Australian Youth Olympic Festival 2007

March 31st, 2007 | Dan Kershaw | Newsletter, Seniors, Stingray News, Swim Meets

When I first found out that I had the opportunity to go to Australia, I was extremely excited. Ulf Ornhjelm (our AG-1 & 2 coach) was also chosen to be one of the team coaches. The Canadian team was made up of eight girls and eight boys, all 16 or under. There were two team coaches and a team manager as well.

After the long plane rides to Australia, the exhaustion came fast. With the 16-hour time difference and extreme heat, it came on as quite a shock. Despite our lack of energy, we did go to afternoon workout after arriving earlier that morning. The outdoor pool that we trained at in Wollongong did have a beautiful view of a mountain from the shallow end, and was surrounded with palm trees.

After day one, I was already sunburned. With my red nose, I couldn’t blame Ulf for constantly calling me Rudolf. Despite the sunburn, the hot weather was beautiful. Taking a break from all that ice and snow was a luxury, although taking a break from Tim Horton’s was a different story. (Ulf enjoyed his XL Timmy’s coffee very shortly after arriving in Vancouver on our way home.)

We trained for a week in Wollongong (nine days after leaving Toronto due to the time change). During that week the training was demanding. We had a workout every morning (8-10 a.m.), followed by an afternoon workout (4-6 p.m.). I learned a lot of different drills, and got to do a lot of new sets. We did have a few afternoon workouts off to go do some sightseeing.

One afternoon we took a train to downtown Sydney where we got to see the famous opera house. Then we took a ferry to Manly Beach where I ‘attempted’ surfing with another teammate. It wasn’t pretty, and the lifeguard actually called us in and asked us if we were better swimmer than surfers. We also had an opportunity to do some shopping around Manly Beach and get a few souvenirs for ourselves, friends, and/or family. And we went to a wild life center and saw kangaroos and koala bears!

After the week of training in Wollongong, we moved to Sydney at the Olympic Village, a.k.a. the University of Sydney, where we met up with athletes from all sorts of countries. There was an opening ceremony where we got to talk to all sorts of athletes from around the world and watch the show.

The four-day competition was something special. I got to witness some amazing swims like 14-year-old Cate Campbell from Australia swim a 24.89 for 50 freestyle! It gave me an idea of what other countries have in store for the future — and what I should be training towards.

Our team did well. Evan Buck, 16, won two silver medals in the 200 back and 100 back. Two of the women’s relays won bronze (4×200 free and 4×100 free). The men also got a bronze medal in the 4×100 medley relay. Myself, I placed 4^th in several events and was part of the 4×200 free relay that won bronze. I also achieved one of my provincial records at the Festival.

At the end of the 16-day trip, it was time to come home. We were all happy to finally get back to our friends and family, and of course Tim Horton’s, especially Ulf. The trip was an experience I will never forget. I met a lot of new people and learned a lot. It was a great experience to represent Canada and the Stingrays at the 2007 Australian Youth Olympic Festival.

Lindsay Seemann, AG-1