Metro South West Championships

Merrylands will be represented by a team of 13 swimmers at the Metro South West Championships at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre this weekend.

Our team is competing in 50 individual events over the 2-day meet, and consists of:

Aisha Abdelraheem
Ameena Abdelraheem
Joseph Assi
Laura-Belle Casey
Ren Hum
William Johnston
Alison Johnston
Jay Shrestha
Lisa Shrestha
Daniel Vicic
Matthew Vicic
Leo Zhu
Lillian Zhu

Congratulations to all our swimmers on qualifying and good luck to them at the meet.

Issue 3, 2022/2023

Club Championships

Club Championships start today. Remember, to enter a Championship, you must have swum that stroke and that distance in this current season to be eligible to enter.

Make sure you download a copy of the program from the website and plan your swims so you don’t miss out.

Tip: Don’t leave qualifying until the last minute – get your qualification swims completed as soon as possible.

Good luck to everyone competing in the Club Championships over the season.

Whales Challenge #1

The first of the three Whales Challenges starts today. This is an intra-club series with swimmers divided into two teams (Maroon “Turner” Team and White “Emery” team”).

Last year saw the White team take a clean sweep in all three challenges. Can the Maroon team start off with a win in the first challenge this season?

Entries for club races are submitted as usual for a normal Saturday morning. Swimmers must wear their club cap in their team colour while competing to get points for their team. Teams are available here.

Club Captains

Nominations for the positions of Male and Female Club Captains are open and close at 9.30am on week 4 (29th October, 2022). Information about the duties and responsibilities of Club Captains can be found on the club website in the By-Laws.

All financial first claim members can vote for these positions on week 6 (12th November, 2022).

Relay Competition

Time trials for the Relay Competition conclude today. To enter your team for the time trial today see Margaret before the relay event is swum. The Relay Competition will commence on Saturday 5th November 2022. Details on selecting the entry time, entering the team, and nominating the 4 swimmers competing each week can be found on the club website.

NSW State Masters Championships

Merrylands was represented by 3 swimmers at the NSW State Masters Championships in Canberra last weekend.

Congratulations to Varant Jambazian, Kylee Murray & Leanne Tovkach on your swims over the meet.

The team of 3 swam a total of 14 events, achieving a total of 6 new personal best times and earned 1 Gold, 5 Silver and 2 Bronze Medals. A Full report can be found on the club website.

Skills Sessions

The first of the Super Saturday Skills Sessions was held after club races last week. It was well attended by swimmers, with both land and pool skill work.

Further sessions will be held on the first Saturday of the month from November onwards (between 9am to 10am).

Swimmers from Novice 2 and above are welcome to book into this session. The cost is $7.50 per swimmer, which will come off your multi-session pass.

These sessions should be considered an extra session, not a replacement for a session during the week, and need to be booked online.

Learn to Swim

Our Learn to Swim program starts 5th November 2022. We do need helpers to assist in delivering this important program. People interested can speak to Peter Johnston to find out what roles are needed to be filled.

Enrolments are open now to existing members and the cost will be $55. Full details about the program and how to register can be found on the club website. Enrolments will open to non-members during the week, so don’t delay in enrolling.

Membership Cards

The Pool Staff may ask for proof of your club membership when purchasing your pool entry or your 20-visit pass. You can download a copy of your membership card from Swim Central to show to the staff if requested. Instructions are here.

Free Membership for 8yrs & Under

Thanks to a grant received from Club Merrylands swimmers aged 8yrs & Under, who regularly swim in our club races may be eligible to receive a reimbursement on their membership fees. More information on eligibility criteria and how to claim reimbursement is on our website.

Bring a Friend

Did you know your friends can Come & Try club races for up to 4 weeks without being a member? Just get them to sign up through our website.

Club Uniforms

We have a great range of club uniforms available for sale. These can be purchased through the club’s online shop.

Some items require special orders to be placed, so minimum numbers may be required before orders for these items can be placed with the supplier.

If you have any questions about club uniforms please talk to the Property Officer, Margaret Edwards. To order uniform items go to https://shop.merrylandsasc.asn.au/club-uniforms

Parramatta Inter-Club Cup

The Inter-Club Cup is back for 2022! We will take on Parramatta City and McCredie Park right here at Merrylands Swimming Centre on Saturday, 12th November 2022. This is a great event for all our members with events from 7yrs & Under through to 50yrs & Over, and we need everyone’s help to re-take the cup!

Entries are open to both Full Swimmers and Club Only Swimmers, so enter today (entries close on Wednesday, 9th November 2022).

Thanks to a grant from NSW Office of Sport, there is no cost to enter this year, and we will be providing food after the meet.

If you hold a Recreational Swimmer membership you will need to upgrade to at least a Club Swimmer to participate.

We also require the help of everyone on the afternoon as we will need to set up, provide timekeeping (we will have automatic timing system being used), catering, pack up etc. Please see Graham to volunteer.

This will be the 8th time the meet has been held, with the past years not being held due to Covid restrictions.

Past Winners

Year

Club

Venue

2013

Merrylands

Granville Swimming Centre

2014

Parramatta City

Merrylands Swimming Centre

2015

Parramatta City

Parramatta Swimming Centre

2016

Merrylands

Granville Swimming Centre

2017

Parramatta City

Merrylands Swimming Centre

2018

Parramatta City

Granville Swimming Centre

2019

Parramatta City

Merrylands Swimming Centre

2020

Not held

 

2021

Not held

 

Let’s make 2022 the year of another Merrylands win!

Upcoming Meet Calendar

Check the website for the full list of upcoming meets, closing dates, programs and qualifying times.

MEET NAME

MEET DATE

ENTRY CLOSING

Metro South West Championships

29-30 October

Closed

Metro South West Open Water Championships

6th November

2nd November

Parramatta Inter-Club Cup

12th November

9th November

Merrylands SwimFest

18th February

4th February

Sponsors

Thank you to our major sponsors who provide fantastic support to our club. If you know of a business or organisation that may be interested in providing sponsorship or support to our club please speak to Graham Edwards.

State Masters Results

Our Masters Team headed down to the Nation’s capital to compete at the Masters Swimming NSW State Championships at the Australian Institute of Sport over the weekend.

Our team of Leanne Tovkach, Varant Jambazian and Kylee Murrary swam 14 events at the meet. They achieved a total of 6 new personal best times and earned 1 Gold, 5 Silver and 2 Bronze Medals.

Kylee picked up a clean sweep of silver medals in her 4 events and achieved a new personal best time in the 200m Freestyle, edging closer to breaking the 3-minute barrier.  Kylee’s 100m Freestyle time was also her fastest since 2016 and only 0.05 shy of her personal best time.

Leanne achieved three 4th places before earning herself a bronze medal in her 100m Freestyle event - just 1 second off her personal best time in this event.  Leanne’s 50m Freestyle time was also the second fastest time she has swum.

Varant achieved 5 from 5 new personal best times and bagged himself a gold medal in the 200m Breaststroke as well as a bronze in the 50m Breaststroke.  Varant was also runner-up in his age group in the point score.

Congratulations to our swimmers on their performances!

Issue 2, 2022/2023

Season is up and running

Thank you to everyone who helped get the season off to a great start last week. From the pre-season planning to all the work on the morning it takes a lot of people to ensure a successful day. Leo Repeti kindly refereed for the club races, so thank you to Leo for his time. The weather was kind for the morning as well, let’s hope that continues throughout the season.

Officiating

To successfully run club races every week we need the help of a lot of people.

Timekeeping plays an important part as every swimmer depends on accurate timing for their race. We need 2 timekeepers per lane so please step forward to help on the morning. Timekeepers should report to the Chief Timekeeper (Denise Assi) before races commence so we can assign you to a lane and determine which additional lanes we need to fill.

If you are interested in learning more about officiating please let Graham know as we can provide a range of information and assistance to help you achieve your accreditations.

Skills Sessions

We will be holding a series of Super Saturday Skills Sessions after club races. The first session will be held this Saturday from 9am to 10am and will focus on Race Starts. The sessions will then be held on the first Saturday of the month from November onwards.

Swimmers from Novice 2 and above are welcome to book into this session. The cost is $7.50 per swimmer, which will come off your multi-session pass.

These sessions should be considered an extra session, not a replacement for a session during the week, and need to be booked online.

Relay Competition

Time trials have commenced for the Relay Competition and continue today. To enter your team today see Margaret before the relay event is swum. There are only 2 more swims left for time trials before teams need to be finalised and your entry time nominated.

Championships

Club Championships start next Saturday (22nd October 2022). Remember, to enter a Championship, you must have swum that stroke and that distance in the current season to be eligible to enter.

Make sure you download a copy of the program from the website and plan your swims so you don’t miss out.

Tip: Don’t leave qualifying until the last minute – get your qualification swims completed as soon as possible.

Committee 2022/2023

The Executive and Committee elected at the AGM in May:

Executive Members

President

Graham Edwards

Vice President

Peter Johnston

Secretary

Leanne Tovkach

Treasurer

Ian Johnston

Race Secretary

Alison Johnston

Social Secretary

Denise Assi

Committee Members

Tricia Johnston

Margaret Edwards

Ian Wilson

Danielle Vicic

We have a couple of vacancies, so if you are interested in helping out, please speak to Graham Edwards.

Club Captains

Nominations for the positions of Male and Female Club Captains are open and close at 9.30am on week 4 (29th October, 2022). Information about the duties and responsibilities of Club Captains can be found on the club website in the By-Laws.

All financial first claim members can vote for these positions on week 6 (12th November, 2022).

Membership Cards

The Pool Staff may ask for proof of your club membership when purchasing your pool entry or your 20-visit pass. You can download a copy of your membership card from Swim Central to show to the staff if requested. Instructions are here.

Free Membership for 8yrs & Under

Thanks to a grant received from Club Merrylands swimmers aged 8yrs & Under, who regularly swim in our club races may be eligible to receive a reimbursement on their membership fees. More information on eligibility criteria and how to claim reimbursement is on our website.

Bring a Friend

Did you know your friends can Come & Try club races for up to 4 weeks without being a member? Just get them to sign up through our website.

Club Uniforms

We have a great range of club uniforms available for sale. These can be purchased through the club’s online shop.

Some items require special orders to be placed, so minimum numbers may be required before orders for these items can be placed with the supplier.

If you have any questions about club uniforms please talk to the Property Officer, Margaret Edwards.

https://shop.merrylandsasc.asn.au/club-uniforms

Parramatta Inter-Club Cup

The Inter-Club Cup is back for 2022! We will take on Parramatta City and McCredie Park right here at Merrylands Swimming Centre on Saturday, 12th November 2022. This is a great event for all our members with events from 7yrs & Under through to 50yrs & Over, and we need everyone’s help to re-take the cup!

Entries are open to both Full Swimmers and Club Only Swimmers, so enter today!

Thanks to a grant from NSW Office of Sport, there is no cost to enter this year, and we will be providing food after the meet.

If you hold a Recreational Swimmer membership you will need to upgrade to at least a Club Swimmer to participate.

Entries close on Wednesday, 9th November – don’t be late!

NSW State Masters Championships

Merrylands is being represented by 3 swimmers at the NSW State Masters Championships this weekend.

The 2-day championships are being held at the Australian Institute of Sport starting today. Our team will contest a total of 14 events. Good luck to Varant Jambazian, Kylee Murray & Leanne Tovkach. May the whale be with you all.

Upcoming Meet Calendar

Check the website for the full list of upcoming meets, closing dates, programs and qualifying times.

MEET NAME

MEET DATE

ENTRY CLOSING

NSW State Masters Championships

15-16 October

Closed

Metro South West Championships

29-30 October

19th October

Metro South West Open Water Championships

6th November

2nd November

Parramatta Inter-Club Cup

12th November

9th November

Merrylands SwimFest

18th February

4th February

Sponsors

Thank you to our major sponsors who provide fantastic support to our club. If you know of a business or organisation that may be interested in providing sponsorship or support to our club please speak to Graham Edwards.

State Masters Championships

Merrylands is being represented by 3 swimmers at the NSW State Masters Championships this weekend.

The 2-day championships will be held at the Australian Institute of Sport starting on Saturday. Our team will contest 14 events and consists of:

  • Varant Jambazian
  • Kylee Murray
  • Leanne Tovkach

We wish our swimmers the best of luck at the meet. You can follow their progress over the weekend online.

See Also

Issue 1, 2022/2023

Welcome

Welcome back to our first week of Club Races at Merrylands! We have a busy season planned and an action-packed morning for our first week of Club, with Races, Novelty Events and a BBQ.

First though, an update on everything that has happened since our last week at Merrylands in March…

Bringing you up to date…

It has been a busy 6 months with some great achievements by our swimmers:

April

  • 3 PBs from our 1 swimmer at the Metro South West 5-8yrs Meet
  • A dozen members attended our beach life-saving day
  • 9 of our swimmers competed at the Australian Masters Championships in Sydney, bagging 22 medals and 24 new PBs
  • We held our first Short Course club races at Guildford, with a stack of PBs, followed by pizza.

May

June

July

  • 5 swimmers represented the club at the Metropolitan Short Course Championships
  • Tim Oliver travelled to Turkey for a trial event of the new 5th discipline for Modern Pentathlon and then competed at the Swiss Open Modern Pentathlon Championships.
  • Varant Jambazian headed to Armenia to represent Australia at the 11th Pan Homenetmen Games

August

  • 3 swimmers represented the club at the Senior State Age Short Course Championships

September

  • We held our second Short Course Club Races with some big PBs highlighting the work the swimmers have put in at training, followed by pizza and brownies (yum).
  • 2 medals from 1 swimmer at the Masters Long Distance Championships
  • 3 big PBs from Joseph Assi at the NSW Development Meet

Congratulations to all our swimmers on their results over the past 6 months!

Committee 2022/2023

The new Executive and Committee were elected at the AGM in May:

Executive Members

President

Graham Edwards

Vice President

Peter Johnston

Secretary

Leanne Tovkach

Treasurer

Ian Johnston

Race Secretary

Alison Johnston

Social Secretary

Denise Assi

Committee Members

Tricia Johnston

Margaret Edwards

Ian Wilson

Danielle Vicic

We have a couple of vacancies, so if you are interested in helping out, please speak to Graham Edwards.

Championships

Club Championships start in just 2 weeks on 22nd October. Remember, to enter a Championship, you must have swum that stroke and that distance in the current season to be eligible to enter.

Make sure you download a copy of the program from the website and plan your swims so you don’t miss out.

Tip: Don’t leave qualifying until the last minute – get your qualification swims completed as soon as possible.

Membership Cards

The Pool Staff may ask for proof of your club membership when purchasing your pool entry or your 20-visit pass. You can download a copy of your membership card from Swim Central to show to the staff if requested. Instructions are here.

Parramatta Inter-Club Cup

The Inter-Club Cup is back for 2022! We will take on Parramatta City and McCredie Park right here at Merrylands Swimming Centre on Saturday, 12th November. This is a great event for all our members with events from 7yrs & Under through to 50yrs & Over, and we need everyone’s help to re-take the cup!

Entries are open to both Full Swimmers and Club Only Swimmers, so enter today!

Thanks to a grant from NSW Office of Sport, there is no cost to enter this year, and we will be providing food after the meet.

If you hold a Recreational Swimmer membership you will need to upgrade to at least a Club Swimmer to participate.

Entries close on Wednesday, 9th November – don’t be late!

Technical Officials

Welcome back to all of our technical officials. For those who are non-swimming members don’t forget to renew your Dry/Support membership to ensure your technical accreditation remains current.

This Week at Club Races

  • Relay Time Trials start this week. You have 3 weeks to get your team organised before the competition starts on 5th November
  • Check the Meet Program so you know what events, heats and lanes you are swimming in.
  • Novelty events and relays will be held, after the normal races, followed by a free BBQ.

Bring a Friend

Did you know your friends can Come & Try club races for up to 4 weeks without being a member? Just get them to sign up through our website.

Club Captains

Nominations for the positions of Male and Female Club Captains are open and close at 9.30am on week 4 (29th October, 2022). Information about the duties and responsibilities of Club Captains can be found on the club website in the By-Laws.

All financial first claim members can vote for these positions on week 6 (12th November, 2022).

Free Membership for 8yrs & Under

Thanks to a grant received from Club Merrylands swimmers aged 8yrs & Under, who regularly swim in our club races may be eligible to receive a reimbursement on their membership fees. For more information on eligibility criteria and how to claim reimbursement is on our website.

Club Uniforms

We have a great range of club uniforms available for sale. These can be purchased through the club’s online shop.

Some items require special orders to be placed, so minimum numbers may be required before orders for these items can be placed with the supplier.

If you have any questions about club uniforms please talk to the Property Officer, Margaret Edwards.

https://shop.merrylandsasc.asn.au/club-uniforms

Upcoming Meet Calendar

Check the website for the full list of upcoming meets, closing dates, programs and qualifying times.

MEET NAME

MEET DATE

ENTRY CLOSING

NSW State Masters Championships

15-16 October

Closed

Metro South West Championships

29-30 October

19th October

Metro South West Open Water Championships

6th November

2nd November

Parramatta Inter-Club Cup

12th November

9th November

Merrylands SwimFest

18th February

4th February

Sponsors

Thank you to our major sponsors who provide fantastic support to our club. If you know of a business or organisation that may be interested in providing sponsorship or support to our club please speak to Graham Edwards.

Club Races Return

Club Races return for the 2022/2023 season on Saturday, 8th October, 2022.

The program for the Summer Season and the Time Record Sheet can be found in the Club Races section and entries are now open online for the first two weeks. Entries must be submitted through Swim Central. No manual entries will be accepted.

You will need to have completed your Club Membership before you can enter the races.

The first Club Championship - the 200m Individual Medley - will be held on Saturday, 22nd October. Remember, you must have swum that stroke and distance in the current season to qualify for the championship, so complete your qualifying swims as soon as possible.

Some championships will be combined this season and some weeks will have multiple championship events. For the 100m events, 200m Freestyle, 200m Individual Medley and 400m Freestyle, competitors will enter their Age Championship. All competitors will swim together in an Open event to determine the results for the Open Championship, with the results split into ages to determine the Age Championship results. The times swum in the race will be used to determine the places for the Age Championship and Open Championship, with points allocated in each competition and the Graded Point Score. Males and Females will be seeded separately.

Check the online entries carefully to determine how many swims you may enter each week, based on your age and the championships being held.

COVID-19 Safety Information

Anyone (coach/athlete/parent/official/spectator) who is unwell for any reason should not attend any training, competition or club activity.

See Also

National Day of Mourning

Australia will hold a National Day of Mourning to observe Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, 22nd September 2022.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared this day a National Public Holiday to commemorate Her Majesty’s remarkable life and dedication to service. 

No Squad Training sessions will be held on Wednesday, 21st or Thursday, 22nd September 2022.

New Season Registrations Now Open

Registration for the 2022/2023 season is now open and instructions on how to re-register for the summer are on the How to Join page.

Registration this season will again be conducted through Swim Central.

Learn to Swim: We are still finalising details of our Learn to Swim program. Learn to Swim participants should register as a Club Swimmer or above if they want to participate in Club Races.

This season, thanks to Club Merrylands, we are again providing Free Membership for swimmers 8yrs & Under, who regularly swim in our club races.

All parents and adults who regularly attend the Club Races on Saturday mornings are requested to join the club as Non-Swimming Members (unless they want to swim).
There are a number of benefits to being a registered member of the club. Members are entitled to vote at Annual General and Special General meetings, vote for our Club Captains and can be recognised for their service to the club through awards such as the Lions Club Award, Life Membership or Service Excellence Awards.

Swimmers 18yrs & Over have the option of additionally registering as a Masters Competitor. This allows them to participate in Masters Swimming activities including Masters Only competitions on Saturday Mornings.

Finally, don't forget to order your club uniforms through our Online Store.

See Also