Although fairies, princesses and other Disney characters may seem unrealistic, dreams came true for the McAuley team who denied Stormanston of a tenth straight win at the 2018 Annual Swimming Carnival.

A cracking summer’s day welcomed the students and staff at Lane Cove Aquatic Centre but it was the House Cheers from Mercy which stole the show for the second year running. Originality, creativity, unity and volume were the key criteria which enabled the Mercy students to begin their day on a positive note and earn them some extra points towards the final outcome. Coolock finished agonisingly close in second place with McAuley and Stormanston rounding out third and fourth place respectively.

Once again, to increase the time available for the growing student population to participate, 200m individual medley and 50m Backstroke swimmers caught an early bus and swam their events prior to the remaining students arriving. As a result, students had the opportunity to swim in two participation races which contributed more than 500 points to the four Houses.

Many students relished the participation races as it gave them a chance to swim with friends and earn some valuable points for their House. After the frivolity and well-choreographed House Cheering performances, the Championship events soon began. Although only two records were broken throughout the day, many PB’s were achieved and there was a substantial increase in the number of students participating in these more serious races. Chloe Mudadu, a Year 8 student, was crowned Champion Swimmer of the Carnival as she was unbeaten in all her events and also broke the 200m individual medley record for the 13 year age group.

Special mention must go to Lauren Hilder who also performed very strongly and remained unbeaten in her events. Thanks must go to all students who swam, supported and displayed plenty of College spirit which made the carnival a success. Thank you also to the PDHPE staff for their valuable contribution, to the staff on the early bus for their commitment and to all staff for assisting in various duties, it was greatly appreciated. Finally, it was great to see so many parents and grandparents at the pool, your presence and support did not go unnoticed, thank you.

Champion House: McAuley
Champion Swimmer: Chloe Mudadu
New Records Chloe Mudadu – 13 years 200m individual medley (2-59.09)
Mercy Junior Relay Team – 4x50m Swimming