Artistic swimming success sees young club dive into spotlight

Otago Daily Times

2 days ago

Since its launch in 2022, athletes from Selwyn Artistic Swimming have impressed as the club continues to grow. Head coach Chantelle Murray is expecting bigger and better things from her young team. Sam Coughlan reports
New Zealand's youngest artistic swimming club, Selwyn, was founded just three years ago.
It began with just five athletes who followed coach Chantelle Murray from her former club Canterbury.
Today, the club boasts more than 40 swimmers and recently claimed five gold medals at the South Island Championships, held at the Selwyn Aquatic Centre.
Murray said it took a lot of hard work to get to this point.
'In the first year, I think I grew about five (members) and then lost a few. Then it wasn't until the second year, 2023, we grew to about 30, which was like 'wow, this is really big'.'
Keen to start her own club in 2022 after moving to Rolleston the year before, Murray said it was a natural fit to be based in the region.
'I thought, 'I want to have it just at one pool, I want to build the relationship with the aquatic centre and the community out here and be able to offer things just to Selwyn.'
'So when I moved out here, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to start.'
With a strong artistic swimming background and more than a decade of coaching – including 11 years at Canterbury and six with national development squads – Murray brought plenty of experience to the venture.
The jewel in Murray's crown at Selwyn is Kristina Stepchenko, 15, who joined in July last year after moving from Russia with her family.
A competitive swimmer since the age of six, Kristina has quickly risen to become the club's top performer. She earned three gold medals at the South Islands and another at last year's national championships in Hamilton.
'We work together really well,' Kristina said of her teammates .
'I feel like I've known them for my whole life, even though it's almost a year.'
She normally trains 18 hours a week, a combination of working on her routines, regular swim training, and on-land stretching and going through the movements of her routines.
But even for such a dedicated athlete, balancing school and training isn't always easy.
'I need to focus on my time management,' the Rolleston College student said.
'The temptation is sometimes just to stay on my phone, but I think it (swimming) lets me grow as a person, so I'm really glad I have that.'
Murray praised Kristina's ability and drive to improve herself.
While focusing on the highest-performing athletes is important, Murray is passionate about growing Selwyn Artistic Swimming and attracting new members.
She offers sessions for local schools where kids get the opportunity to give the sport a go and see if it sparks their interest.
One such recruit is 12-year-old Matthew Hamilton-Cross, who visited the club late last year with his classmates at West Rolleston Primary School and stuck with the sport.
His decision has already paid off – Matthew won gold in the mixed aquarina duet alongside partner Kelicia Purcell at the South Island Championships.
' I'm getting way better than I was when I started,' he said.
Like Kristina, he has a busy schedule, training Wednesday mornings and afternoons as well as Sundays – but he does not mind the workload.
' If I was able to, I would definitely train more,' he said.
The club is now preparing for its next major challenge – the national championships in Wellington at the end of September. Seventeen Selwyn athletes will be competing in the event, including Kristina and Matthew.
' I'm just hoping to do my best and do the cleanest swim I can do,' Kristina said.
Said Matthew: 'I definitely (want) to at least get a medal at nationals.'
Murray is optimistic about her team's chances.
' I feel like this year I think we're going to make a pretty good mark on nationals,' she said.
'As well having Kristina and Scarlett (Hardy, Kristina's duet partner) to look up to, we've got a quite decent chunk of athletes.
'There's some duets I really think that could do well. I think most could make the podium.'
A strong showing in Wellington would cement Selwyn's status as one of New Zealand's rising forces in the sport.