John Wollaston Anglican Community School has recently participated in the City of Armadale Aquathlon, achieving fantastic results.
On Sunday March 15, at Bob Blackburn Reserve in Seville Grove, a large team of students came down to compete in the exciting event, which consisted of both a running component and a swimming component.
Five separate age brackets were included.
Two trophies were up for grabs on the day.
There was a participation trophy for the primary or high school that brought the most participants, and a performance cup for the highest rankings, once the scores were tallied.
Senior participants on the day included Noah Dwyer, as first place male and first overall, Anna Russell as second place female, and Ava Dwyer as third place female.
A total of 37 students from John Wollaston took part in the event, with parents in attendance.
School staff member Melanie Fowler, one of the leading figures in the school’s participation, described the training and lead up to the event.
“We have a triathlon club on Monday mornings and a swim squad on Monday and Wednesday mornings. It’s pool-based in summer terms and then dry training sessions in winter terms. A number of other staff are involved in these sessions, including Ryan Poole, Teagan Kavanagh, Aleisha West and Ruth Chapman,” she said.
“I run the co-curricular programme at the school and then I run the swim training with a couple of teachers and our previous head boy, who’s now a coach at Armadale-Kelmscott swim club.”
John Wollaston will not be stopping there.
Following the success in this aquathlon, they will be stepping it up.
“We are aiming for the SSWA triathlon and aquathlon at the end of the year,” according to Mrs Fowler.
Regarding this event, Mrs Fowler has expressed immense pride in the cohort who took part. “We are incredibly proud of our students for their sportsmanship and integrity, for taking part and challenging themselves in something they may not have tried before. We now hold both trophies three years running,” she said.
School principal Tim Russell said he was thrilled with the student’s efforts.
“This was an outstanding result for our students and a moment of real pride for the school,” he said.
“While the trophies are a fantastic achievement, what stood out most was the way our students encouraged one another, gave their best and represented John Wollaston with such positive energy. It was a great day for our community.”
John Wollaston has expressed a wish that more schools will partake in the aquathlon in future years, growing it into a larger, and better known, competition.
