Swimming WA travelled to the Goldfields Region for the 23/24 season Regional Development Weekend; the purpose of these weekends is to provide development and upskilling opportunities ahead of that region hosting the premier regional event of the year in Country Pennants.
The weekend started with Swimming WA meeting with the Department of Local Government Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) and Regional Officer Brad Stacey. The support we receive from DLGSC is critical to the delivery of these events, so it was great to catch up in person and discuss how swimming and our clubs are going within the Goldfields region.
Twenty-four participants ranging from ages 8-15 were treated to a Swim Clinic presented by highly regarded Advanced Level Coach Ralph McManis. McManis’s experience in swimming coaching has spanned decades and his wisdom, knowledge and passion for swimming is evident in the way he coaches. When McManis announced he’d been to a couple of Olympic Games, some of the kids’ jaws dropped and they knew they were about to get a fantastic session. After the warmups were completed, the focus switched to streamline and kick positions before participants were put to a kick velocity test. After that the session switched to stroke technique with heavier focus on breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle. McManis also bought along his Auto Coach which is a device to help teach and practice race starts. The majority of participants had never seen anything like this before, so it became a novelty for them and allowed multiple attempts at practicing race starts and dives which are critical components in perfecting the best race on the day. The session ended with a short Q&A with McManis, before the lucky participants were given a small gift for their commitment and attendance at the Swim Clinic.
Another great aspect to these regional clinics is that local coaches and teachers have the ability to be on pool deck at the same time receiving mentoring from the travelling coach. McManis has coached athletes at State and National level which is a huge achievement and the knowledge he can pass on to help the local coaches is unmatched. The four mentees got to see not only how McManis coached the session, but also had the opportunity to learn more about how he planned the session against the outcomes he wanted to achieve. The next stage is getting those interested in starting their coaching journey to actually start, and weekend like this one provides a good insight to what they can achieve.
The following day saw Swimming WA host a Time Trial event, an opportunity for swimmers to get some official times recorded which can potentially enter them into upcoming summer events such as WA State Championships, Country Championships or Country Pennants. Twenty-seven participants got the chance to swim, which would not have been possible without the assistance of our Technical Officials on the day, as well as the incredible volunteers who jumped in and helped out with marshalling, check starting and timekeeping.
A huge thank you again to Kalgoorlie Amateur Swimming Club for their hospitality, to Ralph McManis for his dedication and time planning the session and to the Department of Local Government Sport & Cultural Industries for your continued support in allowing Swimming WA to visit our regions.
23/24 Regional Clinic Calendar:
| Beverley | 10 December 2023 |
| Kellerberrin | 21 January 2024 |
| Exmouth | 3 February 2024 |
| Morawa | 10 February 2024 |
| Margaret River | 17 February 2024 |
| Pinjarra | 18 February 2024 |
