The Pool
Images by Ben Clement, styling by Kev Cruz, text by James Whiting.
Swimmers: Kelsey Dubar, Laura Wynne, Jamie Kavanagh, Michael Wilson.
Turning a corner into the cooler months of the Southern hemisphere, into the car park of your local pool, absent are the bronzed-but-maybe-still-a-bit-burnt bodies, lazing on the poolside grass. No longer do you find cold beers covertly snuck in amongst bags of chips. A dirty Keep Cup has replaced melon-filled Tupperware – one coffee before the swim and another immediately after. The outskirts of the water are now less of a catwalk, instead resembling something like the Emperor penguin’s annual migration. Bodies move briskly from change room to lane, wasting no time, shedding layer after layer in humble stride. The dedicated arrive early, before the sun has a chance to strike the chlorinated steam rising from the water’s surface. Hopeful enthusiasts arrive later, with more time up their sleeves. Each wave of swimmer aims less for a squad-style workout, looking more toward leisure, recovery, or just a splash.
Though traces of the Slim Aarons-inspired summer high life still prevail, they are far rarer than their January counterparts. Glances across the lanes toward immaculate outfits remain a staple, as does the occasional side-eye to your lounging neighbour’s prop-book - are they really reading that, or do they just want you to think they are? Huddles of mates shuffle from perch to perch, comparing notes of their weeks, workouts, niggles, and waiting for summer. They no longer need to share sunscreen, not that they ever did in the first place.
Good Sport tracked the morning of four AM:PM.RC athletes in their weekly pilgrimage to the pool, all kept warm in the new range of Champion PufferJackets.
