Merrylands will be represented by 3 swimmers at the NSW Senior Metropolitan Championships at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre this weekend.

Our team will compete in 7 events over the 2-day meet and will consist of:

Good luck to our team!

See Also

• 2021/22 NSW Senior Metropolitan Championships

Whales Challenge

Last Saturday saw the 3^rd and final Whales Challenge swum for the season. The White “Emery” team took a 2 – 0 lead over the Maroon “Turner” team going into the final event.

The point score changed hands a few times, but it was the White team who prevailed in the end with 1,050 points to Maroons 1,001 points. This gave the White team a 3-0 clean sweep this season. Congratulations to everyone who swam for the White team this season.

Swimming NSW State Open Championships

Last weekend Vanessa Ozols represented the club swimming at the SNSW State Open Championships. Vanessa swam in the 50m Freestyle (with a season best time) & 100m Breaststroke (new PB & 8^th placing) events. Congratulations on your swims Vanessa.

Perpetual Trophy Return

As the season draws to a conclusion we ask that you return any perpetual trophy’s you have to the club room prior to the end of March so the trophy’s 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 Covid conditions of entry and these require all people entering the club premises to show proof of full Covid-19 vaccination or a valid medical contraindication certificate.

1500m Open Championships – 26^th March

The last morning of club races on Saturday 26^th March culminates with the 1500m Open Championships.

A reminder that these 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.

We will also be holding a breakfast at the conclusion of races to wrap up the end of the season.

Social Event – Surf & Open Water visit – April 2022

As we reported in February, Denise Assi (Social Secretary) has been communicating with Narrabeen Surf Club to arrange an educational and fun day out at a surf beach at the end of this season.

We do not have a confirmed date yet but we hope you will be able join us on the day. Put a reminder in your calendar for April and keep an eye out for more information and we will provide more details as soon as we have them available.

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.

Vanessa Ozols represented the club at the NSW State Open Championships on the weekend.

Vanessa swam the Multi-Class 50m Freestyle heats in the morning session in a season-best time of 38.22.  She then returned for the finals session in the evening to compete in the Multi-Class 100m Breaststroke where she placed 8th in a new personal best time of 1:56.14.

Well done to Vanessa on her swims!

Wet Weather

Given the weather in Sydney over the past few weeks it appears swimming is becoming a must-have skill as we dodge puddles and the constant rain. Just getting into the pool can be a swimming marathon!

Merrylands SwimFest

We did get a bit of a break with the weather for the Merrylands SwimFest, with a cloudy day and only a light shower at times. We had over 200 swimmers attend the SwimFest and received positive feedback about the meet again.

The golden ray of sunshine on the day was the performance of our Merrylands team of swimmers. Our team of 26 swimmers achieved 44 PB’s with 4 gold, 11 silver & 14 bronze medals won. A wonderful effort by every swimmer. Congratulations to everyone who swam. For a detailed report of the achievements see https://merrylandsasc.asn.au/news/ 

A big thank you to everyone who organised and helped at the SwimFest. We cannot run a meet like this without the help of our dedicated committee, parents, carers and friends.

Thank you also to our meet sponsors Club Merrylands, Starr Partners, Merrylands Swim Squad and Alpha Security Corp who kindly provided financial assistance.

Metro South West Area Championships

Last weekend we had a team of 15 swimmers represent our club at the MSW Long Course Area Championships.

Our swimmers again represented the club in outstanding fashion with PB’s, finalists, medals and Metropolitan QT’s swum. Congratulations to the team of swimmers & coaches.

COVID-19 Safety Protocols

Latest information can be found at https://merrylandsasc.asn.au/clubraces/entryconditions.aspx  

March Merrylands Highlights

We have now entered the last month of our club season. How quick has the season gone. See the Upcoming Championships & Meet Calendar for the remaining events, but a couple of reminders:

• 3^rd & final Whales Challenge today. Can the White team achieve a clean sweep or will the Maroon team end the season with a victory?
• A short 4 week Learn to Swim program will be run during March
• 800m Freestyle Open Championships on 12^th March
• 1500m Freestyle Open Championships on 26^th March
• Breakfast & last club morning on 26^th March

Enjoy the last 4 weeks of club races & look forward to a Saturday sleep in come April.

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 of 15 swimmers had a successful meet at the recent Metro South West Long Course Championships.

It was a big two days of exciting racing, long waits, huge PBs and a relay swim to truly build character!

Laura-Belle came in fast for the team's first event of the meet and smashed her 100m Freestyle PB by over 2 seconds.

Joseph earned himself a bronze medal in a well-executed 100 Breaststroke swim and also achieved a 4 second personal best in the process.  Joseph PB'd and was a finalist in both the 100m Backstroke and 200m Individual Medley.  He also PB'd in the 100m Freestyle with his first sub 1.20 swim.

Joab further reduced his 100m Freestyle time, dropping another second to achieve a new PB.

Vanessa achieved two new personal best times in the 50m Backstroke and 50m Butterfly with over a second taken off in both swims.  Vanessa also picked up two bronze medals in her 50m Breaststroke and 50m Freestyle events.

Alison jumped in for some 50s between coaching and picked up a finalist ribbon in the 50m Freestyle in a sub 30 second time - her fastest of the season.

William, our youngest swimmer, competed for the first time at SOPAC and enjoyed the excitement of the meet and exploring the centre.

Jay was on fire and achieved new personal best times in all his 50s and also gained himself 4 new finalist ribbons.

Lisa took huge chunks off her 100m times - taking 6 seconds off her 100m Freestyle and 5 seconds off her 100m Breaststroke in very classy swims.

Nevah had a fast start and sliced further time off her 100m Backstroke.

Shreya showed true guts for having a massive break between swims and had a strong 100m Butterfly at the end of her meet.

Summer started her meet strongly with a new personal best in the 100m Backstroke, taking over a second off her time.

Unish was a finalist in both the 100m Breaststroke and Backstroke, where he achieved two new personal best times including taking off 7 seconds in his Backstroke.

Daniel was three from three with PBs in all his events, coming in under 1.20 for his 100m Freestyle and also earned a finalist ribbon in the 100m Backstroke.

Matthew had a fantastic meet where he achieved new personal bests in all 5 of his swims.  Matthew gained a Metropolitan time in a very fast 100m Freestyle, a 5 second PB in the 200m Fly and a well earned ribbon in the 200m Individual Medley with an impressive breaststroke leg.

Daniel, Joseph, Unish and Daniel also combined forces for an adrenaline-pumping Medley Relay, where they smashed their combined entry time with unofficial personal best times.

Ameena impressively lowered her 100m Freestyle time right at the very end of the meet on Sunday afternoon, as well as a big chunk off her 100m Backstroke time.

Congratulations to all our swimmers on their results.  Thank you to our coaches for supporting our swimmers all weekend.

Merrylands will be represented by a team of 15 swimmers at the Metro South West Championships at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre this weekend.

Our team is competing in 54 individual events and 1 relay over the 2 day meet, and consists of:

Ameena Abdelraheem
Joseph Assi
Laura-Belle Casey
Joab Hada
William Johnston
Vanessa Ozols
Alison Johnston
Jay Shrestha
Lisa Shrestha
Nevah Shrestha
Shreya Shrestha
Summer Shrestha
Unish Shrestha
Daniel Vicic
Matthew Vicic

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

Our team of 26 swimmers had a fantastic meet at our annual SwimFest carnival held yesterday.

There were so many highlights for all of our swimmers and below is just a very small summary of some of the achievements made by our team:

Ameena achieved a big personal best in the 100m Freestyle, getting below the 1.20 barrier for the first time. 

Lucas brought home a swag of medals including silver and personal best in the 50m Breaststroke.

Darla had set herself a goal for the 50m Butterfly and went a full second underneath her target time.

Gabby broke the minute barrier for the 50m Freestyle, dropping 6 seconds from her previous best.

Joseph took a second off his 50m Breaststroke time and bagged himself a silver medal in the process.

Laura-Belle backed up from a PB in the 200m Breaststroke at club in the morning with a PB in the 100m Breaststroke in the afternoon.

Kyran smashed his 50m Freestyle PB and went under 40 seconds for the first time.

Joab didn't let his big PB in the 100m Butterfly slow him down for the rest of the afternoon and achieved PBs in all his 100s.

Katie showed age is no barrier and won gold in the 50m Breaststroke in her fastest time in over 10 years.

Ren took a huge chunk of time off his 50m Freestyle, dropping over 3 seconds.

Jhanvi backed up from her first meet for Merrylands at Speedo Sprint last week and achieved another 2 personal best times and a medal in the relay.

William managed to drop 2 seconds in his 50m Backstroke after running around helping with eskies all afternoon.

Vanessa achieved a new personal best in the 100m Freestyle, getting closer to the 1.30 barrier.

Avani had a solid meet after just returning from illness and was only a fraction away from her 50m Breaststroke PB.

Alison was double the age of her competitors and still snuck a gold in the 50m Freestyle.

Jay had a massive program and picked up 4 medals in the 8 years events while also mixing it with the big open boys in the 100s.

Lisa came off the back of massive results at Speedo Sprint last week and dropped further time in the 50m Breaststroke, earning a bronze in the process.

Nevah mixed it up with a PB in the 100m Breaststroke, almost earning a double PB with her split very close to her 50m PB.

Niushka bagged herself a bronze medal in a tight finish in the 50m Butterfly.

Ruby wasn't afraid of the older girls in the 100m Breaststroke, maintaining her technique to achieve a 4 second PB.

Shreya had top swims after a break from training and maintained the energy right through to the relays.

Summer started with a bang with a 5 second PB in the 200m Individual Medley and kept up her performances with PBs and medals galore, including gold in the 50m Freestyle.

Unish smashed his breaststroke pull-outs and PB'd in both his breaststroke events, picking up bronze in the 50m.

Keira had a big PB in her 100m freestyle and also picked up a pair of silver medals in her 50m events.

Daniel had a gutsy swims just shy of the achievements he accomplished at Speedo Sprint last week plus a medal in the relay.

Matthew managed to PB in the 50m Butterfly twice - first in his 100m Butterfly split then again at the end of the day in the 50m Butterfly. 

Sophia had great performances since returning to competition, achieving her fastest 100m Freestyle time in over 2 years. 

Our relays were very much a team effort, not by just the swimmers in the pool but also by all of our athletes and parents cheering loudly to support our teams.  Our relay teams picked up gold and 2 bronze medals for their efforts.

Well done to all our swimmers on their results and to all our volunteers for making it happen!

Merrylands SwimFest

This afternoon we are holding the Merrylands SwimFest. We have a team of 28 swimmers representing our club in 134 individual races plus 5 relay teams, so a big day for our club members. Good luck to everyone in our team and may the whale be with you all.

 All swimmers need to be at the pool stretched and ready to commence the warm-up swim at 1.30pm. Races start at 2.30pm.

We have a big afternoon with the meet at capacity entries, so we need the assistance of all parents & carers on the day with a range of tasks to be carried out before, during and after the meet. We will undertake some set up straight after club races tomorrow (put our club lane ropes in, replace the 5m flags etc) and we will then be back from 12.00pm to set up the other items (gazebos, touch pads etc). So we ask for all parents and carers to be at the pool to assist with the set up and the pack up straight after the event.

Thankyou to our meet sponsors, Club Merrylands, Starr Partners, Merrylands Swim Squad and Alpha Security Corp who are kindly providing assistance.

Metro South West Area Championships

This is our areas major championship meet and will be held at SOPAC next weekend (Saturday 26^th February & Sunday 27^th February). Good luck to everyone in our team and may the whale be with you all.

Updates on the achievements in this meet will be available on the club website and Facebook page.

COVID-19 Safety Protocols

Latest information can be found here.

Speedo Sprint Heats

Our team of 16 swimmers had an outstanding meet representing our club the Speedo Sprint Series last Sunday. 

A total of 42 new PB’s were achieved and there were a number of top 10 finishes. A great result and effort by our swimmers and coaches. Congratulations to everyone on the results achieved.

Starlight Super Swim

As we have mentioned during the month, Ian Wilson is participating in the Starlight Super Swim event being swum over the 28 days of February. The challenge is to swim as many klms as you can and raise funds for the Starlight Foundation.

Ian is well into the swim and as at 17^th February he has swum over 17klms and raised $635 in donations. Ian’s target is to swim at least 20 klms (he is well on the way to smashing through this target) and his goal is to raise over $1,000 in donations for the foundation.

To support Ian in achieving his goal and to support this great cause visit http://www.superswim.org.au/ian-wilson

Social Event – Surf & Open Water visit

Our Social Committee has been discussing the potential of arranging an education and fun day out at a surf beach at the end of this season.

As a number of our club members compete in open water events it was felt that obtaining practical knowledge to better understand surf conditions and how to improve techniques in open water compared to an enclosed pool may be beneficial whilst also enjoying a social day out as a club.

Some of the outcomes we have considered are:

• learning basic water safety and lifesaving skills required to be safe around an open water environment;
• providing a basic knowledge about swimming at beaches;
• standing position in waist deep water and how to recover to a secure position;
• swimming between the flags and understanding the beach conditions;
• reading rip current conditions and how to survive in the event of being caught in a rip;
• what it takes to become a life saver.

Denise Assi (Social Secretary) has been communicating with a contact and we are hopeful of arranging a day with Narrabeen Surf Club to undertake the event. Given the number of swim meets coming over the next 6 weeks we are looking at some time in April to hold the event.

We are happy for any feedback or comments you may have about the idea and ask that you discuss these with Denise Assi so we can consider them at our next Committee meeting (early March)

So put a reminder in your calendar for April and keep an eye out for more information.

Championship Results – 12^th February 2022

50m Backstroke

200m Freestyle

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.

Over two hundred swimmers will attend this year's Merrylands SwimFest at Merrylands Swimming Centre tomorrow.

Competitors can download the Meet Program from the Merrylands SwimFest section of our website. Live Results will also be available during the meet.

A full timeline and list of clubs competing is also available. Please note that the timeline should be used as a guide only.

Visiting clubs are reminded to bring their own chairs and shelter as there is limited seating and cover at Merrylands Swimming Centre.

See Also

• Merrylands SwimFest Swim Meet

Merrylands' team of 16 swimmers produced awesome performances at the Speedo Sprint Heats at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre today.

Our 8 to 13 year olds brought the speed in some very fast 50s, with a stack of new personal best times. Overall, our team swam 42 new PBs and achieved multiple top 10 finishes.  

Congratulations to all our swimmers on their performances, and a big thank you to the families and coaches for their support.