Swimming Summer Sport
T
he 2003 swimming season presented itself as a major challenge from the outset. The long-awaited start to our new swimming pool began with the demolition of the College 25 metre pool during the Christmas school holidays. This meant we went into the swimming season without a pool to train in, a daunting obstacle for swimmers given the quality of the PSA swimming competition. As a result of the pool demolition, our swimmers, apart from those who train outside the school with other clubs, were to depend on the fitness gained through water polo training. This resulted in our swimmers training two sessions per week as opposed to the normal four to five sessions that are required for members of the College swim team. All Year Eight swimmers were bussed down to Somerset pool during week one of the school year so that we could identify possible representatives for the Interschool Carnivals that were swum during weeks six and seven. The performances of the Year Eight swimmers on the day, augers well for our team in future years. Many swimmers produced very competitive times in all strokes. The most pleasing aspect of the trials was the depth that this year group displayed. Week three saw us break from tradition and hold the College Championships during the day. This resulted in a greater level of participation from our students, and as a result, made the selection process for picking our Quads and Inters teams that much easier.
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Although our swimmers were not as prepared as they normally would be for the two major meets of the season, they all acquitted themselves admirably. The senior swimmers, led by Team Captain, Peter Trend, set a standard for endeavour that was matched by the efforts of all swimmers in the team. Our waterpolo players faced tough opposition throughout the season and showed that, with a little more training, they will be forces in the competition in the coming years. Many Year Eights opted to play water polo, and now that they have a season’s experience, should go on and provide a good base of players to select from. The appointment of Mr Charlie Liggins to the staff has provided us a quality coach who will be able to work with both junior and senior teams. The other coaching staff will benefit greatly from Mr Liggins’ appointment and in time, pass his knowledge and experience on to our players. Our swimmers and waterpolo players will benefit from our new aquatic facility that will meet the needs of our teams for many years to come. We now boast the best facility of any school in the state and can look forward to offering quality coaching and competition for both our swimmers and all members of the College community. Peter Duckett Coordinator of Aquatics
SWIMMING TEAM Back row: Thomas Cox, Carl Hodson-Thomas, Michael Page, Christopher Ravat, Bryce Willday, Thomas Willday, Michael Sheridan, Benjamin Keenan-Smith, Michael Van De Klashorst, Matthew Stockton, Marc Haynes, Alexander Lee, Jacob Foley, Alexander Meegan 5th row: Robert Morgan, Stephen Oswald, James Thompson, Jourdan Kestel, Thomas Waddell, Philip Oddie, Mark Fay, Steven Rimmer, Gianni Bei, Daniel Steffanoni, Michael Bastow, Preston O’Keefe, Scott Bettridge, Ronan Fahey 4th row: Desmond Yeo, Justin Naidu, Thomas Hood, Brendan Foley, Brennan Cummusky, David Napier, Giles Graham, Jeremy McClure, Matthew Pitcher, Bohdan Dowsing, Matthew Crabtree, Simon Whitfield, Aaron O’Connor 3rd row: Marcus Carter, Jarrhan Jacky, Benjamin Adams, Shaun Coyne, Thomas Rose, Perry Colyer, Matthew Birrell, Benjamin Russell, Daniel O’Connell, Sean Robson, Tom Gryta, David Graham, Justin Russell, Patrick McGinnity 2nd row: James Grierson, Bradley Parnham, Jack Goodrick, Joseph Hall, Ryan Taylor, James Embley, Sheldon Waddell, Dane Ivicevic, Timothy Quinlan, Luke McKenzie, Brenton Bush, Benjamin Norman Front row: Eric Preedy, Aaron Jenkins, Gregory Stockton, Liam Curran (Vice Captain), Peter Trend (Captain), Len Whitfield (Vice Captain), Mr P Duckett (Coach), Darryl Naidu, Dean Foley, Luke Bonnett, Matthew Bowen Absent: Simon Brown, Bradley Shaw, Rowan Cackett, Damien Harvey, James Dean, Matthew Longman, William Brock
