{"id":570029,"date":"2023-09-27T01:22:56","date_gmt":"2023-09-27T08:22:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=570029"},"modified":"2023-09-27T01:22:56","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T08:22:56","slug":"welcome-to-queenslands-tilly-cup-swim-meet-no-signs-of-pink-taylor-swift-or-harry-stiles-but-enough-mayhem-to-suggest-they-were-in-the-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/welcome-to-queenslands-tilly-cup-swim-meet-no-signs-of-pink-taylor-swift-or-harry-stiles-but-enough-mayhem-to-suggest-they-were-in-the-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome To Queensland’s Tilly Cup Swim Meet: No signs of Pink, Taylor Swift, or Harry Stiles \u2013 But Enough Mayhem To Suggest They Were In The House"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tilly Cup Swim Meet: No signs of Pink, Taylor Swift, or Harry Stiles \u2013 But Enough Mayhem To Suggest They Were In The House <\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s all quiet when meandering through the picturesque grounds that decorate the All-Saints Anglican School – a 40-hectare campus tucked away on Queensland\u2019s Gold Coast hinterland.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the September School Holidays with what appears to be just the hard-working gardening and maintenance staff making the most of the absence of the 1850 students.<\/p>\n

That is, until you find yourself drawn to a din that is hidden behind the doors of the school\u2019s 25-metre indoor swimming pool complex \u2013 a din that erupts when you peep inside, greeted by a deafening cacophony.<\/p>\n

No signs of Pink, Taylor Swift, Harry Stiles<\/strong> \u2013 but enough mayhem to suggest they were in the house.<\/p>\n

\"Thomas

MEMBERS OF TEAM MILLS and coach Tom Fraser Holmes. Photo Courtesy: Wade Brennan (Wades Photos)<\/p><\/div>\n

The booming voice of ring master, Queensland\u2019s Coach Director Drew McGregor <\/strong>whipping up a frenzy \u2013 the kind of pop concert noise and enthusiasm generated by 72 teenagers from swimming\u2019s premier State and their equally enthused coaches.<\/p>\n

A team of hand-picked kids between the ages of 13 and 17, named in the Queensland Development Team cheering on their mates at the State\u2019s premier Age Group teams\u2019 event for the prestigious Tilly Cup \u2013 named after the Queensland mascot Tilly the Platypus in honour of three swimming legends.<\/p>\n

The brainchild of McGregor, who has divided the Class of 2023 into three smaller teams \u2013 for a Duel Meet between Team Henry, Team Mills and Team Trickett.<\/p>\n

An annual event in its third year with the teams named after Olympic and World Championship golden girls Jodie Henry, Alice Mills<\/strong> and Libby Trickett<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Future stars, future Olympians creating an impression that \u201cGen Next\u201d will continue Australia\u2019s great swimming traditions.<\/p>\n

No sheep stations up for grabs \u2013 just a small cut glass Cup and a platypus mascot \u2013 the symbol of swimming excellence in a grass roots program designed by McGregor to test his coaches and to test his swimmers.<\/p>\n

Aimed at delivering the best possible outcomes for the Brisbane Olympics 2032 \u2013 a program supported by Australian mining magnate, Gina Rinehart, and Swimming Queensland\u2019s major sponsor Hancock Prospecting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a credit to all the coaching staff and the athletes themselves for the way they take this meet on,\u201d said McGregor. \u201cThe way they buy into the concept and how they execute it is second to none.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an outstanding competition for Swimming Queensland and along with my fellow coaches Brant Best <\/strong>and Barry Prime<\/strong> that\u2019s what we are most proud of.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur job is to work around the regions developing camaraderie, working around each other and the supporting each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo-thirds of the coaching staff are new to the Tilly Cup this year and you would not have known it the way that the experienced coaches took them under their wing and the way they bought in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same with all the athletes with the biggest cohort of new athletes we\u2019ve had in the Tilly Cup and the culture is learnt by others behaviour and that\u2019s another thing we are most proud of is the behaviour of everybody on this team.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe talk about the Brisbane Olympics in 2032 and the whole idea of this team is to build Olympic gold medallists \u2013 not just Olympians.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI want everyone to have that dream and to have that mindset with that pathway.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe future looks bright, so the more we do this the more everyone wants to be part of it so we can\u2019t wait for 2032 to roll around, we\u2019ll be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s intense but it\u2019s fun as pool records tumble over odd distances \u2013 from 75s, to 150s, 300s, 900s and the grand finale with every swimmer in the 24x25m freestyle relay \u2013 four-and-half minutes of pure adrenalin pumping action with centimetres between the three teams.<\/p>\n

The finish of the boys 14-15 years 900m freestyle \u2013 36 laps of the short course pool \u2013 a race that even had the lap counters confused \u2013 but the individual race of the meet \u2013 won by Sydney Kito<\/strong> (Team Mills) a kid from Cairns Stingrays in far North Queensland in a photo finish from Riley Burton<\/strong> (Team Henry) from Logan Vikings.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4646\"

TEAM HENRY led by David Thomas: Photo Courtesy: Wade Brennan (Wades Photos)<\/p><\/div>\n

Just 0.23 separating the pair in an epic stroke-for stroke battle that saw the pool deck erupt.<\/p>\n

After some eye-catching record-breaking swims by kids like St Peters Western trio Ainsley Trotter, Kai Gilbert<\/strong> and Randall Ingram; Julia Remington (<\/strong>All Saints), Kane Martin<\/strong> (Gladstone), Lilla Ribot-De- Bresac<\/strong> (Newmarket Racers), Thomas Booth<\/strong> (Southside Aquatics), Elaine Chu <\/strong>(Brisbane Grammar) and Xavier Metcalfe<\/strong>(Fraser Coast) it was Team Mills who won the day with 981 points from Team Trickett (976) and Team Henry (922).<\/p>\n

Two-time Olympian in London and Rio, Thomas Fraser-Holmes<\/strong>, now turning his hand to coaching under Michael Bohl<\/strong> and Janelle Pallister<\/strong> in the Gold Coast Hub\/Griffith University program was a coach on Team Mills.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat 900m was a classic example of what this meet is all about\u2026 young Sydney Kito was just incredible \u2013 definitely in my opinion the swim of the meet\u2026in the last individual event before the relays, \u201d said Fraser Holmes.<\/p>\n

“That\u2019s what the Australian DNA is all about and it\u2019s what the Australian Swim Team is all about\u2026swimming for your mate and the person next to you and the person coming up in the race behind you.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a different intensity and the concept I really like is that it\u2019s over odd distances and its\u2019 not their main events\u2026it\u2019s just purely about racing\u2026.and that\u2019s what swimming is all about\u2026it\u2019s about racing\u2026<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cEveryone loves to race, everyone loves to win, what this meet drives home is the concept of winning and having fun and doing it for your team.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThey had 40 people on the side of the pool cheering them on, you are just capable of so much more than what you think\u2026.I hope most of the athletes walk away and take that with them\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a reflection of how much these kids care about their swimming and how much they care about each other and their team.<\/p>\n

\"Luke

TEAM TRICKETT led by Luke Stafford and Tim Dilger. Photo Courtesy: Wade Brennan (Wades Photos)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThese kids have been challenged, not sleeping in the same environment, different foods, a 25m pool, many are used to just racing long course they have risen to the challenge, it is really good to see the next crop come through, take it on and see how far they can run with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had never experienced a meet like this, we had duel meets, but not as intense as this, standing up behind the blocks and you\u2019ve got your peers and your coaches cheering you on\u2026.it presents a certain amount of pressure you just don\u2019t get at our State or National Age.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat this meet is designed for is to give these kids an opportunity to come in here and race and now it\u2019s up to them to go away and carry that momentum into the future meets at States and Nationals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is some great young talent here in Queensland and also around Australia and swimming is looking bright over the next eight to nine years leading in to 2032.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fraser-Holmes \u2013 the World championship and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, has not long started his coaching career and says he is learning something new every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough I have an extensive background as an athlete\u2026.it doesn\u2019t necessarily translate into coaching \u2013 I\u2019m so grateful I\u2019ve got the opportunity to be on this Queensland team and opportunities to work with young athletes that are driven and want to go places.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m enjoying it and it\u2019s definitely a career that I\u2019m serious about\u2026.and I see myself doing it for a long time, everyone is here to support each other\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n