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