Results Week 9

It was yet another beautiful day at Drummoyne Pool — a cheeky chance of a shower early, but lovely and warm all the same.

Top of the cards & club records

Championship season kicked off proper today and, crikey, we had some scorchers. Emilie Krog put the rest of the ladies on notice with a pair of blistering 50s (including the Senior Women’s 50m) that the committee has marked provisional — nice work Emilie, you and Christian Taylor both hauled in provisional club 50m marks in the open races. Christian, back from his elite days in New York, reminded us exactly why he was that scary-fast kid — a 25.10 in the Open Men’s 50m that had jaws on the pool deck. Shay Donnellan took out the Senior Men’s Club Championship 50m in the seniors and showed consistent form across the day.

Young guns & little legends

Harry Thompson kept the family dynasty rolling with a tidy win in the Under‑12 50m — another provisional club record to his name (overhauling Christian Taylor’s old record from his younger years). Max Thompson (Under‑8) and Astrid Carroll (Under‑6 girls) both picked up wins and PBs, while the littlies were as fierce as ever: Arthur Pacey is piling up point‑score wins like nobody’s business in Under‑6 boys.

Handicap thrills, spills and the good ol’ clock fumble

Handicap racing produced its usual delicious mix of agony and glory. A few highlights:

• Harry Finn showed dogged determination to take out the Five Dock Rotary 200m IM final — huge effort, and a superb tactical swim from a 76s handicap start to claim first. Neave Murdoch chased hard and finished a close second, with Emilie making up a monstrous chunk from her 165s start to pip into third — talk about a charge from the back!
• Our first 100m backstroke of the season had plenty of action. Young Alex Sellars led Heat 1, and Harry Thompson produced a solid heat win in Heat 2 — plenty for the coaches to grin about.
• There was a little amateur radio drama when an unnamed Dutchman (we’re looking at you, Gerry) forgot to reset the clock for one of the 50m championship heats. Lucky we’re an amateur club — Gerry’s coffee limit (personal goal: “drink only one coffee”) may need rethinking. No harm done; the affected heats were re-run and everyone laughed it off afterwards. Paul the stand-in referee kept the show moving like the legend he is.

Handicap point‑score leaderboard — who’s pulling away and who’s in striking distance

Lots of tight tussles across the age groups and a few clear frontrunners worth calling out:

• Under‑6 boys: Arthur Pacey is running riot on 69 points — huge start to the season. Alexander Shelby is plugging away in second.
• Under‑10 girls: Jessica Pacey is the name to watch with a big lead on 68 — she’s been near the top every week and looks tough to reel in.
• Under‑12 girls: Neave Murdoch up top on 68 — she’s been consistently collecting 3s and 4s and the IM final 2nd place today cements her charge.
• Under‑14 boys: Alex Sellars is leading the pack on 63 — the young fella’s consistency is paying off.
• Seniors (men): We’ve got a proper early‑season cliffhanger — Thomas Pacey and Christian Taylor are neck‑and‑neck on 49 points apiece. With many meets left, expect strategic race picks and trash‑talk over the BBQ to decide this one.
• Seniors (women): Suzie Aitken, Jenny Gaskin and Renee Carroll are all bunched near the top (50, 49, 49) — classic competitive mayhem heading into the next champs.

Bottom line: a few of these leaders have sizeable scores already, but the point‑score series has many weeks to run — anyone who turns up reliably and picks up a couple of 4s can leapfrog their way up the ladder. Keep turning up, keep grabbing those events and the season’s still wide open.

Family rivalries & school tangles (the friendly kind)

As ever, the pool doubles as family reunion and friendly battle arena. The Pacey clan were well represented — Thomas was in charge of the committee and picket‑fenced performances from his kids (Arthur, Jessica and Edward) lit up the morning. The Taylor siblings (Christian and William) swapped lanes and times — Christian’s return to sprinting is rattling the old records and William’s finding form. The Thompson cousins (Harry, Max, Cara and co.) kept the competitive family banter flowing — and yes, Harry Finn and Neave Murdoch reminded us that school affiliations are great for practice but everyone swims for DASC on Saturdays.

Personal goals — wins (and gentle reminders)

• Thomas Pacey wanted to avoid the lane rope in the 100m back — mission mostly accomplished. No entanglements and good solid swimming; job done, Thomas.
• Luke Sellars is chasing sub‑35 in the 50 free — today’s 37.34 shows he’s inching back towards that target. Keep the kick work strong, Luke.
• Jaxon, Denver, the Hartley clan, and many of our junior techs are ticking off event after event — personal bests and brave finishes all round. Great to see new junior technician Shay Donnellan getting stuck in and showing pace in the sprints.

Veterans & visitors

Lovely to see life‑members and long timers on deck — David, Mary, Patricia and more giving us the wisdom and the laughs. Mary Hartley and Patricia Douglas swam with style and reminded the youngsters that experience matters. Newer faces like Astrid Carroll and several school‑age joiners keep the Club buzzing — welcome aboard and well done on diving in.

What’s next — projections & finals to watch

Mark the calendar: next meet has the 50m Butterfly championships and the George Russell 400m heats coming up — big chances for sprinters and long‑distance swimmers to pick up vital championship points. A bunch of trophy finals have been run or qualified for already (Five Dock Rotary IM final today was a cracker) but there are still plenty of trophies and series points on the table over the coming weeks. For the point‑score chasers: if you want to move up, target handicapped events where you can nab a 4 — strategy beats raw speed in the long run.

Final notes — cheers & banter

Nice work to everyone who strapped on goggles and jumped in. Whether you smashed a PB, survived a re‑run caused by a Dutchman with a dodgy reset, or simply cheered like a legend from the fence, you made the morning. Keep the banter coming, the coffees under control (Gerry), and we’ll see you same time next Saturday. Bring sunscreen — that UV index wasn’t messing around!