The Journey to Lignano - Sunday 25th October 2009:

We all met at the airport, bright eyed and bushy tailed (and looking rather silly in our luminous red hoodies!).

Saying our final farewells to our parents we checked our bags in and compared seats, desperately trying to swap them around to sit next to our friends.

Passing through security, we were let loose on an unsuspecting airport staff in a bid to get food before our flight.

Our bags sufficiently packed with sweets, we headed towards our gate and, after sitting on the floor for half an hour, were more than ready to get on the plane!

Following a relatively pain free flight we unloaded our bags for a short coach journey to our hotel.

We pulled up to a large centre that, according to most swimmers, looked like Disneyland.

Our rooms were basic but, much to the horror of the boys had no kitchen; in other words nowhere to heat pot noodles!!!

We were all tired after a long day of travelling, so headed to bed for an early night. Well that's what the parents wish had happened.

Day One - Monday 26th October 2009:

We had a rather interesting day, starting with a knocking at the door at the crack of dawn. We went down to breakfast which was amazingly different - bread, ham, cheese and cake.

Before training we explored the site, found the beach and went to the supermarket. We all came back with lots of water and Gatorade. Very heavy!

Morning training was extremely hard, we did 7,600 metres!!

After lunch we went to the beach where we did land training and played rounders - much fun, with low flying balls and rackets to avoid! Once we'd broken the rackets and balls we built sandcastles. Rosie became a mermaid and a starfish was built in honour of our missing team mate Tom Parker.

After that it was back to the pool for another session - 5k and mostly leg work, so very hard!

Day Two - Tuesday 27th October 2009:

We were intrigued to find out what new mysteries would be uncovered for breakfast - was it going to be freshly squeezed oranges from the orchards of Italy accompanied by a full English breakfast, finished with a finely crafted croissant? Lo and behold it was a small crusty roll served with what appeared to be rubber, but turned out, after very close inspection, to be cheese.

After our fully nutritious breakfast, we advanced in an orderly fashion to the gym where we were pushed to the limits of our very souls.

Before we had time to recover, we were ripped from our womb of sanctuary and thrown into the harsh waters of the never ending pool; as cold and dark as the soul of our Chief Coach himself.

After another delectable meal, we trundled down to the beach where Catherine [Wrench] somehow managed to bury herself in a rather large hole whilst performing a disturbingly accurate impression of a jack-in-the-box.

After we had recovered we decided to partake in a dip in the sea; however, for some it turned out to be more than just a dip, which depressed us immensely.

Then came the real horrors of the day; six-a-side football! In the very first minute, Rosie Leverton suffered an injury so horrific there were doubts as to whether she would live. However, she managed to struggle heroically back on and proceeded to set up many good opportunities, which were then ruined by assorted members of her team (excluding Rebecca Mulcahy and Catherine Wrench). After three horrendous matches during which more players were almost permanently disfigured and/or mangled, the teams were joined to form two super-teams, which fought it out in a dramatic face-off that lasted hours.

Then we swam.

After swimming we went out to a restaurant for pizza (Hooray!). Catherine was hyper and Rosie was not loud at all and all the rest were little angels.

Day Three - Wednesday 28th October 2009:

At the unearthly hour of 06.45 we were woken up by a loud banging at the door. It was Dopey trying to rouse us for the day's adventures. On waking, James C discovered a large mosquito bite on his chest, which was rather unfortunate.

Then it dawned on us that today was the day of our trip to Venice. We were all looking forward to a day in a romantic city and to SHOPPING!

The journey was long, we took a coach a train and then finally, after much waiting, a water taxi to St Mark's square, where we got off and bought an ice-cream or, in some cases, two or three ice-creams! Will J won the prize for the most ice-creams consumed - no less than six during the day!

Venice was fantastic, although the shopping was long and very similar, as the shops we were really interested in were few, far between and very expensive.

Lunch was good - pasta and pizza in a lovely restaurant just off St Mark's Square.

Many pictures were taken throughout the day and we all had a great time - lots of things to keep in our memories.

After Venice it was back to the pool and another hard two hour session.

Day Four - Thursday 29th October 2009:

Today some of us (Hodgie Jr, Master Lawrie, Wrenchie, Hodgie Sr and Mulki) got up early for our second warm-up run of the week. We ran around the park three times and everyone finished in under seventeen minutes.

Morning swim was at eleven o'clock and finished at one p.m. We all did a Fly endurance set and it wasn't all fun!

After lunch we went to the beach. All the boys played beach football and American football and the girls double-booked the basketball courts! Oh dear!!! It was very hot and we all got tanned.

After that we went to the outdoor pitches and played football, followed by basketball.

For the evening swim we did another Fly set, what a day! However, we were rewarded for our efforts with the best meal yet, pizza and chips. At last!

After tea we all went to a disco with the other clubs at the camp. We all enjoyed ourselves.

Overall, it was a fun but tiring day, as we did two hard swimming sets and lots of other exercise.

Day Five - Friday 30th October 2009:

We woke at 07.30 a.m, which was too early for Hiro, particularly as Will J, David S and James M woke him using shower gel and deodorant!

Breakfast was the same as usual, bread, cheese and ham, accompanied by hot chocolate. Not much variety!

During the morning swimming session a Slovenian swimmer who qualified for the 100m breast-stroke at this year's World Championships demonstrated breast-stroke drills for us. This was really inspirational and we put the drills into practice as soon as she finished.

Because there was a pentathlon meet at the pool over the weekend we had to train earlier than usual in the evening, between 5-00p.m. and 7-00p.m. This meant that we did not have much time between sessions, but the camp was beginning to feel quite lively.

We had lunch, went to the supermarket to re-stock and then got an ice cream on the way back. Then it was time to swim again.

After dinner we were allowed to go to our own rooms while Snow White, Bashful, Doc, Dopey and Grumpy finished their dinner.

After this was over we split into pairs to devise our own land training programme and then played Uno until bed time.

After lights-out Hiro and Will E were watching the Catherine Tate show on the DVD player, with the volume set at its quietest, but Sally must have super-sonic hearing and told us to go to sleep.

Day Six - Saturday 31st October 2009:

The last full day of our training camp. We woke up to our usual crusty bread, rubber cheese and ham. After recovering from our breakfast we moved to the swimming pool. It was the day of time trials and everyone was eager to see what the week's hard training had done to improve our performance.

After half an hour practising turns and an hour swimming we were ready. Many of us managed to get good PBs, including Chris L and James B, both of whom achieved large improvements. Others were close to their PBs, which was still very good, as we had all had a very hard week of training.

After the time trials we went to the beach. The sun was high in the sky, beaming its happy rays down upon us. We all managed to relax and chill on the sand, with the boys playing football and the girls being girls. Lunch was provided thanks to Sally, Jason, Gill and Ed and helped give us the energy we desparately needed. After lunch, out of curiosity, we walked down the beach to the pier, which must have been at least a mile away. Once there, most of us walked along the safe and secure pier.

The evening swimming session was one to remember. After a further half hour of time trials we paired up with Sevenoaks SC, splitting up into five mixed teams, with people we did not know. David S' team included Rosie, Becca and four Sevenoaks swimmers. The team was christened BENCH because we were all "buff and hench". Of course BENCH took the lead in the first two relays, destroying all competition. The third relay was one stoke butterfly, one stroke breaststroke. An injured team mate meant that David S had to go twice; nevertheless, we destroyed the other teams. Unfortunately, our own Jason decided to disqualify David S. This left him in total shock and put the team in 4th. Despite this setback David S still managed to beat national champion Hiroki Harazawa over 50m breaststroke in the next relay.

That night, the last of the camp, it was time for awards and Croydon's got talent. The big C managed to give every swimmer an emotional testimonial and an award for their hard work at the camp. Croydon's got talent was started off by Cian's amazing skill at eating a banana slowly as heavy metal rock clashed in the background. After the banana Cian pulled a pack of Rice Krispies from his trousers and downed the whole packet in one. After this the boys sang beautiful by James Blunt to Chris H, following which Rosie and Alice danced to an interesting song and Kahouru, Benen and James B did a magic trick that involved a levitating table. The last act was performed by David S, Janes M and Will who produced a well rehearsed rendition of a scene from Snow White that included a Bollywood theme. The crowd went wild at the amazing performance that featured James M as Snow White, Will as the evil witch and David S as the monkey.

Day Seven - Saturday 1st November 2009 - the Return Journey:

An early morning session on the last day, what were we thinking? David S once again had the duty of answering the door at 05.15. After 15 minutes it was amazing to see that everyone was up, even Hiro and Rosie, our two worst risers. No matter what the time, James M and Will J wouldn't be parted from their hats and wore them to training. Once again training involved time trials, but in the short course pool. Some more PBs were achieved. After training it was a quick rush to breakfast and to our rooms to finish packing.

The coach journey to the airport was once again in a festive spirit as the music banged out at the back of the coach. Finally arriving at the airport, David S suffered an injury so severe he was on the floor fro at least an hour (well maybe 10 seconds); however, after recovering he went on to beat big H in his (David's) first ever game of Uno. The flight home was smooth and we had the great privilege of flying straight over the rocky mountains of the Alps.

So, as we cross over the sea to England we reflect on the past week and can all say that it was an amazing experience and a memory that will not be forgotten. We would all like to mention that the week could not have happened without the adults who accompanied us, Jason, Sally, Gill, Ed and our Chris, so thank you all very much, you have made everything possible and made sure everyone had a pleasurable week.

by the CASC swimmers in Lignano