Results Week 13

It was yet another beautiful day at Drummoyne Pool — mostly sunny, hot and perfect for a splash.Officials back on deck after hols (cheers and suspicious tan lines) — everyone except David Parker, who’s apparently skiing in Japan and sending postcards of snow to make us feel guilty. Duncan Lyon played timing-whisperer and wrestled a few dodgy timers into submission, so apologies for any VOID/DNS chaos in the results — the pool ran like a proper community racket today.

Headline grabs

• Emilie Krog was the headline act — she smashed the 50m Backstroke Championships (Senior & Open) and officially broke the Club record in Women’s Senior/Open backstroke. She also ripped through a jaw-dropping 4x100m medley time trial in 5:58.14 — unofficially faster than the old Club mark (but alas, time trials don’t count for records). Absolute rocket.
• Christian Taylor was conspicuously absent from his pet event (we miss the 23s heroics) — hope uni-into-work-life is treating him well.
• Arthur Pacey continued his run of form, taking out the Under‑6 boys 20m backstroke in a tidy PB — dad Thomas must be proud (and mildly terrified of being pushed in by Arthur one day).

Club Championship — backstroke day (24 Jan 26)

The pool was a bakery of backstrokers — lots of golden loaves.

• Open Men — Jude Wilson strode to the top with 33.84, Wil Hurst pushed him hard (35.99) and Thomas Pacey rounded out the top three. The open mens’ leaderboard is getting interesting — plenty of points still available in coming championship races.
• Open Women — Emilie Krog’s win (and record) stole the show. Hannah Hurst and Alena Finn battled for silver and bronze, with Alena sneaking into the overall Club Championship points table again.
• Junior winners — Arthur Pacey (U6 boys), Anna Rapisarda (U6 girls), Max Thompson (U8 boys), Christina Tripolitsiotis (U8 girls), Alessandro Rapisarda (U9 boys), Lara Hartley (U9 girls), Harry Finn (U10 boys), Hannah Aitken (U10 girls), and Skye Lewis, Luke Sellars and Elizabeth Allan all took age‑group honours. Lots of consistent 1‑pointers stacking up for the season trophies.

Handicap point score — the real soap opera

Handicap racing delivered the usual thrills: slow-starters beasting the clock, fasties trying not to swallow water while chasing the field. Here are the spicy bits:

• Seniors Men: Ian Allan (69) leads Thomas Pacey (66) by a whisker, with Duncan Lyon on 60. That trio is the hottest rivalry on the deck — expect tactical lane‑shuffling, friendly trash talk and attempts to steal each other’s handicaps over the next eight meets.
• Seniors Women: Renee Carroll (72) and Margaret Joy (68) are neck-and-neck, with Suzie Aitken (62) breathing down their lanes. Plenty of points left this season — anyone can still steal the crown with a few great handicap swims.
• Under‑10 Girls: Jessica Pacey continues to terrorise the field with a huge lead on 89 points — anyone wanting to catch her needs a miracle and faster goggles.
• Under‑10 Boys: Edward Pacey is leading the pack (81), with Harry Finn chasing (56) — sibling and family feuds tastefully becoming legend at afternoon barbies already.
• Under‑8 Boys: Ellis Buchanan (60) holds a slim edge over Max Thompson (56) — that one’s a two‑horse race, and Max’s consistency means he’s not giving up a centimetre.
• Under‑14 Boys: Alex Sellars is high on 86 and looking solid — Lincoln van Loo (62) and Arden Hartley (56) will need to string together some big scoring weeks to close that gap.
• Under‑12 Girls: Neave Murdoch (77) and Alena Finn (60) are the pair to watch; this one could swing back and forth in the next couple of months.

Bottom line: lots of close tussles remain. With the season running through to 21 March (the big 800m Championship + Relay Fun Day), there’s plenty of handicapped glory and points left to wrestle for — any of those leaders can be upset on a good day or if someone new turns up with turbo flippers.

Notable swims & personal bests

• Arthur Pacey — PB in 20m back and continues to pile up Club Championship points. The Pacey dynasty gathers more hardware (and pool noodles).
• Anna Rapisarda — massive improvement in her 20m back (37.83 vs recent best 42.35). Big grin deserved, and an ice‑cream voucher from Mum pending.
• Edward Pacey — strong 50m free (45.93) well inside his recent best — showing that family genes + determination = results.
• Emilie Krog — as mentioned: Club record in 50m back at Championships and the eye‑watering 4x100m medley time trial (5:58.14). We bow, we chuckle, we demand photos.

Handicap oddities & timing gremlins

We had a handful of VOIDs and DNS marks (timekeeper gremlins and an absent lane or two). When the stopwatch spat out nonsense, the referee’s placings were used for points — extra thanks to Duncan for wrangling the chaos while David Parker mailed snow snaps from Japan.

Relays & the mad 4x100m medley

The hardy (or foolish) tackled the 4x100m Medley handicap — Emilie’s time trial stole the headlines and showed us what she’s capable of. Several heats had VOID entries due to timing snafus, but the spirit was top shelf. Reminder: the Geribo Cup and Family relays are coming at season’s end — start lining up choccy‑cup teams and family alliances now.

Upcoming — and who to watch

• Next big local ocean test is the Manly Cole Classic on 1 Feb — Duncan Lyon, Adrian Bell, Renee Carroll and a few alumni (Natalie Borozan, Melissa Kerr) are eyeing the harbour for post‑pool glory. Play nice with the surf and don’t feed the sharks (or the timing system).
• Championships and finals coming in the next few weeks: 400/200 freestyle championships, and various handicap trophy finals across the programme. Qualifiers from heats are already lined up — those recent heat winners should keep sharpening their turns.
• With two months left until the 21 March season finale (800m champs + relay fun day), the point‑score battles in most age groups are far from over. If you want a shot at season trophies, turn up, swim smart, and don’t forget to smile for the scorer.

New joiners, veterans & club life

• Welcome to the new junior volunteers and swimmers — great to see fresh faces and future captains learning the ropes. Keep showing up and you’ll be bossing the warm‑ups in no time.
• Veterans and life‑members (Gerry, Phil, David & co) were on deck, starting and refereeing with the perfect combination of sternness and dad jokes. Thanks for keeping the club running like a slightly chaotic but beloved machine.
• Thomas Pacey (committee, ex‑point‑score winner) is chasing that elusive sub‑29s 50m free — get your bets in. He’s been getting closer, and Arthur keeps promising to push Dad in unless he improves.

Final kudos

Big congrats to everyone who raced — from tiny tots learning backstroke to club stalwarts keeping the timing boards honest. Records fall, PBs happen, and the handicap system kept things deliciously unpredictable. See you next Saturday — bring sunscreen (UV’s extreme), good humour and maybe a spare timer or two.