Sports Update 

State swimming, EMR/State Diving

SPORTING EXCELLENCE - State Swimming Championships

The SSV State Swimming Championships were held at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre on Friday the 19th of April. It was a long day for our mighty team of four as the relay team members Amelia R, Lucy W and Ella I cheered on teammate Cherise N in her individual events of the 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle.

Cherise placed 3rd in the U20F 50m butterfly event and 4th place in the 50m freestyle event – a fantastic individual achievement from a person who has not competitively swam for a club in a number of years.

After Cherise’s individual races the team had a lengthy 3 hour wait ahead of them prior to their freestyle relay race. Rather than sitting in the stands and letting nerves get the better of them, the team set off on a brisk stroll around Albert Park Lake to stretch the legs and relax.

Fast forward to 2pm and the team were in the warm up pool guided by experienced swimmer and expert coach Ms Unal. The team was guided through a rigorous warm up routine, followed by some changeover practice to consolidate what the team had learned and practiced in their holiday training session. As the team exited the warm up pool, the moral was high, as was the excitement and nervous energy. Surprise guest Ben W of year 12 made an appearance to greet the team and pass on his well wishes while he waited for his daily diving training at MSAC.

Race time! Lucy was first in the water and got the team off to a fantastic start, keeping up with the pack touching the wall in 5th place amongst a tight bunch of competitors. Amelia was next in, courtesy of a smooth changeover was immediately able to gain 4th position ahead of the 15m mark, and at the end of the leg touched the wall in 1st position. Enter Ella who swam an absolutely incredible split, opening the gap up to four body lengths by the time she touched the wall. By this stage of the race it was evident that the team had a good lead. Excitement and disbelief came across the support crew of Ms Unal, Ms Malander, Ben and the parents of the girls as they continued cheering. One last smooth changeover allowed for Cherise to maintain the gap and bring home the gold medal for the U20 girls freestyle relay team. Their time was a team best of 2:00.98, and they had a 5 second gap between themselves and the next placed school.

An incredible achievement after breaking the EMR swimming record and overcoming the disappointment from last years 4th place result. This special team demonstrated resilience and a united spirit, something that cannot and was not beaten on the day.

Special thanks to Ms Tuana Unal for her expertise and for running the invaluable school holiday training session for the team. 

Thank you to Mr Shaun Gillespie for his  support behind the scenes. 

Lucy, Amelia, Ella & Cherise, congratulations once again. The entire Vermont community is  proud of you all. It has been an absolute pleasure to be part of your journey over the years and to see you go from strength to strength, and finally get the result you were after (and deserved) is simply the best. 

Amy Malander, Head of Sport

Results:

U20F Cherise N, 50m butterfly 3rd place with a time of 31.04s, 50m freestyle 4th place with a time of 30.02s

U20F freestyle relay team placed 1st with a time of 2:00.98. Team members: Lucy W, Amelia R, Ella I, Cherise N

Region & State Diving Championships

Hey! My name is Ben and I along with 5 other students participated in the SSV regional and state championships for diving on Monday the 22nd of April. We started by running the students through diving clinics at the start of the day, to teach them the basics and allow them to learn enough dives to compete. All of the athletes learned new and scary dives, and showed courage and determination to complete these in order to preform them in the competition. A great start to our morning was made with all 6 of us completing regionals and making it to state, which was being held the same afternoon. 1 more training session later and we got back in the pool to compete in the state finals. Students Mitchell F, Lucy W, Evan M, Caitlin A and Emily W, all absolutely nailed their lists in the finals, and were most importantly encouraging and supportive to all of the other athletes. I also competed well, doubling the previous state record.

Thank you to Mr Pinder and Ms Callegaro for taking us all, and another thankyou to School Sports Vic for putting on this great event!

A special congratulations to Ben W of year 12 who is already an accomplished and well decorated competitive diver. Having your level of skill and expertise is so valued here at Vermont and by all involved in the diving team. All the best for your travels with the national team on your upcoming international competitions. Well done to fellow year 12s Lucy W, Evan M and Mitch F for getting involved and making the most of their schooling experience by trying something new. It is fantastic

seeing our senior students engaging in new sports amongst their busy year 12 schedules. All the best for the future.

Results:

U16G Caitlin A, EMR placed 12th & State placed 12th

U16 G Emily W, EMR placed 7th & State placed 5th

U20G Lucy W, EMR placed 7th & State placed 9th

U20B Ben W, EMR placed 1st & State placed 1st also breaking the state record

U20B Evan M, EMR placed 4th & State placed 4th

U20B Mitch F, EMR placed 5th & State placed 5th

Cross Country Events

Any students interested in participating in Waverley Division Cross Country on Tuesday the 7th of May at Norton’s Park or All Schools Cross Country Road Relays on Saturday the 25th of May at Princes Park please contact Ms Malander as soon as possible.

Upcoming events:

3/5 Senior round robin

7/5 Waverley Division Cross Country

16/5 Intermediate round robin

21/5 Girls Australian rules football and boys netball gala day

25/5 All Schools Cross Country Road Relays – Princes Park (nominated students)

31/5 Year 8 round robin

6/6 Year 7 round robin