it most. He also talked about the rewards of hard work, why you should aim to be the swimmer who works the hardest in the group in every session – and how they would love us to come back next year!

And then there was  SingStar – a night of musical craziness which was the brainchild of Zoe and Matt. Not just an icebreaker on steroids but, of course, yet another way to earn team points, especially by singers who could combine a smooth dance step or two.  Special mentions: Geoff for serenading the audience; Harry for bust out moonwalks; Cal for his worm, Sam D for singing; Matt for upside down twerking (yes really); Claudz the queen of choreography; and Rani for her grand finale splits.