Quiet Conclusion to Huge Swimming Year

On a balmy December evening, 17 members gathered at the barbecue area to enjoy the final event on the club's social calendar. The event was somewhat less boisterous than previous events but that could have been a function of the tough training program and the huge array of delicious food to be eaten.

Lesley and Barbara did a great job of organising and cooking the meat and generally pulling the event together. Many thanks for making this evening a successful one.

This Wednesday, 15 December marks our last official evening of training for the year.

We resume again on Monday 10 January to kick off 2011 in fine style. Same training days, same lanes.

2010 has been an exceptionally successful year for the Riverton Masters Swimming Club.

May 2011 be even better!

State Records Set

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Well, as you all may know back in August, Riverton competed at a Relay Carnival (see the witty and very funny post further down the page).

Our ladies' team stood up and managed to set two state records and break a further two records.

CONGRATULATIONS to Nadine, Jana, Yvonne and Tammy for:
4 x 25m IM
4 x 25m Free
4 x 50m Free.

In the 4 x 100m Free - CONGRATULATIONS to Malira, Nadine, Jana and Tammy.

Tammy also received her long overdue certificates for 100m Back record and 25m Fly records set back at States in May!

Well, the ladies got their certificates on Monday night and were more than happy to pose for a photo. Unfortunately, Jana was unable to make the photo shoot.

Yours in Lemon, Lime and Bitters signing off for 2010.
Damo.

RIVERTON SCARE THE BIG FISH

Goodness gracious.....Is it that time of the year ALREADY....Cue the music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZjAantupsA

That's right everybody tell me what the word is.....WORD UP....so grab your black Lycra, Nike hi-tops and red cod piece, we are going downtown on this bodacious track so crank it up nice and loud....Are you picking up what i am laying down???

"Oh for goodness sake Damo enough with the waffling, what happened at the Gala (aka Swimming Carnival) today?"

Yes right sorry about that i digress....well where do i finish? With both hands together.....SNAP !!! That was for you Kazza !

Ok Ok i am now officially "Getting on with it"

WORD UP - 8 Mighty Riverton Redbacks (i am bringing the name back - it sounds scary) rocked up to Tuart College Pool. After our wonderful Christmas Party last night we were all feeling the effects of a little overeating, however, we were not going to let that bring us down.

WORD UP - results can be found here http://www.portal.aussi.org.au/

WORD UP - Our results were in a "WORD" EXCELLENT.

So as not to be accused of waffling anymore than is absolutely necessary here come the GOOD...the BAD and the UGLY (in bullet points of course)

THE GOOD

• First off and big THANK YOU to Jason, Tom and Seoul for helping out with the timekeeping - much appreciated !


• All other team members who also helped to time keep it's a bit like paying taxes - inevitable (unless you are Paul Hogan)
  
• Kazza had great swims in both relays and a very solid 200 Breast.
  
• Barbara took one for the team and led off the medley relay with a terrific backstroke swim.
  
  
• Tammy swam an excellent 200 Free and was a key member in both relays


• Tara one of the newer and youngest (born in 91) members decided to swim and swum really well. I think Tara was pleasantly surprised by her times


• GP REALLY took one for the team when he was volunteered to swim the 50 fly in the medley relay nice one GP !


• Steve J swam an excellent 36.5 for his 50 free more on his other swims a bit later....


• Mark D enjoyed (i think) his return to competition after a few years out of the pool a lazy 26.7 for his 50 free certainly got his heart rate up !


• Your correspondent had a good day in the pool the best part was being involved in the 2 relays !


• Riverton finished 4th with 101 points !!


• 2 state records in the mixed 4x50 Medley Relay and 4x50 Free Relay for 72-119 age group. The team was the same for both swims Tara, Tammy, Mark D and Damo.
  

(Shown here at right is the crowd going wild at the news of the Riverton state records.)

The BAD

• Shane being unable to swim, unfortunately for Shane he developed a severe case of "nocando" which rendered him bedridden for 48 hrs. His doctors tell me he will make a full recovery

THE UGLY

• For the first time we have a TIE in this category....Your correspondent's 100 Breast was truly ugly AND Steve J is swimming his 50 back and goes under the flags nearing the wall and decides it is time to turn over swim 2 strokes of Freestyle roll over onto his back again touch the wall and push off to complete the 50 back in a 3 sec PB....Well done Steve he did not even get DQ !
  

Cliff Notes - The weather was lovely. The meet was well run. Riverton gave a VERY good account of themselves and we came home with ANOTHER 2 state records.

This ends our GALA (swimming carnivals) for 2010. Thank you to everyone for another great year in the pool. As a club we continue to punch above our weight and it is great to see so much enthusiasm at training and at the club.

Yours in Fructose

Damo

Golden Tongs and Burning Embers

When the Social Committee mentions the word 'BARBECUE', no one from the Riverton Masters Swimming Club is backward in stepping forward. In fact, it's all bodies on the pool deck and out to the barbecue area.

With 20 people on hand to swim, eat and socialise, hats are off the Master Shopper Barbara, Iron Chef Damo and Master Chef Steve. We've had some fabulous barbecues in the past but none can compare to this evening's barbecue when the word 'SENSATIONAL' is hardly superlative enough to describe the gathering.

Barbara did a magnificent job in shopping for the supplies and preparing everything for cooking.

Has anyone met a better chef than Iron Chef Damo? Meat that was cooked to perfection and served efficiently. Did someone use the work 'TRIUMPH' to describe the cooking effort? If they didn't, they should have.

But the revelation of the evening surely belongs to Master Chef Steve. What this man whipped up from his mystery box of mango, walnuts, rocket lettuce and mayonnaise was a supremely impressive effort. Did someone use the word 'MAGNIFICENT' to describe that salad? If they didn't, they should have. AND, we can't wait to see what he pulls out of his chef's hat for the Christmas barbecue!

Mark reminded everyone about the AGM on Monday 6 December being held in the creche at 7pm. No training as such that night but members are welcome to swim in the public lanes beforehand and then join the meeting. All Committee positions are open for nomination.

Damo reminded everyone about two more events on the competition calendar: the Osborne Park BACC on Sunday 28 November and a potential road trip to Narrogin in early December.

Thanks to Lesley and Barbara for organising the barbecue. Thanks to everyone else who contributed salads and desserts.

Details will be out shortly regarding the club's Christmas barbecue.

Congratulations Maria

Just over a week ago, Maria Tarandetti travelled to Alice Springs to compete in the Masters Games, held between Saturday 9 October and Friday 15 October.

Maria was just one of a small handful of competitors from WA.

She swam in six events: 50 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres in each of freestyle and breaststroke. All up, Maria turned in some top performances, most notably in the 100 metres freestyle where she shaved 8 seconds off her PB and in the 100 metres breaststroke coming in 11 seconds under nominated time in 2.21.89.

Well done Maria!

Elie's Tent no Belly Flop on the Social Calendar

When 15 Riverton people arrived at Elie's Tent in Victoria Park on Saturday evening, they were anticipating the taste of delicious Lebanese cuisine - perhaps some hoummos, perhaps some tabbouleh, even some falafel and maybe some shish kebabs. There was certainly that - AND MORE!!!

With more spectacular costumes than you'd see at a Lady Gaga concert, Fatima the gorgeous belly dancer took to the floor.

With all the men on the Riverton table calling "Pick me", she must have known we didn't have the moves as she delicately bypassed us to entice other dancers to join her.

NOW, THAT'S A KNIFE!!!

Where this girl could balance a knife defied imagination.

All up, the evening was a fabulous mix of food, conversation and entertainment.

Thanks to Lesley for organising the evening.

Round 23 - Barbecues: 3 votes; Training: 2 votes; Dynamic Coach: 1 vote

What the Brownlow Medal is to the AFL world, a barbecue with awards is to the Riverton swimming world.

Less bling ... but more T-shirts
Fewer Manolo Blahniks ... but more thongs and sneakers
Fewer cheesy acceptance speeches ... but more awards to be given

On Monday evening, 22 of us barbecued after a short and sharp training session in the pool. The event was to mark the presentation of a series of awards reaped by members over the past few months. As president, Mark introduced the theme of the evening and then passed over to Coach Damo to make the presentations.

First up were the presentations of certificates to everyone who participated in and completed the Bunbury Postal Swim. This comprised swimming 400 metres of each of freestyle, breaststroke and backstroke. Congratulations to everyone who participated. A top effort!

Special congratulations go to Robert Weir who swam the fastest overall time by a swimmer from all the clubs that participated in the event. In doing so, Robert was awarded a medal. (Seen in the picture below being held by Damo). A fantastic achievement Robert! Well done!

Seen below are various members scrutinising and comparing their times recorded on their certificates.

A couple of further certificates were presented to Malira Cocking for breaking her own state records in her age group for the 100 metres and 25 metres breaststroke events at the State Swim held earlier in the year. (See picture below). To continue to break state records is a fabulous achievement. Well done Malira!

Thanks to Lesley for organising the barbecue, her team of helpers with the cooking, and to everyone who attended for helping to make the evening another successful social event.

Riverton caught hook, line and sinker at Snappers

Well Well Well,

Hang on i know what you are thinking....here we go again, Damo is going to dribble on and on about another bloody gala (swimming carnival).

Well guess what...YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON McDUFF !!!!!!!!!!!!!

You see what i did there? Goodness me i am clever, am i not?? Oh yes teach you i can....BUT as i sit here in the throes of a sugar coma let me not dribble too much. Instead let me lay it out so you can play it out...

• YES 9 fearless Riverton Masters swimmers went to Challenge Stadium and came away with a 5th Placing....missing out on 4th place by a measly 5 points


• YES we all helped time keep thank you to everyone who took a seat !
  

• YES it was Tammy's fault we missed out on 4th place...Unfortunately Tammy was unable to attend the Gala (swimming carnival) as she was out digging trenches. No really she was apparently this is what South African people do when their rugby team slips out of the top 4 ranked teams in the world.

• YES you can find a summary of the results here
  http://www.portal.aussi.org.au/meets/index.php?EventId=151905&filter=*&split=no&js=on
  

• YES there were many PB's and great swims from our team....


• Scotty Z awesome 35 for his 50 fly, did it so well we got him to do it again in the relay !


• Steve J 36 for his 50 Free great swim


• Hilary pulled a 1.34 out for 100 Free....that's a 9 sec PB !


• Steve-O 31 for his 50 Free (more on this later)


• GP 1.23 for his 100 Free and an awesome Breaststroke leg in the relay !


• Kazza very solid 100 Free with a dodgy foot and slid off the bench and onto the blocks for the women's relay
  

• Nadine held her 50 Free together very nicely


• Barbara swum an excellent 200 Breast


• Even your correspondent was happy with his 50 fly...Hey Tammy i had your nemesis in the lane next to me and guess what....Yes i beat her !!


• YES i have used the word YES far too many times...


• YES the relay teams all swum very well


• YES there was an excellent lunch afterwards


• YES GP WON THE RAFFLE !!! (See picture below)
  


• YES we got a team photo (Thank you Simon) and Kazza was all set to depart as there was much painting to be done at home, however, after some well placed "peer pressure" (thanks for your help GP) Kazza decided to stay and dare i say it....go on dare dare...i think she just maybe, a little, enjoyed herself.

STORY OF THE DAY - A conversation between Steve-O and Myself

Steve - "You know Damo i just really struggled with the last 15m of that race....man what did you have for breakfast?"
ME- "Fruit and oats, why mate what did you have for Brekky?"
Steve- "Ummm oh hang on a minute i did not have any?"
ME - "Ah yes well i think we just might have a solution for your problem"

45 mins later after Steve-O has a) eaten something b) smoked 31 for his 50 free

ME- "Hey great swim mate how did you feel towards the end of that one?"
Steve- "Felt great it's amazing what a difference eating makes isn't it - i just had so much more energy"

For all you kids reading this out there, remember breakfast is the most important meal of the day..Steve will be writing this on the white board 100 times tomorrow night before training

Yours in Powerade
Damo

Riverton on the bottom but come up PUMPED !

Righto everyone gather around a quick roll call if I may...

Tammy "I really do exist" Souster - Present
Jana "The dirty Collingwood supporter" Van Voorthuizen - Present
Yvonne "Is my cossie too bright?" Yoo - Present
Kazza "Where is my hairbrush" Anderson - Present
Maria "I need to pace myself over 50" Tarandetti - Present
Nadine "6 dogs" Neethling - Present
Hilary "Does this outfit make my bum look big" Vaughan - Present
Lee "How do I do this again?" Murphy - Present
Steve "Checked my 100000 emails but still not sure if entered" Wills - Present
Scotty " Oooh I like the yellow in the Riverton bathers" Zuideveld - Present
Damo "I only open my mouth to change feet" Eyre - Present
Malira "I need a new calendar" Cocking...............Malira? Has anyone seen Malira??? Malira? Yoohoo where are you???

Tammy calmly picks up her mobile and makes the call it goes something like this...

"Hi Malira it;s Tammy" (said in South African accent)
"Are you coming to the Gala" (she means swimming carnival)
"No it's on today we are all here and the gala (swimming carnival) is about to start"
At this point the Club Captain starts swearing and begins to curl up into the foetal position. Tammy calmly continues...
"So can you make it?"
"Well they are about to start but if you leave now you can still make it"
Tammy ends the call, looks at the club captain now frothing at the mouth and mumbling incoherently and says "Malira had it in her calendar for tomorrow, she is leaving now and will be here in 20mins.

Fast forward 22 mins later and Malira comes jogging in, looks around and sees her 1st relay swim about to start. Malira then rips off her clothes prompting Steve-O to comment that he has never seen a woman disrobe so quickly ( I could comment here but moving on) and then sprints down to the starting blocks, dives in and away she goes. By this stage it is all too much for the Club Captain who promptly has some bex and a lie down.

Believe it or not a relay carnival did take place this afternoon at Challenge Stadium. It was lots of fun, well run and our club had some great results...The least of which was Malira turning up ! So onto the swimming and back to my preferred method of bullet points !

The good

• Riverton broke THREE relay records how good is that !


• Our 72-119 age group won a trophy (see pic) how good is that !



• Mens 4x25m IM relay hanging on to FLOG Claremont.How good is that !


• Having 12 Riverton swimmers represent our club with distinction...How good is that !


• Malira turning up - Have I already covered this???


• Collingwood losing to Adelaide


• Swans flogging Brisbane and securing a home final


• Ok ok Freo won.....


• Yvonne taking home "Best Dressed on Pool Deck" award


• Kazza remembering to collect all the caps


• Jana writing all her events on her arm (see pic)
  
  

The Bad

• Tammy how do you spell Nemesis??


• The Club Captain's minor meltdown
  
• Kazza losing a hairbrush


• Steve-O wearing a modesty suit (actually that is probably a good thing)
  
• Scotty Z is running a half marathon tomorrow.


• The Club Captain running out of snakes and thus ending up in Benny's bad books

The Ugly (sort of but not really)

• It almost got VERY ugly when Jana did not want to pull out of the women's 4x100 Free relay and the other ladies did.....HOWEVER it was all for the best because Tammy, Malira, Nadine and Jana set a new record and RIPPED 30 secs off the old mark..well done girls err ladies

Once results are finalised I will update this literary masterpiece with all the appropriate details. Thanks to all the swimmers today it was a top afternoon and I hope everyone enjoyed themselves...

Yours in Glycogen

Damo

Maida Vale/Belmont BACC Meet Report: 22 August

And then there were three...

Sunday 22 August dawned and we tuned in for the morning's headlines:

• Handful of independents hold balance of power
• Indecision and confusion amongst the masses
• Who is our leader?

OK, enough about the swimming carnival. What happened with the election?!?!? Oh, that was the election?!? Funny that. The headlines were the same for both events!

So, without further procrastination, here is the meet report.

On a day when there were more scratchings than you'd find in a men's change room after a tough game of footy, the team of Steve, Maria and Kazza arrived at Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre to represent Riverton. As we checked in at the desk, we found that, once again, Riverton's entries hadn't been added. Oh, great! Shall we go home? No! Fabulous Lynne Duncan from Maida Vale slotted us in to the events we wanted - exactly! Not exactly the heats we thought we were going to be in but that didn't matter. Hey, it's not every swimming meet that we all get to come first in some of our heats!!!

The team ...

Some honourable mentions:

• Steve - Should I go to work or swim in the carnival? Hey, I think I'll swim in the carnival. Correct answer! Work will always be there tomorrow but a Belmont carnival only comes once a year. Remember - there is no I in TEAM! What a fabulous 200 metre freestyle heat! Steve clocked in and everyone else was still doing the 150 metre turn. A top effort!
• Maria - Should I swim in the 50 metre freestyle? I'm not sure I've got time for another coffee. OK, I will. Correct answer! First in that heat as well as first in the 200 metre freestyle heat by a long way. Fantastic work!
• Kazza - Two caps and three hairbrushes! Not taking any chances this time. First in her heat for the 50 metre freestyle. A tidy effort!

A few more honourable mentions:

• Belmont is a nice venue - lovely artificial plants, a beautiful leadlight window (Mmmm... We need one of those at Riverton), and nets hanging from the ceiling. A very maritime feel.
• Des Seery (ex-Riverton ) officiating for Masters WA. Wow, were we impressed by the microphone technique and the red light/hooter start combination. But that was nothing compared to those very trendy officials' uniforms. There is something about a man in uniform ... Great job Des!

All up, we had an enjoyable morning.

An En-thai-cing Evening at Mai Thai

Thai me up, thai me down,
But don't thai me kangaroo down sport ...

A group of twelve met at Mai Thai Restaurant on Canning Highway in Alfred Cove on Saturday evening to dine on a thai-riffic and apperthaising banquet. The food was great (and there was plenty of it!) and the ambience and conversation was even better.

With no pun untendered, everyone had a great thai-m. Thanks to Lesley for organising the evening.

Sunny Side is ALWAYS UP.

Good Afternoon Class,

Ensure you are all sitting up straight - No slouching and pay attention....*sigh* Mark Hevron stop staring out the window i have told you a million times the Dockers will NEVER win the Flag....Rob Weir whatever you are playing with please come and put it on my desk.....Yes Shane you may go to the bathroom.....No Graeme we are not doing ANY MORE MATHS TODAY.....Tammy how many times have i told you stop punching the boys.........Karen Anderson put away your hairbrush or i will confiscate it until the end of term...

Right now listen up

CUE THE MUSIC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4GZFbCqx18


Another beautiful sunny sunday at the Aqualife Centre in East Vic Park. Myself and Kazza headed on down to swim a 1500m. Kazza was sick and tired of waiting around for 3 hours to swim so she came up with the idea to sleep in her car with the intention of securing pole position and thus being the first person to swim. CLEARLY this stratagy paid off for, as yours truly strolled into the pool Kazza was again winding up for a big finish.

The whistle blows signifying 100m to swim Kazza pushes off the wall and immediately breaks out the 2 1/2 beat kick arms whirling like chopper blades BANG she touches the wall 33.08 TOP SWIM Kaz...After a quick debrief with the coach and a brush of the hair Kazza is off to vacuum out her car, apparently she did not realise how much a cadbury flake can crumble....

So this leaves me to kick back on the grass in the sun and wait for my swim...and after watching countless people swim 1500m DOUBLE ARM BACKSTROKE (are you kidding) FINALLY it is my turn. Oh look i am the lucky last swimmer and for the record 19.32 (i think) not too shabby. Although i must mention a swimmer from Perth City, Damon Kendrick this bloke is 50 years old, has ONE LEG and still cranks out 19.42 for 1500m free....amazing and a very nice guy too !

Yours in Vitaman D

Damo

Don't Call It a COMEBACK !

One of the great things about being able to blog on this site is it allows me to talk about myself. So if you don't like me then stop reading now....

Still with me?

Aww gee thanks i love you too....Not that cheap 3am nightclub kinda love either but i digress...

Cue the music....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vimZj8HW0Kg

The Balga Leisurepark (is that an oxymoron?) was the scene as Damo, Kazza and Nadine lined up for the traditional shortcourse 400/800m freestyle swim. Nadine? Nadine? Oh that's right Nadine the Wallabies FLOGGED the Springboks last night, no worries i would be laying low too....

So i arrived a bit late after my wife decided to stay out all night ! Can you believe it? At her age what will people think ! So just as i arrived Kazza was winding up for a big finish in her 800 Free and what a finish it was...Held her stroke together nicely, bi-lateral breathing , 2 1/2 beat kick...AWESOME FINISH KAZZA...Awesome swim all round actually !

So without further waffling i jumped in and banged out an 800 Free that tested out the surgically enhanced err repaired shoulder and the end result of 10.16 was a pleasant suprise !

The feed after was just as good...pumpkin soup, potato and Leek soup, fruit, tim tams...you name it..Sorry Kaz you missed out :-)

SOOOOOOOOOOO what's next i hear you ask? Well we got TWO carnivals coming up Sunday 22nd August and the BIG RELAY Carnival on Saturday 28th August....Details to follow shortly !

Peace, Love and Mungbeans..

Damo

Swan Hills BACC Meet Report: Sunday 4 July

Only once in a lifetime comes a weekend in sport where the word HUGE is simply not big enough.

More MASSIVE than the start of the cycling world's Tour de France ...
More PRODIGIOUS than the tennis world's Wimbledon finals ...
More GARGANTUAN than that little-known and lowly-publicised football World Cup ...

On the coldest morning in Perth in over five hundred years, a small contingent of swimmers from Riverton scraped the ice off their windscreens, shook the icicles from their fingertips and made their way over to Midvale for the Swan Hills BACC short course event on Sunday 4 July. Brrrr ... The team of Graeme, Steve, Scott, Barbara, Nadine, Maria and Kazza were shaped up and poised to take on the might of eight other clubs.

The team (minus Maria) ...

"Young Grasshopper, I've been struck on the shoulder by a lightsaber. You will have to post the meet report."
"Coach Damo Skywalker, must I use bullet points in the report?"
"Young Grasshopper, we ALWAYS use bullet points."
"Coach Damo Skywalker, what if I don't use bullet points?"
"Then, young Grasshopper, I may be forced to say ... that I am not your coach. Use the bullet points, Grasshopper. May the bullet points be with you."

Let's bring on the meet report.

The Fairly Fantastic

• Graeme's magnificent first in his age group for his favoured 100m and 200m breaststroke events. Always a strong showing.
• Steve's fastest Riverton man at the meet 1.08 for 100m freestyle and 31.81 for 50m. A brilliant piece of work to bring home first in his age group for both events.
• Scott's first outing for the club absolutely blitzing the field in his heat of the 100m freestyle. Coming in at 1.14 he posted first in his age group. Great swimming!
• Birthday girl Barbara's first in her age group 100m individual medley and 50m breaststroke. Barbara always goes for the 'different' event. (Does this mean she 'thinks outside the square' or 'swims outside the pool'?!?!? Hmmm ...)
• Nadine's 1.37 for the 100m individual medley and a fabulous 25m freestyle saw her take first in her age group for both. First in the 100m I.M. saw her just pip her fiercest competitor on the day. A brilliant piece of swimming!
• Maria's first in her age group for the 200m breaststroke got her off to a great start for the day. Followed up by a 50.24 in the 50m freestyle, Maria is well on track in her training for Alice Springs later in the year.
• Kazza's PB of 3.54 in the 200m freestyle was also the first time she's made a first in her age group. It's been said before but it's worth saying again - you go girl!
  

The Fairly Tidy

• A cheer squad brought by three members of the team. Great to see!
• Fantastic effort by the women in the 4 x 25m medley relay.
• Magnificent work by the team in the 4 x 200m mixed freestyle relay, led off in fine style by Steve and brought home strongly by Scott.
• The lunchtime catering after the meet. Wow! A fabulous spread of great food.
• No equipment malfunctions.
• Short course events are great!

The Fairly Disappointing

• Sadly, we arrived to find that Riverton's entries had not been entered onto the master list by the host club. Hmmmm ... However, things worked out OK and the officials were helpful in getting us all into our nominated events.
• A very small turn out of swimmers, leaving the stands somewhat depleted.

It was a great morning of swimming and Riverton came in 5th out of 9 clubs.

Parla italiano? Ecco Il Ciao

Buona sera. Come stai? Bene, grazie! Che c'e di nuovo? Non molto. Arrivederci!

If that isn't enough Italian for you, Il Ciao in Applecross served up a fabulous menu of Italian cuisine last evening for a group of about 18 members. The food was delicioso, the ambiance was warm and busy, and the company was superb. What could be better than pizza, pasta and gelati on a Saturday evening?

Thanks to Lesley for organising the event.

Riverton Champions Smash State Records

Huge congratulations go to Tammy Souster (pictured above right) and Malira Cocking (pictured above left) for their achievements in the State Swim held at Challenge Stadium on 1 and 2 May. Each of them broke two state records in their respective age groups.

In the 30-34 years age group, Tammy set records in:

• 100m backstroke (short course): by swimming a new time of 1 minute 15.35 seconds and breaking the old record by 2.44 seconds; and
• 25m butterfly (short course): by swimming a new time of 15.36 seconds and breaking the old record by 0.21 of a second.
  

In the 40-44 years age group, Malira set records in:

• 100m breaststroke (short course): by swimming a new time of 1 minute 26.52 seconds and breaking her own previous record by 0.08 of a second; and
• 25m breaststroke (short course): by swimming a new time of 18.22 seconds and breaking her own previous record by 0.45 of a second.

These are superb efforts. Well done!

A New Champion

Congratulations to Tammy Souster who has just been named champion in her age group in last weekend's State Swim at Challenge Stadium. Tammy scored a magnificent 69 points out of a possible 70 points from the seven events she entered over the weekend.

A fantastic achievement Tammy! Well done!

State Swim Meet Report: 1, 2 May

In a week in which attention grabbing headlines have held the interest of all sandgropers like nothing before (well, not since the last political or sporting scandal!), comes the latest headline to make eyes pop and jaws drop:

New Club Coach Inspires Riverton Team to Greater Heights at State Swim!

PBs aplenty fall quicker than a politician's scandal-ridden career.

• More electrifying than the thought of a Troy Buswell/Allanah MacTiernan liaison;
• More startling than the revelation of a Troy Buswell/Shelley Archer flirtation;
• More mind-blowing than the whiff of a Troy Buswell/Giz Watson dalliance could ever be!!!

The team ...

The action ...

This weekend at Challenge Stadium, the swimming was fast and furious for the annual Masters Swimming WA State Swim. Six representatives from Riverton: Graeme, Steve, Malira, Tammy, Lea and Kazza, gave it their all in magnificent style. Each of them walked away with one or more PBs and each of them turned in champion performances in the pool. Saturday was a very long day, being kicked off by Kazza in an early heat of the 200m freestyle. Sunday was a much shorter day but concluding on a super-high note in a frenzied dash by Tammy, Graeme, Steve and Lea in the 4 x 25m medley relay.

This cub reporter has never been known to grab onto mediocrity when the hand of sensationalism remains outstretched. So, without further ado, let's bring on the meet report with the usual level of exhileration.

GP: This man is a PB machine! Always reliable and always able to pull a PB out of his swimming cap. And if needed, he can always whip up a template to record his times in. Graeme pulled out a 3.40.93 in the 200m breaststroke to score a first place in his age group, and a 1.21.38 for the 100m freestyle and a 45.02 in the 50m breaststroke, both of which scored second in his age group. A champion effort!

Steve-O: Fastest Riverton Club member at the meet who turned in some impressive times, both in the pool and on the road. Clocking in at 1.09.13 in the 100m freestyle and a 31.11 in the 50m freestyle, and tightening the pace on the other teams in the medley relay, Steve is a man to be reckoned with. He underestimates how much his dives are beautiful to watch and always get him off to a start well in front of the field. There is more left in the tank and a sub-30 for 50m could be something to watch out for. Great swimming!

Malira: Malira had a very full Saturday program swimming five events as well as the women's medley relay with a fabulous butterfly leg. She came first in her age group with an 18.22 in the 25m breaststroke, first in her age group in the 100m breaststroke, and second in her age group in the 200m individual medley with a 2.58.84. Considering doing the Rotto swim next year in an attempt to improve her times may be something for everyone to watch out for! Another fantastic meet!

Tammy: This would have to have been Tammy's meet. Always on the lookout for her arch-nemesis, LT from Claremont, and not feeling 100% on day two, Tammy still managed to put in some impressive performances with impressive times. Coming first in her age group in the 50m butterfly with a 33.51 and a first in her age group in the 200m individual medley with a 2.49.62, Tammy is a swimming dynamo. Fabulous backstroke legs, too, in the women's and mixed medley relays that got both teams off to fine starts. Magnificent swimming!

Lea: A swimmer who goes from strength to strength despite living on a diet of chocolate and using a quick dash to the starting blocks as a warm up. She turned in some impressive PBs along the way, most notably a 37.10 in the 50m freestyle and two dashing freestyle legs in the women's and mixed medley relays. A great weekend of swimming!

Kazza: What can we say? Six PBs out of seven events entered, smashing her previous 200m breaststroke time by 10 seconds and coming in under 50 seconds for the first time ever in the 50m freestyle. You go girl!


Once again, the event was extremely well organised and very well patronised by 302 swimmers from 23 clubs. It was a great weekend of swimming and camaraderie.

A movie of the event can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0SoYtqzSvg