Wow! What a great start to the Australian Masters Championships, with 10 medals and 11 PBs on Day 2.

Sophia Vicic finished the day with 3 medals - one of each colour. Sophia took home Bronze in the 50m Freestyle, Silver in the 100m Backstroke, in a new PB, and Gold in the 200m Freestyle in a new PB.

Alison Johnston finished with 2 Silver medals, with 2nd place in both the 50m Freestyle and 100m Backstroke.

Katie Hope won a Silver in the 200m Breaststroke and a Bronze in the 200m Freestyle - both swims in new personal best times.

Peter Johnston took home a Bronze medal in the 200m Breaststroke, with season-best times in all 3 of his events.

Leanne Tovkach took home her first national medal, with Bronze in the 100m Backstroke in a new personal best time, taking over 2 seconds off her previous best. Leanne also took almost 2 seconds off her 50m Freestyle PB.

Our final medal came in the Women's 4x50m Medley Relay where our team of Sophia, Katie, Alison and Kylee Murray took home the Bronze.

Kylee also swam 3 new PBs, taking over a second off her 50m Freestyle - a time that had stood since 2016; over a second off her 25m Butterfly PB; and 2 seconds off her 200m Freestyle, breaking her time from 2014 and swimming under 3 minutes for the first time.

Steven Nguyen swam a season-best time of 27.56 in the 50m Freestyle.

Ian Johnston swam a massive PB in the 100m Backstroke, taking 5 seconds off his time from 2015. Ian also swam season-best times in the 50m and 200m Freestyle.

Lastly, Varant Jambazian swam a massive 3 second PB in the 50m Freestyle.

A great start to the meet! Day 3 will see our team in action in the 400m Freestyle, 100m Butterfly, 50m Backstroke, 25m Breaststroke, 100m Individual Medley 50m Butterfly and 200m Backstroke. You can follow their progress in the Live Results.

See Also

• 2022 Australian Masters Championships - Results
• 2022 Australian Masters Championships - Live Results
• 2022 Australian Masters Championships

The Australian Masters Championships will be held at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre from Wednesday 20th to Saturday 23rd April, 2022.

Merrylands will be represented by a team of 9 swimmers, competing in 71 individual events over the 4 day meet. Our team consists of:

• Katie Hope
• Varant Jambazian
• Ian Johnston
• Peter Johnston
• Kylee Murray
• Steven Nguyen
• Alison Johnston
• Leanne Tovkach
• Sophia Vicic

Good luck to our swimmers at the meet. You can follow the team's progress on the Live Results page.

See Also

• 2022 Australian Masters Championships

When: Saturday, 23rd April

Time: 9:30am for 10am start
(education session won’t take any longer than 2 hours)

Location: North Narrabeen Surf Lifesaving Club (2 Malcolm Street, Narrabeen 2101). Please note that there are 3 Clubs on this stretch of beach so is important that they put NORTH NARRABEEN into maps

Meeting point: Easiest to meet at the patrol tent on the beach(located at the red and yellow flags)

Parking: Paid parking in the council car park. Council Rangers patrol this area regularly so please ensure cars pay for a ticket. There is free unlimited street parking in surrounding streets, however, these can be hard to come by on sunny days 

What to bring: Normal beach/ swimming attire (swimmers, towel, sunscreen, water). If the surf is big and dangerous the kids will be able to have a leisurely swim in the Narrabeen Lake or beach pool.

Aim of the day: To better understand beach & surf conditions and to learn practical knowledge to give you confidents to enter open water events and to learn beach safety.

All club members to wear club T-shirt

Bring Towel, goggles, water bottle

If you have any questions, contact Denise Assi.

Vanessa Ozols had a wonderful time at the Australian Age Multi-Class Championships at the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre from 11-13 April, 2022.

Vanessa started off her campaign with the 100m Breaststroke in a new personal best time where she took almost 2 seconds off her previous best.  On the same day, she competed in the 50m Freestyle and swum within a second of her best time.

On the second day of the competition, Vanessa competed in the 50m Butterfly, beating her entry time and swimming her second-fastest time.  Vanessa had already taken a big chunk off her butterfly time a week earlier at NSWCHS. Vanessa was all smiles after her solid 100m Freestyle swim where she took another 2 seconds off her mark, skipping her goal time of 1.25 and going straight to the 1.24s.

On the final day, Vanessa had a fantastic swim in the 200m Freestyle, taking almost 6 seconds off her time and celebrating with a big wave at the end of her race.  Vanessa also finished in 10th position in this event.

Congratulations Vanessa on these great results!

Vanessa Ozols will represent Merrylands at the Australian Age Multi-Class Championships at the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre from 11-13 April, 2020.

This is the first time Vanessa has swum at these championships, and she will also be the first Para-Athlete to represent Merrylands at these championships.

Vanessa will swim in the following events (times are in Australian Eastern Standard Time):

Day 1 - Monday, 11th April

• 100m Breaststroke - 11:49am
• 50m Freestyle - 5:02pm

Day 2 - Tuesday, 12th April

• 50m Butterfly - 12:31pm
• 100m Freestyle - 5:07pm

Day 3 - Wednesday, 13th April

• 200m Freestyle - 5:08pm

The Australian Age Championships will be streamed live on Amazon Prime.

Good luck to Vanessa at the Championships.

See Also

• 2022 Australian Age Swimming Championships
• Amazon Prime

Joseph Assi swam a new personal best time in the 50m Breaststroke at the NSW Junior State Age Championships at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre today.

Joseph finished in 16th place in a time of 41.40, taking 0.99 seconds off his previous best time.

In the 100m Breaststroke, Joseph touched in 1:34.88 - his second-fastest time ever.

Congratulations to Joseph on his results!

Joseph Assi is representing Merrylands at the NSW Junior State Age Championships this weekend.

Joseph is competing in the 50m and 100m Breaststroke events on Saturday.

Good luck Joseph, and congratulations on qualifying!

See Also

• 2021/22 NSW Junior State Age Championships

Season Conclusion

Another club season comes to an end. Once again not much of a summer weatherwise, but another season full of great results from our swimmers. I looked back over the end of last season and we had heavy rainfall then as well, as this photo shows from the 1500m Championship morning.

Despite losing a couple of Saturday mornings during the season we have been able to complete our full program of Championships together with a lot of external meets. The Competition Committee has worked tirelessly to ensure the race program came together and made changes as needed to fit everything in.

Thankyou to everyone who has helped during the season. Running club races every week requires the help of everyone and your participation is greatly appreciated. Thankyou to our Committee again worked hard preparing for the season and throughout the season. We also welcomed two new Club Captains this season. Thank you to Darla Assi and Matthew Vicic for your work throughout the season.

Squad Training

Training moves to Guildford Swimming Centre next week (from Monday, 28^th March, 2022). Sessions will be held in the outdoor pool and are scheduled to return to Merrylands in October.

Club AGM & Annual Presentation

We have confirmed dates for the club’s AGM and Annual Presentation this year.

AGM

The AGM will be held on Monday 16^th May, 2022 in the club room. The meeting will commence at 7.30pm and we encourage all members to attend the meeting.

As you know the Committee has not changed much over many years now and we really encourage members to consider taking on a Committee role, as the future of the club is directed by the Committee. All positions are open for nomination. To nominate for a Committee position you simply need to complete a nomination form by Saturday 16^th April 2022.

Annual Presentation

The Annual Presentation will be held on Saturday 21^st May, 2022 at Club Merrylands (in the first floor function room). The room will be open from 6.00pm, with presentation commencing at 6.30pm.

Club Merrylands kindly provide our club with use of the function room for our presentation and we encourage you to support the club by enjoying the meal options at the club either before or following the presentation.

Swimming NSW Senior Metropolitan Championships

Last weekend our club was represented by Alison Johnston, Vanessa Ozols & Matthew Vicic. A number of PB’s were swum, as well as finalist results being achieved. Congratulations to you all. A full report of the meet can be found here.

Swimming NSW Junior State Age Championships

Joseph Assi represents the club in the 50m & 100m Breaststroke events this weekend. Good luck Joseph and may the whale be with you. 🐳

Club Merrylands Sunday Funday – Sunday 27^th March 2022

Looking for something to keep the kids occupied ?? Club Merrylands is holding a Sunday Funday at Guildford Bowling Club (97 Bursill Street, Guildford) tomorrow from 11.30am.

Social Event – Surf & Open Water visit – Saturday 23^rd April 2022

A surf and open water event has been arranged with Narrabeen Surf Club and is being held on Saturday 23^rd April at Narrabeen Beach.

The event will commence at 10.00am, so we recommend you arrive at the beach around 9.30am.

An email has been forwarded to all first claim members families with information, however you can register your interest by completing the form here.

For more information please contact Denise Assi at social.secretary@merrylandsasc.asn.au

It is a great opportunity for everyone to get together following the end of the season and enjoy a relaxing day at the beach.

Upcoming Championship & Meet Calendar

Sponsors

We receive great support from our club sponsors and we thank them for this support.

If anyone has contacts who would like to assist in sponsorship of the club please let Graham know.

Merrylands' team had great results at the Swimming NSW Metropolitan Championships this weekend.

Matthew Vicic started off the meet with the 200m Butterfly, where he finished in 6th place and became a Metropolitan finalist for the first time.  Matt swam the 100m Freestyle in a new personal best time, having taken 2.5 seconds off within a month of racing. He further reduced his 100m Butterfly time and has taken off 4 seconds this summer season.  Matt's last event for the meet was the 100m Backstroke where he achieved another personal best time.

Alison Johnston swapped her coaching hat to her swimming cap and jumped in for the 50m Freestyle, swimming her fastest time this season.

Vanessa Ozols swam the 200m Individual Medley and finished in 5th place.  Vanessa had already achieved a huge personal best time in club races the day before and has taken almost 20 seconds off her time this season.  Vanessa also contested the 100m Backstroke where she achieved her fastest time this season and finished in 5th place.

Congratulations to all our swimmers on their results and thanks to Alison and Peter for coaching the team.

1500m Open Championships – 26^th March

Next Saturday is the last morning of club races and it culminates with the 1500m Open Championships and a breakfast at the conclusion of races.

A reminder that races commence at 6.30am (not 7.00am) so we really need everyone at the pool earlier on the morning to assist with set up, timekeeping etc, even if your family members are not swimming the 1500m event as we will need to have timekeepers for all lanes with swimmers.

Swimming NSW Senior Metropolitan Championships

This weekend our club is being represented by three swimmers at the SNSW Senior Metropolitan Championships being held at SOPAC. Good luck to Vanessa Ozols, Alison Sakurovs & Matthew Vicic for your swims and may the whale be with you all

Perpetual Trophy Return

As the season draws to a conclusion we ask that you return any perpetual trophies you have to the club room prior to the end of March so the trophies can be prepared for the upcoming Annual Presentation.

Club Uniforms

As colder weather returns you may be seeking a parka to help stay warm during training. We do not take or place orders for these and suggest you contact AquaShop directly at (https://www.aquashop.com.au) or visit their shop at 15 St John’s Avenue, Gordon.

Club AGM & Annual Presentation

We have confirmed dates for the club’s AGM and Annual Presentation this year.

AGM

The AGM will be held on Monday 16^th May, 2022 in the club room. The meeting will commence at 7.30pm and we encourage all members to attend the meeting.

As you know the Committee has not changed much over many years now and we really encourage members to consider taking on a Committee role, as the future of the club is directed by the Committee. All positions are open for nomination. To nominate for a Committee position you simply need to complete a nomination form by Saturday 16^th April 2022.

Annual Presentation

The Annual Presentation will be held on Saturday 21^st May, 2022 at Club Merrylands (in the first floor function room). The room will be open from 6.00pm, with presentation commencing at 6.30pm.

Club Merrylands kindly provide our club with use of the function room for our presentation and we encourage you to support the club by enjoying the meal options at the club either before or following the presentation.

Club Merrylands have lifted their COVID-19 Vaccination Policy of only allowing the double vaccinated into the Club’s premise, as of 17^th March 2022.

Double vaccination is no longer a condition of entry to the club.

Social Event – Surf & Open Water visit – Saturday 23^rd April 2022

A surf and open water event has been arranged with Narrabeen Surf Club and is being held on Saturday 23^rd April at Narrabeen Beach.

The event will commence at 10.00am, so we recommend you arrive at the beach around 9.30am.

An email has been forwarded to all first claim members families with information, however you can register your interest by completing the form here.

For more information please contact Denise Assi at social.secretary@merrylandsasc.asn.au

It is a great opportunity for everyone to get together following the end of the season and enjoy a relaxing day at the beach.

Championship Results – 12^th March 2022

800m Freestyle

Presentation for these championships will be held with the 1500m championships next Saturday

Upcoming Championship & Meet Calendar

Sponsors

We receive great support from our club sponsors and we thank them for this support.

If anyone has contacts who would like to assist in sponsorship of the club please let Graham know.