How long have you been with Eastern Sirens?

Almost 4 years.  I started during one of the lockdown pauses during Covid 19, so the beginning was a bit stop start, and then I started swimming more regularly when life went back to normal at the end of 2021.  
I originally started with ES at the Brunswick Baths which is near where I live, but swimming in an outdoor pool during winter and often during the rain was not something I loved so I started coming to the Aquanation for training and that is where I met the other 3 swimmers of my first masters team.

Why did you join and what do you like about artistic swimming?

I love dance, creativity and water, although I am not a dancer, nor a swimmer! Synchronised Swimming always fascinated me and I saw a "come and try" for adults session advertised through Laneway Learning and thought why not!  To be honest I didn’t think I would like it or be any good at it.  I grew up on the Sunshine Coast in QLD and if swimming was a huge part of high school but only if you had your eyes set on being the next Olympic champion, so while we all had to swim and do our life saving medals, the swim squads were only encouraged to those who were exceptional.  I could swim but I wasn’t one of the elite students, nor did I have an interest in squad training or going further with swimming.  So when I jumped in the water at Brunswick Baths back in 2021, I was a little surprised at how quickly I took to it and learned the basics very quickly.  The other aspect that made me want to keep going was the inclusive atmosphere of the other swimmers.  Age, ability and body shape didn’t matter, they were all extremely encouraging and that was a huge positive sign for me coming into the sport at the age of 50.

What has your journey been like so far? Have there been any challenges?

The journey has been filled with lots of fun, friendship and highlights.  I do this because I love it and when I’m in the water, all the monkey chatter from other life and work issues, disappears completely.  I have come to accept that it takes me a little longer to learn a routine, the timing, the counting, the figures but that’s ok.  Forming a team with Anya G, Anya P and Vicki was an unexpected turn in my life.  The 4 of us are as thick as thieves, we talk almost everyday and we always have each others backs.  As a little joke we refer to ourselves as the OG’s.  Travelling to Brisbane for the Nationals in 2024 was an eye opening experience in terms of realising the level of competition, the nerves and how to control them.  But then we had our sights set on World Aquatics in Singapore in 2025.  That was a whole other level.  Along with the excitement of being in Singapore, the competition was exceptional, the nerve level through the roof.  When you see the other teams perform at all ages between 29 and 89 and what they are capable of doing in the water, it is a great motivation to keep going and wanting to improve.  

What are your goals?

I would love to go to a European boot camp for Masters next year, to get tips from other coaches, other approaches, and to be amongst Masters swimmers from different backgrounds and abilities.  Working on flexibility is a personal goal, I will get to the splits at some point, it might just take me a while!