This was one of the very best highlights we have had so far! What a fantastic experience for us to venture out to the exciting continent of Africa! This venture all started with a keen swimming parent asking about our interest to work with the schools swimming team. After finding out more information we jumped at the chance.

Set on the foothills and in plain sight of Kilimanjaro we were welcomed into the school by the extremely friendly and enthusiastic staff. Each morning at 5.30am (before the Sun had risen) we had made our way to the pool to begin land training with the senior team and then into the pool for a training session before school started at 7.35am. The morning swim was designed for more rigorous sets, tapping into different energy systems and testing stroke mechanics and technique. The afternoon practice was for stroke demonstrations from Amy & Joe and was more technique focused, with each day examining on one particular stroke. The junior swimmers we met once a day and had a mix of the two types of workouts in their daily session, and both groups added dryland training in order to strengthen muscles associated with swimming and increase flexibility.

This alone we enjoyed immensely, seeing these swimmers learn new skills and techniques and surprise themselves with how much they could physically and mentally improve. We were hugely impressed by how much they raised their game, training 8 times in 4 days plus land work! Well done!

Over the four days we were in the school we stood up in front of every student in the school in a mixture of assemblies and classroom visits. Sharing our journeys, values, highs and lows. This was really well received by all age groups and we were very impressed by the level of excitement, attention, interaction and manners from the students.

We loved every minute of our visit and would like to say a special thanks to Mary Fitzpatrick, Annalee & Bob Horton and Ryan Sullivan for all their efforts to make this happen!

Hope to see you all next year!

In September, we travelled over to Louth. It was Joe’s first visit to this club, and by working with 2 different groups, we got to see lots of Louth Dolphins swimmers. It was great to see how many of the swimmers at Louth took to Butterfly so naturally, and picked up the drills we taught them so well. Some are quite tough, but every swimmer gave them a go. Everyone did a fantastic job and we hope they enjoyed the visit as much as we did.

Amy had the incredible opportunity to travel to Rio de Janeiro with the Para-triathlon team for the Paralympic games in September. Her role was general team support and working alongside the Physiotherapist as the soft tissue therapist. There was an initial holding camp using the fantastic facilities in Belo Horizonte, where the athletes completed their final preparations leading into the Games. With this being the first time that triathlon has been part of the Paralympic Games, there was a huge buzz of excitement on the team when travelling into Rio. With the race site being along Copacabana beach, there couldn’t have been a more picturesque & bustling setting for the athletes to make their debut. The team came away with 4 very much deserved medals, and also some unfortunately close 4^ths & 5^ths. It was a hugely successful debut Paralympic performance for the team, they all did a fantastic job and should be very proud. The visit was topped off with a last minute visit to Sugar Loaf Mountain and possibly to most stunning views of Copacabana beach. It was a fantastic experience which brought back some fond memories of competing myself in London 4 years earlier.