THE JOURNEY to
MILDURA by Mark Rummel
The 11 Mentone swimmers who
participated were:
Barry & Joan Nock
Bob & Thelma Bromley
Bill & Shirley Malcolm
Margaret Willey & Peter Wright
Steve Russell
Sid Krasey
Mark Rummel
And Sue Russell made it an even dozen who journeyed up to Mildura.
The
Journey to Mildura
Bob & Thelma traveled to Mildura in their "Bromleymobile"
The Malcolms and Sid took their chances by rail (a very long journey both ways)
The remaining 7 left Melbourne in 2 carloads at the ungodly hour of 5:30am at Peter Wright's insistence (why did we put him in charge?)
The Format
The swimming program covered 3 hours per day over 4 days (18-21 Aug.) in an indoor 25m pool. There were about 115 swimmers from all over the country, mostly from AUSSI Masters swim clubs.
The Volunteers
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3 Timekeepers were required for each lane. Our hosts had 2 years to recruit timekeepers ("no experience necessary" they advertised). Alas, volunteers were scarce; so many swimmers had to sit in the timekeepers chairs between their races. Sue & Steve Russell spent the most time as timekeepers - no change from a Tatnell Pool club swim, really.
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"Captain" Peter Wright deserves a special mention for his planning and organisational skills in plotting our success in the relays, the teams of which are submitted on each day of competition. If you left your Mildura Masters Games official program lying around, you would eventually find it covered with relay age group calculations and name combinations.
Medals
The 11 Mentone swimmers collected a total of 55 individual medals (24 gold, 23 silver, 8 bronze). Relay races yielded another 9 podium results (6 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze).
In addition to the medals, we set many personal best times or "break" times based on our club swims at home. By the way, Bob and Thelma made the most of their visit with multiple medal success in the Darts competition which preceded the swimming program. We are still awaiting word on any further Bromley medals from the Games-closing social Petanque program.
The Record-breaker
The setting of new State and National records at Masters level was a regular occurrence over the 4 days. The oldest male swimmer at the Games was Sid Krasey (as spelled in the media release). Our Sid broke State records in 50m backstroke, 50m freestyle (swimming breaststroke - how clever!), and set a National record in the 50m breaststroke.
The Inspirations
Our Mentone veterans (Sid, Bill, Bob, Thelma & Shirley) were an inspiration to the rest of us - 32 of our 55 individual medals came from those 5 alone. We didn't need to look much further for other Inspirations.. Julie Keast, from Mildura's Atlantis Masters Club, is a Phi Phi Island survivor from the Boxing Day Tsunami. Julie walked with a pronounced limp after months of rehab., but she was a star in the pool, particularly the longer distance events. Dawn Thompson, Shirley's room-mate for the Games was the pin-up girl for the Master's Games promoters, and she was an honorary Mentone swimmer for the entire program - that certainly helped us with our Mentone relay teams. Dawn's promotional status arose because of her recent feat in swimming 1500m butterfly "to prove to the experts that it can be done after all".
The Injuries
Shirley Malcolm carried a sever back complaint into the Games, and wore a special back brace away from the pool. This made Shirley's haul of 10 medals (7 individual, 3 relay) all the more remarkable.
Peter Wright sustained a thigh muscle strain in one of his early 25m sprint races. He was forced to reduce his program just to get through to Day 4. There were many photo shoots of Peter's ever-increasing bruise, which became the size of a football.
Steve Russell did a huge amount of exercising in between days of competition, to the extent that his over-exercise resulted in him being too leg weary to compete on Day 4. And he still came home with 5 gold medals!
Unusual Sight
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Barry Nock was seen drinking straight whiskey (and lots of it!) one night in our caravan park unit - this is because the day's beer supply had already run dry (swimming is thirsty work!).
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Back at the motel, Bill and Shirley Malcolm were happy to sleep in separate quarters. Bill shared a room with Sid - this worked out just fine because Bill's "heavy sleeping" meant that he slept right through any noises from Sid pottering around the room between 3:30 and 5:00 in the morning.
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We were told to watch for Sid on the 6 o'clock local news. This is because Sid was interviewed by WIN at poolside one day. The Caravan Park 7 eagerly gathered in front of the TV to witness the magic moment. But when Dennis Walter cut to the Masters Games for the first item in sports news, all we got was a blank screen and no audio for the next 2 minutes. We are still waiting for an explanation. Talk about an anticlimax! There is some consolation for Sid in that his handsome features made it onto the front and back page of the Sunraysia Daily newspaper (August 22) - now a collector's item!
The Final Word
It was an immensely enjoyable experience for all who participated at the "Hotel Mildura" Mildura Masters Games. the format of the competition obviously brought out the best in our swimmers, and there was no such thing as an "easy swim" or easy medal. Our hosts were very hospitable and the swimmers we met from other clubs were extremely friendly, making the experience all the more enjoyable. If you're interested in going to Mildura for the next Mildura Masters Games (August 2007) please see Peter Wright - he's planning an even bigger Mentone invasion in 2 years time!
by Mark Rummel