Sport
20 July, 2023
Mahr reflects on excitement for state award
Sarsha Mahr is still very much excited about being named as a state winner and national finalist. Mahr was named as the Victorian winner of the AUSTSWIM WETS Aqua Instructor State Award in June, as well as being named a national finalist in the...
Sarsha Mahr is still very much excited about being named as a state winner and national finalist.
Mahr was named as the Victorian winner of the AUSTSWIM WETS Aqua Instructor State Award in June, as well as being named a national finalist in the process.
Mahr teaches the Aqua Movers class at the Maryborough Sports and Leisure Centre four times a week and said she was in shock when she received the winning news from AUSTSWIM — the national organisation for teaching swimming and water safety.
“I was in a lot of shock. I read the email, tried to take it all, and then asked my daughter if she could read it and tell me that I actually won. I couldn’t believe it. But I was very proud and very excited,” she said.
“There were 6600 people nominated in all the categories, not just aqua instructor, which was huge. It was the most that had ever been nominated, so to win was fantastic.”
Mahr was also able to fly over to the Gold Coast and enjoy the national AUSTSWIM awards ceremony with fellow finalists.
With an extensive ballet background, Mahr has utilised that in her classes, setting up her philosophies that can be applied into the water, and extensively planning her sessions over many hours during the week.
“I put a lot of hours into my classes, not many see it. That’s why these awards are really important,” she said.
“I get music together, listen to the beat, and then work out what I think I can do with it in the water. I choreograph every single song, take it to the pool and try it out myself.
“Sometimes I have to change it, or something isn’t right, but then I teach it to my participants. They’re in the water, I’m on land, so it’s a lot harder for me, but I love what I do.
“My background is in ballet, and I’ve taught my classes aqua ballet, as I do a lot of ballet moves in the water.
“There’s lots of jumps that can be done that are ballet-based in the water. I learned ballet when I was three, my mother was a ballet teacher, and I had done ballet all my life.”
Mahr says part of her philosophies also sees her participate in summits which allow her to learn off other mentors and like-minded instructors to get the best out of her class.
“I also do a lot of online summits since I live in Maryborough. A lot of people get education through that. I also joined an aqua mentoring group, that I participate in once a week, where we share ideas and all sorts of things,” she said.
Regardless of individual accolades, Mahr says she has been rewarded by taking the path into teaching Aqua Movers.
“I love what I do. I put 100 percent in to my classes every single day and it’s all paid off,” she said.