Sport
2 February, 2024
Bronze caps for Masters duo
Lowood & Districts Swimming Club president Stephanie Sippel and coach Karin Reddecliffe recently received their Bronze Masters Queensland Excellence caps for top-10 placings in the state.
Stephanie swam in the 35- to 39-year age group, while Karin swam in the 75- to 79-year age group, as about 25 clubs and several hundred swimmers took part in the Masters event at the Miami Swimming Club last February.
Among the Queensland swimmers, Stephanie placed third in the 200m breaststroke, fifth in the 100m breaststroke, sixth in the 50m breaststroke, seventh in the 50m backstroke and eighth in the 100m freestyle.
Karin placed third in the 50m backstroke and 200m breaststroke, and fifth in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, among the Queensland contingent. Karin also placed seventh nationally, in the 200m breaststroke.
Stephanie and Karin said one thing they liked about the Masters competition was the lack of pressure, apart from what they put on themselves.
“It is really nice to connect with other mature swimmers at these meets and I enjoy just swimming with the wider community,” they said. “It’s also fun to let the ‘city’ folk know that Masters swim in the country, too.”
Stephanie said she was pleasantly surprised to earn a bronze cap in her first season of Masters, and would continue to train with the Masters squad, along with entering a few meets to gauge her improvements and keep promoting swimming.
Karin said, “I was totally surprised that I had swum that well and that there were awards for placing in the top-10 in my age category.”
Karin said she wanted to continue competing and working to better her times, while she also wanted more of Lowood’s Masters swimmers to compete.
