Below: Emily Moreton. 26325By Marc McGowan
STATE of Origin is alive and kicking in the pool if Haileybury Waterlions and Victorian head coach Wayne Lawes is any gauge.
The veteran mentor emerged from the inaugural State Teams Age Short Course Championships – that ran from last Saturday to Monday – full of praise for the concept.
All six states and the Northern Territory descended on the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra for the competition.
Victoria finished third behind swimming powerhouses Queensland and New South Wales.
The 50m races were run with a ‘skins’ format over four rounds, with entrants whittled down to six then four and ultimately the final two to decide the winner.
Waterlions prodigy Sam Wilkins had 16 swims over the three days.
The 15-year-old’s best results included silver medals in the 50m backstroke and 100m butterfly and fourth-placed performances in the 50m butterfly and 4 x 100m medley relay.
Wilkins was fresh from a week-long training camp in Canberra that brought together 17 of the most promising talents in the country who are regarded as chances to make the 2012 London Olympics.
Haileybury’s other representative at the meet, fellow 15-year-old Emily Moreton, also shone.
Moreton scored bronze in the 200m freestyle and finished fourth in the mixed 15-and-under 4 x 100m freestyle, girls’ 16-and-under 4 x 200m freestyle and 15-and-16-year-old girls’ 4 x 100m medley relays.
Lawes made a point of establishing a strong team environment in the Victorian camp.
“I spoke to them and said ‘you’re a part of history’,” he said.
“It’s the first time this has ever been done and it’s been about 30 years since the kids have had the chance to compete state against state in a real format.
“Victoria really stood out for being a great team. It was just a really great, tough format.”
Lawes believes the skins format was a great learning process for the competitors.
“They had to learn as they went that you had to get up and race – you couldn’t be off your game or you’d miss out,” he said.
“Sammy missed the 50m fly final because she was too tired and just couldn’t get off the wall because she only had five minutes from one swim to another.
“They learned how to manage themselves; it was more of a mental thing as well – getting yourself up on a constant basis.
“They really did learn so much about themselves and what they’re capable of.”
The Waterlions now turn their attention to the Victorian Long Course Championships.
The Victorian 12 and 11-and-under Long Course Championships is on 19 and 20 December, while the 13 to 18 year olds take centre stage from 6 to 10 January.
The Victorian Open Long Course Championships is between 15 and 17 January.
