03/06/2026
Thanks for everyone attending the Xlr8 meet over the weekend in Taupo. We had a huge turn-out of swimmers at this meet and it was great to see those new uniforms in action. If anyone has any pictures to share please get in touch so we can add them here. A huge thank you to our head coach Riccardo for his support of all the swimmers on the weekend - an update from him below on all the action.
I had been looking forward to this year' s edition of the Xlr8 meet in Taupo, like I always do when our club has a new batch of young swimmers making their debut on the regional scene. Although Roman Duske and Thea Carlyle were forced to pull out due to sickness, and Reid and Wade Carlyle had to quit after the first session, there was plenty to celebrate at the end of the meet. First of all, discipline. Evolution came home from the meet with only one Dq (we also got a couple of warnings), which is very pleasing. Next, there were the PB' s, lots of them. Finally, the medals, something young swimmers always look forward to. Here is a summary of the club' s achievements in Taupo:
Phoebe Cross (9) made her debut in the yellow cap in Taupo, she placed top 5 in her 3 events, culminatiing with a 3rd place and a nice 6" pb in her 100 IM. Phoebe just graduated from Stroke Development into Stroke Tech, well done, Phoebe!
Izzy Cross (11) also raced for Evolution for the first time at the Xlr8 meet. Izzy raced in 5 events, with a 3rd place and a 6.47 seconds pb in her 100 Bk. Nice work, Izzy.
Georgia Carson (12) has been training more regularly of late and it is showing. Georgia competed in 7 events, with five top 5 placings, two of which were medals: gold in the 50 Fly and silver in the 50 Backstroke. Not a bad day at the office for Georgia.
Will Darmody (14) swam 9 events and pb' d in 8 of them. He got two 3rd placings, in his 100 and 200 Fly. Will is training with continuity and always improving.
Rinnon D**g (14) swam 4 events and pb' d 3 of them, winning a silver medal in the 100 IM and a Bronze in the 200 IM. Rinnon trains with intensity so it' s good to see her achieve certain results in the pool.
Siena D**g (12) is training with growing confidence and intensity. She raced in 7 events, achieving 4 top 5 placings, her best result was a gold medal in the 200 Breastroke, a tough race indeed. Siena also won silver in 3 other races, an excellent result for her in Taupo.
Zu-R Fong (13) swam five races and won three medals, one for each color, an excellent result.
Beau Fulcher (9) swam three races and won silver in the 50 Breastroke. Nicely done, Beau.
Willow Fulcher (11) swam 5 events with growing confidence and registered some very big pb' s, her Breastroke is looking especially good in a category (the 11 yr. old girls) that is extremely competitive.
Diego Hopkins (16) had a very good day at the meet with some significant pb' s and two Bronze placings.
Heathe Hopkins dominated the 13 yr. old Boys category, swimming 7 events, winning six golds and one silver. Among Heath' s new pb' s, his 100 Free time of 1:00:99 stands out.
Lila Kilfoil (10), a recent addition to our Stroke Tech squad, is training with growing attention to detail and showing good progress across the 4 strokes. Lila swam five events and got two pb' s in Freestyle and Breastroke. Keep up the good work, Lila.
Inhye Kim (12) was very busy at the Taupo meet, swimming 8 events and pb-ing 4 of them. Nice work, Inhye.
Minhye Kim (10) was even busier than her older sister, racing 9 events at the meet and getting two nice pb' s. Minhye got five Top 5 placings which is really good.
Yena Kim (11) made the most of her 7 events, scoring a 100% pb rate, 3 Silvers and 4 Bronzes in a very tough category. Well done, Yena.
Marnie Lange (13) is improving in leaps and bounds and I am very pleased with her progress at Evolution. Marnie swam 5 great pb' s out of her 6 events and I get the impression she is just getting started.
Ellie Li (11) worked very hard at the Xlr8 meet, swimming 7 events with 5 pb' s and winning two Bronze medals. I' ve got my eye on this girl.
Sophia Maltai-Spence (16) has returned to us after a period of training with a different club, and is working hard in the pool to reach her best form later in the season. Sophia raced well in 6 events, showing the confidence she needs to reach her new goals. She also has 2 new Bronze medals to show, won in Freestyle and Backstroke events.
James Neems (13) swam 8 events and pb' d 7 of them. Life being sometimes strange, James won a Bronze medal in the only event he did not achieve a pb in, the 50 Breaststroke.
Sophia Neems (15) swam 6 events and achieved a perfect score of 100% pb' s. Sophia is training with growing confidence and getting faster every day. One Silver and one Bronze for her in Taupo.
Chloe Whittington (15) also had 100% pb rate (and five medals) from her 6 events in Taupo. Great work, Chloe!
Finally...thank you to all parents who drove a car, helped out with timekeeping or team- managing, IOT-ing...you keep the ball rolling.
Coach Riccardo
