Personal Journey and Adventures of Nina

 I like the Country Champs. The vibe is different. There is great team spirit as mostly the teams are there together for the most part of the day. They get into the event too, painting nails, parading mascots and some even wearing coloured wigs to brighten the mood as they cheer on their teammates. Lots of our old favourites were there including Jarrod Poort, Ryan Leonard, Meg Bailey, The Coopers, The Woolleys, The Freemans and The Gilroys. Such elite athletes are wonderful to watch but just as fun are the younger swimmers. Jarrod Poort Ryan Leonard Jenna Freeman The younger swimmers have so much energy and enthusiasm. It is lovely to watch them. The photos too are priceless. I have photos of my own swimmer from when she was doing the fly and breast at 8 years old. We giggle at them now in comparison to her more recent photos were her technique has greatly improved.  For me, the fun part is capturing the emotion. The concentration behind the bl

Held at the Sydney International Regatta Centre , thunderstorms had been predicted but luckily missed us so we ended up having lovely weather after all. Actually, it got quite warm and had I had a break, I might have jumped in to cool off a bit! 11-12yrs waiting to start Ready, Set, Go..... Start of the Mens 13-15yrs 5km A little hectic at the start but it soon sorts itself out. The strong and experienced open water swimmers pull out ahead right from the beginning and mostly maintain this pace throughout. Some get clear of the pack and find their pace by themselves whilst others stay in a group. One happy swimmer spots her family! What really surprised me was how closely the top swimmers stayed together after such a long race. It really was a fight to the end!  Jarrod Poort and Kane Radford go stroke for stroke for 5km Jared Poort touches first followed closely by Kane Radford Boats patrol the lake and watch fo