By Dongyun Kwon
Young Yarra Valley swimmers represented their schools in a swimming competition.
On Monday 3 March, 11 Healesville Swimming Club (HSC) members, from Healesville, St Brigid’s and Mt Evelyn Primary Schools, and Billanook and Edinburgh Colleges, competed with other talented swimmers in the Yarra Primary Division Carnival to be entitled to enter the regional competition.
HSC president Glenn Riley said it was a great experience for young swimmers where they could race against kids from advanced clubs.
“It gets them to see what the talent is like outside of the local area,” he said.
“However, it doesn’t intimidate them. They’re all excited to be there, and when they get the result, it pays off.
“The individual events are great but when they compete in a relay, they can learn teamwork. They want to perform for their club mates. They seem to put in extra effort for their team.”
To make it through to the division round, students had to take first or second place in their school swimming carnival, and then district competition.
Yarra Primary Division Carnival invited first or second place winners in each district competition.
Yarra Primary Division consists of seven districts; Healesville, Lilydale, Montrose, Mooroolbark, Silvan, Wandin, and Warburton.
10 of the Healesville club’s swimmers succeeded in getting a ticket to the regional round, which is the largest number of club members going to that stage in recent years.
The president said the club was happy with the result.
“We had an entrance in all of the races; 50m freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and two relays, a freestyle relay and a medley relay,” Mr Riley said.
“It’s an indication of the quality of the training that we’re delivering.
“At our squads and club nights, we’re seeing an improvement every time. We award the kids for personal bests and keep a tally of those.”
HSC has been trying to develop its services by strengthening the coaching staff along with upgrading its website.
The club received $1000 through the 2023-24 Sporting Club Grants Program.
With the funds, the HSC developed a new website to engage new members and make it easier for members to book competitions and see their results.
The website was launched a few weeks ago, healesvilleswimmingclub.com.au
Two assistant coaches gained their coach accreditation to help the head coach in offering more sessions and supporting the growth of the swimmers.
“We train at Jack Hort Memorial Community Pool, the 25m heated pool, all year round,” Mr Riley said.
“We run squads for days a week with three qualified coaches.
“We have three levels of squads from junior to intermediate and advanced.”
