Results Week 3

It was yet another beautiful day at Drummoyne Pool — partly cloudy with a cheeky shower or two that only made the dragon-boat racing across Iron Cove Bay look more dramatic.

What a ripper of a Saturday — first butterfly and medley fixtures of the season brought plenty of brave first-timers, a few glorious upsets, some classic family tag-team swims and the usual mixture of heroic flapping and effortless speed. The crowd got to watch dragon boats, several spectacular finishes and a handful of “who forgot the stopwatch?” moments. The UV was very high (yes, slather on the sunscreen) and the fire-danger meter is flashing “High” — so keep the hot chips metaphorical, folks.

Meet highlights & cheeky call-outs

• New junior tech Shay Donnellan (welcome, Shay!) showed he’s not just good at laptops — he topped his 50m free heat in 30.91 and scored a solid 4-point haul for the Under‑14s. Nice work, mate.
• Alena Finn continues to boss the Under‑12 girls — she’s on 32 points and looked comfortable winning her long swims and nailing a few technical bits in the medley. Watch out for challengers Neave Murdoch and Pia Passarelli (both sitting on 19) — the gap’s healthy but not unbridgeable with the season still young.
• Neave Murdoch had a cracker: winning a 50m free heat, strong butterfly and top spot in the 4×50 medley heat — she’s the one to watch for the mid-season fireworks.
• Under‑10s were full of scrappers. Jessica Pacey scored well again and remains top in her age group (20 points) while Oscar Sullivan (17) and Harry Finn (15) are in a proper tussle in the Under‑10 boys — a few more weekends like this and we’ll need a scoreboard in the car park.
• Big shout to Thomas Pacey — swimming on a pair of broken ribs (from his hockey final!) — you absolute legend. He’s chasing sub‑30 in the 50 free (his PB sits at 29.91) and was competitive today, but the sub‑30 will have to wait a little longer. Keep at it, Thomas — the ribs (and the hill work) will forgive you eventually.
• Christian Taylor made a statement return from his US scholarship with solid finishes and blistering handicap splits — the guy still remembers how to move through the water. Sibling rivalry with William (and younger Lukas) continues to spice up the heats.
• Veteran stalwarts and officials: Phil Hayward (referee) and Gerry Tibbertsma (starter) kept the chaos organised — Gerry’s “old Dutch foxer” charm remains undefeated. David Parker saved the meet again by keeping the timing kit behaving like a civilized machine.
• Welcome back appearances: Emilie Krog (university chum of Christian) turned a few heads with a tidy 30.98 in a 50m free heat and 32.53 in a butterfly time trial. Lovely to see guests and new faces mixing it in.

Close battles in the Handicap Point Score — who’s creeping up?

• Seniors (Men): It’s anyone’s game. Thomas Pacey, Adam Christodoulou, Paul Martin, Duncan Lyon and Denver Pelly are all sitting tight on 13 points apiece — no clear runaway leader. Plenty of points still available this season, so expect hair-raising finishes and tactics like “go out fast, then hang on.”
• Seniors (Women): Jenny Gaskin leads the pack on 18 with Suzie Aitken nipping at 17 — a one-meet swing could change the lead. Both are securing important points in the medleys and butterfly rounds.
• Under‑14 boys: Lincoln van Loo has a nice buffer on 28, but Alex Sellars (22) and Arden Hartley (16) are closing in. If Alex brings another 4‑pointer in a sprint next week, this one will sizzle.
• Under‑12 boys and girls: Archie Sullivan (27) and Alena Finn (32) are building commanding seasons, but the youngsters at DASC are improving fast — we’ll be seeing lead changes yet.

Notable personal goals & progress

• Thomas Pacey — still chasing the sub‑30 50m free while battle-scarred from winter hockey. Today wasn’t the day, but guts and determination count for more than decimals on a stopwatch.
• Skye Lewis — after edging under her recent barrier in close races, she’s sitting pretty in Under‑14 girls with consistent 4‑point showings. Keep that momentum.
• Charlotte & Elizabeth Allan — both aiming for faster than 35s in the 50 free. Elizabeth posted a 36.31 finish today; with a tweak to the start and a sprint off the turn she’ll have that 35s barrier in her sights soon.
• Plenty of little legends tried butterfly for the first time — Cara Thompson bravely had a crack at 50m fly and the full IM; Jessica, Anna and Georgina all had moments to be proud of. First attempts deserve the loudest applause.

Fun (and slightly annoying) admin bits

• Timing gremlins and “VOID” situations: a few races had issues (e.g., timer not used on a 50m free resulting in VOID for one heat, and several DNS / no-time recordings). Race referee decisions stood in for clock times and points were awarded accordingly, but please — if you’re rostered as Timer A, bring your stopwatch and your A‑game.
• Disqualifications: a couple of butterfly/arms DQs in the 20m and 4×30 medley heats — nothing malicious, just learning curves. We’re a club that celebrates technique as well as enthusiasm, so expect gentle rib‑taps from the officials.

Looking ahead — what to watch next week

• Next Saturday (1 Nov) we’ll have heats for the Geoff Roper 200m Freestyle (Handicap) — a big one for long‑distance point score contenders. If you qualified today in medley or long events, make sure you’re rested and don’t skip breakfast.
• Keep tracking the tight seniors’ leaderboard — with lots of meets left, a single 4‑pointer can vault you up the table. Expect strategy to creep into starts and turns (and the odd advantageous lane allocation).
• Junior families: keep encouraging the little ones to try the form strokes — today proved that a first butterfly attempt can be equal parts hilarious and vastly rewarding.

Final word: brilliant effort by everyone — from clubs’ newest splashers to our seasoned campaigners. The sun (and a stray shower) put on a show, the dragon boats provided free entertainment and the scoreboard quietly filled up with the kind of close results we love. See you next Saturday — don’t forget sunscreen, a towel, and someone reliable to hold the stopwatch.