Benalla Swimming Club’s girls relay team, pictured with coach Gary and coach Liz, shaved more than half a second off their qualifying time at the weekend. Photos: Benalla Swimming Club.
The best of the best from regional areas around the state went head to head in the pool at the Victorian Long Course Country Swimming Championships in Geelong at the weekend, and Benalla Swimming Club’s contingent was right in the mix.
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Diving off the blocks at the Kardinia Aquatic Centre, the 10-strong group from the Rose City went toe-to-toe with bigger clubs such as Geelong and Bendigo, holding their own to record a number of strong performances.
Benalla Swimming Club president Kathryn De Fazio said the group were exceptional in the face of ordinary weather conditions which made the going tough in the outdoor pool, representing the club admirably against some stiff competition.
“It went really well, they performed really well for a small country club,” she said.
“It was a really tough pool, conditions wise, on Friday and Saturday, it was so windy, and that doesn't make it easy to swim diving against a head wind, so that was tough… in terms of a little regional country club, we did really well.”
The Benalla boys relay team were among the strong performers at the country championships, dropping huge chunks off their qualifying times.
The standout performer was Tilly De Fazio, nabbing two medals in her individual events in the female 12-year-old division, including an astounding 8.4 second personal best in the 100m butterfly, while Lukas Popelier performed strongly too, making the final of the boys 11 and under 50m freestyle, swimming ninth.
In the boys 12 and under 4x50m medley relay, the Benalla team took 1.83 seconds off their qualifying time, which they bettered in the 4x50m freestyle relay, knocking 2.13 seconds off, while the girls 14 and under 4x50m medley squad shaved off more than half a second, dropping their qualifying time by 0.67 seconds.
“Tilly (De Fazio) was the only medallist, (she came) second in the 100m freestyle and third in the 100m butterfly,” De Fazio said.
“That was pretty amazing because she's only swum the 100m butterfly, that would have been her third or fourth time to actually swim it, and she dropped nearly eight seconds, I think, from the last time she swam it, so that was pretty amazing.
“We had another boy, Lukas Popelier, he also made the 50m freestyle final, so that was amazing, he’s 10 nearly 11, so a huge achievement.
“Everybody swam really well, and the boys relay teams managed to drop their entry times, so they were all amazing.”
Tilly Jones glides through the water during the 13-year-old girls 200m individual medley.
It caps a huge six weeks of competition for the club, which has seen plenty of individual and teams goals achieved at various high-level meetings, including the Victorian Long Course Championships or Victorian State Sprint Championships at MSAC in Melbourne last December.
Whatever the focus, though, the weekend’s competition allowed for the squad to further build camaraderie, De Fazio said, with the group finding plenty of time to have fun inbetween the serious swimming.
“Most of our kids probably had a bit of a break over Christmas,” she said.
“We did keep training over the Christmas holidays, which was a bit of a new initiative, but as most of us get away, the training actually probably tapered off a little bit.
“I think for some kids, the focus was really on (the country championships) because that was their goal, to make those qualifying times.
“Some of our other swimmers, like Sophie (McKenzie), Tilly (De Fazio), Tilly Jones and ‘Kezzy’ (Keziah Wolfe), they probably were focussed a little bit more on the state sprints, which was before Christmas, so for some of our swimmers, ‘countries’ is a lot more relaxing and fun.
Nick Osborne in action during the breaststroke leg of the under-12 boys 4x50m medley relay.
“(On Sunday) just before the relays they were all down at the Geelong Foreshore, jumping off the high towers, so it was good fun, and it's really a chance to go away together with their clubmates and just build a bit more camaraderie (and) do a few fun things together.”
With the hectic schedule of swimming beginning to wind down, focus now turns to the Victorian Country All Junior Competition in March, with swimmers competing to represent the Goulburn Valley district at MSAC.
Tilly De Fazio claimed third place in the girls 12-year-old 100m butterfly final.
“The next goal, I think, for some of these competitive swimmers is to represent our district, which is district 19, at the All Juniors in March, and then the short course season starts soon (after),” De Fazio said.
“But the next major goal is the All Juniors, where you qualify to represent the district in a statewide competition at MSAC.”
