After the success of hosting last year’s Barwon South West Swimming Association (BSWSA) Championships/All Junior Trials, this year we headed to Warrnambool! The two day event was held last weekend and our Portland contingent represented us well with every swimmer qualifying for the All Junior Semi Finals held next month.
I was lucky enough to see everyone in action on Saturday and as always was blown away by how our athletes conducted themselves in and out of the pool. Vossie, Matilda, Oliver, Leo, Riley, Gwyneth and Rebecca all gave their absolute best across the weekend.
Vossie, who has been training through an injury, placed first in his 400m freestyle and set several Personal Best (PB) times. He dropped 2.46 seconds from his 100m freestyle to place third and a massive 11.23 seconds from his 200m freestyle to place second!
Oliver used his meet experience and competitive nature to set a great example for our younger swimmers all day, making a 0.17 second improvement in his 50m freestyle to place fifth. His hard-fought 200m freestyle was a great race to watch, with Oliver finishing in third place.
Matilda, our long distance specialist, opted to focus mainly on the longer races with great success! She placed second in the 200 IM and freestyle events, and set PB times in the 100 freestyle and breaststroke, as well as taking first place in her 100m butterfly.
Gwyneth always displays great poise and consistency on meet days, and this weekend was no exception. She placed eighth in her 100m and 200m freestyle. Our younger swimmers are lucky to watch Gwyneth’s fluid, strong technique give her great results.
Riley is one of the youngest swimmers in his age group, having only aged up last month! He set three PB times over the weekend in his 50m butterfly, 100m freestyle and 50m freestyle. Taking 2.06 seconds from his butterfly time earned him a well-deserved seventh place and he competed in the Men’s’ Open 200m breaststroke where he also placed seventh.
Rebecca set PB times for every event she entered! Shaving 2.28 seconds from her 50m freestyle was a huge moment for her swimming career, as was taking 1.42 seconds from her 100m freestyle in order to finish fourteenth.
Leo competed in an event for every stroke, showing his versatility and composure. He placed third in four events- 50m butterfly, breaststroke, freestyle and backstroke- and second in his 100m freestyle.
Written by Kayla Gorry
All Junior Semi Final Qualifiers
- Rebecca DeCampo- freestyle and backstroke
- Gwyneth Homer- freestyle
- Matilda Andrews- butterfly
- Leo Healy- freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly
- Riley Healy- backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly
- Laurens Vosloo (Vossie)- freestyle and breaststroke
- Oliver Homer- freestyle
The Glenelg Junior Sport Trust provides financial support for individual athletes or teams who have been selected to represent at state, national or international level in their chosen sport aged up to 18 years of age inclusive.
The South West Sport Assembly Supports clubs in the south west to be resilient and sustainable through assisting clubs and individuals
Portland Swim Club Apparel is available to try on and order in from Prestige Promotions - 37 Julia St Portland or ph (03) 5523 7434
- Shorts
- Shirts
- Tracksuit pants
- Hoodies (with or without zip)
- Hats
Monday 16th December - Bring a buddy Monday
Swimmers were asked to bring a buddy or family member to the first fun session of the week resulting in much laughter and delight from all. Parents and friends dived in and dashed to each end together as the coaches put together a cleverly curated mixed bag of fun activities throughout the night.
Wednesday 18th December - Water Polo Wednesday
Thursday 19th December - Triathle Thursday
The Portland Observer Sport wrap up Friday 13th December 2024 for the Portland Swimming Club Swim Meet held on Saturday 7th December 2024
Written by Rani Kane
Swimming Success
While there were plenty of medals won by local swimmers at the Portland Swimming Club meet on Saturday, it was the valuable experience of competition racing that will pay dividends for the group.
Around 109 competitors registered for the annual event with a strong contingent of Portland swimmers also hitting the pool, some for their first competitive meet.
Included in Portland's medal tally with the 11-and-under relay team who recorded a third place finish after a solid showing.
Portland Swimming Club coach Kayla Gorry said it was satisfying to see the work from the season paying off in the local pool.
"It was a brilliant event and a lot of entries as well which was fantastic," she said.
"The kids from our club performed so well and showed a lot of improvement.
"The experience they get from swimming in a meet like this is stuff you can't necessarily get at training.
"Things we'd been working on like our starts and making sure people get arch when they start their backstroke, all of that was happening on Saturday - so to do that at a big event with lots of people there and you're under pressure was so good to see."
The club as been working on some big initiatives as the 2024 season closes out next week with a fun week of swimming activities ahead of a busy 2025.
Gorry said there has been a lot of work behind the scenes to keep building on the club's momentum.
"The committee have done such a great job and there are so many volunteers and local businesses who were really supportive of the event," she said.
"Kristy (Andrews), Rachael (Healy) and Lesa (Munn) along with all the committee have put so much of their own time into giving these kids opportunities which you see on the weekend at those meets."
Next week's swimming action includes tryathle and water polo with the club encouraging new and interested swimmers to get involved.
"At the meet we had encouragement divisions too which were for people who weren't affiliated with the club but just wanted to have a go and that was really successful," Gorry said.
"So over the next few weeks hopefully anyone who is interested reaches out if they want to get involved."