Nationals Part 1

Ladies and Gentleman,

Phew...What an exhausting 4 days it has been both in and out of the pool. So let me start by welcoming you to the first installment of the Nationals blog report. This will focus on the happenings "in the pool" so will be a little more "serious" than Part 2 which will be used exclusively to re-live some very funny moments "out of the pool".

Let me start with a little background so you know what i am talking about. Masters swimming holds a national meet every year in a different capital city. It was Perth's turn this year so 564 swimmers from QLD, NSW, VIC, TAS, NT, SA and WA converged on Challenge Stadium to get a healthy dose of Fitness, Fun and Friendship.

Some people get a little over whelmed and think that Nationals is different from the regular meets that we attend here in WA. It is not. The oldest competitor was a 93 year old and the youngest was 19 years old. So there was a rather large age range and watching an 81 year old lady complete a 200 Fly is just as inspirational as watching a 26 year old male crank out 55.74 for a 100m Freestyle.

The mighty Riverton Redfins entered a team of 15 swimmers which in itself is fantastic. However the best was yet to come as every single member of the team swam more PBs than you could poke a stick at and represented our club with distinction.

So without further waffling let me introduce the members of our team.....Remember this is the serious blog so there will no jokes or poking fun at anyone....NO GAGS......No sorry i cannot do it so here come the nicknames ! (In no particular order !)

Emma "The Relay Queen" Dolby - an awesome 50m breast swim and swam in all the relays she could. Was often found sitting behind the coach and hanging shit on him.

Tammy"You had better SMS me directions" Souster -All Tammy's swims were fantastic, the highlight for me was her 2.47 in the 200 IM. i think she even surprised herself...Tammy was facing some VERY tough opposition in her age group but managed a gold medal in the 50 back !

Nadine"Pool Announcers Pet" Neethling - Every swim a PB. Fantastic! Pick for me was her 2.52 for 200 Free that was 13 secs off her PB. Look for more of Nadine's escapades in Vol II of this blog.

Malira "One leg" Cocking - Again some great individual and relay swims. Gold Medal in the 200 Breast despite the coach telling her otherwise - GOTCHA !. Coach's pick was her 200 IM - very solid swim.

Pauline"The comeback Queen" Southall - I had the pleasure of watching her 200 Breast and it looked rather effortless and was 47 secs UNDER her entry time. Coach's pick was her 50 Free leg in the relay i did not know she could swim that quick !

Maria"The quiet Achiever" Tarandetti - Maria has been training hard over the last 6 months and seeing as she set PB's in all her swims, it was clear that all the hard work has payed off. Coach's highlight was her 200 Free which was a 13 sec PB !

Nola"50m is my specialty"Byrne - Nola again set PBs in all her swims and when drafted into a relay at short notice swam a great leg. Coach's pick was her PB in 50 Free !

Susie"2nd Claim"Taylor - Susie joined our club to swim some relays with us and that she did, plus a huge program including the 2km open water swim. Coach's pick was her Freestyle Leg in the relay which kept our team in 3rd. A wonderful effort.

Jason"I am sure these 10 year old speedos will still fit" Davey - On a truly limited preparation which consisted of tonsillitis and gastro, Jase still produced some very quick times and was a key member of the male relay teams. Coach's pick was his lead off leg in the IM relay 31.8 for 50 back....pretty quick !

Graeme"Give me back the cap or you are dead" Pow - GP had a massive meet, which included the 800 and 400 Free. He topped this off nicely with a PB in the 200 Free which also gets the coach's pick !

Tom"Do i really have to do Breastroke"Lee - Yes you do and he did- THANK YOU :-). In 2 relays actually and also a very solid individual 50m Free. Coach's pick was his Free leg in the Mens 4x50 Free Relay - a fantastic 28.1.

Steve"What day is it?"Wills - Where do i start Steve-O?....I know 2 awesome swims - 31.5 for his 50 Free and an incredibly gutsy 2.38 for his 200 Free - can't split 'em so they both get the coach's pick. Top stuff!

Steve"No the other one" Jakubans - 2 PBs. 50 and 100 Free....Coach's pick was 100 Free as he followed my pre-race instructions to the letter !

Mark"I am STILL going to belt someone" Davey - Suprised himself i think with some very quick swims. Coach's highlight was his 100 Fly,1.05 on the wall was a fantastic swim. Anchored the mens 4x50 Free and IM relays.

Damien"Beer Goggles" Eyre - Happy with all his swims except the 800 Free but will discuss this more in Nationals Part 2 !

So from a swimming perspective it was a very successful meet. The final results are not available yet but in the interim you can look here -

http://www.portal.aussi.org.au/meets/index.php?EventId=152009&filter=*&split=no&js=on


Stay tuned for Part 2....No names will be changed to protect the innocent !

Yours in Frozen Raspberry Staminade

Damo

Last Barbecue of the Summer

All good things must come to an end ... but only for a short time. Who could guess that spending such a fabulous and warm evening in the Leisureplex courtyard would be our final social barbecue for the summer? With evenings like these, we could keep barbecuing for months. After a huge turn out at training, those that were staying for the barbecue moved outside to be greeted by plenty of meat sizzling on the barbecue plates, lots of delicious salads, and some of the most enticing looking desserts that we have ever seen.

Here is everyone waiting to be served.

One of our club's relay teams set two state records at the last BACC carnival of 2010 at the Tuart College short course pool. The team of Damien Eyre, Mark Davey, Tammy Souster and Tara Tubb set a state record in the 4 x 25m Medley Relay as well as a state record in the 4 x 25m Freestyle Relay. That is a massive achievement in anyone's language. Those of us that watched them in action last year could tell that the swimming was fairly special as they were absolutely motoring along. A state record for their efforts is just reward. Congratulations to all of you! Shown here are Mark and Damo with their certificates.

Thanks to Barbara for organising all the food for the barbecue and to Kevin and Damo for their fantastic cooking. Many thanks to Hilary for organising the event.

Our social calendar will move on to different functions over the winter months and back outdoors to the barbecue area later in the year.

Fabulous Food at Severino's - Non c'è problema!

• Pizza? - tick


• Pasta? - tick


• Salads? - tick


• Sorbet and gelato? - tick


• Italian coffee? - tick

Severino's is the ideal place for quality Italian dining in Fremantle. The food is traditional Italian cooked to perfection in the family kitchen and delivered unobtrusively to the table. For $30 a head, this has to be the best value in town for top cuisine.

Thanks to Hilary for organising the function. All 14 of us enjoyed the evening!

Random breath testing on High Street on the way home? - tick

New Pool, New Caps, New Attitude !

Well what a beautiful day it was, bright and sunny. Picked up fellow Redfins Malira and Hilary and we were off to Craigie Leisure Centre for what was shaping up to be a great day of swimming. Well the swimming was great and the pool was lovely,however, for all concerned it was somewhat "bittersweet".

Cue the music - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz48hdB_g2s

If ever there was a time to pull out THE GOOD, THE BAD and THE UGLY it is today.....So grab whatever makes you feel good, sit back and relax because here it comes - and it's gonna be a long one !

THE GOOD

• The pool - outdoor and only a couple of years old. New starting blocks and plenty of shade for spectators
• The swimming. Let's get to it - 13 Mighty Redfins attended today's gala. Awesome.
  
• Tammy's 200IM was a great swim - well paced and even better was she only had to call me once for directions ...love your work Tam.
• Nadine SLASHED 10 secs off her 200 Free time...going from 3.15 to an awesome 3.05 today. Her first 100 looked great, unfortunately mother nature called your correspondent rather urgently so i missed the last 100. However, judging from her post race nap Nadine gave it everything.
• Pauline swam in her first gala for the club. Overcoming a dodgy shoulder her 100 breast looked oh so elegant.
  
• Barbara continues to swim very well despite telling herself that she is getting old(er). An excellent 200 free
• Who says swimming is a non-contact sport. Malira unfortunately injured her groin whilst warming up and was unable to swim in her pet event the 100 breast. Great swims in a couple of 50's indicated that her times are indeed coming down.....even better news was that it only hurt to close her legs....
• GP is preparing nicely for nationals. His 100 Breast was great and he looked very sharp in his 50 free.
• Hilary enjoyed the day away from 4 eating machines and was very happy with her excellent 50 Free...nothing wrong with my stop watch either young lady !
• New member Nola competed in the 50 back, breast and free and after completing a boot camp session earlier in the day is hopefully sleeping soundly...Well done Nola.
• Another new member Simon competed for the first time as well today. His 200 Free was well paced and 13 secs under his entry time. Simon was also going to swim in the relays but was denied the chance (more on this later).
• Emma swam a great 100 breast and only took 4 breaths (allegedly) in her 50 Free. A special mention must go to her husband Jon. When i told him how great he was supporting his wife by attending all the galas...Jon smiled and said "Better than being stuck at home with whinging teenagers!". Thanks for the glimpse into my future Jon.
• Mark D managed to get through today without wanting to belt someone (i think). Oh he also managed a lazy 28 for his 50 fly and 27 for 50 Free.
  
• Jason "The comeback Kid" Davey cranked out an awesome 32 for his 50 back and I think (although the results are not up yet) just pipped brother Mark in the 50 free....Its ok everyone i LET him win !

THE BAD

• Cancelled relays....yes you read that right....due to technical and poor administration the carnival was running so late that they iced the relays.
  
• Your correspondent's goggles filling up COMPLETELY with water at the start of the 200 free...if you have never tried swearing underwater i can highly recommend it. It's almost as good as inhaling helium and then talking with a high pitched voice.
• The carnival running VERY late and oh hang on did i already mention that?

THE UGLY

• Folks we have a new winner today and i am basing this on the premise that it COULD have turned very ugly indeed. In their haste to get the 50 free finished by 12.30pm, the officials were simply calling everyone's name, marking them off and handing them their allocated lane tag. After calling for quiet a number of times the clearly frustrated and frazzled officials tried to get things going and call the next name only for someone to call out "BINGO".
  

There was much laughter and the culprit quickly realised his error after the daggers that were stared at him by the officials and slunk off behind me. Just as well, otherwise one Jason Davey might not have made it home today !

No results posted as yet. Will update once they appear (could be a while folks).

So again as mentioned at the start the Red Fins all swam very well and everyone's times are improving. It's great to see so much enthusiasm both in and OUT of the pool !

Yours in Sucrose
Damo

Welcome Barbecue: Monday 15 March

A balmy evening ... relaxed atmosphere ... another barbecue ...



After a solid training session in the pool, appetites were primed to enjoy the offerings of our Welcome Barbecue. Kevin has certainly got his cooking down to a fine art and food was ready as everyone stepped out of the showers.

This function was planned to welcome new members to the club for 2011 as well as those members returning to the new year. Karen welcomed everyone to the function and congratulated those people who swam in Sunday's Coogee Jetty to Jetty Swim, indicating that we are ALL champions in the water.

Just as the conditions seemed near perfect in the courtyard, a sudden gust of wind that tossed all of the serviettes up into the air and onto the ground gave a timely indication that it was probably time to pack up.

A leisurely meal and a quick pack up meant that we were all out of the Leisureplex before 9pm.

Thanks to Hilary for organising the event.

RIVERTON REDFINS READY TO GO

CUE THE MUSIC EVERYONE !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1ifJPqB218

Well this is the best kind of blog - THE UNEXPECTED BLOG

8 mighty Redfins turned up for the swim in the Coogee Jetty to Jetty Swim. The sun was shining, the water was lovely and there were no stingers !

Damo, Mark D, Nadine, GP, Barb, Hils, Tara and Simon all donned a cap for a good cause. Unfortunately Shane was a no show as after his last effort in this swim, a GRUELLING 750m swim he has retired with the title. Some swam the 1500m and some swam the 750m. It did not matter. Everyone had a go and i think they were pleasantly suprised with their efforts !

One thing that sent a wave of suspicion through the team was during the pre-race briefing when the assembled swimmers were told that fins were not allowed to be worn during the swim.

This prompted intense speculation that a certain ex-president had tried to persuade MSWA that everyone should wear fins....i am happy to report that even though there is the allegation of bribery, that nothing was uncovered during the investigation, swiftly conducted by your correspondant.

Results can be found here

http://www.cockburnmasters.org.au/previousresults.php?cID=64

Yours in very expensive BANANAS.
Damo

Play that Funky Music White Boy......

Hey i can do that....

Cue the music....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe1ScoePqVA

Well it was that sort of weekend really wasn't it folks, after getting down and then getting back up again at Hilary's "Funky 40th" on the Saturday night it was time to dust off the cobwebs and get blown away by not only the wind but some awesome swimming as well.

So as i sit here and flip a coin...............................HEADS it is....Ok time to make up some nicknames..

9 Intrepid Riverton Red Fins (you will read more about this later) arrived at Newman College in Churchlands ready for our first hit out of 2011, unfortunately Shane "Funky Trunks" Wallace had stubbed his big toe whilst refereeing a jelly wrestling match the night before so was a late scratching. However as a team we decided to pull together and try our best anyway..

Hey guess what we finished FOURTH in the overall points score with 85 points !!!! Fantastic considering there were only 9 swimmers and 14 clubs participated, so lets break it down a bit more shall we??

Results can be found here -

http://www.portal.aussi.org.au/meets/index.php?EventId=151972&filter=*&split=no&js=on

Karen "plantar fasciitis" Anderson shrugged off the disappointment of her Harley breaking down last night and not being able to warm up this morning to crank out a fantastic 50 Free....the coach was heard to mention the word "PB", however this was met with a non-committal shrug of the shoulders by Kazza and continued to brush her hair.

Nadine "Phantom" Neethling suprised even herself when she cranked out 3.18 for her 200 Free a great swim from start to finish. Nadine also managed to AGAIN keep her goggles on in her 50 backstroke.

Emma "Do you need a root canal" Dolby really enjoyed her first "gala" with us today. Em proved to herself that she could in fact swim a 50 fly quite well. Also swum an AWESOME last leg in the women's relay which pushed the team into 3rd place !

Malira"Green Thumbs" Cocking cranked out a great 3rd leg in the relay and although was slightly disappointed with her times is now a firm believer in the old adage "More is less"

Graeme"GP" Pow swum very well and after some serious carb loading the night before this Spring Chicken tore into a hectic program with gusto.

Steve "One Lung" Wills has finally succumbed to a nasty virus that tends to hit you when you work 29 hrs a day and think that sleep is for pussies. On one leg (cramps) and one lung (virus) Steve-O still managed a VERY impressive 50 Free.

Steve "Father of the Year" Jakubans - After picking up a rather tanked teenage son from a party and looking after him as he proceeded to regurgitate all and sundry, Steve rubbed the sleep from his eyes and cranked out a great 35 for his 50 Free and a great leg in the relay too. Steve can also lay claim to our new name which has already been ratified ladies and gentleman i give you the "RIVERTON RED-FINS" Apparently Red-fins are freshwater fish so my suggestion is if you ever need some advice on fresh water fishing speak to Steve.

Mark"I am going to belt someone" Davey was a tad frustrated in the warm up as he struggled to understand how many people did not understand the sign that reads "FAST LANE". Mark was also a victim of some poor planning as he finished his "leisurely" 50 back and wandered back down to the blocks for his 100 Fly ! Mark was also the fastest man in the pool today over 50 Free with 27 secs.

Damo"Is it ok if i talk about myself in the 3rd Person"Eyre thoroughly enjoyed himself today, very happy with all 3 swims.

The other exciting news was that we had a couple of winners in the raffle today a certain Club President who snaffled a 500g box of truffles, Malira no word yet on what lovely prize she chose and ME, although not present i will allegedly receive my prize tomorrow night...either a lovely cap and water bottle (lets face it i dont really need a cap) or a half eaten box of truffles :-)

Special thanks to Jon and Simon for coming along to support us. Jon also took a team photo which is posted somewhere in this blog.

Again it was a great day and even at training everyone's energy and enthusiasm is fantastic and i am looking forward to waffling on in many more blog entries this year !

Yours in Overpriced Gatorade
Damo