15 November 2025
Portland Swimming Club coaches, Kristy Andrews, Claire Ward, Matilda Andrews, and Michelle Beddows participated in a huge weekend in Geelong for the Barwon South West Development Coaching course weekend. Delivered by Swimming Victoria, it was the largest development coaching accreditation course in the state, with 30 coaches in attendance at last Saturday's workshop. Another feature to the weekend, swimming and diving coaches were brought together in a focus group, collaborating and providing valuable insights for participation and inclusion.
Our coaches who are soon to be fully accredited as Swimming Australia Development Coaches as a result of the weekends activities, spoke about the benefits of the training. 'This is a fantastic milestone for our small club and a huge step forward for our swimmers. This accreditation recognises that our coaches meet the national standard to lead competitive squads and support athlete development.' Claire said.
During the program, coaches had the privilege of learning alongside past Olympians, being assessed by an Olympic coach, and providing direct feedback to Swimming Victoria on challenges faced by swimmers, coaches, and clubs.
Matilda who is the club's youngest qualified coach said 'I've wanted to be a coach since I was 10 years old, so really little... and it's important to me that I get to share my knowledge with others because they're passionate about what they do.'
Michelle said coaching doesn't have to be about high performance, it is focusing on the grass roots 'It's working with our kids to accomplish their goals, whether that's having fun, making friends, competing in school swimming meets or aiming for Countries or Nationals. As coaches if our kids are having fun and smashing their goals, getting PB's, we are winning. By doing these courses we are keeping up to date and gaining the confidence to help our kids get to where they want to be.' Although Michelle has now moved to Warrnambool with her family and is no longer coaching in Portland, she hasn't ruled out coming back 'Also a huge thankyou to Portland Swimming Club in supporting me to complete this course, I look forward to running a pop-up session one day.'
Club President and coach Kristy Andrews was pleased with the weekend and proud of the Portland coaching team 'It was great being connected with other coaches and developing those connections. The course was a great opportunity to learn and develop new skills and knowledge but also recognise how far we have come.'
Coaches thanked the club for assisting them to achieve this important goal. 'A big thank you to our amazing committee for their ongoing support in helping us reach this achievement, which will bring lasting benefits to our swimmers and the future of our club.' Claire said.
Junior Talent Represents Barwon South West at the 2025 Victorian Country Junior District Competition
Sunday 12 October 2025
The Barwon South West Swimming Association (BSWSA) recently held its annual general meeting and annual award presentations to celebrate and recognise the wonderful successes and achievements of many of the BSWSA Swimmers at the Hampden Hotel Camperdown.
The Portland Swimming Club was awarded the Bob Carmichael trophy, which is awarded to the club that improves results by highest % from the previous year’s District Championships. Riley and Leo Healy both accepted the award on behalf of the Portland Swimming Club which they were honoured to be able to do. Portland Swimming Club President Kristy Andrews said "We are humbled to receive the award and feel extremely proud of the efforts of our swimmers to achieve this. The club is constantly growing and improving, and this result is testament to that."
Portland 2025 Swimmer Of The Year Leo Healy was awarded the Runner Up for the 9/U Boys Age Champion namely the Peter McNeil Trophy. Leo was pleased with his result. "I tried my best and I am very happy to receive this award". Kristy Andrews went on to say "Leo's award demonstrates his commitment and effort he has put in through the season and is a credit to his hard work week in and week out, even on the tough days."
Portland Swimming Club Secretary Rachael Healy and family attended the awards said that it was great to see the club and swimmers being recognised for their hard work and efforts over the past 12 months. "We are very proud of our swimmers who contributed to these awards, and I'd like to thank our coaches for continuing to embed a passion for swimming and encouraging the swimmers to achieve their full potential."
Rebecca Deocampo, 11 yrs old has been selected from Portland to represent the Barwon South West District at the upcoming Country Junior District Competition in Melbourne at Melbourne Sports Centres (MSAC) Indoor 50m pool. The Portland Swimming Club wishes Rebecca all the very best and will be cheering her on. "It is so exciting having so many young swimmers so eager to pursue this sport and compete and participate in development programs." Said Kristy.
24 September 2025
This week we farewell one of our coaches, Michelle Beddows as their family embarks on a new adventure. Michelle has been an integral part of the coaching team over the past two + years, bringing both experience and knowledge through her Surf Lifesaving, and a dedication to promote excellence in swimming to help the club swimmers develop and progress to meet their individual goals. Portland Swimming Club President Kristy Andrews said "Michelle's sessions were fun and challenging and will be hard to replicate. I truly hope that Michelle continues to pursue coaching wherever she is... And come back and visit us every now and then."
The Portland Swimming Club wishes the Beddows family the best of luck and will dearly miss Rhys's cheeky sense of humor and Marie's inquisitive, helpful nature. All the best guys and you are always part of our team!
2 August 2025
The Port of Portland recently announced their sponsorship to the Portland Swimming Club as part of their FY26 Community Sponsorship Program funding which will go towards the Portland Swimming Club's Annual swim meet later this year.