2021 Vic Swimming Championships
Congratulations to all the Ivanhoe swimmers who competed at the recent 2021 Victorian Age Championships held in early March. All their hard work and training paid off with some great results in the pool. Our swimmers’ strong performance puts them in a good position as they head towards the AGSV Combined Swimming Championships to be held this Friday 19 March.
Congratulations to: Alana Altus, Anthony Boussounis, Alouette Clark, Anton Kraev, Bethany Dalgleish, Farah Hasim, Alannah Banks, Nicholas Malcolm and Tomas Gembarovski.
Many of these students won medals and qualified for Nationals. Including Alouette Clark, who will compete in two events at Nationals and Alannah Banks. Alannah also achieved an Olympic trial time in the 200m backstroke, which allows her to compete at the Olympic Trials in June in Adelaide. Alannah also gained another national time, which allows her to compete in April on the Gold Coast at the 20201 Australian Swimming Championships
The AGSV Combined Swimming Sports is the culmination of a huge amount of training and preparation. At this event the team finally strives for a premiership against other competing AGSV schools. It is a fantastic night with an amazing atmosphere. We look forward to seeing our swimmers compete and wish Team Ivanhoe all the best!
Student reflection – Year 11 student, Anthony Boussounis
How long have you been swimming? – I started swimming lessons at 14 months old.
What drew you to swimming as a competitive sport? – Originally when I was in Year 5 I just wanted to win a medal at regionals which then lead to me joining a competitive swimming club. Once I started to train properly, I attained qualifying times which allowed me to swim at state championships and from then on, I’ve always wanted to better myself in the pool.
What club do you currently swim for? – I just started at the Surrey Park Swimming Club in February where I train in the National Age Squad.
How much training are you required to do? – I do eight sessions a week, which consist of 2-hour swim sessions and twice a week (Tuesday and Thursday) I have a 1-hour gym session before my morning training. On some weekends I also have to attend swim meets, which can last all day, these are on top of my training.
What do you love most about swimming? – I enjoy the freedom I have in the water and pushing myself every day to achieve my goals.
Name your favourite stroke? – My favourite stroke is backstroke. I enjoy it because it feels the most natural for me to do, I enjoy the starts for backstroke as they’re quite cool to watch. And fortunately for me backstroke is also my quickest stroke.
How has swimming competitively impacted your life? – It has changed how I spend most of my weekends and how much socialising I can do, it’s all about compromise. I can’t catch up with mates as often as I’d like as I’m racing or catching up on homework I couldn’t do during the week because of my training. It’s also made me a more organised person, I’m better at planning ahead and what I need to do to prepare for tests. I also work much harder now in the pool as well as pushing myself in the gym. I understand that I need to miss out on things because of my training.
How do you balance your schoolwork and co-curricular activities? – I play volleyball at school as well, although this year I haven’t been able to play many matches because of training and racing commitments. I get at least 1-2 hours of homework done at night and I have to do some of it in the library during lunch if I don’t finish off things. On Friday nights I also do homework if I have to compete on weekends and I know I won’t be able to complete any work.
What would you like to do when you graduate from Ivanhoe? – I would like to do Physio or a teaching or a Business degree and I would be looking at either Griffith University or Bond University in Queensland.
How far would you like to take your sport? – Ideally, my aim is to get to the Olympics, I know there is a lot of work ahead of me to get there. However, at the moment I am aiming to get the Australian Junior team qualifying times so it enables me to be eligible for selection for events like Junior Pan Pacs or Junior World Championships, so I am eligible for selection next year and the year after. At States I made the Olympic qualifying time for the 100 backstroke, that was such a great feeling! That time allows me to attend the Australian Olympic Time Trials! I have a long way to go for selection, but it was such a great feeling, setting goals and achieving them.
Who do you look up to the most and why? – I look up to Mitch Larkin the most as he is a great swimmer but also a good person. He works hard at training but also has managed to win medals at both Olympic and Commonwealth Games while getting his university degree. I met Mitch about four years at MSAC, he was competing at the Victorian Open Championships. He took time to talk to me and introduce me to other Olympic swimmers, it is one of my most favourite memories. He’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.
