OUR SQUAD

Swimming moved from 'a motion’ to ‘emotion’ - the act of swimming has been inspirational in both a physical and creative sense. Positive Swim Squad embraces you for who you are and fosters an environment that challenges you to become even more awesome than that. There is no better way to start your day than by elevating the heart rate and pressing forward towards your goals all the while being loved and challenged by an eclectic mix of superhuman legends. Solo swimming is ironically yet undeniably a team sport - and you won’t find a better one than PSS.  

When I was a kid I used to regularly dream that I I could fly, and I would move through the air like I was swimming in the sky.  I felt awesome, peaceful but powerful. I still try to relive that feeling every time I get in the water, whether its for a dip in the ocean, or training in the pool. I can’t fly but I can float, and that feels pretty awesome too! 

The squad: It may be a solo sport but you are never ever alone, training with your squad mates brings another dimension, the support, camaraderie and friendships you create at crazy times of the morning are invaluable to your swimming and just life in general. 

Talking about generals....having a coach that lives and breathes swimming and does everything to give her squad the best chance of achieving whatever you want to achieve, it gives you an edge.  

Achievements: My favourite achievement in swimming....is my next training session. Swimming to Rotto is up there too! 

I have an autoimmune disease which, among other things, affects my joints and my lungs so my husband David suggested taking up swimming. He introduced me to Ceinwen Roberts as he’d been training with her for years and I can truly say my life changed on that day in 2015 when I got in a swimming pool for the first time since school. Apart from the obvious health benefits I gained from swimming, it also lead me to meet some of the best friends I never knew I needed but couldn’t be without today. Ceiny literally chucked some of us
together in a team for the inaugural Port to Pub swim in 2016. If someone had said I’d swim in a team to Rottnest I would’ve said they were mad but since then, the “Chickens of the Sea” have done it 3 times along with heaps of other open water swim events like the Busselton Jetty swim, Rotto swim thru, Cottesloe Classic Mile and the Swanny Ocean Classic to name a few. One of my proudest achievements is getting the “Ceiny Triple Crown” (which is when you complete 3 sessions in one day) not once but twice! It was the first time in my life a coach had ever given me a sport award and it made this 51 year old woman very happy indeed.

I started training with Ceiny way back in 2006, made the switch to swimming in 2013 and never looked back.

Ceiny’s pure positivity and encouragement has led me to do multiple Rottnest crossings and ocean water swims that I’d never have dreamed of doing.

By far the best part of my swim story is the friends I’ve made. Now swimming is not only how I keep fit but where I get to catch up each week with some truly awesome people.

Over the past 2 years of swimming with Ceiny, not only have I have achieved goals that I never deemed possible but have also made lifelong friendships and connections with incredible people. 

Last year I completed 4 Rottnest crossings under Ceinwen’s coaching including a night crossing in November raising money for Lifeline WA and a double crossing in December with fellow squad member Tim Edwards. 

The incredible thing about this squad is that when one person has a goal to achieve, everyone is supportive of them. This squad’s teamwork and support for one another is incredible and for that, I am forever grateful. Joining this squad is easily the best thing I have ever done for my mental health and I have never left a session regretting it. It’s just the best lifestyle! I get to wake up every morning, move my body and smash goals with like-minded and inspiring people! Doesn’t get any better than that! #youneverregretaswim

I am just an old bag who likes to keep fit...and have coffee with her mates!

My biggest achievement is not the five or six (I’ve lost count) 70.3 events, triathlons, the team Port to Pubs, the team Ultra Marathon, Busso Jetty Swims, the Cotto Swim (officially the worst swim in the world), Rotto Run/Swim, City to Surf Half Marathons but the commitment to training for these events. I am proud of getting out in all kinds of conditions and working hard to get to the start line. I feel honoured and inspired to spend time and share experiences with so many different people all working towards their own goals. The friendships, fun and encouragement I have found in the Chickens of the Sea, Aquabutts and Ceiny has made me so brave and is something I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Achievements:

• 2 solo Rotto crossings, including tandem crossing for Port to Pub.

Defeated Ceinwen Roberts by 9 seconds in the Cott-Swanny 2016!

No extenuating circumstances either, just excuses from the vanquished. Ha ha (6 weeks after she gave birth to her first daughter).

 You never regret a swim because you can never replicate the feeling of the water flowing around you as you move through it (That’s a quote from Barracuda by Christos Tsiolkas)

There is an amazing sense of freedom about immersing yourself in water (the colder the better) to open your mind, body and soul, whether it be the ocean, river, lake, estuary or pool. This is only heightened by doing it first thing in the morning when you have beaten the rest of the world to the start of the day. It gives you and your next 24hrs a sense of purpose. This is why I never regret a swim. 

Over the years at Positive Lifestyle, I have met so many like minded friends that feel the same way. The sense of camaraderie is second to none and the atmosphere is electric. All of this has enabled me to complete some incredibly memorable crossings, with some amazing support crews. 

I started in the Positive Lifestyle Learn-To-Swim squads with my wife, Carly, and I built up to being a solid Lane 8 swimmer 😉 Have enjoyed gaining the confidence for open water swimming recreationally (e.g. Cott to North Cott and back is a favourite), the fun of Positive Lifestyle swim retreats, excitement of having a go at open-water swim competitions, and, overall, the general fitness that swimming gives. It’s a frustratingly technical sport that keeps you coming back to try and improve! I love that I can do this sport with my wife as well as and mates from the squad. 

And I am constantly impressed with personal accomplishments from our fast and not-so-fast swimmers that achieve a Rotto crossing (or double-crossing!), a channel crossing elsewhere in the world or some other personally significant milestone. I’ll be swimming for life no matter where I live!

I always hated swimming and preferred to be on the water than in it.

I first met Ceinwen as an instructor at a corporate gym, and through her bubbly positive nature she somehow managed to entice me to have a swimming lesson. Pretty much drowned in the first session having been FORCED to bilateral breath!! She encouraged me to persist…..and low and behold after five sessions it finally started coming together and I felt more comfortable and balanced through the water. From this day on, I changed my approach to swimming from hating it, to try to think about swimming technically well and this made it much more enjoyable and challenging.

10 years on….I still love swimming, particularly in the ocean. Although I reached my mediocre terminal velocity some years ago, I still love getting in the ocean, knowing I can knock out a few K’s. It’s been fantastic spending time with lots of wonderful people with the same interest and enjoyment, coupled with plenty of fun team crossings to Rottnest and wine (swim) retreats down south.

Growing up in Busselton meant I grew up at the beach. My family started the Busselton Surf Lifesaving club and my love for the ocean was cemented from there on. 

Moving to Perth, I continued swimming in the ocean swims such as the Cottesloe Mile, Swim Thru Rottnest and in teams for the Channel Swim. I kept on seeing this chick for Uni there who was a pretty decent swimmer, and even better partier and turned out to be someone that would have a huge impact on my life.

After a brief foray into the world of triathlon, I achieved what I wanted too (KONA) and decided to pick just one sport. Swimming was it!

I reached out to that old Uni mate and asked if I could join her squad…best decision of my life. Not only does the squad hold up the culture and values that I believe in, it has the most amazing people to support you surrounding it.

There have been some pretty cool achievements in my swimming life...winning the Ruby 10km swim in Wanaka NZ was great (beating all those pussies in a wetsuit!), swimming the first winter Rotto

double with Dean was character building, however the highlight for me though is shown in the photo attached. My first big swim away from home, in a scary bit of water through the night...and through a comedy of errors, my old Uni mate, friend for life, ended up paddling next to me to get me safely across the Catalina Channel. 

I love open water swimming and these are two of my favourite photos. I had so much fun doing a Rottnest duo in 2020 with my daughter Issy. She’s such an inspiration and so much fun. We laughed the whole way over. Having Rory Thomson swim alongside us to keep stroke for much of the way washardforhimbuthe prevailed.Untilhalfwayanyway!TheotherphotoisfinishingtheEnglish Channel Crossing in September 2011 in 12 hours, 39 minutes. Looking back, I can hardly remember the hours and hours and hours of cold water training. From freezing swims at Lake Leschenaultia to midnight winter swims in the Swan River and Rottnest crossings just for the heck of it, we did so much time in the water. What I remember most is the fun and camaraderie between the seven of us from Perth who trained that year. That all of us have now conquered the channel says so much for our training, dedication, family help and endurance. 

Hobbys has been with the squad for 12 years. He started when Ceiny called him over from the public lane to come and join in. Since then he has been an integral member of the squad, loving the technical side of swimming as is always learning and improving his skills. He has done numerous teams in the Port to Pub Swim and completed a number of 10km ocean swims. Everyone in the squad knows and loves Hobbsy for being so friendly, welcoming, supportive and encouraging.

Dean is a father of 4 young kids, and after nearly dying from a perforated bowl in August 2015, he decided to sign up for the Rottnest Channel Swim Solo.

Dean has completed 19 Solo crossings of the Rottnest Channel. 10 of these he did in 2019, the most anyone has completed in 1 year. His fastest time on November 8th 2019 was in 4 hrs 34 mins.

He has completed the 25km Ultra Marathon Swim as part of the 2019 Port to Pub Swim, in a time of 7 hrs 12 mins and came 3rd overall

He along with Adam O’Byrne were the first person to complete a double crossing over the Rottnest Crossing in Winter, in speedo bathers in 11 hrs 53, starting and finishing these swims in darkness. He also swam the Catalina Channel from Catalina Island to Los Angeles. 

Dean has been an integral part of the squad by always offering his time, help and support by skippering and at also paddling 27 people across the Rottnest Channel successfully, including Tim Edwards and Jon Courtis double crossings and Georgia's night swim. Dean was awarded the Squad Trophy for his support, encouragement and attitude towards giving to every member of the squad, creating the positive, happy, fun environment which makes the squad community so special.

I love the freedom and the sense of peace I feel when floating on top of the water. I have a motto that once you start walking into the water you must not stop, just keep immersing yourself. If you go too slowly, you’ll never get in!

Swimming has always been the activity I turn to when I want to switch off and escape

When I decided to train for a Rottnest Solo, my kids were incredibly supportive and gave me an opportunity to show them how to reach your goals…perseverance and hard work, mixed in with lots of fun, laughter and coffee!! 

I trained for the 2018 Port to Pub Solo which was cancelled due to bad weather conditions. While it was disappointing, it gave me even more determination to keep training and successfully make it across, which I did in 2019!!! I am not a fast swimmer, but I just kept going and kept trying and the love and support I received from everyone was amazing and I totally recommend anyone to do it!

Being part of this squad has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. I love watching people improve and being part of their journey. I have made so many friends over the years and no matter what direction our lives take us, we always have the bond that early morning swimming creates, and I just love being part of it.

I joined Ceinys swim squad with much trepidation in the winter of 2019. I still remember my first session. I was so terrified, I nearly got back in my car and drove home.  My plan was very simple: Train for six months, swim to Rottnest, get my number plates and never get back in a swimming pool again. Little did I know what I was singing up for. 

My first Rottnest crossing was such a success, I managed to complete another two out of event crossings and then successfully completed the 25km Port to Pub event. All of these swims are incredibly special but what I’ve loved the most is the journey to get to the start line. 

Ceinys squad is an amazing group of inspiring, adventurous and supportive people of all swimming abilities and without these people, I simply wouldn’t have been able to achieve these amazing goals. 

Ceiny turns up to every training session with boundless amounts of energy, a laugh you can hear a mile away and an infectious amount of enthusiasm. Her professionalism, dedication and kindness are beyond wonderful. 

Ceinys swim squad isn’t just a fitness group, it’s a way of life and friends for life. #youneverregretaswim 

I turned up at my first swim squad with Ceiny 5 years ago and was SUPER nervous…. But now  I love the group of women (& men) I was swim with, I love moving my body and pushing it further each time (right up to the "fast lane"!!!) and, most importantly, I love the way it was impacting my life in a truly meaningful way.  

I'm not sure I can adequately put into words how swimming has become such an integral part of my life, and it's not just in the pool anymore.  I've swum across to Rottnest (in a group!!) 4 times, I've done things I never would have dreamed of (swum outside of the Cottesloe shark net, swum in the Swan River!!!, swum in the ocean every single week for all of last year and into this year - even through winter!!).  And I would have done NONE of this without knowing and loving my dear friend Ceinwen.  She's a tiny little person with an iron will and an unrivaled awesomeness at bringing out the awesome in others.  There's no other way to say it.  I'm so thankful I took the plunge all those years ago...

I had always told myself and others that I wanted to complete a solo to Rottnest before I was 40 so as I was approaching 40 I had to man up and accept that I’d been talking about it for too many years and needed to have a crack. 

Having been friends with Ceinwen back when we were in our early 20’s and knowing she was the Queen of the Channel I always planned to track her down and get her advice on what I needed to do to make it happen. Then, as if it was fate, I bumped into her 5 months before the RCS and 6 months before I turned 40 - I had no idea she was a coach and had her own squad. 

That day she was so excited that I wanted to do the solo and just 3 days later I was down at Bold Park Pool for my first session.

From then on I met so many wonderful people and made friends that have grown beyond being just about swimming to become life-long friendships.

Completing my first solo in 2020 was surprisingly easy and it wasn’t the challenge I had built up in my mind over previous years - I put that down to the preparation, training and coaching by Ceiny. Coming into Rottnest I was actually disappointed that it was all over, I knew then I wanted to do it again and I wanted to go further.

I kept swimming and by the end of the year had swum another solo and then did a double crossing in December. My original plan was to do the RCS and then never splash in a pool again, but I was hooked. The friendships, inspiration, support, comradery and challenges that comes with swimming with Ceinwen and the PLT squad is too good!

Swimming has been a big part of my 30’s and really restored my love of beaches. Open Water swimming was a wonderful way to rediscover the ocean and the river in the area I called home. I really love laps. I work in high pressured work situation and often get lots of messaging. The wonderful thing about squads and lap swimming is that all of that shuts off for the 60-90 minutes that you are in the pool – it’s a bit like an exercising meditation.

In terms of achievements:

It’s really easy to list two ultra-marathons swims in 2016/2017. I have done a couple of team of fours, our last swim raised of 60000 AUD for animal welfare. 

 Long distance swimming takes a team and there are times when it your turn to help out a fellow swimmer or teams out. Some of the best times you get are when you see someone else do crossing. 

Watching David make a 10 km before the cut off: It was a horrible swim at the Sorrento Open Water Swim (it always is… never try to qualify for a Rotto Solo at this event). David had to swim 2.5 km in 45/50 minutes to get under the get off time… with less than a minute to go he emerges and runs up the beach…. It was spine tingling

Watching Jack finish his Rotto Crossing: Jack had never really been a swimmer and reall gutsed out a training season in 2016-2017. We had heard from the boat Jack had just got past the 18 km mark

- What real cold is: nothing is better than a cold water swim 

I started doing a few sessions with Ceiny in 2014 to teach me to swim for improving triathlon performance. As a slow and laborious swimmer Ceiny made improvements which allowed me to get to the cycling and running legs a little fresher and even start to enjoy each swim. So much so that in mid-2016 I decided that as I was enjoying swimming I should do more and set the goal of doing the Rottnest Channel Swim solo in 2017 as a target to get training more often. Cieny heled out designing a programme which had me swimming 5/6 days a week for 8 months – never regretted any of those sessions!  But, despite Ceiny’s huge and best efforts, come event day I was clearly undercooked – the starting canvass wasn’t too good and a month before in the test 10km a shoulder gave way… Ability, or rather the lack thereof, was always going to make the swim  a little tough. The shoulder problem – despite strong painkillers through the early part of the morning – and control of blood sugar (type 1 diabetic since the late 1980’s) didn’t do much to help. Nor did the 1.5kn head-in current getting stronger as the day got longer. It was a long day in the water – finishing took over 10 hours – but a good day. And even beat my 1km PB by several minutes to beat the cut off by a whisker at 19km. I can’t write about it without thanking Ceinwen for her dedication and inspirational help, coaching, advice, humour and kindness and the team who helped me get over the swim (my wife Samantha, Ambie, Jack, Sam, Sam and Dan) – long suffering heroes all. Finally a big thank you to al the squad members (special mention to MB and Nat here) whose friendliness and support was invaluable through the training and on the day – what a great bunch – and without whom each swim would not be quite as fun. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. As Cienwen says, you never regret a little paddle in the water and although I’ve been on dry land since (various injuries getting sorted and rehabbed) I still harbour a wish to get back to the pool and back into the ocean for a swim.

When I was introduced to Ceinwen Robert’s swim squad in 2015, I had only just learned how to swim proper freestyle in a pool and had a major fear of swimming in the ocean. I didn’t know that many people in Perth either. Within a year of swimming with Ceinwen’s squad I had made some friends for life, had conquered major fears and achieved a goal I never thought I would: swimming in a team to Rottnest in the Port 2 Pub. 

How Ceinwen manages to personally coach every single person in her squad, regardless of their swimming ability, never ceases to amaze me. She motivates and keeps people going with her never-ending positive energy, great coaching skills, love for life, wicked sense of humour and caring nature. She will coach you and help you achieve your goal. She will also be very happy to set one for you! 

Ceinwen has all the aspects of a great coach:

She gives clear instructions on how to correct and improve my stroke, motivates me through positive encouragement, demonstrates incredible mental and physical strength and pushes me beyond what I believe is possible myself. 

She believes in ALL her swimmers and invests her time and effort into continuous support for them. 

She has the ability to get me (and others) through the rough patches when training isn't going so well. 

She is the best coach I have ever come across! 

How Ceinwen manages to personally coach every single person in her squad, regardless of their swimming ability, never ceases to amaze me. She motivates and keeps people going with her never- ending positive energy, great coaching skills, love for life, wicked sense of humour and caring nature. She will coach you and help you achieve your goal. She will also be very happy to set one for you!