Overcoming Anxiety Workshop

Don’t Hold Your Breath: Conquering Race-Day Anxiety in Masters Swimming

Whether it’s pre-race nerves, overthinking pacing, or the pressure of expectations, anxiety can quietly undermine performance in the water.

This 3-hour interactive workshop is designed specifically for masters swimmers, combining evidence-based psychological strategies with practical, poolside techniques. Participants will learn how to recognise their personal anxiety patterns, triggers and underlying contributors, regulate physiological arousal, and develop reliable mental routines that enhance performance.

Transform your nerves into a functional, performance-enhancing state.

This course is available to all members of Masters Swimming NSW, with a limit to only 30 people.

Presenter Bio

Dr Danielle Jolly is a Sport and Exercise Physician with a career dedicated to the intersection of physical health and peak performance. Currently the Chief Medical Officer for Rowing Australia and Team Physician for the Australian Women’s Rowing Team, she also supports elite athletes across multiple Olympic disciplines at the NSW Institute of Sport.  She also treats a wide range of patients in private practice.

Throughout her career, Danielle has supported performance in high-stakes environments —from serving as a doctor in the Royal Australian Air Force to working with professional teams such as the Central Coast Mariners and the Penrith Panthers, and at major international events including World Championships and Winter Youth Olympic Games, alongside a background in rural and remote medicine. Committed to the growth of her specialty, she has also served as a Director on the Board of the Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians (ACSEP).

In addition to her medical expertise, Danielle is a certified NLP trainer and a Demartini Method facilitator, with a focus on the application of psychological skills to enhance performance under pressure.  Her interest in the “mental game” is deeply personal: as a former member of the Australian Rowing Team and reserve for the Athens Olympic Games, she experienced firsthand how performance anxiety can impact years of hard work.  She has dedicated much of her professional life to understanding how athletes can better navigate pressure and is passionate about helping fellow athletes bridge the gap between their training and their racing.  She continues to compete in masters sport, bringing a unique, lived understanding of the psychological and physiological demands of racing across the lifespan.

Danielle brings a practical, down-to-earth approach to performance—combining medical insight, high-performance experience, and real-world strategies that athletes can actually use to perform and also enjoy racing.