Click here to access the rest of the gallery (195 images in total).

Claremont had a wonderfully successful meet at Nationals.  As well as clearly winning the overall pointscore, we were awarded 3 relay trophies for best performance across 3 different relay age groups.

Every single swimmer played a huge part in our win.  I am almost reluctant to forward this medal tally, as it is certainly not just the medal winners who deserve accolades – we had another 20 swimmers who did not win individual medals who swam fabulously… in fact, a number of these swimmers were the ones who made the greatest leaps in terms of PBs.  It was lovely to see that many of these swimmers did come away with relay medals. Club Captain Nicky Corsbie will be looking at all our swimmers’ results and awarding a Male and Female Groper of the Meetin due course!!!

Anyway… for the stat-heads amongst you, here are our amazing results:

Total medals: 121, made up of total individual medals: 101 (including OWS), and total relay medals: 20

Perc Edwards: 9 medals – 8 Gold, 1 Silver
Graham Croft: 6 medals – 6 Gold
Paul Blackbeard: 8 medals – 5 Gold, 3 Silver
Adrian Davini: 5 medals – 5 Gold
Paul Vivers: 9 medals – 4 Gold, 4 Silver, 1 Bronze
Anthony Dunne: 5 medals – 4 Gold, 1 Silver
Carolyn Gorrick: 5 medals – 4 Gold, 1 Silver
Sally Stanford: 4 medals – 3 Gold, 1 Silver
Nicky Corsbie: 6 medals – 3 Gold, 3 Bronze
Sally Bell: 9 medals – 2 Gold, 5 Silver, 2 Bronze
Barrie Eves: 6 medals – 2 Gold, 1 Silver, 3 Bronze
Dean Stockwell: 4 medals – 2 Gold, 2 Silver
Stephanie Berghofer: 3 medals – 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Trish Burton: 4 medals – 2 Silver, 2 Bronze
Jenny Williams: 3 medals – 2 Silver, 1 Bronze
Chris Twomey: 4 medals – 1 Silver, 3 Bronze
Charlotte Stone: 1 medal – 1 Silver
Bastiaan de Boer: 1 medal – 1 Silver
Mark Paull: 2 medals – 2 Bronze
Jenni Vile: 2 medals – 2 Bronze
Lynette Quinlivan: 2 medals – 2 Bronze
Graham Senders: 1 medal – 1 Bronze
Stuart Gray: 1 medal – 1 Bronze
Glenn Morrison: 1 medal – 1 Bronze

Relay medals: 9 Gold, 8 Silver, 3 Bronze – although there is one of our teams (240-279 Mens Medley) which was omitted from the results andmay have got a medal… we are following this up.

Individual National Records: Carolyn Gorrick: 3 (100 Free, 200 IM, 50 Back) – congratulations Carolyn!  No doubt there were a number of individual State records as well, however it is a very time consuming process to work this out (matching up event results with the Results Portal for every single event in every age group!!!).  We will celebrate those records when we present your certificates in due course!

Relay National Records: 2 (200-239 Mixed Medley, 200-239 Womens Medley)

Relay State Records: 6 (200-239 Mixed Free, 120-159 Mixed Medley,
200-239 Mixed Medley, 200-239 Womens Free, 200-239 Mixed Medley, 200-239 Mens Free)

What can one say??? It’s just an incredible effort from all swimmers. CONGRATULATIONS!

Sal B

Nationals Relay Results and Splits

Competitors in Australia’s oldest open water swimming race will contest three separate races over two distances;

• The all NEW 1.6km Xstrata Nickel Dash Charity Team Swim for teams of four
• The 1.6km Xstrata Nickel Dash for solos
• The historic 4km solo Xstrata Nickel Swim Thru Perth (including “Swim With The Champ”)

Claremont Masters is proud to be able to donate part-proceeds from the 2011 Xstrata Nickel Swim Thru Perth to The Paraplegic-Quadriplegic Association of WA.

The Swim Thru Perth is an Appealathon project.

Pre-race registrations for the 2011 Xstrata Nickel Swim Thru Perth are now closed.  There will be strictly limited late entry spots available for both the 1.6km and 4km events on the day at a cost of $40 per person.  Registrations will be open from 7.30am – 8.30am at the UWA Water Sports Complex, Hackett Dr, Crawley.

If you have not been directed to the swim’s main page, please go to:

http://www.claremontmasters.org/swim-thru-perth/2011/index.html

Not much sleep was had by me the newbie, but surprisingly also from the seasoned competitors. A feeling of gut wrenching anxiety was beginning to take hold (a feeling I might add that lasted for 4 days solid!) A feeling which surprisingly became a comfort as I knew an event was coming up soon and it was time to overcome my fears! Then it was time…my first event, the 25m Backstroke. I was terrified. My stomach was churning. I thought I was going to be sick. But then it was over in a flash! I slipped at the start, and stuffed up my final stroke but I had made it! What a buzz! I felt like I had climbed Mt Everest and made it back down alive! My bathers didn’t fall off and I didn’t make a fool of myself in front of all those people! Next came the 100m Individual Medley. Oh my God! All I could think of was the order… Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Freestyle… don’t get it wrong! Seconds to go… butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, free… Go!! Once you hit that water, it all happens so quickly you don’t even have time to think about anything let alone the order, you just do it. I can just see Frank nodding his head saying “I told you so!”.

And so it continued… Freestyle, breaststroke backstroke and butterfly in every combination you can think of. With 14 of us Gropers and our adopted Groper Eleanor Parsons from Stadium Snappers,and Jill Woodworth a former Groper, there was never very long before you were screaming at the top of your lungs for one of your teammates and you wouldn’t stop until they acknowledged you from the starters blocks. Yes they can hear you! It didn’t take long before the trepidation I had felt at not really knowing anyone disappeared. The incredible amount of support and camaraderie between the team was unbelievable, and the sheer joy and exhilaration of competing was shared by all. The fact that it didn’t matter where you came (which was lucky for me!) and that the enthusiasm and support was unwavering was intoxicating. I may not have won my heat, but it didn’t matter. The fact I’d done a PB however was celebrated with genuine support, encouragement and excitement. You see, we were surrounded by 563 swimmers of all ages and sizes (and some interesting swimming costumes i.e. the purple leopard print bathers on a rather larger woman that I think were beyond their use by date!) who were there to swim their hearts out, not only for World Records and National Records, but just to feel the water on your skin and the surge of adrenalin at the starters gun. Every nerve ending was tingling, muscles were twitching and you knew you were alive, very alive! What a buzz! Everyone needs to feel this alive at some time. It is exhilarating and exhausting all at once. I want more and feel like I am bursting with news that I want to tell everyone… hence this essay that was only meant to be a paragraph.

It is however the bonds that have been forged and the friendships that have evolved that has been the most rewarding part of this trip for me. I have laughed myself silly, to the point of exhaustion and pain (ie the spider in the maxi-taxi with Anthony and Perc to the rescue, and the ongoing debate as to who or what ‘Myrtle” might be!). I have pushed my body hard and it has responded (thank you Frank, Richard and Elena) and I can’t wait for the next comp. Roll on the State Titles in 3 weeks! What a transformation.

Bottom line, I think I finally get what this is all about… amazing people doing amazing things all the while encouraging you along for the ride. Claremont Masters is an amazing club because of the people who proudly wear its name on their sleeves and caps. When you see people like Perc Edwards at the age of 85 and Richard Hughes standing on their feet officiating all day, then competing in their own races and then coming out and doing pb’s, it blows you away. Their dedication is phenomenal and awe-inspiring. How could you not want to be a part of that. I could spend all day listing all the things that people have done so I have chosen a select few…

Gary and Julie for organising everyone , feeding us and generally looking after us. Nicky for organising the amazing Relay teams that blitzed the field and everything else behind the scenes that I can’t even begin to fathom. Christine, Paul and Linda for welcoming us into their home away from home for dinner and just being so supportive and gorgeous (you too Paul!) Richard for all his tips and encouragement (and healthy rivalry… roll on the States!) and Roxanne for her contagious laughter. Ray for his genuine smile and Lynn for being so gorgeous and sharing her stories about potato mashers! Pip for making sure we had done our warm-up before our events and being a constant motivator. Trish for being the instigator to getting me down to the pool 1 year ago and for making me laugh so hard I couldn’t breathe and for being someone I am honoured and humbled to call my friend. Crofty, Perc, Anthony and Bastiaan for being our hunky next door neighbours, ready to help out or just have a laugh. On a personal note to Bastiaan, Anthony and Trish for sharing with me a moment in time (make that 2) that I will never ever forget as part of their relay team (and a few medals to go with it!). If only you could bottle those feelings! Sally for an amazing swag of medals even though she didn’t get any sleep, yet had a smile on her face throughout. Last but not least, Eleanor our adopted Groper. What a gorgeous lady who was so humble in her achievements and a delight to meet and share an apartment with. Another personal note… a big thankyou to my amazing husband John for giving me the time and space to fulfil that crazy idea that I might be able to go to the Nationals by taking a week off work to look after my 3 beautiful boys whilst I followed my Nationals dream and achieved my goal!

I was proud to call myself a Groper and to encourage people to come to the Nationals in Perth next year. I will forever remember the sight of a 70yr old-ish lady jumping up and down screaming encouragement to her also 70yr old-ish team-mate as she swam the final leg of their relay. In front of a packed stadium, her enthusiasm and encouragement to spur on her team-mate brought a tear to my eye. They didn’t win or even get a medal but they won me. I want to be that lady in 20, 30 or 40yrs time still swimming and screaming and yelling and not being ashamed to walk the pool deck in bathers. They were fit, healthy, happy and intoxicatingly alive! What more could you ask for. What a way to live your life. Bring it on!

Orla Flecker

MEDIA RELEASE

PERFECT SUMMER CONDITIONS FOR SWAN RIVER RACE

Claremont Masters Swimming Club was the proud organiser of Australia’s oldest open water swimming race, the 91^st 2010 Xstrata Nickel Swim Thru Perth held on Sunday 17^th January in the picturesque Swan River. In addition to the traditional 4km race starting at Barrack St, swimmers also took to the water in the 2.2km Xstrata Nickel Dash from the Old Swan Brewery with all swimmers finishing on the banks of Matilda Bay in front of the UWA Water Sports Complex.

Excellent weather and fast swimming conditions greeted the field of 180 swimmers aged from 11 to 79 years of age with Rhys Mainstone (aged 19) taking out line honours for the fourth year in the 4km event in the quick time of 43:24 minutes, followed by Jason Evans (20) in 44:38 and Tim Hewitt (36) in 44:53. The first female, for her 7^th win in this event, was Melissa Benson (aged 26) in a time of 45:08 ahead of Jenna Ward (17) in 49:11. Third female was Jaime Bowler in 49.20. Fourteen-year-old Dino Kapac was awarded the Ron Grannery Trophy for the fastest swimmer 14 years and under crossing the line in a time of 51.38.

The 2.2km Xstrata Nickel Dash featured both solo and team swimmers with the “Claremont Masters” team of Gary Bradley, Mark Barlow, Martin Lodge and Ben Bauert recording the lowest combined time. Roury Zitman (19) posted a time of 31:52 for the 2.2km course to take the first male overall and Bianca Russell (12) comfortably won the first female prize in a time of 31:56.

Event Patron, Shelley Taylor-Smith took to the water in the 4km swim accompanying the winner of the Swim With The Champ competition, Richard Hughes (47). Richard was cheered on by Shelley for the duration of the race and said, “Shelley’s encouragement resulted in my fastest Swim Thru Perth ever!”. Richard completed the course in a time of 1:16:04.

A post-race BBQ of Mt Barker Free Range Chicken Sausages held under the trees of the Matilda Bay Reserve was enjoyed by the competitors and spectators. As part of Claremont Masters Swimming Club’s commitment to contribute to the community, proceeds from the raffle and BBQ will be donated to The Paraplegic-Quadriplegic Association of WA in response to the serious spinal injury suffered by a much-loved club member.

Claremont Masters Swimming Club would like to thank all the competitors, spectators and our generous event sponsors, Xstrata Nickel, Aqua Shop, UWA Sports and Coventrys for helping to make the 2010 Xstrata Nickel Swim Thru Perth an overwhelming success and a great community event.

Results for each event are available below:

4km Race

Results – 4km – Ranked

Results – Fastest Male 4km

Results – Fastest Male 4km – Age Group

Results – Fastest Female 4km

Results – Fastest Female 4km – Age Group

2.2km Xstrata Nickel Dash

Results – 2.2km – Ranked

Results – Fastest Overall 2.2km

Results – Fastest Male 2.2km – Age Group

Results – Fastest Female 2.2km – Age Group