After months of fundraising, a squad of 24 swimmers, coaches and parents have immersed themselves in an intensive training camp at the Gold Coast Performance Centre.
The group travelled by coach to Queensland for five days and although some had to miss out due to COVID worries, they are all keen to attend next year.
The ages ranged from six to 17 years, and everyone had a wonderful experience, meeting the Australian swim coach and watching Olympians train as well as listening to encouraging talks by Kaylee McKeown – who won three gold medals and a bronze at the last Olympics – and Cody Simpson. They also saw Olympian Emily Seebohm while having lunch in the park and she was very responsive to questions and posing for photos.
Outside their intense training sessions, which included one to two sessions per day, pool training with coach John Hickey, track and field training, games, strength and stretching education, and sports nutrition, the youngsters had fun with beach trips and a great outing to the Gold Coast Aqua Park.
Team building and getting to know each other better has been an added bonus.
Swimming Gunnedah members have expressed appreciation to the community for supporting this wonderful opportunity for the local swimmers, especially during fundraising, and the golf day.
The club is already planning a return trip in about 12 months and looks forward to local support for the golf day in July.
