Sprint Meet Results

The Metro South West Sprint Meet was held in excellent conditions at Merrylands Swimming Centre on Saturday, 28th March.

Merrylands' team of 18 swimmers took home 11 medals from the meet, including 2 from relays.

Brittany Johnson won two Gold Medals at the meet, winning the 15yrs & Over 50m Freestyle and 50m Butterfly. Brittany also finished 2nd in the 50m Breaststroke and 3rd in the 50m Butterfly.

Peter Johnston won the Gold medal in the 15yrs & Over 50m Breaststroke and our Open Relay Team of Simon Johnston, Jonathan Tuivawa, Amber Johnson and Anthony Ventra also won Gold in the Open 4x50m Freestyle Relay. Our second team of Peter Johnston, Brittany Johnson, Rebecca Tuivawa and Steven Nguyen won the Bronze.

Amber also two individual medals in the 15yrs & Over events, taking home the Silver in the 50m Backstroke and Bronze in the 50m Butterfly. Steven won an individual medal as well, finishing 2nd in the 50m Freestyle.

A number of swimmers also swam new personal best times.

Thank you to all our members who helped run the meet - whether it was running cards, collecting entry fees, officiating or helping setup and pack up - you all did a great job, especially considering we had a number of members unavailable due to the 40th Anniversary Dinner later that night.

Congratulations to all our swimmers on their results. Club results are now available, the full results will be posted once they are available.

Medal Tally
Gold 4
Silver 3
Bronze 4

See Also
  • Metro South West Sprint Meet - Results
  • NSW Winter Meet Programs

    The 2009 NSW Winter Swimming Meet programs and qualifying times are now available in the Swim Meets section.

    There are a number of important changes this season that competitors need to be aware of.

    Firstly, the Schedule of Constants no longer applies. Actual times must now be used, however you can still use Short Course times to qualify for Long Course championships and Long Course times to qualify for Short Course Championships - all without any conversion factor.
    More information is available on the NSW Championship Entry Times page. As in the past, all Entry Times must comply with the conditions on the Qualifying Times page.

    Secondly, there are new restrictions on Swimming Suits that can now be worn in Age Group Competitions. More information on the new swimsuit rules can be found here.

    See Also
  • Upcoming Meets
  • NSW Championship Entry Times
  • Qualifying Times - Information
  • Swimsuit Rule Changes
  • Dive Into the Winter Season

    The 2009 Winter Season hits the water on Saturday, 4th April, 2009. This year our winter competition will again feature the new events such as the 3x50m Knockout Freestyle Skins, 2x50m Handicap Relay and 2x50m Random Relay that proved so popular last season.

    This year though, the 25m Freestyle Sprint Challenge has been expanded to included the formstrokes and the 50m Individual Medley has been formally added to the program.

    The 50m Individual Medley is for swimmers who don't swim 50m in one or more strokes. In the IM they only have to do 12.5m of each stroke.

    In the Knockout Skins, 4 swimmers go head to head over three 50m sprints with only a 2 minute gap between each one. The catch is the last swimmer to touch the wall in each 50m is knocked out until it is just one-on-one in the final heat.

    The Handicap Relay consists of teams of 2 swimmers who are given a time handicap to give all teams a chance of winning the race, while the Random Relay also consists of teams of two swimmers picked by the race committee to create teams of similar speed to also give all teams a chance of winning the race.

    If you do another sport during winter, don't worry, most weeks we are finished by 8am so you will have plenty of time to have a swim, so come and join us.

    Due to Easter and ANZAC Day, this year the season will run for only 4 weeks until the pool closes on May 10th.

    The Winter Season Program is available for download from the Club Races page and the Winter Race By-Laws are available on the Governing Documents page.

    See Also
  • Club Races
  • Governing Documents
  • 40th Anniversary Dinner

    Past and present members and supporters of the Merrylands Amateur Swimming Club attended the club's 40th Anniversary Dinner last night.

    Over 100 guests converged on the function room at the Crown on McCredie Hotel Motel, to celebrate the club's rich history, renew old friendships and re-live their memories from their time at the club.

    Guests were able to look over lots of memorabilia, including the club's perpetual trophies and old photos. Many guests posed for photographs with their old perpetual trophies, while the 40th Anniversary swimming caps that all guests received were also a hit. A large group of guests posed for a photo all wearing the caps.

    There were speeches from past members and the Mayor of Holroyd and a large whale shaped cake was cut by the Life Members.

    Thank you to the 40th Anniversary Committee who organised the evening:
    Janet Sloane
    Peta Tunks
    Peter Johnston
    Vicki Baker
    Teresa Johnson
    Rose Ventra

    Thank you especially to Vicki who did a lot of work despite being unable to attend the evening. Thank you also to Tricia Johnston, Chris Liepins and Jo Ventra for their work in preparation for the evening.

    A 40th Anniversary DVD will be produced and will be available for purchase for $15. To register your interest, please email 40years@merrylandsasc.asn.au. We will also be collecting photos taken on the evening, if you took any photos, please email us so that we can organise to get copies.

    Thank you to everyone who attended the evening, we hope you had a great night and thank you to everyone who lent photos or memorabilia to be displayed on the night.

    We would love to keep guests updated on the goings on at the club. If you would like to receive an occasional email, you can contact us at 40years@merrylandsasc.asn.au to let us know.

    See Also
  • Merrylands Amateur Swimming Club - 40th Anniversary
  • Metro South West Sprint Meet

    Merrylands Swimming Centre will host the Metro South West Sprint Meet this Saturday.

    The Sprint Meet is all 50m events with club relays and is also a selection meet for the Area Development Squads. This meet is only open to Metro South West swimmers and is a Post Entry meet which means you enter on the day.

    Our club is also hosting this meet so we need a small number of volunteers to help on the day. If you are able to help out please speak to a member of the club committee.

    See the meet program here for more details.

    See Also
  • Metro South West Sprint Meet - Program of Events

  • Metro South West Development Squads
  • Swimming Metro South West Inc.
  • Metro South West Development Squads

    This year, swimmers must nominate if they want to be selected in one of the Metro South West Development Squads.

    To be eligible for selection, swimmers must have competed in the meets below and return the nomination form to Metro South West by the 1st April, 2009.

    B Squad (Target Squad)
    Selection Group: 13 – 16 years who have competed at Summer Metro and/or State Championships.
    Eligibility: Nominee’s must have competed in Metro South West Championships at Blacktown on 21-22 February, 2009.


    C Squad (Achiever Squad)
    Selection Group: 10 – 12 years who have competed at Summer Metro and/or State Championships.
    Eligibility: Nominee’s must have competed in Metro South West Championships at Blacktown on 21-22 February, 2009.


    D Squad (Development Squad)
    Selection Group: 9 – 16 years who have not qualified for Summer Metro or State Championships.
    Eligibility: Nominee’s must have competed at either:
    • Metro South West Championships at Blacktown on 21-22 February, 2009
    • Metro South West Sprint Meet at Merrylands on 28th March, 2009
    • Speedo Sprint Series Heats at SOPAC on 8th February, 2009
    Members of this Squad will be selected to compete at the Swimming NSW Development Meet.


    Novice Squad
    Selection Group: 7 – 8 years
    Eligibility: Nominee’s must have competed at either:
    • Metro South West 5-8yrs Meet at Guildford on 28th February, 2009
    • Metro South West Sprint Meet at Merrylands on 28th March, 2009
    • Speedo Sprint Series Heats at SOPAC on 8th February, 2009
    See Also
  • 2009 Metro South West Development Squads - Nomination Form

  • 2009 Metro South West Development Squads - Nomination Criteria
  • Swimsuit Rule Changes

    In light of recent advancements made in swim suit design and their impact on the sport over the past few years, Swimming Australia announced in December 2008 that it was making changes to the rules concerning swimsuits that could be worn in competition. Swimming New South Wales has now announced it's own changes.

    The following changes have been made to Swimming Australia's By-Laws for the conduct of Age Group Events.

    CBL14.2 Additional Swimsuit Guidelines for Age Group Events
    1. All swimwear worn by competitors in Age Group Events (18 and under) conducted in Australia by SAL shall be commercially available products.
    2. Swimwear worn by competitors in Age Group Events shall conform to the following design – effective 1 April 2009:
    3. Men’s swimwear is limited to one (1) swimsuit that covers at most the body surface from hips to knee. Swimwear must not extend above the waist or below the knees;
    4. Women’s swimwear is limited to one (1) swimsuit that is of “open back” and “open shoulder” designs that may extend down to the knee. Swimwear must not extend below the knees.
    5. Swimwear must not have a zipper or any type of fastening system.
    An Age Group Event is defined as any 18 and under swimming event conducted by SAL under the Australian Championships By-Laws. Currently this includes:
    • Australian Age Championships (including Age SWD and Age Open Water), and
    • State Teams Age Short Course Championships.

    Swimming NSW has now published it's own rule changes for swimwear:

    GR19
    FINA GR5
    SWIMWEAR
    GR19.1 General Swimsuit Guidelines
    GR19.1.1
    FINA GR5.1
    The swimwear (swimsuit, cap and goggles) of all swimmers shall be in good moral taste and suitable for the individual sports discipline.
    GR19.1.2
    FINA GR5.2
    All costumes shall be non-transparent and must conform with FINA approved standards in all respects
    GR19.1.3
    FINA GR5.3
    In open swimming competitions the swimmer must wear swimsuit in one or two pieces which shall not extend beyond the ankles, the wrists and the neck. No additional items, like arm bands or leg bands shall be regarded as parts of a swimsuit.
    GR19.1.4
    FINA GR5.4
    The Referee of a competition has the authority to exclude any competitor whose swimsuit does not comply with this Rule.
    GR19.1.5 From 1st April 2009 Swimwear is limited to one (1) swimsuit
    GR19.2 Additional Swimsuit Guidelines for Age Group Events
    GR19.2.1 All swimwear worn by competitors in Age Group Events (18 & under) conducted in NSW by Swimming NSW and any Member Associations shall be commercially available products.
    GR19.2.2 Swimwear worn by competitors in Age Group Events conducted in NSW by Swimming NSW and any Member Associations shall conform to the following design – effective 1st April 2009:
    1. Men’s swimwear is limited to one (1) swimsuit that covers at most the body surface from hips to knee. Swimwear may not extend above the waist or below the knees;
    2. Women’s swimwear is limited to one (1) swimsuit that is of “open back” and “open shoulder” designs that may extend down to the knee. Swimwear must not extend below the knees.
    3. Swimwear must not have a zipper or any type of fastening system.
    Interpretation of GR19.1.5 and GR19.2.2 (i) and GR19.2.2 (ii)
    For the purposes of these General Rules, one (1) swimsuit may include the wearing of a single pair of “briefs” or “bikini bottoms” to ensure the modesty and privacy of swimmers.

    See Also
  • The Rules of Swimming New South Wales Ltd incorporating General Rules, Swimming Rules, and Open Water Swimming Rules

  • Important Changes to the SAL By Laws for Age Group Events
  • Merrylands club in the swim for 40 years

    JANET Sloane, whose daughter pretends to be a mermaid, never swam when she was a child growing up in Mount Druitt.

    But decades later when her nine-year-old daughter Belinda showed an interest in joining Merrylands Amateur Swimming Club, she decided to jump in and join them at the Merrylands Swimming Centre.

    Today, Mrs Sloane is a dedicated and enthusiastic member of the adult swim classes and also the club’s social secretary.

    “I could always hold myself afloat, but three years ago I decided to get fit and improve my swimming,” Mrs Sloane said.

    “I never went swimming when I was young because I had no desire.

    “But my daughter Belinda, who pretends she is a mermaid, became interested in swimming and her enthusiasm got me involved. I love swimming now.”

    Merrylands Amateur Swimming Club celebrates its 40th anniversary at the Crown on McCredie, Guildford, on Saturday, March 28.

    “We are hoping past and current members will join us for dinner and fundraising for the swimming club,” Mrs Sloane said.

    Merrylands SwimFest Results

    The Results of the Merrylands SwimFest are now available.

    Thank you to everyone who attended the meet. We hope that you had an enjoyable day and achieved some good results.

    Thank you to all the members of our club and other volunteers who worked at the meet, we couldn't have run it without you and you did a great job.

    The results of the meet are now available in the SwimFest section of our website.

    See Also
  • Merrylands SwimFest
  • 5 to 8 Years Meet Results

    Fady Farid won 2 medals at today's Metro South West 5-8yrs Meet at Guildford Pool.

    Fady finished 3rd in both the 6yrs 25m Freestyle and 6yrs 25m Butterfly.

    Our 7 other swimmers also swam well, with a number of new personal best times swum.

    Congratulations to all our swimmers on their results. The club finished in 14th place overall and the full results are now available.

    Thank you to Sarah Johnston and Dylan Baker who were the Team Coaches for the meet.

    See Also
  • 2009 Metro South West 5-8yrs Meet - Results

  • 2009 Metro South West 5-8yrs Meet - Team