Geelong Swimming Club makes finals of state awards

THE inclusive attitude and impressive achievements of the Geelong Swimming Club have been recognised with three finals berths in this year’s Victorian Disability Sport and Recreation (VDSR) Awards.

Entrants in the awards – which will be announced on December 3 – are nominated by state sporting associations, regional sport assemblies, local government, teammates, club members, coaches or their local community in recognition of their outstanding contribution to inclusive sport and recreation.

The Geelong Swimming Club is one of three finalists in the Carbine Club Team of the Year, and also has two associated individual finalists – Phoebe Mitchell for Female Sportsperson of the Year, and Sadat-Jon Hussain for Coach of the Year.

The club swims in both pool and open water, and have competed in local, state, national and international competition over the past 12 months, including at the INAS Global Games, the World Deaf Championships, the Special Olympics state championships, and the Australian Down Syndrome Championships.

Mitchell, who lives in Bellbrae, is a middle to long distance swimmer in backstroke and breaststroke and a short distance swimmer in freestyle.

Over the past year she has won eight Australian titles – 200m individual medly, 50m breaststroke, 100m backstroke, 200m breaststroke, 50m backstroke, 200m freestyle, 100m breaststroke and 200m backstroke – and broken four world records in 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 200m breaststroke and 4×100 medley relay, respectively.

Hussain is the head multiclass squad coach at Geelong Swimming Club, as well as the Victorian Down Syndrome Swimming coach and the assistant Australian Down Syndrome Swimming coach.

He has created a strong squad of seven multi-class swimmers with a variety of disabilities including hearing impairment, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and intellectual disability. Over the past 12 months, each individual in the squad has reached state level, most have reached national level, and some have even been chosen to compete for Australia.

Disability Sport & Recreation invited 13 highly qualified judges from the sector and charged them with assessing nominations across 11 award categories to work out the finalists and winners.

“The incredible response to the Initiative of the Year category means there is a clear need for new programs that get people with disability active and those programs are indeed happening across Victoria,’ Disability Sport and Recreation chief executive officer Richard Amon said.

“With the possibility of large indoor gatherings some way off due to COVID-19 restrictions, we have made the decision to host our 2020 Victorian Disability Sport and Recreation Awards as an online event.”