Our Senior swimmers kicked off their season with some great results at the Metro South West Senior Long Course Championships.  These Championships were held at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre on the 7^th and 8^th of November.

Laura-Belle had some fabulous results, achieving personal best times in 3 out of 4 of her swims.  Laura-Belle took off over 3 seconds in the Open 50m Butterfly, achieving her first sub 40 time!

Michael had just completed his HSC physics exam the day before the meet.  The force (mass x acceleration) was with him and Michael achieved a personal best in the Open 50m Freestyle.

Elie showed gutsy efforts in his swims after returning from a break and several injuries.  Elie saved his best performance for the last of the day with a personal best in the Open 50m Freestyle.

It was Vanessa’s first-time swimming at these Championships and she had some wonderful results, with personal best times in the 50m Butterfly and 50m Breaststroke.  Vanessa was a finalist in her 4 events.

Summer added to her Metropolitan events with a personal best in the 100m Freestyle. Summer also achieved personal best times in the 100m Backstroke and 100m Breaststroke, and was a finalist in this event.

Brendan contested a massive 9 events during the meet.  Brendan was a finalist in four events, including a top 10 finish in the Men’s Open 200m Individual Medley.

Alison’s highlight was the Women’s Open 50m Freestyle, coming 9^th out of 130 swimmers.  Alison also picked up 2 silver medals, 1 bronze and 4 other top 10 finishes.

Congratulations to all our swimmers and thank you to Peter and Alison for their coaching.

Merrylands will send a team of 7 swimmers to the Metro South West Senior Championships this weekend.

The Championships are being held at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre on Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th November.

Our team is competing in 39 individual events over the weekend, and consists of:

Laura-Belle Casey
Michael Evans
Brendan Kirkpatrick
Elie Menhem
Vanessa Ozols
Alison Sakurovs
Summer Shrestha

Following the session on Saturday, Metro South West are holding a Junior Qualifying Meet. We will have 6 swimmers competing at this meet in 8 events.

Our team consists of:

Joseph Assi
Joab Hada
Niushka Shrestha
Unish Shrestha
Daniel Vicic
Matthew Vicic

Good luck to all our swimmers at both meets.

Congratulations to Matthew Vicic who set a new record in the 200m Individual Medley Championship this morning.

Matthew set a new record of 2:53.05 in the 13yrs 200m Individual Medley, breaking the previous record of 2:55.52 held by Robert Whythe since 1983.

Congratulations to Matt on his swim.

See Also

• Championship Records

Apologies for providing this information out later than usual - we know many of you are keen to resume training. Cumberland Council did not decide the operating hours of Merrylands Swimming Centre until the end of last week, which has delayed our planning for training to recommence at Merrylands.

Enrolments for all squads are now open.

Not sure what squad you are in? Please email to ask.

Swimmers who trained at Guildford over the last few months have been booked into sessions at Merrylands this week, based on their sessions before the school holidays. Sessions for all other swimmers will start on Monday, 12th October.

All swimmers must complete new enrolment forms and their club membership. The steps to follow are detailed below:

1. Complete your Club Membership renewal
2. Complete the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Health Questionnaire
3. Complete your Squad Enrolment
4. Purchase your Squad Multi-Session Pass

Important Changes for this Year

There will be a number of changes this season due to COVID-19. These are detailed below:

Squad Fees

Swimmers must not attend sessions if unwell, for any reason. It is also possible sessions may need to be cancelled due to COVID-19 outbreaks.

To facilitate this, while restrictions are in force, fees will be charged per-session, rather than per-month, on a sliding scale. If you can't attend a session, as long as you cancel your booking, you won't be charged for the session. The total fees you will pay in a month will be the equivalent of the monthly fee in previous seasons.

To pay your fees, you will purchase a Multi-Session Pass through our online store. Value will be deducted from the pass each session you attend.

For more information, or to purchase your pass, see the Squad Fees page on the website.

Pool Entry

Pool Entry must be paid for using a Council Pool Entry Pass, or a Fitness Passport. Council are not accepting Cash Payments.

All Swimmers: Come ready to scan your card on entry (or sign on the Fitness Passport sheet)
All Spectators: Be ready to sign in at the entrance for Council contact tracing. You must also sign in online for the club's contact tracing (yes, you must do both).

Spectators

Spectators will now be permitted at sessions, but must follow the restrictions in our COVID-19 Safety Plan as detailed in the Squad Conditions.

Conditions

There are a large number of changes to our Squad Conditions due to COVID-19. These have been reviewed again for our return to Merrylands and cover both swimmers and spectators. Please read them and ensure they are followed.

Training Schedule

There have been changes to the Training Schedule due to COVID-19.

Due to the capacity of the Club Room, there will be no land warm-up for the Novice and Junior Squads, or the morning squads. Exercise mats will not be available for use.

There will be no second session on Saturday mornings.

Session Bookings

Under the current COVID-19 restrictions we are required to limit the number of swimmers in a session, and maintain attendance records.

Swimmers will be booked into a session based on their enrolment. If you can't attend a session, you must cancel your booking through the booking system.
If you want to attend another session, it also must be booked through the booking system.

You will only be able to book into a session if there is space.

Active Kids Vouchers

Want to use an Active Kids Voucher to pay for your Squad Training? You can use an Active Kids Voucher to pay for up to $100 of your squad fees.

Voucher details can be entered when you complete your Squad Enrolment. See the Squad Fees page on the website for more details.

Club Races return for the 2020/2021 season on Saturday, 10th October, 2020.

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 this summer 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 100m Backstroke - will be held on Saturday, 24th October. Remember, you need to have swum that stroke and distance in the current season to qualify for the championship, so complete your qualifying swims as soon as possible.

COVID-19 Safety Information

We are finalising our COVID-19 Safety Plan and information will be published on our COVID-19 page prior to races commencing. All swimmers and spectators will be required to comply with this information.

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

See Also

• Online Entries
• Club Races
• Club Membership

Registration for the 2020/2021 season is now open and instructions on how to re-register for the summer are on the How to Join page.

We are pleased to advise there has been no change to membership fees for this season, and they will remain the same as last season.

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 Swimmer if they want to participate in Club Races.

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

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

• Club Membership
• How to Join
• Free Membership for 8yrs & Under

Sixteen members have received awards in the 2020 Swimming Australia Junior Excellence Program.

The Australian Junior Excellence Program, recognises rewards and encourages junior swimmers who, through their development of aquatic skills and fitness, achieve a high standard of swimming excellence.

Congratulations to the following members who have received awards this year:

Silver

Daniel Vicic
Joab Hada
Matthew Vicic
Summer Shrestha

Bronze

Joseph Assi
Lisa Shrestha
Niushka Shrestha
Unish Shrestha

Green

Abraham El-Chami
Ameena Abdelraheem
Avani Pradhan
Chloe Ton
Elie Menhem
Ferenique Bris
Jorja Matthew
Nevah Shrestha

The full list of recipients can be found on the Junior Excellence page on the Swimming Australia website, while all our club's previous recipients can be found in the Development section of our website.

See Also

• Swimming Australia Junior Excellence Program
• Junior Excellence Program - Previous Recipients

At the April Committee Meeting, the Committee voted to move the Annual General Meeting and Presentation Evening due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new dates are:

• Annual General Meeting - Monday, 21st September, 2020
• Presentation Evening - Saturday, 26th September, 2020

These new dates will be reviewed by the Committee closer to the events, and changed again if necessary.

The Committee has also applied to the NSW Department of Fair Trading for an extension in time to hold the AGM, due to the pandemic.

The Annual Report will still be provided to members in late May/early June.

Presentation Evening

The Presentation will be held at Club Merrylands, starting at 6:30pm.

You will be able to purchase dinner either before or after the presentation from the club's facilities.

Award selection must be completed by Monday, 18th May.

For more information and to complete your award forms, see the Presentation section.

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting will be held in the Glad & Jim Pye Club Room at Merrylands Swimming Centre, starting at 7:30pm.

For more information, see the Annual General Meeting page.

See Also

• Presentation Evening
• Annual General Meeting
• Club Merrylands

Congratulations to Brendan Kirkpatrick who set a new record in the 1500m Freestyle Championships this morning.

Brendan set a new record in the Open 1500m Freestyle, finishing in a time of 19:34.63 and taking 7.51 seconds off the previous record which had been held by Mitchell Emery since 2007.

Congratulations to Brendan on his swim.

See Also

• Championship Records

Great results at the Metro South West 5-8yrs Meet today with some very happy young swimmers.

Our team took home some big smiles along with a bag of medals, ribbons and 14 PBs.

Well done to the whole team on their swims, with our club finishing 5th in the point score. The work you have been doing at training and learn to swim has obviously been paying off!

Thank you to Rabin, Prafulla, Graham and Margaret for officiating at the meet, and to those members who came along just to support the kids!

Medal Tally

See Also

• Metro South West 5-8yrs Meet - Team