with Matt “ Duck Man Austin
Swimming is one of the great Aussie pastimes . Everyone likes taking a dip on a hot day to relieve themselves of the hot summer conditions and relax in their own paradise . The idea of swimming up and down and Olympic sized swimming pool for two hours a day six or seven days a week in the afternoon and swimming for at least one hour a day every morning , including in the middle of winter , is enough to give people the jitters !
But when I arrived at Oasis Swim Centre at Windsor , that ’ s what these finely tuned young swimmers and coach were doing in their own piece of Paradise . The Windsor swim squad is full of finely tuned swimmers who work very hard swimming night and day all year round , to ensure that they have that X Factor when it comes to competition .
And the squad is very good to say the least .
With members on board such as Hawkesbury Junior Sportsperson of the Year for 2023 Noah Kemp , the team is a
AIR CONDITIONING AIR CONDITIONING
ON SITE QUOTES - ALL WORK GUARANTEED WE SERVICE WHAT WE SELL
AIR CONDITIONING Commercial & Industrial & Domestic
• Split Systems
• Ducted Systems
• Package Systems
• Mechanical Ventilation
REFRIGERATION Commercial
• Coolroom & Freezer Rooms
• Drink Cabinets
• Ice Machines
• Beer Plumbing
4577 5233
Unit 5 6 Anderson Place South Windsor E : office @ hawkref . com . au
AIR CONDITIONING
* Sales & Repairs * Installation * All brands * All types
Lic . No . 21249C www . hawkref . com . au
BOYD ’ S AIR CONDITIONING
SERVICES
* Maintenance * Domestic * Commercial * Industrial
Phone Boyd : 0413 115 330
Mobile : 0413 115 330 | Fax : 4573 6747 Email : boydsair @ bigpond . com | Pitt Town Lic . No . 78663C formidable force in the world of swimming . Last year Noah won seven gold medals in the National School Championships , and he hopes to go one better this year and win eight . Not bad for a 12-year-old .
He hopes to go to the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and Michael Phelps , Ian Thorpe and Kyle Phelps are his idols . Noah even does athletics to boot to demonstrate his all-round love of sports . The 50m butterfly is his favourite event , but he is also strong in freestyle and backstroke .
Another very talented swimmer in the squad is 13-year-old Gypsey Johns . She loves the 50m freestyle and has been swimming since she was five . She loves swimming in the squad and making lots of friends and is aiming to go the State Championships and Olympics ; Emma McKeon is her biggest role model . Gypsey wants to keep up her fitness and do her best in the pool .
One of the veterans of the squad is 15-year-old Josh Hand . Josh has been swimming for eleven years and trains before and after school most days . He has been in many state and national squads and says the key to his success is increasing the loading before major events and then tapering off a couple of weeks before they take place .
Josh also does athletics and plays soccer for Quakers Hill Tigers in the Blacktown District Football Association . His favourite event is the 50m freestyle and his idol is Kyle Chalmers . Josh encourages his team mates to keep pushing when it gets hard knowing that will give his team the X Factor required to be successful .
The club is led by the very well-spoken affable coach Brad Ryan . He is like the conductor in an orchestra and has been a member of Windsor Swim Club since he was two . He ’ s been a member for 23 years now , and at 25 years of age he leads the club with the purpose of a well experienced veteran .
Brad has been the head coach for
YOUR LOCAL TRADES & SERVICES
ANTENNAS
ASBESTOS REMOVAL ASBESTOS
REMOVAL SPECIALIST
REMOVAL OF BONDED ASBESTOS SAFELY
ALL AREAS
CALL GEORGE 0412 644 306 Email : daacon @ tpg . com . au Lic : AD205768
ASSESSMENT COURSES - WORK SAFETY
FORKLIFT TRAINING High Reach & Counter Balanced CONSTRUCTION INDUCTION White Cards EWPA COURSES Yellow Card Courses incl SCISSOR & VERTICAL Lift
TELEHANDLER COURSES 5 / 21 Groves Ave McGraths Hill Phone 4577 9577 • Book online : www . forktime . com . au REGISTERED TRAINING ORGANISATION ( RTO ) -91583
BLINDS & AWNINGS
INTRODUCING THE NEW Z3 SIDE CHANNEL Create your outdoor living space !
Windsor Swim Club team members .
Built to withstand weather conditions unmatched by any other awning or external blind on the Australian market . PROTECTA Z3 Side Channel is the ultimate in all-weather protection , wind , rain or sunshine . This system is built to withstand them all .
MANUFACTURE & INSTALL
★ Auto Awnings ★ Pivot Arm Awnings ★ Reskin Your Own Awnings We come to you or visit our Showroom by appointment
PHONE 0435 664 488 Unit 9 / 74 Mileham Street SOUTH WINDSOR
sales @ awningsolutions . sydney www . awningsolutions . sydney
BRICKLAYER
SUPPLY & INSTALL
★ Plantation Shutters ★ Range of Screen Doors ★ Rollers , Venetians , Verticals ★ Panel Glides , Honeycomb ★ Sheerlite and more
BRICKLAYER Over 40 years ’ experience
· Letter Boxes
· Fences
· Retaining Walls
· BBQs
· Renovations NO JOB TOO SMALL
Call Steve for a free quote
0410 571 829 Lic 172578C four years and helps motivate the team to achieve personal best results and make rep squads . He takes his team to the edge to achieve the best results possible .
There are four squad levels and Brad focuses on the gold and silver squad swimmers . He concentrates on different strokes and disciplines for different swimmers including different strokes , open water swims and builds strong relationships with his swimmers and mentors them in and out of the pool .
Brad said that the average Olympic swimmer peaks between 20-24 and he wants to make sure his swimmers get the best coaching and preparation possible . Brad ensures that the club are competitive at all of the state championships where the club quite often finish in the top ten clubs .
This is definitely the club that punches well above their weight .
BRICK & FOUNDATION REPAIRS
Salt Affected Bricks Foundation Piers All Fractured Brickwork Floor Levelling
26 YEARS EXPERIENCE QUOTES & ADVICE ARE FREE !
0433 911 085 shanebricky @ optusnet . com . au www . yourbrickman . com . au
Lic . No : 77549C
BUILDING PLANS
Design & Drafting Service
Renovations Extensions Granny Flats
Concept Plans
Show your ideas in 3D
Construction Plans Materials & details
Development Plans Final plans
Concept plans and conversation are obligation free
Call Malcolm 0417 879 976
THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 155 // APRIL 2023 33