MOST would cringe at the thought of getting up out of your warm bed on a below freezing winter morning in Goulburn at 5.30am to slip into your swimmers and head to the pool.
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Our Goulburn Amateur Swim Clubs (GASC) kids have been doing just that.
Some even back up and swim again in the afternoon.
Swimming is thought of as a summer sport but this has all changed thanks to the Goulburn community’s push about a decade and a half ago to build an indoor heated pool.
This facility has made a huge difference in the competitiveness of our aquatic athletes as they can train year round and are not at a disadvantage through lack of training and fitness when they compete in the NSW Country Short Course Championships.
The GASC team have been training with the Goulburn YMCA’s Swim Coach Joy Murdock and Shannon Rollason (Jake Cooper’s coach) and swim a number of kilometres each day up and down the 25 metre indoor pool during winter.
Their efforts have paid dividends with four of our GASC swimmers qualifying for the NSW Country Short Course Championships to be held at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre next weekend, July 4 and 5 and bring together athletes from all around NSW country regions including Newcastle Wollongong and the ACT.
Jake Cooper has qualified to compete in six events 50 and 200 metre backstroke, 50 and 100 metre freestyle plus 100 and 200 metre breaststroke.
Lachlan Gilbert has qualified for 100 metre breaststroke and Jordan Howard in the 50 metre freestyle and 50 metre butterfly.
The only GASC girl to qualify, Emily-Mae Strickland has made time in 50 and 100metre breaststroke plus 100 metre freestyle.
“The GASC kids have been competing in a number of Short Course development and championship events this winter so far and the upcoming NSW Country Short Course event is one of the highlights of the winter swimming calendar.
“The entire club is so pleased that we have these four young people competing in a range of events,” GASC publicity officer Daniel Strickland said.
The GASC wishes them all the best and we know they will do our club proud.”
“If you have a child that is interested in getting involved with the GASC, give the Goulburn YMCA Aquatic Centre a call on 02 4823 4834 or message the club via Facebook at www.facebook.com/goulburnasc.
Some of the GASC team members have coaches other than those mentioned in this article and their efforts with the young aquatic athletes is also appreciated.
