The 22nd to the 26th of January saw a hand full of WMP swimmers travel down to the Gold Coast to participate in the MSAC National Age squad camp alongside MVC. The camp was designed to further open the opportunity for the squad to bond, while also creating an environment to complete an intensive training block which was to then be followed up by a multi-day meet, putting us under physical and mental fatigue. Ultimately, preparing us for the upcoming Australian Age Championship.
Day one started with all swimmers meeting at Melbourne Airport to head up to the Gold Coast. Once landed and settled into the accommodation, the afternoon was taken up with a couple of games of last one standing and bubble soccer in inflatable bubbles. The night finished with dinner and all swimmers chilling out in the elite room, watching a movie, playing a game of Boom-Ba-Aya and Uno.
Day two started nice and early at 5:30am with a swim. Whilst being early in the morning we all had to adjust to the bright sun and hot weather that the Gold Coast had. In the afternoon swimmers headed down to complete the Tree Top Challenge. After experiencing Adrian fall and being stuck on one of the obstacles for a good 15 minutes, and some attempts to knock people off the course, we all ended up tired and sweaty. We all then travelled back to the Gold Coast Performance Centre where the main group hit some 200-pace work and the distance crew hit a high-volume setting.
Day three started with another early swim with the distance crew completing some 400 paces and the main crew hitting an aerobic set. We all then headed down to Wet n’ Wild, where we all went on some water slides, and swam in the wave pool and lazy river. Although some waited 2 hours for a water slide the day was filled with laughs and smiles. On the way back to the accommodation grey clouds slowly started to swarm the sky, which was then followed by a storm cancelling our afternoon swim session turning it into a core session, a short run in the rain, some handstands, and a classic game of Boom-Ba-Aya and a squad favourite ball game.
Day four began with a short hour session due to timetabling, however, swimmers still managed to complete a hard threshold set. Which was then followed by an ice bath, heat bath, and small recovery swim. Later all swimmers headed down to Surface Paradise beach where we all relaxed and had some fun in the waves. With a short turn around we all then suited up to complete a challenging 9 50s max on 5 minutes. The night then finished with an Italian dinner at Mario’s and some ice cream.
The final day began with a recovery session at the pool, a set that all swimmers needed after a hard week of training. Soon after we all packed our bags and cleaned the accommodation, then sat down for a team reflection. After, we headed back to the airport and our way back down to Melbourne.
Thank you to Adrian Hirsh for helping organise and run the camp, and also a thank you to Sian Whittaker who helped out throughout the entire camp. Overall, the camp was a great experience with everyone making good memories and now having a closer bond with each other. Lastly, well done to everyone who completed the camp.
Story and photos by Chiara H.
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