On Wednesday 2 April, five of our talented swimmers represented St Catherine’s at the SSV Regional Swimming Carnival, travelling an hour down to Rosebud for their races. The excitement was palpable at the Yawa Aquatic Centre, with an electric atmosphere making the competition even more thrilling. 

The day kicked off with relays, where our 12/13-year-old freestyle relay team put on a dominant performance. A huge congratulations to Cate, Adelaide, Arabella, and Ellie, who proved too strong for their competition, winning their race in a time of 2 minutes and 15 seconds! 

Next up were the individual events, with Ellie Wang providing a moment of drama as she almost missed her race—arriving at marshalling just as her event was about to start! Despite the frantic lead-up, she lived up to her favourite status, delivering an exceptional swim to take out first place. 

The much-anticipated butterfly events rounded out the day, with both Leticia and Ellie stepping up to the blocks. Leticia, who had been the ultimate cheer squad all day, finally had her chance to race—and she did not disappoint! She powered through the 50m butterfly to claim a convincing victory. Ellie followed in the final race of the day, delivering a sensational swim to not only win her event but also break the Eastern Metropolitan Record, touching the wall in 31.31 seconds. She surpassed the record set last year by St Catherine’s own Kimberly Chen, making it an even prouder moment for our school. 

With St Catherine’s walking away with only gold medals, we could not be prouder of these incredible athletes. All five girls have now qualified for the SSV State Swimming Championships next term, and we cannot wait to cheer them on! 

A huge thank you to all the parents for their unwavering support, whether it was cheering from the sidelines or driving their daughters to the event. Congratulations again to our superstar swimmers!