Medals and fun a good mix

By Marc McGowan
FOUR medallists, a club record and a snapshot of a promising future. The Haileybury Waterlions had much to take from Sunday’s 7-to-10 Metro Finals at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.
Ben Hewitt won the 10-year-old boys’ 50 metres backstroke in a club-record 37.05 seconds to lead the Waterlions’ charge.
Only the top 10 swimmers from last month’s Metro South meeting qualified for the Metro Finals. Metro West, East and North swimmers also competed.
Haileybury had six representatives, with Hewitt, Kiera Bates (silver in the girls’ 10-year-old 50 metres freestyle), Kristy Wilkins (silver in the girls’ 10-year-old 50 metres breaststroke) and Casey Bates (seven-year-old boys’ 50 metres backstroke) all securing medals.
Nine-year-old pair Lucinda McGarrity and Nelson Dong both managed top-10 placings.
Waterlions head coach Wayne Lawes was pleased with the results, but said enjoyment was his swimmers’ prime goal.
“Not everyone can win a medal, so you have to evaluate it differently and hope the kids can come away from it with a good experience and having learned something or improved a skill,” he said.
“It’s just about having fun and enjoying it, and it’s good for the sport – we need more of that. They’re all winners just for standing up and getting on the blocks.”
The older Haileybury swimmers are enduring a heavy workload in preparation for next month’s Victorian 11-and-under and 12-year-old championships and the Victorian Age Championships for 13-to-18-year-olds from 3-7 January.
Lawes highlighted Samantha Wilkins, who represented Victoria against Queensland during the Melbourne Cup weekend, and Emily Moreton as two who had been training well.
But Lawes said the Australian Age Championships, to be held in Sydney in April, were his swimmers’ major target. “Our national guys don’t taper for the state championships and actually have their biggest (training) week before them,” he said.