More than 450 students competed at the Sydney Catholic Schools Archdiocesan Swimming Carnival vying for berths at the MacKillop championships in Homebush.
Eighty-two Sydney Catholic schools were represented at the mammoth event, which needed to be split into two sessions due to COVID-19 regulations.
After months of being locked out of carnivals due to COVID, parents were also a welcome sight in the crowd at Auburn Ruth Everuss Aquatic Centre.
“By splitting the event, we reduced numbers allowing for parents to be present,” SCS’ Sport Education Office: Pre to Post, Rene Vella, said.
“The atmosphere isn’t there if the parents aren’t here” – Rene Vella
St Anthony’s Clovelly parents Peter Benic and Lisa Cummins were stoked to be poolside again.
“We’re just very happy things are back to being almost normal,” Mr Benic said.
“It’s nice to be back as a community” – Lisa Cummins
St Francis of Assisi Paddington mum Audrey Rana said she was “super excited” to be able to attend daughter Chloe’s first Archdiocesan event in person. “I’ll be screaming when she competes,” Ms Rana laughed.
How the day unfolded
Records tumbled at yesterday’s Archdiocesan Swimming Carnival, with one coming right at the end of the day to sign off the event in style.
The event kicked off with an incredible race in the Open Girls 100-metre Freestyle.
Mila Raven from Villa Maria Hunters Hill and Isabella Esposito from Our Lady of Lourdes Earlwood could not be separated, touching the wall at the same time to finish equal first.
Raven was definitely the star of the morning session, winning the Senior Girls Relay, 12-year-old 50m Freestyle and the Girls 12-13 year-olds 50m Backstroke.
Peter with son Hugo, of St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School Clovelly. Photo: Kitty Beale
Our Zone 6 star, St Patrick’s Sutherland swimming sensation Sophie Aungle had a good morning herself, winning both the 10-year-old Girls 50m Freestyle and 8-10 year-olds Backstroke and placing second in the 8-10 year-olds Relay.
Also in the morning, Roman Szabo from St Margaret Mary Randwick secured second place in the 8-10 year-olds Boys 50m Breaststroke before taking out the 8-10 year-olds 50m Butterfly by an unbelievable 0.03 seconds!
Szabo then blitzed the field in the 8-10 year-olds Boys 200m Individual Medley to close off the morning.
The afternoon session splashed off with the most emphatic win of the day when Our Lady Fatima Caringbah won the 8-10 year-olds Boys Relay by a whopping 21 seconds.
But the day belonged to Szabo, whose form carried on into the day.
The 10-year-old continued his dominance by taking out the 50m Freestyle and 8-10 year-olds 50m Backstroke events.
In the 12-year-old Boys 50m Freestyle Samuel Skrabak from Regina Coeli Beverly Hills also etched his name into the record books, setting the Archdiocese’s quickest ever time.
Meanwhile, Aungle found herself in a battle with another young star, nine-year-old Mia Hoo from St Bernard’s Botany who put up a real fight.
Hoo walked away from the carnival with four blue ribbons (first place) and one green ribbon (third place), while Aungle ended the day with two blue, two red and one green ribbons.
The day came to an end in spectacular fashion with Olivia Treadwell from St Michael’s Meadowbank breaking the Girls 11-13 year olds 200m Individual Medley record, clocking in at 2:51.90 minutes.
By: NIKOLA POZDER
ABOUT SPORT
Swimming is one of 16 representative pathway sports offered to primary school students at Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS).
SCS offers students a pathway to higher representative sport, starting with school trials, moving through to zone, conference, and inter-Diocesan levels and, finally, progressing to state and national competitions.
