IDEAL conditions and a commitment to finding pace and rhythm early paid off for Scone's Isabella Henderson who lead home a team of 161 from The Armidale School (TAS) in the two-kilometre Coffs Ocean Swim on March 26.
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A previous age champion in the pool at TAS, it was the first open water event for the 15 year old from 'Middlebrook Station', Scone, who crossed the line in a time of 33:27, placing second in the girls 14-19 category, eighth female and 15th finisher overall.
"I love the beach but it was my first ever open water swim and a whole new experience, so I wasn't quite sure how I would go," she said.
"I decided to go out pretty hard at the start to try and find some open water and other swimmers of a similar pace and then kept with them.
"The calm conditions meant it was quite easy to see the buoys and every time I went around one I just put my head down and focused on the next one - I was pleased with my time though I had nothing to compare it to, and was pretty surprised to be the first TAS swimmer home."
It was a particularly fitting result for Isabella who was a driving force behind a week of activities at TAS raising awareness of mental health and in particular the Blue Tree Project.
"It was also nice for us all to wear blue caps and tape around our arms to spread the message that it's okay not to be okay, and we had our own little blue tree in the sand there to remind us all of that," said Isabella, who was joined by her sister Georgia in the 2km event, while younger sibling Fi swam in the 300m event.
Not long behind were two other TAS girls, Lily Lorimer (33:59) and Prue Black (34.47). The first TAS boy home was 16 year old James Collum in 36:00. Eleven year old Edward Pengilley from Tamworth, was the youngest member of the team, joining older siblings Hamish, Archie and Isobel in the water.
Such was the strength in numbers that TAS made up around 40 percent of entries in the 2km event.
Coordinator Jim Pennington said it was terrific to return to the iconic event after a three year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic and road closures caused by flood damage.
"It was a wonderful cross section of our community involved from students, staff, parents and our number one supporter, the Principal Dr Horton who witnessed the event for the first time. Apart from the swimmers we had nine of our Year 12 students who achieved their surf bronze medallions last year and three staff on rescue boards in the water giving additional water safety support. We're also grateful that the organisers Sawtell Surf Life Saving Club, who partner us with our surf life program, allowed us to have our own 'blue wave' start," he said.
"All in all it was a magnificent day for everyone involved and a terrific wrap up to Blue Week activities at TAS."
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