Goulburn Valley Crocs make a splash at Masters Swim Victoria Relay meet

By Marcus Beeck

Oct 29, 2024

Goulburn Valley Crocs Masters Swim Club members (back) Wendy Kingma, Ryan Lau, Robert Berry, Emmet O'Dwyer, Amy Wilson, Lee Gardiner, Lucy Stanley, Carole McGregor, Bridie Moylan, Cathy O'Brien, Alison Christopher, (front) Daniel Hall, Julia Barnes, Nicole Dainton, Heidi Edmiston and Tom Avram pose for a photo at the Masters Swim Victoria Relay meet.

The Goulburn Valley’s masters of dives, strokes and tumble turns plied their trade at the Masters Swim Victoria Relay event on October 20.

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In recent weeks, early mornings at Aquamoves had a procession of swimmers practising their precision as the Goulburn Valley Crocs Masters Swim Club prepared for the meet.

Following the success of the Australian swim team at the Paris Olympics, Crocs coach Nicole Dainton said her club and swimming in general had received an influx of participants.

“It was the most amount of competitors (Masters Swim Victoria) have had for the relay meet in Victoria, I think there were (415) swimmers from around Victoria who competed,” Dainton said.

“It was a busy event and a long day of racing.

“I think after having the Olympics in July, it has definitely generated more of a buzz around swimming and people are definitely wanting to get involved and be a part of swimming a bit more now, so that is really positive.”

The Crocs have roughly 60 members, with seven newcomers recently joining the float.

The masters meet was held at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre and was a successful event for the Crocs, with the women coming fifth, the men 13th and the club 10th out of 19 entries.

Dainton said despite the masters label, the competition was open to adults of any age.

“Anyone who is at least 18 years old and is a Masters Swim Victoria member and above that age can participate,” she said.

“The age brackets go all the way from 18 to 95.

“You are competing against people similar to you in age.”

With the searing heat of summer just around the corner, Dainton said choosing swimming as your sport of choice was a great way to keep fit and stay cool.

The Crocs train on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and are a mix of competitive swimmers and social paddlers who enjoy a hearty breakfast with each other after a morning dip.

Dainton said while there were different meets and events coming up for her swimmers, the next big fixture on the Crocs' schedule was the Nagambie Club 2 Pub event early next year.

“The Nagambie Club 2 Pub is in February and our club runs that,” she said.

“It is during the Go Nagambie festival.

“Other than that, there are lots of other events we partake in such as the Pier to Pub and Lake Boga Bank 2 Bank.”

If you are interested in joining the Crocs, reach out to Dainton via her email at nicoledainton90@gmail.com