By Margaret Maccoll
Fridays are easy training days for champion ocean swimmer Nick Sloman who told guests at the Noosa Heads Surf Cub sponsors’ breakfast he just “rolled the arms over“ for 5km before the 7am event where he was interviewed by Ironwoman champion Jordan Mercer.
Nick and Jordan was among a number of speakers at the event and included Olympian hopeful Kareena Lee, Mayor Clare Stewart and Noosa Tourism CEO Melanie Anderson.
Nick has one more race in which he must finish in the first nine to qualify for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics with his event the 10km ocean swim. When Jordan asked him how he stayed motivated and what was in his mind during the long swims he said it was both the desire to win and his opponents’ strategies.
“I think of what the other guys are doing. There are lots of tactics. It’s a bit like chess,“ he said. Nick said his association with the surf club was very special to him.
“I have a long history of people in my my family being part of the surf club. To follow that tradition is pretty special,“ he said.
Fellow ocean swimmer Kareena Lee already gained selection for the Tokyo Olympics. Jordan spoke with Kareena about their days together as nippers, her drive to compete and her association with the Noosa surf club.
Kareena said 2020 had been a tough year with no chance to compete. In her first 10km ocean race in a year and the only one before the Olympics she gained her third Australian Open Water Championships title. “That was really exciting. I’m looking forward to competing in the Olympics,“ she said.
Kareena said what she enjoyed about the surf club was being a part of something bigger. “People want to be here to make a difference,“ she said. “For such a big club we’re such a tight knit community. I’m so thankful and so grateful of the support of this club.“
The surf club has long been a special place for Mayor Stewart and fondly remembered as the place her husband, Cameron, proposed to her, albeit between horse racing bets.
She described it as an “institution“ synonymous with the iconic brand Noosa.
Melanie also alluded to the significance of the club to the community and tourism.
“People from around the world come here and look at this,“ she said looking out at Main Beach, “and we have it in our backyard“.
Club president Ross Fisher thanked sponsors for their continued support.
“Everything that helps us save lives comes from our sponsors,“ he said.
