Results Week 4

The results for Saturday 1 November 2025 have been published here.

It was yet another beautiful day at Drummoyne Pool — partly cloudy and pleasantly mild.

What a ripper of a Saturday: swimmers of all ages turned up, did their thing, and left the announcer with more stories than he had whistle-pips. The timing gear survived (thanks, David Parker), the starter’s grin was on full display (Gerry), and Phil kept the refereeing dignified while plotting his next cheeky comeback. UV was high, so plenty of sunscreen was slapped on between races — slip, slop, slap, then cannonball (gently).

Big picture / meet overview

No Club Championship races this week — that means no scratch-champ mayhem — but the Geoff Roper 200m Freestyle Handicap heats rolled out and produced some solid qualifiers for the final on 22 Nov. Winners of today’s heats will be the ones to watch.
Lots of handicapped sprint, form and long events across the card — plenty of PB chases, a few DNS/DNFs (life happens), and the usual joyful chaos of our Saturday mornings.

Geoff Roper 200m Freestyle (Heats)

Duncan Lyon absolutely nailed his stated goal — he won Heat 1 and booked his spot in the Geoff Roper final. Mission accomplished, and a perfect answer to his plan to “qualify for the final by winning today’s heat and beat Gerry and Phil.” Cue the smug grin.
Other heat winners who punched their ticket: Renee Carroll (Heat 2), Liam Gooley (Heat 3), Lyndal Rapisarda (Heat 4), Jude Wilson (Heat 5) and Emilie Krog (Heat 6). That line-up should make the 22 Nov final a proper tussle — expect plenty of strategy, tactical wheeling and harmless gloating afterwards.
Heads up: Duncan, Phil and Gerry have the makings of an old-school rivalry; with Duncan through from Heat 1 and Phil still in the mix from other events, the Geoff Roper final could be an entertaining replay of the “who can out-handicap whom” saga.

Sprint & Form Highlights

Christian Taylor — back from his NYC scholarship and still a menace in the pool — took Heat wins and showed flashes of the elite turns we remember. He led a few fields today and kept his name up near the top of the Seniors point score. Can he get back to those 23/26 PBs? Time (and a few more coffees) will tell.
Phil Hayward, always game, won his 100m freestyle heat and kept up his witty personal goal about “bearing” Rosie and Gerry — Phil’s form and race-craft remain top-shelf for a life member.
Young guns and little legends: Arthur Pacey continues to dominate the Under‑6 boys leaderboard (three heat wins today), while Max Thompson is doing a sterling job in the Under‑8s — both lads are stacking points and smiles in equal measure.
Skye Lewis and Camille Borozan delivered strong swims in the shorter events — Skye within sniffing distance of her PBs and Camille knocking off a tidy time-trial. Skye’s still chasing that 100m breast PB — keep at it, Skye!

Form stroke wins & PB chases

Alex Sellars took the 100m breast heat in fine style — he’s working toward consistency and picked up the win today, showing the improvements that helped him last season.
Neave Murdoch and Harry Finn were among those who cleaned up in the shorter breast heats; Neave’s 50m breast win was a beauty and keeps her right in the Under‑12 girls’ title chase.
Renee Carroll used today for a time trial in the 100m breast and came away with a solid result — the long game is paying off.

Handicap Point Score — the close battles

The season standings are shaping into some excellent rivalries. A few headlines:

Under‑12 Boys: Archie Sullivan (30) and Aodhan Perkins (29) — one point between them. Aodhan’s big day (multiple placings including heat wins) keeps this neck-and-neck; Archie’s consistency means he won’t give it up without a fight. Expect tactical entries from both in coming weeks.
Under‑14 Boys: Lincoln van Loo is leading the pack on 38 with Alex Sellars chasing on 29. Lincoln’s stacking points across sprints and longs; Alex has the speed to reel him in if he keeps showing up to the short stuff.
Seniors (Men): Christian Taylor and Duncan Lyon tied on 20 apiece — lumps of bragging rights on the line for both. With both swimming strongly, the next couple of meets could swing the senior men’s series either way.
Seniors (Women): Jenny Gaskin (25) is out front with Suzie Aitken (22) and Renee Carroll (19) close behind. Plenty of points still available, so the ladies’ battle is far from over.
Under‑8 Girls: Georgina Aitken is storming away on 30, with Christina Tripolitsiotis on 21. Georgina’s been collecting wins like seashells — an impressive run for our youngest competitors.

Families, school crews & rivalries

The Pacey clan were out in force — Thomas, Emma (mum), and the kids (Edward, Jessica, tiny Arthur). Arthur and Edward both had excellent short-course efforts; Jessica added more points in the Under‑10 girls’ series. Family bragging rights remain hotly contested at the barbecue.
The Allan twins (Elizabeth and Charlotte) continue to be a local phenomenon — Elizabeth still leading the Under‑16 girls’ standings and always trying to “beat dad” (Ian Allan). Dad’s doing his best to stay competitive in the 35+ events.
We had school connections popping up around the pool — kids from Russell Lea, Rosebank and other local schools all racing for the Club (not the school teams, of course). Great to see the community mix: old-timers like Patricia Douglas and newcomers joining the younger lanes.
Rivalries to savour: Gerry vs Duncan vs Phil (classic), Christian vs the clock (return-to-form), and Archie vs Aodhan (junior showdown). Keep the banter friendly, folks — the water’s for swimming, the coffee’s for the rest of it.

New joiners, veterans & off-pool notes

Welcome to our new juniors who made a splash in time trials — lovely to see new faces like Ellis Buchanan and the Gooley youngsters getting involved.
Big cheers to our veterans and volunteers: David Parker (timing fixer extraordinaire), Phil (referee), Gerry (starter) and our Committee peeps (Thomas Pacey and others) who keep the whole circus running.
Points of interest: Cara Parker (now a London paramedic) was missed today but remains a club legend when she drops in. Christian Taylor’s return from his US scholarship is a highlight — great to have him back swimming with mates.

Drama, DNS and DQ (gently delivered)

As always, a few DNS/DQs crept in — Belle Paton and a handful of others had paperwork or timing issues resulting in VOID/DNS marks. No drama beyond a shrug and a promise to come back hungrier next week. If you’ve ever had a “-7.00” finish time, you know the story: life, kids, alarm clocks.
Luke Sellars had a DQ in a 100m breast heat but still contributed strong racing elsewhere — chalk it up to racing hard and learning fast.

Looking forward — what to watch next

Geoff Roper final on 22 Nov — heat winners today have the bragging rights, but the final will be where reputations are made. Duncan, Renee, Jude, Emilie, Liam, Lyndal and the rest will be fighting for that perpetual trophy.
Handicap point-score battles are tight in several age groups — Archie vs Aodhan (Under‑12 boys) and Christian vs Duncan (Seniors men) are must-see rivalries over the coming weeks. A single 4‑point heat win can change everything.
Keep an eye on Under‑14 and Under‑16 fields — Lincoln, Alex, Luke and Elizabeth are all within striking distance of moving up the leaderboards if they target certain events.

Final word: great grit and big smiles all round. Whether you came for a PB, a bit of gentle revenge on a sibling, or to qualify for a final (looking at you, Duncan), you did the Club proud. See you next Saturday — sunscreen on, banter ready, and cheers to more personal goals ticked off (no bellyflops, Clare!).

Note: The above meet report was automatically generated using an artificial intelligence tool. While care is taken to ensure that the information in this report appears reasonable, please contact racesecretary@drummoyneswimclub.com.au if you would like to provide any feedback on this content.