Monday 12 March 2012

Youth Sports Weekend: Swimming Speedo Sprints Finals

This weekend we traveled to Sydney for the Speedo Sprint Finals; A NSW state competition where the best 3 swimmers from each district came together for a day of competition at Sydney Olympic Park. The venue where the Olympic games were swum in 2000 and Ian Thorpe broke the world 400m freestyle record.

Flash was so excited about going, we literally couldn’t stop her from jumping up and down.  I was afraid she was going to exhaust herself with excitement and anticipation!!

Early that morning she proudly wore her ACT uniform and we drove nervously to SOPAC in the cold and quiet of the early morning.

But the pool was alive!!

The venue was simply a gigantic space, with so many people!! Just to be there and experience the atmosphere of such a competition was amazing!

I was so proud of my daughter. She showed no sign of nerves (but I knew they were there) as she went off to complete her warm-up in her new team swimming cap. She battled the absolute chaos of the marshalling area when the poor race official was swamped by 70 excited and anxious 8 year old girls in their first ever state competition.

Flash stood up on that diving block, dived in and swam her little heart out. I’m not sure I could have done that at 8 years old.

The competition itself was dominated by the Sydney Metropolitan Clubs. I’m not really sure of the reason for this, but the city clubs definitely dominated in the medals in every age group. The Sprint 50m events are not Flashes strength , but she swam really well in desperately close races (just compare some of the times) to win a couple of her heats. When the overall times were calculated Flash fininshed 11th, 12th, 16th and 24th in her events.

Flash swam four personal best times and is getting faster at every meet! She has come such a long way. This time last year, she was still in learn-to-swim lessons in the 20m baby pool!! I can't wait to see what the next year will bring!

After the races, Flash and her friend celebrated by running through the fountains at SOPAC with smiles from ear-to-ear!

The day was long. exhausting and nerve wracking…and I didn’t even swim! It was a fabulous experience though, and one that we will remember.






Has your child been involved in a youth sport this weekend? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below, or on the SportyMummy  facebook page. You can also link the URL of your blog post to the linky tool below. 

One of my aims for this little SportyMummy blog, is to develop a Youth Sports community where parents can support, encourage and motivate each other to support their children’s participation in youth sports. If your children have participated in a youth sport or an active pursuit, you can link up your post with the linky below and share the fun!


Usually I aim to have a Youth Sports post up every Sunday, but has we arrived home from Sydney yesterday, I am a little late and blogging on Tuesday....and you know what that means!


I'm linking up with Jess at Diary of a SAHM for #IBOT (I blog on Tuesdays) pop over and read some fantastic Tuesday posts!




23 comments:

  1. I can't wait until the kids are into proper sport. Peanut is already a runner, we bought her some free runners and can't get her out of them. She's got some serious speed, too, I have high hopes. I'm hoping she'll take after her mummy ;) Of course, Mr A is hoping she will be a water polo champion like he is.... We'll see!

    I didn't realize you were an ACT girl too!

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  2. ...but of course, now I look at it, your background photo looks remarkably like the AIS track... I should have twigged :)

    And congratulations to Flash! If she keeps improving at this rate she'll be in the Olympics by 2016.

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    1. Thanks!! You picked it :) the background photo is from the AIS track!! I came to Canberra 20 years ago to start Uni...and I'm still here!

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  3. Hihi! Thanks for stopping by my blog! =) Great to meet new blogger friends! And wow your girl sure is a great swimmer and I'm sure she'll continue to excel! Me and my hubby met through sports too and we have sports weekends with our girl though she can't hold the rackets well but she can chase after the balls. =p Be in touch!

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    1. Hi there! Thanks so much for your fantastic comment and for following my blog :)I think it's cool you met your hubby through sports....I'll be paying more attention to the boys in my daughters sports from now on! :)

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  4. That's really great! Well done Flash!

    I competed in swim competitions since young and some of my best mates are those I met through swimming. I remember swim competitions like the one you wrote about.. The exhilaration you get from breaking your PB is amazing :)

    Ai @ Sakura Haruka

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    1. Thanks Ai! I didn't know you were a swimmer! I'm so glad to hear that you made some great friendships swimming, because that's part of the reason I encourage the kids to do their sports!

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  5. Wow! Well done!
    Congratulations on all those PB's and an amazing year of progress.
    :-) x

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    1. Thanks so much! I didn't realize that all her swimming has occurred in less than a year until I wrote that post!

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  6. That's awesome that she just jumped in and gave it a go. My niece does a lot of swimming competions in Melbourne, but I have no idea to be honest how fast she swims.
    I think it's fantastic she made the team! Onya Flash!

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    1. Thanks Jess! I think she was very brave!! In the end I don't think it really matters how fast you swim...it's just getting in there and doing it! That's what really counts!

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  7. Yay!! Well done Flash.
    I could not even do anything like that now, let alone when I was a kid! You have every reason to be proud.

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  8. That is awesome. We are not a sporty family - we still have whinges some weeks about gymnastics class because it can be so tiring (2 hrs) after a long week of school. My kids inherited their parents lack of team sport enthusiasm so far - not sure if we should try something like netball?? I do wish I had joined in a team at some point myself.

    Deb @ home life simplified

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    1. Thanks for your comment Deb! I guess the trick is to find something that your children really enjoy...being in a team with friends is a good start I think! Dance and martial arts can be fun too!

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  9. Wow what an incredible achievement! We've been focussing on swimming this year and changing swim schools this term has made a big difference. I hope to one day experience days like you just had. Fantastic!

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    1. Thanks so much Misha! I wish you all the best with your children's swimming! We have really enjoyed our swimming this year!

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  10. Look at those grins! I'm looking forward to contributing to Youth Sports Weekend when Ashleigh is older :)

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  11. What a huge effort by your little girl! I really am inspired by everything you do for your sporty kids :)

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    1. Thanks so much Robyn! what a lovely thing to say...that's exactly what I hoped for when I started this blog! Thankyou :)

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  12. That is so exciting! Welcome to the wonderful world of swimming. So many ups and downs but I wouldn't trade it for the world. My youngest is almost 8 and I love your stories from around the globe.

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    1. Thanks so much!! I love reading about your families adventures in the pool as well!! :)

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