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The SA Country Swimming Championships have been declared a success, after being held at the brand new Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre on the weekend.

And the Mount Gambier pool has produced the goods already – with plenty of records broken and new personal best times set.

One local swimmer even qualified for a national competition at the weekend’s SA Country Swimming Championships.

Mount Gambier Swimming Club competitor Lucy Dening recorded a personal best time of 31.98 seconds in the Under 13 50-metre butterfly, qualifying her to enter the age national competition to be held on the Gold Coast in April.

Club president Nathan Stratford said Wulanda had “produced in its first event”.

“As a club we had over 49 personal bests recorded, including one very special swim which was Lucy Dening, who swam a personal best of 31.98 in her 50 metre butterfly.

“Lucy is our club’s first national swimmer for five years. That is huge for our little club and huge for Lucy and the Denings.”

Blue Lake Y Swim Club competitor Darcy Hodges received the best female swimmer 11 years and under trophy for the meet and the development trophy for best female athlete of the meet, breaking four Country Championships records.

Teammate Thomas Bignell also broke the SA Country Championship record for 18 years and over 50-metre breaststroke.

The event was hosted by the Mount Gambier Swimming Club for the first time in eight years and Stratford said it was enormously successful.

“It went amazingly well, the Mount turned the weather on with consecutive days of sunshine and we had lots of fantastic reports from all the visitors in regards to the facility not just Wulanda itself, but how pretty the town looked and how neat and tidy it was,” he said.

“A lot of the visitors actually stayed a couple of days before and after the competition, just to just to have a bit of a relax as well, which has been great.”

Stratford said the four-day event attracted more than 430 competitors from across country SA and Victoria.

“I think each day we had 600-plus spectators and family and officials come through the gates,” he said.

“I think we averaged about 900 consistently each day through the through the gates.

“We were not able to record the numbers of general public, but from the feedback we got they enjoyed the food village we had set up … and watch the racing for the first time and understand what swimming competitions are all about.

“We worked out the pool is officially a fast pool and we’re excited by that.

“As a club we have claimed it as the greatest country championships ever.”

Stratford said one of the event highlights was the attendance of Olympic swimmer Madi Wilson, who officially opened the competition and was an ambassador.

“She was amazingly gracious with her time spent with the kids for signings, photos and those sorts of things and showing them her medals,” he said.

“Madi then spent 25-30 minutes with our club talking to the kids about her journey.

“Her time spent with those kids has provided real inspiration and a couple of those kids made comments they have never really had a role model before but feel like she would be a great role model.”

Stratford said the club had been overwhelmed by the feedback for not only Wulanda, but the championships.

“We had a lot of great comments, not just about the facility, but also about how the Mount Gambier Swimming Club put it all together and made the event welcoming.

“We had swim clubs that had not been able to compete for nearly two years during COVID and it was one of their first major meets back in the swimming circuit.

“I just loved that fact it was friendly, yes the competition was hot but the overarching part of it was fantastic and people cannot wait to come back.”

Stratford said while next year’s championships location was yet to be announced, the Mount Gambier club had offered to host the 2025 championships.

“One of the highlights, for me, I think genuinely was the swimming itself,” he said.

“To see state-wide competition come back to Mount Gambier after eight years and for it to be such a huge success with support not just from the swimming community but the general community, who were excited.

“There were no complaints they could not use the outdoor pool because they loved the fact they could see this competition and Wulanda being used for its intended purpose.”

Courtesy of The SE Voice

Swim champs success

Mount Gambier swimmers are set to make a splash this weekend as the 2023 SA Country Swimming Championships get under way at the Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre.

More than 430 swimmers from across country South Australia and Victoria will today dive in for the first official event held at the brand-new complex.

Mount Gambier Swimming Club president Nathan Stratford is looking forward to hosting the event, the first time the Blue Lake City has held it since 2015.

The championships will feature the best regional swimmers, with competitors aged between six and 59.

Seventy-two local athletes from the Mount Gambier Swimming Club, Blue Lake Y Swimming Club, Penola, Keith and Bordertown will compete in races across the weekend.

Stratford said the club was proud to host the event for the first time in eight years.

“We were due to host in 2020 but obviously the centre was not open at that stage … we had a lot of support from Swimming SA to make sure that once the centre was open we could be the first to host it,” he said.

“We have got 435 swimmers booked in from Thursday to Sunday night, we are also doing a couple of come and trys with multi class, for those with disabilities, those who want to be part of the inclusion program

“There are 72 locals from the South East and about 40 of those will be competing in the main championship events.

“We will have heats in the morning from 8.30am to 12.30pm and then finals at night starting at 4.30pm and running til about 7.30pm.”

Stratford said the construction of Wulanda was a huge bonus for local swimmers, who were now able to train at the best SA facility outside of Adelaide.

“Having this facility for us puts us ahead of the rest of the state in regards to regional facilities,” he said.

“It also means we can host a lot more of these country and state titles type events.

“The infrastructure that is in place and still being put in place with touch pads and timing systems will put us second behind Adelaide at the SA Aquatic Leisure Centre.

“It’s a massive advantage for us.

“It will also allow us to host competitions indoors during winter where before we have not been able to do that.

“This is the best swimming facility outside of Adelaide, for a lot of our swimmers they have never swum outdoors, to come into this brand-new centre they are very excited about it.

“They are very keen to get on the diving blocks, a lot of them have done three years of swimming and not been able to do any diving training just because of the depths of the other pools we have used.

“For them what we should see the is the ability for them to massively increase in their abilities and their ability to compete at the state and hopefully get some national swimmers out of this.”

Olympic swimmer Maddie Wilson has been named as the ambassador for this year’s championships, and will officially open it today at 3.30pm.

The opening will also feature a food village, as well as Ben Hood providing musical entertainment.

“It is really important for us as we are going to close the centre down for four days so we wanted to find ways to connect with the community,” Stratford said.

“We will have a general public viewing area alongside the pool for the tournament that will allow people to watch, see the races, but also have some local tastes of our region.”

Stratford said the event’s committee had been overwhelmed with the support and generosity shown by local businesses and was pleased to welcome an enormous list of sponsors.

Many of those sponsors will be featured in the food village at the complex, while The Blok Coonawarra bar will also be open at the championships daily from 4pm – 8pm.

Mount Gambier’s Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre doors swung open to the community for its preview weekend, with more than 4000 people taking part in tours and free swimming sessions.

Staff from the City of Mount Gambier hosted hour-long tours of Wulanda, providing 2200 residents with the opportunity to learn more about the centre, what it is capable of hosting, how the community can use it, and the opportunities Wulanda provides the city with event attraction.

Over the three preview days, almost 2000 people used Wulanda’s three indoor pools, splash pad, and 50m outdoor pool. The community discovered that whether they’re learning to swim, need rehab, or a seasoned lap swimmer, there is something for everyone and all ages.

Mayor of Mount Gambier Lynette Martin said the preview weekend was a brilliant opportunity to show thousands of residents what the City of Mount Gambier has designed and built for the community.

“I spoke to many residents who expressed their excitement about Wulanda and also thanked the council for their bold vision to build a state-of-the-art facility that will benefit the community for generations,” Mayor Martin said.

“Many people who spoke to me were so passionate and proud that they live in a city that has built Wulanda, a centre with a vision to transform Mount Gambier.”

“Building Wulunda has been a long journey for the community, and for the people visiting over the preview weekend, it was obvious that their patience and trust in the council, designers, and builders have been rewarded with an incredible building.”

“Mount Gambier has never seen this level of community investment before, which will be transformative for the community.”

City of Mount Gambier CEO Sarah Philpott said the positive feedback from residents visiting Wulanda during the preview weekend was fantastic.

“It’s clear that there is incredible energy and excitement in the community now that they’ve had a chance to swim and explore the endless possibilities for sports, recreation and events,” Ms Philpott said.

“The preview weekend has allowed thousands of residents to see Wulanda up close first hand, and with the doors open for business as usual from today, we expect many more thousands to enjoy their first Summer of Wulanda.”

“There is programming available online at wulanda.com.au across fitness and aquatics, and with memberships and casual entry at affordable, benchmarked prices, we expect the centre to buzz with crowds.”

“Wulanda, meaning ‘enjoy or cherish’ in Bunganditj language, is ready and open for just that.”

Media contact: City of Mount Gambier Media and Communications Coordinator Jamie McDonald on 08 8721 2401 or media@mountgambier.sa.gov.au

The Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre project is made possible with the support of the Federal Government Regional Growth Fund and the State Government Regional Growth Fund. City of Mount Gambier received funding partner support of $350,000 from the District Council of Grant.

Last month Mount Gambier Swim Club members attended the inaugural National Country Swimming Championships in Darwin. A total of seven swimmers spent a week in Darwin, firstly acclimatising to the weather, which averaged a humid 35 degrees (when torrential rain wasn’t experienced).  

Coached by Julie Moran and Nathan Stratford, swimmers trained over several days in the lead up to the Championship meet and in between sessions relaxed at the Wave Pool, Crocosaurus Cove, Mindil Beach and Mindil Markets on sunset.

The Championships were held over four days at the Parap Swimming Pool with heats in the morning and finals in the afternoon. All swimmers performed exceptionally well over the event with a total of 23 PB’s over the four days. Results also included a total of 22 finals and 5 medals.

Day 1 saw Elijah combining with the Geelong Sharks in an exhibition swim as part of the men’s 4 x 50m freestyle relay to perform exceptionally well in their heat. Lucy, Indee, Jess and Hinako represented the club in the women’s’ 4 x 50m freestyle relay, A medley relay was also swum on the final day by Hinako (backstroke), Vaughn (breaststroke), Lucy (butterfly) and Charles (freestyle).

Highlights of the meet included:

Hinako Holman:               2^nd in 100 Backstroke

3^rd in 50 Backstroke

Vaughn Stratford:            3^rd in 50 Breaststroke

                                             3^rd in 100 Breaststroke

Lucy Dening:                     2^nd in 50 Backstroke

Charles Moore   :              9.54 second PB in 200 Backstroke placing 8^th in the finals

                                             3.67 second PB in 100 Freestyle

Finals for the swimmers and top ten placings included:

Hinako: 100BK (2^nd), 100FR (8^th), 100FLY (8^th), 50BK (3^rd)

Vaughn: 200IM (9^th), 200BR (8^th), 50BR (3^rd), 50BK (6^th), 100BR (3^rd)

Lucy: 50FR (6^th), 100BK (10^th), 100FR (7^th), 100FLY (5^th), 50BR (4^th), 50BK(2^nd), 50FLY (4^th)

Charles: 100BK (9^th), 100FLY (9^th), 200BK (8^th), 50FLY (9^th)

Indee: 50BR (8^th), 50FLY (9^th)

With the finals done and dusted, swimmers were rewarded with a day trip to the Litchfield National Park, visiting Berry Springs, Wangi Falls, Florence Falls, Buley Rockhole to relax and swim under waterfalls before an early flight home the following morning.

Congratulations to Swimming Northern Territory and all officials and volunteers on a fantastic event and a great experience in the top end! A big thank you to all the parents and coaches that assisted with the trip to give the swimmers the opportunity to swim at the championships.

The club are now looking forward to the upcoming SA Country Swimming Championships to be held locally and hosted by our club at Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre from the 5^th to 8^th of January, 2023. Swimmers are now training hard in the lead up to this major event on our swimming calendar for the upcoming summer season. If you would like to know more about the swim club, please contact either Nathan on 0427 979 238 or Julie on 0438 358 400. Free come and try sessions are offered on a regular basis throughout the term for swimmers that can swim 25m Freestyle and 25m Backstroke.

Mount Gambier Swimming Club is again celebrating the win of both the Mr Rogers Championship and Perpetual Graded Shields for the second consecutive year after having previously won the shields back in the 1970’s.

The Mount Gambier Swimming Club has continued to grow over the past 2 years  averaging over 20 swimmers at each swimming meet.

The final meet of the season was hosted by the Mount Gambier Swimming Club and held at the Penola Swimming Pool last weekend to conclude the South East Swimming Association’s summer season.  Results are based on a series of 6 meets over the summer, hosted at Keith, Bordertown and Penola and include:

SESA 2021/2022 Graded Age Medal winners

9/10 Girls

1st Paige Walters

9/10 Boys

1st Darcy Burford

11/12 Girls

1st Lucy Dening

2nd Indee Stratford

3rd Aynslee Hayman

11/12 Boys

1st Vincent Moore

2nd Alex Hitchon

13/14 Girls

1st Caitlin Hitchon

2nd Nevae Brooksby

13/14 Boys

1st Vaughn Stratford

15/16 Girls

1st Charlotte Scott

15/16 Boys

1st Elijah Stratford

17-24 Girls

1st Nikeisha Facey

SESA 2021/2022 Championship Trophy winners

9/10 Girls

1st Paige Walters

11/12 Girls

1st Lucy Dening

2nd Indee Stratford

11/12 Boys

1st Vincent Moore

2nd Alex Hitchon

13/14 Girls

Equal 1st Nevae Brooksby & Caitlin Hitchon

13/14 Boys

2nd Vaughn Stratford

15/16 Girls

1st Charlotte Scott

15/16 Boys

1st Elijah Stratford

17-24 Girls

Equal 1st Nikeisha Facey

Swimmers are keen for opportunities to qualify for the 2023 SA Country swimming Championships to be held at the Wulanda Recreaction Centre in January 2023 and will now prepare for the upcoming winter Short Course season (in 25m indoor pools).

The first meet of the winter season will be held over the border in Hamilton at the start of next term in preparation for SAPSASA swimming which has been rescheduled to early Term 2.

Mount Gambier Swim Club currently has swimmers as young as 7 years of age training with the club and welcome any new members with the ability to swim 25m Freestyle/Backstroke. The club offers a free Come and Try session and Swimming SA are also offering 4 weeks free trial membership. For further enquiries, please contact either Julie on 0438 358 400 or Nathan on 0427 979 238.