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

Everyone got into the spirit for the inaugural SMNE Duel In The Pool Meet. Hosted by Knox at Pymble Ladies College pool, each team chose a theme. Disco, Smurfs, Rockstars, Hawaiians and Wizards abound. Even the coaches came dressed up! Despite the miserable weather the swimmers had a blast!  First up was the Mixed Up Relay. Each swimmer drew a card with their stroke order on it. Each race started with the backstroke but a Breastroker could then be racing a Flyer so you don't know who is going to win the race until the very end...the kids LOVED it! All of the following races were mixed so that the girls and boys raced together.. The teams collected points along the way and after each progress announcement, you could hear the whispers, we need to win another few races..etc. Such great team building. There was loads of yelling from the stands too..good job parents and grandparents.   Can't wait for the next meet! Smurfs help with timing!     Cheering on her t

Perfect spring weather. Not too hot or cold. Mostly sunny set the scene for this fun meet.  Swimmers of all ages competed and when they weren't racing, they were hanging out together playing handball or doing handstands! It is a perfect team building event. What impressed me most though was the level of effort and participation by the parents.  Cooking, marshaling, timing...you name it. This meet could not have achieved its success without these fabulous people. The pace was set by the President, Louise Bain who was a ball of energy racing all over checking that everything and everyone were all going well and to plan. And then there were the great swims. Not known to be a fast pool by any means, records were broken and PBs made none the less! The younger swimmers enjoyed collecting their medals whilst the older swimmers were happy to use this as a good training exercise. I had donated a prize which was luckily won by one of my best cli

The stars of tomorrow were at this meet. It is so much fun to watch them swim. Some as young as 7 years of age swim with such style only seen with older swimmers. Some great dives and lovely strokes, all attributed to the quality coaching for certain as well as some definite natural talent. Though what I like the most about the District Meets - The SMILES!!!  You can see the rest of the images on my website. Just click here . If you would like to see more of my portrait work, just go to my here . Thanks for visiting my blog!!