Nationals 2022 -Durban
SA Nationals took place at Kings Park pool in Durban from 8 to 10 April.
Team Phoenix directly coached 5 routines for 4 provincial teams (CGA, NTS, KZN and WCA) and either claimed Gold or Silver in every routine entered. Team Phoenix had a total of 9 athletes, who have attended coaching camps, competing and we are very proud of their achievements, showing improvements since last year. Below is a short description of all the Team Phoenix coached routines. Some competition videos have not been made available yet, but will be uploaded as soon as they are.
Laura Strugnell (NTS) - Technical Solo
Laura entered her Technical Solo for Nationals for selection to the Senior team for World Championships.
Laura previously entered her Free Solo at Nationals Age Groups in December for selection to the SA Squad for World Championships. She won that event with the highest routine score of the competition.
The Technical Solo again received the highest routine score of the competition as she won Gold with an average score of 70.1862 with a winning margin of 5 points.
Laura thus qualified for World Champs in June this year. This will be her 6th consecutive World Championships.
Laura Strugnell Senior Technical Solo
Laura Strugnell Senior Tech Solo Nationals 2022
Laura Strugnell (NTS) and Ayrton Sweeney (KZN) - Senior Free Mixed Duet. Making History!
This is the first ever Mixed Duet swum in South Africa and indeed in Africa, conceived, choreographed and coached by Team Phoenix.
We had 8 weeks to choreograph a routine, teach Ayrton synchro from scratch, teach them both the routine and then compete.
Lead by Team Phoenix SA Olympic coach Vicky, a routine was strategically choreographed and put together over many hours of training, both in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Special credit must be given to Laura (working with Ayrton), Clarissa (creative input) and Tanya (relentlessly drilling Vicky's schedules), who helped keep things on track and of course Ayrton who jumped into this challenge with such enthusiasm.
The Mixed Duet was very well received with plenty of excited spectators cheering them on. Laura and Ayrton did not disappoint and received a score of 60.0333, which was high enough to qualify the Mixed for World Champs in June this year!
Laura Strugnell and Ayrton Sweeney Senior Free Mixed Duet
SA Nationals 2022 - Senior Mixed Duet - Laura and Ayrton
Kaitlyn Doms (WCA) and Kate Jarvis (KZN) - Junior Technical Duet
Team Phoenix was delighted to assist by coaching Kaitlyn and Kate their Technical Duet. The routine was originally a Free routine, but a last minute competition rule change meant they were forced to change to a Technical routine the night before their last training weekend. The routine was re-choreographed by Vicky and taught to Kaitlyn and Kate in 1 day with only a few days of extra practice before the Nationals competition. This required expert coaching and focused, dedicated, extremely hard work by Kaitlyn and Kate.
Team Phoenix was proud of the way Kaitlyn and Kate rose to the challenge and swam superbly at Nationals to win Gold with a score of 58.7484 - which qualifies them for Junior World Championships. Interestingly the International judges gave a score of over 60. Definitely a duet to watch in the future.
Kaitlyn Doms and Kate Jarvis Junior Technical Duet
SA Nationals 2022 - Junior Tech Duet Kaitlyn and Kate
Chloe Dundas-Starr (KZN) - Senior Free Solo
Vicky was thrilled to work with Chloe on her Free Routine. Carefully choreographed to maximise Chole's strengths in the water, Vicky and Chloe worked on improving execution and impression. From Nationals last year these scores improved by 5 points. Even though illness and University commitments meant that training times were limited, Chloe swam extremely well to earn Silver with a score of 62.4667. It was noteworthy that her score from the international judges was 64.95, a fantastic achievement.
Video will be uploaded as soon as we receive it.
Jadi and Kenzie Malan (CGA) - Level 3 13-15 Free Duet
This was the last time Jadi and Kenzie would swim their "Olaf" routine competitively, with a new exciting routine in the wings. "Olaf", swum to the music of "Frozen" with it's clever story line and choreography, has proven to be a crowd favourite since it was first performed at Age Groups in December, where they won Gold in the U12 Age Group.
As the only entrants in Level 3 the focus was on enjoying swimming the routine and it capped off a successful week for Jadi and Kenzie, who at the Ages of 11 and 12, have a bright future ahead of them.
Jadi and Kenzie Malan Level 3 13-15 Free Duet
SA Nationals Level 3 Youth Free Duet Jadi and Kenzie Malan
