Attributing her love for the water to her mother who went for a swim the night before she was born, the 48-year-old Creative and Performing Arts teacher at Aquinas Catholic College Menai, is president of the Wests Auburn Masters Swimming Club – the closest to Bankstown – and president of the NSW Masters Swimming.
“I swam as a kid but was never very fast and discovered Masters swimming when I was 25,” she said.
“I wouldn’t say I’m particularly competitive, though, I like going to meets for the camaraderie and to try and reach my personal goals.”
Kerryn says she loves swimming for many reasons including the low impact exercise benefits and being able to drift away mentally while doing laps,
“I am not fast but quite strong in the water,” she said. “As a result, I tend to focus on the long distance Butterfly events. The challenge for me is to do these well rather than smashing out times over 50 or 100m.
“Swimming keeps me flexible; I find I get quite stiff if I haven’t been in the water for a bit and I’m always checking my stroke to make sure I’m getting the most out of my muscle strength.”
She says Masters Swimming can be what you want it to be.
“There are carnivals for the competitive types and distance swimming programs for those who like the longer swims,” she said.
“Many of our members are getting into open water swimming and of course, there are also training sessions too.”
For further info, email kdblanch@hotmail.com.
Our own Madame Butterfly
SAYING she does her best planning while under water, Bankstown’s Kerryn Blanch hopes to hang on to her State records in both long and short courses in the 1500m Butterfly, when she takes on the very best at this weekend’s Masters NSW Long Course Championships at Sydney Olympic Park.