Sunday 22 June

Twenty-one Gropers fronted at Joondalup Arena early on Sunday 22 June for the annual Westcoast carnival. The fact that the weather was relatively warm and sunny augured well for an enjoyable day.

With only Lesley, Sam, Duncan and new Groper Graham brave enough to tackle the first event, the 200 Free, Claremont’s early points only trickled in (although Duncan’s 9-second PB put a smile on his face).

The 200 IM was a real Groper affair, with half the competing swimmers from Claremont – bolstering our points tally considerably. We had a number of members in this event who are not usually known for their medley prowess, who showed that they have been keeping secret talent up their sleeves!

Patrick posted a sizzling 2.43, Trish shone with a 3.27, Ali and Frank continued their impressive form from Worlds, while Dean discovered that training for a 50 Breast does not fully cover requirements for a 200 IM (although his 2.48 was pretty decent nonetheless!).

In the 100 Backstroke, more erstwhile Freestylers came out of the woodwork… Patrick again showing his versatility with a 1.19, Frank with a 1.29, Heather J with a 1.22 and Richard Hughes with a 1.56. A more seasoned backstroke campaigner – Richard Fox – posted a great time of 1.44 to win his age group.

Then came the three 50s, with many impressive swims from the Groper team… The 50 Breast saw great times from many Gropers including Heather C & Joy (our two first-timers), Gary, Bill and Peter C (winning his age group in an impressive 45.7), while Anthony and Richard J came 1^st and 3^rd in a very competitive age group – Anthony swimming less than a second slower than his Worlds time.

The 50 Fly saw Gary go faster than his Worlds swim, with a great 30.58, just pipping Anthony but not quite catching Dean. Trish broke the magic 40 barrier with a hot time of 39.12. In the 50 Free, Lesley swam a cracking 55.12, Joy was delighted with 45.02, and Elena pulled out a 31.53 in difficult circumstances (no warm-up, and a baby to look after!), just a fraction behind Sally’s 31.38.

Our relays were impressive notching up three 1^sts and two 2^nds – it was especially exciting to watch our 160+ men storm home to a strong victory with Sammy streaking down the last lap (despite the push-off start!) It wasn’t to be a fairytale ending however for the 200+ men’s team, which saw Crofty make up an enormous amount of ground but not quite catch the Westcoast team.

At the end of proceedings Claremont finished an impressive 2^nd place to the host club, but ahead of Osborne Park. Most of us then enjoyed a lovely sausage sizzle on the balcony in the sun afterwards. A great day all round!

Sally Bell

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