Moree Amateur Swimming Club senior representative swimmers Josh Elbourne and Emily Di Donna have big plans to encourage other teenagers to stick with swimming after recently participating in the inaugural Swimming NSW Youth Leadership Camp.
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Josh, aged 14 and Emily, aged 13, were nominated and selected to represent their club and region at the Lane Ropes to Leadership Camp, held at Vision Valley in Sydney on October 28 and 29.
Josh and Emily were two of only three swimmers from the North West region to participate in the camp, with most participants from Sydney and surrounds.
The camp is for Swimming NSW members aged 12 to 16 years and aims to motivate and inspire potential young leaders and provide them with skills they can take back and apply to improve participation and increase fun within their own swimming clubs.
The idea of the camp is to increase retention of members, particularly teenagers who tend to drop out after the age of 12.
With only a handful of competitive swimmers older than 12 within the Moree club, Josh and Emily learnt some valuable skills to try to encourage others to continue with the sport.
“We learnt different ways to try and get little kids involved in club nights and realise it’s about having fun,” Emily said.
“The idea is to keep kids in the sport; we’re losing a lot of older swimmers, especially to boarding school,” Josh added.
“We also learnt how to involve other clubs with our club.
“I’m friends with a kid from Inverell who participated in the camp and we thought [the senior swimmers from Moree and Inverell] could go to Copeton Dam or Lake Keepit and have a bonding session.”
As well as a bonding trip, Josh and Emily are planning to organise fundraising activities and fun events for the Moree club.
“Instead of club night, we thought we could go to the oval and play footy or soccer, or have a movie night – something that doesn’t revolve around swimming to get to know each other more,” Josh said.
The weekend-long leadership camp included leadership, event management, technical official and coaching workshops, as well as fun team bonding activities.
Participants now need to complete a practical at any swimming carnival and then they can become qualified technical officials and can progress through the ranks from timekeepers to referees.
Both Josh and Emily gained a lot from the camp and highly recommend it.
“It was a good experience,” Emily said.
“We learnt a lot of stuff, and it was really helpful and boosted my confidence. It was really hands-on and fun.”
“The biggest thing I took from it was different ways to communicate with little kids – they don’t understand the technical language,” Josh added.
Swimming NSW sport development and participation manager Sarah Koen said Josh and Emily are fantastic ambassadors for swimming.
“They were a total credit to themselves, their families and their club,” she said.
Moree Amateur Swimming Club secretary Tammy Elbourne said the leadership camp was a fantastic opportunity for both Josh and Emily.
“It is a testament to not only their commitment to their sport and their club but to their sportsmanship and personal character,” she said.
“Both swimmers have been dedicated to their sport for the past six years with them achieving some fantastic results throughout this time.”