A talented group of athletes will make history for Shepparton Swimming Club when they head to the 2023 Australian Age Championships later this week.
Eight swimmers will take to the pool at the national competition on the Gold Coast, the highest number of participants the club has sent to the showpiece event.
Tait Peterson, Branden Wilson, Ollie Guthrie, Alick Jarvis, Madison Heywood, Stephanie Moran, Erica Shaw and Kiera Shaw will make the trip to Queensland to take part in the event from April 9-15.
Shepparton Swimming Club committee member Stuart Shaw said competing against the best young swimmers in the country was a proud achievement for the club.
“It is a chance to represent their club and their state. They are able to represent their club, their town and their state at a national level,” Shaw said.
“We have only ever had five go up before at any one time and now we have eight, that has never been done before.”
Leanne Wilson is one of the coaches at Shepparton.
She said she hoped the competitors could enjoy the opportunity to compete against Australia’s best – with more than 2000 swimmers to take to the pool.
“For most of them, it is their first time going to nationals. It will be a real eye-opener for them coming up against some really good, tough competition,” Wilson said.
“I’m hoping they can use this to learn what racing is really about and why they have trained so hard. This is their reward for training.
“They are competing against kids from across Australia that have made that qualifying time, and that time is not easy. The difference between first and 10th can be less than a second.
“It is the next level, it is very serious. I hope they can learn as much as they can, take it on board and have a goal to set for the future.”
Wilson said to be able to reach the national championships was a huge testament to the hard-working nature of the group, which has trained relentlessly even with its home pool out of action for months due to flooding last year.
“They train five to six times a week. They train before school, they train after school ― it is a very disciplined sport.
“To not be able to do that, it affected everybody. All of a sudden they couldn’t do that because of the floods. They only got back into the 50m pool in the middle of February.
“They train five to six times a week. They train before school, they train after school – it is a very disciplined sport,” she said.
“To not be able to do that, it affected everybody. All of a sudden they couldn’t do that because of the floods. They only got back into the 50m pool in the middle of February.
“They have done that from the training that we have been able to give them travelling around the countryside to try and find a pool to train in.
“It is too their credit. They know what they want, and they are prepared to put the work in to make it happen.”
As a further example of their hard work and dedication to the sport, the athletes held a sausage sizzle to raise funds to make the trip.
On top of that, the swimmers have also received generous support from Adornatos Sand and Gravel, Joseph Iaria Concreting and Preston’s Turf and Garden.