Coast athletes sprint towards goals after major setback

In a blink of an eye COVID-19 crushed what could have been a Coast surf club’s best year yet, but they have come back stronger and more determined.

Runners Kiara Rychvalsky and Bayley Wilmot were pegged as favourites leading into last year's cancelled events and said they could have achieved some of their best results. Picture: Laura Pettigrew

Coast athletes are again sprinting towards their goals after COVID-19 crushed what could have been their best year yet.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of the Queensland and Australian Surf life Saving Championships, shut down the iconic sport and left Maroochydore Surf Club and its athletes unsure of what to do next.

Maroochydore Surf Club director of surf sports Danny Short said the pandemic had a significant impact on the athletes and forced the club to let go its coaching staff.

“When the decisions came down about the cancellations about the championships, that was really tough for the athletes to have to deal with and not to mention the coaches and their families,” he said.

“In the blink of an eye all their goals had evaporated, after training their heart out for six to eight months.

“I think they were really questioning where they would go from there.”

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Runners Bayley Wilmot and Kiara Rychvalsky were pegged as favourites leading into last year’s cancelled events and said they could have achieved some of their best results.

“We had a really good team going into states and Aussies, we were all really close which helped so much, but COVID kind of shut down that dream,” Kiara said.

Bayley said it was difficult to overcome the disappointment.

“It was very upsetting. We had been training all year for one of the biggest competitions we all look forward to and we could have done well at but … we came back better and stronger and more determined,” Bayley said.

Runners Kiara Rychvalsky and Bayley Wilmot have fought back from COVID disappointment and are now stronger and more determined. Picture: Laura Pettigrew

Mr Short said the club leant on their team culture and was now back on track to perform at the upcoming Queensland and Australian championships.

“They say never waste a good disaster, so I guess during that down time we really focused on building (and) we have done that,” he said.

“Things are going extremely well, I was really excited to announce Rhys Drury was back on board as our ski coach and another big plus is our beach section which has exploded in the last 12 months.

“It’s something Maroochydore hasn’t been well known for, but I can pretty much guarantee that through Swanny and his group, other clubs will know Maroochydore has been there.”

Runners Kiara Rychvalsky and Bayley Wilmot pictured with Maroochydore Surf Club beach coach Todd McSwann (Swanny). Picture: Laura Pettigrew

Maroochydore Surf Club beach coach Todd McSwann (Swanny) joined the club in November 2018 and played a crucial role in growing its beach program to 100 runners.

“I bought experience, knowledge and passion and all everyone had to do was get behind that and they did,” he said.

“It just happened really quickly it was pretty cool we went from four or five athletes to 50 in the space of a couple months.

“In juniors from under 11s to under 14s we now have about 40 or 50 beach athletes and then in seniors we have about 30 or 40, so I’d say we are 100 strong at the moment.”

The JobKeeper scheme allowed Maroochydore Surf Club’s head Coach Nathan Greg (Bugsy) to be put back on shortly after COVID-19 hit and brought “hope” to the surf athletes.

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