My love for ocean swimming started around 15 years ago after returning from overseas, prior to this I was a competitive swimmer and NZ rep for waterpolo. A friend of mine Scott Rice started up ocean swim series in NZ, that’s when my interest in ocean swimming began. I have been a regular participant at Beach Series which runs over summer at Takapuna Beach on a Tuesday night as well as other races throughout summer. I had to overcome the fear of ‘what is beneath you’, and I still struggle with that at times, but once I’m competing I mostly forget.
We moved up to Matakana in December 2020, my biggest struggle with leaving the Big Smoke was that I wouldn’t be able to swim train with my awesome coach Rhynhardt, with whom I was training 3 times a week and swimming around 10-12km. It’s been a true bonus finding the Leigh Swimmers and although I’ll never be as fast as I was, I have met like-minded people who love to swim, and that’s the main thing. Now, I just need to change my mindset – do it because you love it, not to win!