The Northern Rivers Times
November 23, 2023
8 NEWS
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bbie’s love of the ocean and ocean swimming started in Nippers at the age of 5. Abbie started competing in ocean swims at the age of 10 in the 700m race at Yamba and Byron Bay, and at the age of 12 she commenced Open Water Swimming through Swimming Australia races. Abbie has represented her swim club and the Northern Rivers at a State and National level for 4 years in the 2.5km, 5km and 7.5 km races. Abbie is also volunteer life saver for
the Evans Head Casino SLSC and helps to provide water safety for Nippers when time permits. To achieve Abbie’s dream, it takes a lot of dedication. Abbie trains 4 mornings a week and 3 afternoons a week at the Alstonville Aquatic Centre, and 2 mornings a week in a gym. Abbie competes in 5km and 7.5 km races in the ocean and in lakes, marathon swimming takes a lot of determination and strength of character. Abbie competed at Qld State Championships
on the Sunshine Coast a few weeks ago in the 16-year-old girls 5 km distance finishing with a silver medal in 2nd place with a 3-minute PB and finished in 11th place at Nationals in 2023 in the 7.5 km race. We are travelling to Sydney in December for NSW State Championships and in January we will be travelling to Busselton in Western Australia for a week for the Swimming Australia National Championships.
Diary of a Flood Survivor
How is your mental health? So many of us work very hard, some not so much, on our physical health, but how many of us ensure we are fit mentally? Do you talk about anything that is worrying you, or do you tend to build it up inside? I am asking because, while it’s been lovely to get the rain we have had recently, there is that teeny tiny knot in my stomach that reminds me of what we went through 20 months ago. Don’t get me wrong. I love a cosy settled-in rainy day where I get to read or give Netflix a
good going over. It’s the storm warnings that have me in a slight dither. And while ‘tis the season to be jolly, ‘tis also the season to be stormy. I find it helpful to chat, just in a casual way, with neighbours about the weather as we all have similar concerns, but we also react differently. When I asked my neighbours what they felt about a recent storm, they were very upbeat, saying we needed it as the ground was very dry, so it was a good thing. There you go… perspective! I liked that and it stopped me from
falling down a stress hole over something that was actually positive. I also realised, it takes quite an event for flooding to happen, as most of us know. So rather than stressing over every little garden variety storm, I should just appreciate the magnificence of such a weather event. There will be other things that will take up our stress time, why add to it? If you are not sure, have a chat with a friend or neighbour. If nothing else, you will have had a nice talk. Little steps
Sign up for next year’s Tweed Seniors Festival Local organisations have until 30 November to register their events to feature in next year’s Tweed Seniors Festival, which will take place from Monday 11 to Sunday 24 March 2024 across the region. The Tweed Seniors Festival celebrates the role and contributions older people make to our community and runs as part of the NSW
Seniors Festival, which is the largest celebration of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Next year’s festival theme is ‘Reach Beyond’ which encourages older people to seek out new experiences and make new friends by participating in planned festivities – and beyond. Organisations are encouraged to
think of ways they can engage with seniors in the community during the festival – and perhaps offer a discount for seniors to try out their classes or programs. Events can be registered up until Thursday 30 November. Some event ideas that have been a hit in the past include concerts, lunches and special classes or leisure activities – even tours or exhibitions.
Events during the festival will be included for free in the 2024 Tweed Shire Seniors Festival program and published in the Tweed Link. To register an event for the 2024 Seniors Festival, visit tweed.nsw. gov.au/seniors-festival or contact Lyn Porter on 07 5569 3110 or communityservices@tweed.nsw.gov. au
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