With our new Head of Swimming, Coach Ivan Bunakov, onboard in 2022, GESS’ swim team has gone through a revamp and has been making waves at competitions both locally and overseas. We speak with two members of the GESS Wildcats – Ana Poma and Joel Donikian – and hear about the hard work that goes into pursuing their passion in swimming.
Tell us about yourself. How long you have been with the GESS and the swim team? how did you choose this sport, among the many options at GESS?
Ana: Hi, My name is Ana Poma and I am 16 years old. I have been with GESS for about 13 years – about as long as my passion in swimming. I’ve been with the GESS swim team for as long as I remember, even swimming back in the old primary school campus with my team mates. Over the years, our teachers and people in the swim team have changed, but I still enjoy getting into the pool whether it’s the morning or afternoon.
Over the years, I’ve tried a handful of sports in and outside school. I’ve done touch rugby with Mr B (my Science teacher) and volleyball with Mr Adam, just to name a couple. While experimenting with different sports over time, I’ve always kept swimming dear to me. When I was younger, I’d always want to go to the beach or pool. I started daily swimming lessons with a home coach when I was about 3 to 4 years old. A few years later, I started swimming in school and then competitively.
Joel: My name is Joel Donikian, I am 17 years old and I am currently in 12th grade. I moved to Singapore in 2010 and have been at GESS since. Besides swimming, I love football, especially watching it with friends.
I have been with the GESS swim team since 2018, when we moved to the new campus. The great facilities that we have here was a big reason I moved from club swimming to the GESS swim team. Since then, we’ve participated in numerous competitions from casual Friday afternoon meets all the way to the Singapore National Age Group (SNAG) a couple of weeks ago. The ones that I look back on with great pleasure are the competitions that took place at the OCBC Aquatic Centre, as you compete against great athletes from all across Singapore, at times even national team athletes or athletes from other countries.
What is a typical day at training like?
Ana: Well, I feel there is no ‘typical day’ in training, every day is different and special. Usually on Mondays and Wednesdays, we have a double session in the morning and afternoon, where we swim. Most Wednesdays are our power sessions, where we do everything fast, and then there is gym in the afternoon. Tuesdays and Thursdays, we get to rest a little longer, but we still have training in the afternoon. Fridays and Saturdays come with morning sessions. So Sundays are our rest days.
If I were to take Wednesday as my “typical day”, we start at 5:45am in the pool, doing some long-distance drills and some short courses. After a regular school day, I have almost 2 hours to study and do homework. Then at 4:40pm, we train again, till 7pm.
Joel: That really depends on what day it is, as the schedule differs from day to day. Generally, we have a pre-swim routine which takes 15 to 20 minutes, before we jump into the pool. In the pool we do a warm-up followed by some preparation work which can consist of drills, a kick set or technical stuff. After that we have our main set, which is either a sprint set, aerobic set or pace set. In the end we normally do a cool down set to ensure we are in the best possible shape for the next training session – which sometimes is just a couple of hours later. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, we additionally have a gym session before we jump into the pool.
Anna, in black T-Shirt last row 
Joel
What do you find most challenging about being part of GESS Wildcats and balancing your sport pursuit with school work? How do you overcome your challenges?
Ana: When I started, I had to experiment with different ways to manage. The beginning started off hard but once I got the right rhythm and motivation, I organised everything in a way for me to keep up and now it’s within my control. With academic subjects that I struggle more with, I find time to see the teacher for help at lunch or after school. It’s quite easy to keep up but you need the right confidence to go up to a teacher and ask for help. I’m a very independent person but I have learned to reach out to friends and teachers if I need help.
Recently we competed in SNAG, and boy did I have a blast, and so did the parents by cheering us on – our team did amazing! I personally love race weekends, because that’s the best time I can reflect and get pumped up to go faster in the water. SNAG took place in a span of a week, and I was swimming every day in the morning and most afternoons. Prior to that week, I had informed all my teachers of my absence from class, but promised to still do the work assigned. For me, because I’m organised, I managed my time well and could keep up with my classes.
Joel: Finding a balance between schoolwork and training is a vital part for me. As we have limited time before and after school, it is important that you use any free time you have during your day to get things done. The weekends tend to be quite packed with schoolwork as well, as that is a period of the week when you have the most free time. Ultimately, over the years, one has to find out what is best for oneself and then stick with that routine.
However, it can get overwhelming at times, especially now in 12th grade – the final lap at GESS. You just have to tell yourself that this challenging period won’t last forever, and you just try to get through as best as you can.
What is it that makes all your hard work worth it?
Ana: Swimming is not something you can magically do, it’s really hard work and dedication. And with the hard work, we were always happy when we beat our PB. A personal best, say my 50 Freestyle/Crawl, was 30.86 seconds and when I beat 30.86 seconds down to 29.34 seconds, that’s a great PB and we celebrate improvements, even a difference of 0.23 seconds!
What makes hard work pays off is also the amount of fun you have with the teachers and your coach. During swim events, we always have fun, even dancing or singing to the music that is playing. My goal for SNAG was to improve all my times, and I had done that before in our February swim series. I desperately wanted to go under 30 seconds, but I did not achieve that, so I reflected and adjusted and work hard for the recent SNAG to get to my goal.
Swimming is not only about winning everything. Of course, is it nice to win something but something better than winning is getting compliments from your coach and team mates after a good race. Because they know you worked hard for the time you have achieved.
Joel: Definitely the feeling of improvement and the joy you get when swimming a personal best. Swimming is quite a unique sport, which requires a lot of time and detail. Swimming is all about the connection between your muscles in the body and the water. Missing a session or two, and therefore not feeling the water and not putting yourself in the environment of water, sets you back a couple of days.
For me personally, I know that putting in hard work will result in me being in the best possible shape for major competitions. Getting everything out of yourself is the best feeling and fills you with the most pride, no matter how fast you’ll end up being compared to others. You know you’ve done your best, which is the most important thing. Getting everything out of yourself is what everyone should pursue, no matter where, as that ensures that you’ve done your best.
How does GESS/your teachers/your classmates support you in your sport pursuit?
Ana: Most of my teachers know I swim competitively, and they always ask me about how swimming is and tell me that I can make it and achieve my desired goal – just because they believe in me.
Recently, one of my classmates found a website where you can see all the results of a swimmer and what place they have gotten in a race. Even though it’s nice that there is such tracking, we swimmers actually don’t like people looking at our scores, simply because they may not understand the scores like we do. For example, I emerged 67th out of more than 200 swimmers at a swim meet. We as swimmers view that as very well, but others might view it as we are slow and not good at swimming. I am thankful that my classmates and friends generally support and believe in me.
Joel: Firstly, the Sports Department here at GESS did a fantastic job to get Coach Ivan into the school and let him build a swimming programme here – we are already seeing the results of Coach Ivan’s work. The facilities, especially the pool, that GESS has are great. The indoor pool enables us to train every single day, regardless of weather, and the additional space around the pool can perfectly be used for land training.
What goals have you set for yourself in GESS, and are you already making plans after your GESS journey?
Ana: I’ve gotten this question a few times before and I’m not fully sure what I want to do yet. But I’m certain that I want to keep swimming competitively. Most of my teammates are thinking of getting a scholarship to the US for swimming, but I’ll see.
Joel: As I am currently in my final year of school and just have a few weeks before classes end, I simply want to enjoy the time I still have here. Regarding plans after my GESS journey, I will be going to the UK in autumn to study Sport Science and Coaching, with the goal of becoming a coach one day.
Personally, I can’t wait to go to the UK and start this new chapter in my life. Ever since last summer, I’m raring to go and start working towards becoming a coach one day. However, I must say that I’ll most definitely miss Singapore and GESS, especially the training and people around my swimming pursuit. We are extremely privileged to be able to pursue the things we love.
What would be your advice to schoolmates who are thinking of trying out for the swim team?
Ana: Joining the swim team would be hard. As a gold squad member, you have to commit a lot, we train 8 times a week, including Saturday mornings. You must be hardworking and willing to swim as an individual and as a team. Of course, you must love the sport like everyone else does. Our GESS swim team is very supportive, we all strive to be the best version of ourselves and whoever has similar ideas and interests should join us. We have people from different countries and schools, including our very Lovely Thi-National Swimmer Fonpry (Thailand) and other students from UWC and Dover Court International School. Our team is still strengthening ourselves, but we are becoming one of the best.
Joel: Just go for it! We are a great team and have a lot of fun together, so we’ll definitely ensure that newcomers get immersed well. The beginning of something new will always be difficult, and that is a phase you have to overcome. Of course, you need to be aware of giving up your free time and having to work hard in training, as nothing will come easy in our sport. However, we are so fortunate to have a great coach here at GESS who’ll undoubtedly make you a better swimmer, so don’t be shy!
More swimmers onboard our team means more healthy competition, which will only benefit everyone.
[Photos from Ana and Joel]
