Just Keep Swimming

On Wednesday, the inter-college swimming and diving tournament took place at Sydney Olympic Park. Members of St. Andrews, St. Johns, Wesley, Womens, St. Pauls, and Sancta Sophia came out to compete in many races and competition in hopes of becoming the Rawson and Rosebowl champions. A bunch of my fellow Johnsmen and I went to support our swimmers and divers. Since Australia is known for its great swimming culture I was excited to see how it differed, if at all, from my swim team at home. We got there a little late due to traffic (and incorrect directions), but when we arrived they were just about to start the diving portion of the competition. I have never actually seen diving before. It was really beautiful, and it reminded me of gymnastics just instead of landing on a mat, they landed into a pool. 

The swimming was the real reason I went. As a former swimmer I was eager to compare my old times with theirs. It was hard to see where I would have placed because as opposed to a 50-meter pool that they were using, I used to compete in a 25-yard pool. Overall I was pretty impressed with the skill level of many of the swimmers. It seemed as if everyone could swim at a decent level, without much training at all. Being a former breaststroke swimmer, I noticed that of the four strokes, that was the one people had the most difficulty with. Free style was clearly everyone's dominant stroke, and then surprisingly butterfly was second. I was never able to master the butterfly, probably because I was lacking in upper-body strength.

The swimming and diving culture that I witnessed here did not differ greatly, if at all from what I am accustomed to in America. Besides for the pool length, I felt as if I could have been back in New York at one of my high school swim meets.

Indigenous Rugby League Game

            On Sunday, we went to Coogee Oval to watch an Indigenous Rugby League game. This game was very different from the one I saw earlier in the semester when the Roosters played the Rabbitohs. At that game there were many more people and it was much more professional. This event was rather informal as there were some spectators actually sitting on the grass beside the field, and occasionally a young child would run onto the field to get a fallen ball when playing a game of catch.

            Another distinct difference is that this was rugby league instead of rugby union. First of all the field was very different, in that it is thinner, but longer than the one used for union. Scoring is also a big difference between the two types of rugby. A try is worth five points in rugby union, but only four pints in rugby league. There were fewer scrums in this game and no one was lifted up. Overall the game was enjoyable and I am starting to appreciate rugby more and more each time I watch it.

Moreton Island

             This past weekend I went up to Moreton Island for a full day of activities. After traveling several hours to get there by bus and then by ferry, we finally made it to the island. We then took a large garbage-truck-like bus through the sandy island into the desert. We climbed up a large mountain of sand where we were given small planks of wood. From the top of the sand hill it looked really high and somewhat scary. First we had to wax the bottom of the board so that it would easily slide down the hill. The first time I rode down the hill, I lay face-first on the board. I had to raise my elbows and the board up off the sand so that sand didn’t come flying into my face. It was a lot of fun and it definitely gave me an adrenaline rush. After going down on my stomach, both forwards and backwards, I switched to doing stand-up. We moved to a less steep area of the hill to prevent us from killing ourselves. This was actually a lot more fun and much easier than I thought it would be.

              After sand boarding all morning, we moved to the water for some snorkeling. We went snorkeling in an area full of sunken and abandoned ships that was also inhabited by a great variety of animals. First we were given our wet suits which were required so that we wouldn’t get our skin caught on the ships, get stung, or touch something we shouldn’t. We then put on our masks and made sure that we could breathe easily and that we did not have any water leak into our masks. The flippers and the gloves were the last things we put on after which we all looked like something from an alien world. While snorkeling around the sunken ships we saw many fish, especially zebra fish, and a Wobbelong shark.

Lawn Bowling

             Last Sunday we went lawn bowling. After waiting some time for the weather to clear up, we finally got on the grass. We broke up into groups of 5 or 6 people. Going into it I thought it was going to be like bocce ball. I am not good at that or bowling, so I wasn’t expecting to be that great at this either. The point of the game is to roll a ball, known as bowls, so that they come close to a small ball, called a “jack” or “kitty.” It took me awhile to realize that the bowls were actually asymmetric, so it kept going in the wrong direction. After many tries I started to get the hang of it, but still managed to end the day with a score of 0. After doing it once, I would love to go back on my own and try again. Hopefully, I will be able to score some points the next time.