Cunningham Classic - Shout outs, fantastic results, fun facts, and more!

The 2024 Cunningham Classic was held at our home pool, WLU, this past weekend and the energy on deck and in the stands was palpable! 

The first Long Course (LCM) meet of the year for AGD, RSA Comp, PD2, JD1, and JD2 -- and the first meet upon our return from March Break -- the Cunningham Classic helped us get back into the swing of racing. A lot of work went on behind the scenes to reformat the meet, which was strongly catered towards the needs of athletes for this time of the season, with emphasis on:

• Removing the onus from "personal times" to "competing"
• Giving athletes the opportunity to swim a wide variety of events
• Allowing for team building opportunities and an energetic atmosphere

For those of you interested in the details, here's a breakdown of the format:

 

Friday PM – Distance – Several athletes swam distance for the first time

Saturday AM and PM – 13&O sessions (heats and finals feel, for a larger contingency of athletes

Saturday afternoon, Sunday afternoon -12&U sessions

 

Sunday AM was a very special session broken down as follows:

a.       All ages, all competitive groups

b.       All 50m races – lots of high energy racing

c.       Team Building Relays:

                          i.      1 athlete per age group per relay team – kids in younger programs had the opportunity to race alongside ND/PD1 athletes

                         ii.      300m total – 100, 50, 50, 50, 50

                        iii.      ROW won both the men’s and women’s relay (earning a gift basket prize):

• Women 1st - Le Anne D, Olivia G, Katherine S, Olivia S, Claire S  
• Women 3^rd – Megan B, Geneva S, Sophie R, Stella N, Suya B
• Men 1st - Joseph L, Edward N, Aris C, Chris R, Harry F
• Men 2nd - Ben R, Kentaro D, Sebastian H, Nikkolai T, Wellington M

d.       Eliminator:

• Broken down into 3 gendered age groups – 13, 14-15, 16&O
• After preliminaries – a round of 6 athletes, a round of 4 athletes and a round of 2 athletes for each stk (eliminating 2 athletes per round)
• Most energetic session of the entire season! Lots of supportive teammates and support from the very engaged crowd.
• Eliminator results

 

 

Fly: 13G (6)  Katherine S, Valentina G, Oliver P, Olivia W, Jimin P, Anna Gomis F

                (4) Katherine S, Valentina G, Oliver P, Olivia W

                (2) Katherine S*, Oliver P

  14-15G (6) Le Anne D, Geneva S, Sunny X, Megan B, Olivia G, Jaelyn

                (4) Le Anne D, Geneva S, Sunny X, Megan B

                (2) Le Anne D*, Geneva S

  16OG   (6) Ayla B, Isbella S, Natalie V, Mikayla H, Ella C, Adelina N

               (4) Ayla B, Isbella S, Natalie V, Mikayla H

               (2) Ayla B*, Isbella S

 

Fly: 13B (6)  Aris C, Brenton S, Sebastian H, Ewan K, Jamie W, Rhys B

                (4) Aris C, Brenton S, Sebastian H, Ewan K

                (2) Aris C*, Ewan K

  14-15B (6) Kentaro D, Joseph L, Lucas L, Nathan L, Derek C, Tyler H

                (4) Kentaro D, Joseph L, Lucas L, Nathan L

                (2) Joseph L, Lucas L*

  16OB   (6) Sean M, Devin P, Emillano C, Matthew Y, Patrick S

               (4) Sean M, Devin P, Emillano C, Matthew Y

               (2) Sean M*, Devin P

 

                             Back: 13G (6)  Louisa B, Katherine S, Alexandra S, Sophie R, Shealen H, Sophie G  

                (4) Louisa B, Katherine S, Alexandra S, Sophie R

                (2) Louisa B, Katherine S*

  14-15G (6) Hailey M, Sophie D, Olivia G, Sunny X, Margaritta H, Geneva S

                (4) Hailey M, Sophie D, Olivia G, Sunny X

                (2) Hailey M, Sunny X*

  16OG   (6) Isabella S, Ayla B, Jie-lynn B, Luna A, Reina W

               (4) Isabella S, Ayla B, Jie-lynn B, Luna A

               (2) Isabella S, Luna A*

 

                             Back: 13B (6)  Liam B, Eason S, Nicholas W, Oliver M, Aris C, Beckett S

                (4) Liam B, Eason S, Nicholas W, Oliver M

                (2) Liam B*, Nicholas W

  14-15B (6) Lucas L, Ryan P, Cam S, Eric B, Xianyun H, Tyler H

                (4) Lucas L, Ryan P, Cam S, Eric B

                (2) Lucas L*, Ryan P

  16OB    (2) Emilliano C*, Matthew Y

 

                          Breast: 13G (6) Katherine S, Brooklyn P, Malia C, Alexandra S, Olivia Wilhelm, Sophie R

                (4) Katherine S, Brooklyn P, Malia C, Alexandra S

                (2) Katherine S*, Brooklyn P

  14-15G (6) Hailey M, Jaelyn S, Le Anne D, Ayla A, Nicole Y, Kate H

                (4) Hailey M, Jaelyn S, Le Anne D, Ayla A

                (2) Hailey M, Jaelyn S*

  16OG   (6) Ella C, Lulu S, Mikayla H, Claire D, Aerowyn R, Luna A

               (4) Ella C, Lulu S, Mikayla H, Claire D

               (2) Ella C, Lulu S*

 

                          Breast: 13B (6)  Beckett S, Sebastian H, Aris C, Nicholas W, Lucas H, Thinu K

                (4) Beckett S, Sebastian H, Aris C, Nicholas W

                (2) Beckett S*, Aris C

  14-15B (6) Nathan W, Michael T, Eric Z, Derek C, Nathan L, Matthew C

                (4) Nathan W, Michael T, Eric Z, Derek C

                (2) Michael T*, Derek C

  16OB    (6) Edward N, Devin P, Benjamin R, Connor M, Hamza A

                (4) Edward N, Devin P, Benjamin R, Connor M

                (2) Edward N*, Devin P

 

                          Free: 13G (6) Louisa B, Sophie R, Razan A, Alexandra S, Valentina G, Olivia P

                (4) Louisa B, Sophie R, Razan A, Alexandra S

                (2) Louisa B*, Sophie R

  14-15G (6) Le Anne D, Megan B, Sunny X, Geneva S, Olivia L, Sophie D

                (4) Le Anne D, Megan B, Sunny X, Geneva S

                (2) Le Anne D*, Megan B

  16OG   (6) Isabella S, Abigail C, Ayla B, Siena B, Mikayla H, Jie-lynn B

               (4) Isabella S, Abigail C, Ayla B, Siena B

               (2) Isabella S*, Abigail C

 

                             Free: 13B (6)  Aris C, Oliver M, Ewan K, Rhys B, Sebastian H, Liam B

                (4)  Aris C, Oliver M, Ewan K, Rhys B

                (2) Aris C*, Ewan K

  14-15B (6) Joseph L, Lucas L, Derek C, Kentaro D, Michael T, Eric Z

                (4) Joseph L, Lucas L, Derek C, Kentaro D

                (2) Joseph L*, Lucas L

  16OB    (6) Rylan W, Sean M, Connor M, Edward N, Benjamin R, Patrick S

                (4) Rylan W, Sean M, Connor M, Edward N

                (2) Rylan W*, Sean M

 

                                  (*) Winners of the events                  

                                                                                           

Watching athletes perform lifetime personal bests in the 3 rounds of the eliminator (6-12 races into the session) displayed that racing hard is a state-of-mind!

 

New Qualifiers:

o   Festivals – Miran D, Leo S, Kellen V

o   WOSA – Ellen B, Harry F, Claire S

 

A huge thank you to all of our volunteers and officials who dedicate their time and effort year after year to support ROW and its athletes. We couldn't run these events without you! For those of you who weren't in attendance for the Sunday AM session, I can't emphasize enough the fantastic energy which ROW Meet Management were able to create at the WLU Athletic Centre. It's the most energy in a session I have personally witnessed all season long!

 

Great work team! GO ROW!

- Head Coach AJ

 

Fun fact: This meet is named after one of our longest-standing officials, Angus Cunningham. Angus' kids joined ROW in the late 90s and finished with ROW in 2011, but he continues to support ROW as a Level 5 official, and was actually on deck this weekend officiating!