Club Races for Saturday, 8th January, and morning training sessions on 4th & 6th January are cancelled.

Due to the long COVID-19 testing queues and inability to access the pool car park, combined with a number of Pool Staff having to isolate causing staffing shortages, Council has reduced the opening hours of Merrylands Swimming Centre for the next 10 days. The pool will only be open from 12pm to 7pm. 

This means the pool will not be open on Saturday morning, or for morning training this week.

Afternoon training sessions will proceed as planned. It is expected normal hours will resume on the 10th January.

Swimmers who have already entered for the 8th January will be refunded. As the week progresses, the Competition Committee will review whether any changes will need to be made to the race program.

Update: 4th January

Due to staffing shortages associated with the impacts of COVID-19, Merrylands Swimming Centre will be closed until further notice. Council will reassess the situation in the coming days. Training sessions will be held at Guildford Swimming Centre for the remainder of this week and will start 1 hour later than usual.

See Also

• Merrylands Swimming Centre

The wait is over! Training is back at Merrylands Swimming Centre from Monday 18th October. 

What do you need to do?

All swimmers must complete new enrolment forms and their club membership before they can attend training. The steps to follow are detailed below.

Please note, that under the current Public Health Orders, there are restrictions on who can attend Public Swimming Centres. More information and details on how this affects us is available here.

Members must submit a copy of their COVID-19 Digital Certificate (PDF) or medical exemption during their membership application. Children under 16 years of age who are not vaccinated, must submit their accompanying household member's certificate or medical exemption.

Changes this season

• New COVID-19 Conditions for entry to the pool and for training
• New Membership Categories and prices, resulting in lower membership fees for many swimmers. You can now choose to join as a Recreational Swimmer if you don't swim Club Races, or a Club Swimmer if you don't swim at external swimming meets. Your membership can be upgraded at a later date if required.
• COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate or Medical Exemption must be uploaded with your club membership application.
• A small increase in the cost of some sessions.
• No physical membership cards - you will need to download a copy of your membership card from Swim Central to show to Council Staff when requested.
• All people entering the swimming centre will be required to use the Service NSW QR code and show Council Staff proof of vaccination.

Instructions

1. Review the new COVID-19 Conditions
2. Download your COVID-19 Digital Certificate (PDF) from Services Australia
3. Complete your Club Membership renewal, including uploading your COVID-19 Digital Certificate
4. Complete your Squad Enrolment
5. Purchase your Squad Multi-Session Pass and any new equipment you need
6. Download a copy of your Membership Card

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.

What a massive 12 months we have had! Since we returned to competition in October last year, our members have racked up over 500 new personal best times, won over 120 medals, qualified for Area, Metropolitan and State Championships for the first time, and improved their technique and fitness. Well done to you all on your hard work!

From 25th June to 18th July, all groups will have their Annual Training Break. This is an opportunity for swimmers, parents and coaches to recharge and re-focus for the coming summer. We encourage you to stay active during this time, with an occasional swim, to maintain your fitness and feel for the water, while still giving your body and mind some rest and recovery.

• The last training session will be Thursday, 26th June
• Sessions for the Senior, Age, Development, Junior and Novice (2), Adults & Masters squads will resume on Monday, 19th July
• Sessions for the Novice (1) and Beginner squads will resume on Monday, 2nd August

There will be some sessions for swimmers who have qualified for the Metropolitan and State Short Course Championships. Details of these sessions will be provided to the swimmers concerned this week.

There will be no training on Monday, 21st June due to the Metro South West Championships having been held this weekend.

Swimmers can book an alternate session via the booking system if they wish.

There will be an additional Beginner Squad session held on Tuesday, 22nd if those swimmers wish to book into that session.

There are no Squad Training sessions on Monday, 14th June, 2021, due to the Queen's Birthday Public Holiday.

Training moves to Guildford Swimming Centre from Monday, 29th March, 2021.

Sessions will be held in the outdoor pool and are scheduled to return to Merrylands in October.

All swimmers who will continue to train from 29th March must complete the Training Enrolment Form before they commence training at Guildford

Session times may change based on the number of enrolments received. Sessions will require a minimum of 4 enrolments to go ahead. The training times for each group are published on the Training Schedule.

If you will not be training at Guildford, please let us know as soon as possible by email.

Training will continue through the Easter School Holidays (with the exception of Public Holidays). If you are going to be away, please complete the Training Break Form to advise when you will be away.

What is changing

• No Training Sessions on Saturday mornings due to pool availability
• Novice (1) sessions will start at 4:30pm instead of 5:15pm due to reduced lane space
• Beginner sessions will move from Saturday to Monday

What isn't changing

• Swimmers will continue to be booked into sessions, and must be cancelled through the booking system if you can't attend
• Squad Fees continue to be paid via a multi-session pass
• Pool Entry must be paid on entry to the centre
• You may be required to show your Club Membership Card when paying pool entry or topping up a Pool Entry Card
• Spectators must sign in at the pool entrance for contact tracing using the Service NSW App

Swimmers must ensure they collect their training equipment from Merrylands Swimming Centre after their last session this week.

See Also

• Squad Enrolment Form
• Training Schedule
• Training Break Form

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.

Merrylands Amateur Swimming Club is seeking an enthusiastic and experienced Swimming Coach to assist with our Squad Program at Merrylands Swimming Centre (and Granville Swimming Centre during the winter season).

For details or to apply, see the advertisement on Sportspeople.

Swimming Training for all squads for Monday, 10th February has been cancelled due to the high rainfall over the past few days.

Swimmers who usually attend training for one of these sessions may choose to attend an alternate session, subject to space.

If you would like to attend an alternate session, please email squad@merrylandsasc.asn.au to let us know which session you would like to attend and we will confirm availability.

Training - Tuesday, 11th February

All sessions on Tuesday will go ahead as scheduled.

See Also

• Training Schedule

Swimming Club & Training for Saturday, 11th January has been cancelled due to the poor air quality caused by bushfires.

Entry fees for Club Races will be refunded.

See Also

• Training Schedule