Saturday 11^th March

Next Saturday we have a couple of events occurring:

Whales Challenge #3

The 3^rd and final Whales Challenge for the season will see the White & Maroon teams go head-to-head to claim the overall win for the season, having both won one Challenge each so far this season. Remember to wear your team colour cap and help your team come out on top.

Timing System trial

Whilst we use the Dolphin timing system for club races we are going to trail another wireless timing system next Saturday during club races. This system, Wylas, is similar to the Dolphin system however has an added benefit where touch pads can be linked to the system. We are trialling the Wylas system to see if it could be an alternative to the current Swimming NSW timing system used when we hire the touchpads for SwimFest.

We expect a bit of a learning curve on the morning, but from a timekeeper’s point of view it works the same way – press the button when your swimmer touches the wall.

Trophy Return

Do you have perpetual trophies from last season to return? Time to dust them off and bring them back to the club room to prepare for the presentation.

Lions Club Award

Each month the Committee votes for the Lions Club Award – the club’s Volunteer of the Year. You can nominate a club member to recognise their service online here.

P-Plate Award

The P-Plate Award recognises (or perhaps highlights) the “Silly Mistake of the Year”.Have you seen a swimmer, spectator or official 17 years or over do something silly? Nominate the person here.

Club Uniforms

Order your club uniforms online here.

5 to 8 Year Meet – 1^st April

The Metro South West 5 to 8yrs Development meet is on at Guildford Swimming Centre on Saturday, 1^st April. This is a great little meet, usually over in a couple of hours, so don’t be an April Fool and enter today!

Masters Meets – State & Nationals

All Masters swimmers are encouraged to represent our club at the upcoming NSW State & Nationals Masters meets.

The NSW State Long Course Championships will be held on Saturday 1^st April & Sunday 2^nd April at SOPAC. Entries close on Friday 24^th March.

National Championships will be held from Tuesday 18^th April to Sunday 23^rd April in Hobart. Entries close on Thursday 23^rd March.

Entries for both meets can be submitted through Swim Central.

Lucky Door Prize

The Lucky Door prize is drawn again this morning. You could win your choice of a Speedo kickboard, flipper bag or pair of Opal Mirror goggles. How do you win? You must be in attendance at the Championship presentation when your name is called to win.

NSW Senior Metropolitan Results

Matthew Vicic swam two new personal best times at the NSW Senior Metropolitan Championships last weekend. Matt took 3.61 seconds off his 200m Butterfly, finishing in 2:34.06. He also took 0.35 seconds off his 100m Backstroke, with a new PB of 1:13.49. In Matt's other events, he was just 0.22 outside his 100m Butterfly PB and 0.30 outside his 100m Freestyle PB. Congratulations Matt on your swims.

Junior Swimmers Results

The fantastic swimming and results in the 15m, 25m & 33m races continue. Congratulations to the following swimmers on breaking the times for these events:

33m Freestyle

Caleb Mackie

33m Backstroke

Conner Mackie

Changes to Swimming Rules

Swimming NSW has made changes to its GENERAL RULES, SWIMMING RULES, OPEN WATER & MULTI CLASS SWIMMING RULES to align with the recent World Aquatics rule changes that came into effect on 1 January 2023.

Some rule changes relate to technical official duties and responsibilities, e.g. Starter, Inspector of Turns & Judges of Stroke. However, there are some changes to the start and stroke rules that affect swimmers. These changes are:

The Start

Any swimmer initiating a start before the starting signal may be disqualified.

Previously the rule read Any swimmer starting before the starting signal has been given, shall be disqualified.

Backstroke

When using a ledge at the start, at least one toe of each foot must be in contact with the end wall or face of the touchpad. Bending the toes over the top of touchpad is prohibited.

Previously the rule read the toes of both feet must be in contact.

Other wording changes for backstroke have removed the wording ”in his respective lane” from the rules. However, it is still a requirement for a swimmer to finish in their respective lane.

Breaststroke

All movements of the arms shall be simultaneous without alternating movement.

All movements of the legs shall be simultaneous without alternating movement.

Previously the rules required the arms and legs respectively to be on the same horizontal plane.

Medley

Leaving the wall on the back during the freestyle portion is permissible but no kicking action is permitted until the swimmer has returned past the vertical to the breast at which point kicking, including a butterfly kick(s) may commence.

The existing rule was deleted and a change in wording to clarify what is permissible.

The Race

A swimmer swimming over the course alone shall cover the whole distance to qualify. A swimmer who does not complete the whole distance in accordance with the relevant FINA rules shall be disqualified.

Previously a swimmer not completing the course would be treated as Did Not Finish, however, will now be Disqualified.

We recommend that you take time to review all other changes to Swimming NSW Rules. The new rules can be found on the Swimming NSW website.

Upcoming Meet Calendar

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

SwimFest Wrap

Wow! What a day it was last Saturday! Hot at the start, some timing issues, lots of great racing, excellent times, a bag of medals, with an explosive finish.

Thank you so much to everyone who helped last Saturday. We had some members turn up just to help with the setup, members who were there to help run the meet, members who helped with the pack up, the clean up on Sunday morning, and all of the above.

Thank you to everyone who helped setup before the meet. It was great to have so many helpers and we had everything done before the warm-up at 1:30pm.

During the meet – thank you to the timekeepers, BBQ and caterers, marshals, check starters, medals, announcer, recorders, runners and other officials for your contribution. Everything we could control went flawlessly, and when things went wrong that we couldn’t control (i.e. the timing system and weather) you all reacted quickly to keep the show on the road.

Unfortunately, Swimming NSW had an issue with the timing system at the 100m end of the pool, which meant we had to switch to using our Dolphin system for the 100m & 200m events which delayed the meet, as did the first storm.

When the second storm front hit, the way everyone sprung into action was just fantastic. We have never seen weather like that at the pool before and yet everything got packed up and most importantly, everyone got home safely. Thank you to everyone for your help!

Finally, a big thank you to Ian Wilson, Domenic Vicic, Danielle Vicic, Alison Johnston and Peter Johnston who were back at the pool for 3 hours on Sunday morning to finish the pack up.

In the pool, our team swam very well with 47 new personal best times and a massive 32 medals.

If you didn’t collect your medals, they will be available for collection after the races this morning.

Thank you to everyone for your help and well done to our swimmers on their results. 2023 is certainly a SwimFest to remember!

Senior Metropolitan Championships

Good luck to Matthew Vicic who is representing the club at the Senior Metropolitan Championships this weekend. Matt is swimming in 4 events over the two days.

Congratulations to Matt for qualifying and we wish him and his coach Alison the best of luck at the meet.

Photos

Have you got photos from the SwimFest, Inter-Club Cup, other meets or a Saturday morning you can share? Please use the share button in the weekly Whales Tales email to upload them.

Calling all 5 to 8 year olds

The Metro South West 5 to 8yrs Development meet is on at Guildford Swimming Centre on Saturday, 1^st April. This is a great little meet, usually over in a couple of hours, so don’t be an April Fool and enter today!

Starr Partners Community Series Video

Have you seen the Starr Partners Community Video promoting the club yet? If not, it is available on the Starr Partners YouTube page. Thank you to Starr Partners for their ongoing support.

Lions Club Award

Each month the Committee votes for the Lions Club Award – the club’s Volunteer of the Year.

You can nominate a club member online here.

Trophies

Do you have perpetual trophies from last season to return? Time to dust them off and bring them back to the club room to prepare for the presentation.

SwimFest Saturday is here!

The Merrylands SwimFest is on today. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered for a role – especially those members who are just coming along to help.

If you haven’t nominated to help, please see Ian Wilson to do so.

We need assistance setting up for the meet, so we are asking that you arrive at the meet by 12:30pm to assist with the setup.

There is lots of setup work to do including:

• Shelters
• Chairs & Tables
• Lane Ropes
• Timing Equipment & Touchpads
• Flags and Banners
• BBQ and Food preparation

Then it all needs to be packed away again at the end. Please make sure you help.

Warm-up starts at 1:30pm with the meet starting at 2:30pm. All the information you need including the timeline and meet program is here. Swimmers need to be ready for the land warm-up at 1:15pm.

Alison and the Club Captains will be organising the swimmers to ensure they get to their races on time. We have 26 swimmers competing in 120 individual events and 4 relays. Relay teams are listed in the Meet Program.

Lastly, don’t forget your club uniforms, hats, sunscreen, healthy snacks and drink bottles and good luck to all our swimmers!

No Club Races - Saturday, 18^th February

If you are at the pool reading this at 7am and wondering where everyone is, it is because there are no club races this week.

Club Races will be back on 25^th February.

Starr Partners Community Series Video

The video that Starr Partners conducted filming and interviews for a couple of weeks ago was published this week. Have you seen it yet? If not, it is available below.

Thank you to Starr Partners for their ongoing support.

Speedo Sprint Series Heats Results

Well done to our team at the Speedo Sprint Series Heats last weekend. Our team achieved 30 new personal best times, with a number of top 10 finishes. Well done everyone!

A full report is available here.

Lions Club Award

Each month the Committee votes for the Lions Club Award – the club’s Volunteer of the Year.

Members nominated for January:

Congratulation to these members on being nominated and thank you for your service to the club. Nominations are open for any member to recognise the service of other members. You can nominate a club member online here.

Thank You

Thank you to everyone who turned up last Saturday in their club uniform for the filming. Thank you also for your patience as we had to rearrange some things on the fly to accommodate the schedule. We will share the video as soon as it is complete and we hope it will be a great promotion for the club.

Starr Partners recently completed a video with one of our other sponsors, Club Merrylands. You can check this video out here.

Thank you to Starr Partners for their ongoing support.

Merrylands SwimFest – Helpers Required

It takes a small army to run the SwimFest and we need your help! If you haven’t already done so, please nominate for a position now!

We need to fill the following positions:

• Timekeeper
• Chief Timekeeper
• BBQ Cook
• BBQ Sales
• Marshal
• Check Starter
• Starter
• Announcer
• Recorder
• Runner
• Medals
• Refreshments

No Club Races - Saturday, 18^th February

This year, we have decided to trial not running Club Races on the morning of the Merrylands SwimFest.

This should shorten the day for everyone involved.

Club Races will be back on 25^th February.

Club Uniforms

Order your club uniforms before the Merrylands SwimFest online here.

Merrylands SwimFest - Setup

We need assistance setting up for the meet, so we are asking that you arrive at the meet by 12:30pm to assist with the setup.

There is lots of setup work to do including:

• Shelters
• Chairs & Tables
• Lane Ropes
• Timing Equipment & Touchpads
• Flags and Banners
• BBQ and Food preparation

Then it all needs to be packed away again at the end. Please make sure you help.

Speedo Sprint Series Heats

Good luck to our team at the Speedo Sprint Series Heats on Sunday. Thirteen of our junior swimmers will swim in 46 individual events at the meet, with some swimming their first meet at SOPAC. Go Team!

Championship Records

Three new championship records were set in the Freestyle Championships last Saturday.

Kylee Murray set a new record of 36.68 in the Veterans 50m Freestyle breaking the previous record of 37.09 by 0.41 seconds which she had held since 2017. Kylee then backed up for the Veterans 200m Freestyle where she also broke her own record. Kylee took a massive 3.8 seconds off the record of 3:10.40 which she had set in 2020.

Matthew Vicic set a new record time in the 15yrs 200m Freestyle, breaking the old record of 2:24.72 which had been held by Robert Griffey since 1999. Matthew took a huge 3.06 seconds off the time to touch in 2:21.66.

Well done to Kylee and Matt on their swims!

Welcome Starr Partners

It is our pleasure to welcome Darren Starr and Starr Partners to club races this morning.

Starr Partners have been a long-term sponsor & supporter of our club. This support has helped our club grow and provide equipment and activities over many years. Local sports clubs like ours find it difficult to operate without the support of local businesses like Starr Partners and we greatly appreciate this support.

This morning Starr Partners will be taking some video footage of our club races and also interviewing some members of our club as part of their Community Video Series.

Please make everyone from Starr Partners welcome today and we will be hosting a BBQ after club races to thank Starr Partners for their support.

Remember if you are looking to sell, buy or rent property contact Starr Partners and support their business.

Merrylands SwimFest entries – close today

SwimFest entries close today at 5.00pm. Remember to take advantage of the discounted entry fee for your swims.

See the website for details and get your entries in today!

Merrylands SwimFest jobs

Planning for the hosting of the SwimFest meet is well underway and we need everyone helping on the day.

There are no club races on the morning of Saturday 18^th February so we ask that everyone arrives by 12.30pm to assist with the setup for the meet.

To nominate for roles at the SwimFest here.

Club Uniforms

Order your club uniforms before the Merrylands SwimFest online here.

Relay Competition – new times

If your team has been struggling to match their entry time in the relay competition, you are in luck. This week is Round 7, which means teams can nominate a new time before today’s swim. So, if unlike the Grumpy Old Men, your team is finding it hard to get near your nominated time, see the Race Secretary to submit a new one.

Remember to nominate your 4 swimmers before the event here.

Learn to Swim

Our Learn to Swim program resumes again this morning. These lessons commence at 9.15am.

Bring a Friend

Do you have a friend who needs practice for their school swimming carnival? Did you know that if they are new to swimming, they can try our Club Races for up to 4 weeks before joining the club? All they have to do is enter online here.

Do your kids know what is going on?

Keep your kids informed about what is happening. Print them a copy of the newsletter to read each week or sign them up to receive a copy via email.

Lions Club Award

Each month the Committee votes for the Lions Club Award – the club’s Volunteer of the Year.

You can nominate a club member to recognise their service online here.

Free Membership for kids 8 & Under

Did you know that thanks to Club Merrylands, we provide Free Membership for swimmers 8yrs & Under who regularly swim in our club races? Swimmers who meet the criteria can request a reimbursement of their membership fee. Details are here if you haven’t claimed your reimbursement yet.

Lucky Door Prize

The Lucky Door prize is drawn again this morning. You could win your choice of a Speedo kickboard, flipper bag or pair of Opal Mirror goggles. How do you win? You must be in attendance at the Championship presentation when your name is called to win.

Junior Swimmers Results

More fantastic swimming and results in the 15m, 25m & 33m races over the last few weeks. Congratulations to the following swimmers on breaking the times for these events:

25m Freestyle
21/01/2023 – Eevi Opano*

25m Backstroke

11/12/2022 – Lily Palise
21/01/2023 – Eevi Opano*

25m Breaststroke

28/01/2023 – William Johnston

33m Freestyle

11/12/2022 – Connor Mackie*
11/12/2022 – Caleb Mackie*

15m Freestyle

7/01/2023 – Talia Jambazian

* broke the time at their first attempt 

Championship Records

Last week saw the first of our Club Championship races for the second half of the season. There must have been plenty of training over the break as we saw fantastic swims and 3 club records broken in the 50m Breaststroke Championships.

Lillian set a new record in the 9yrs 50m Breaststroke in a new personal best time of 50.84. Lillian took 1.27 seconds off the record set by Lisa Shrestha in 2020.

Joseph swam a new record time of 40.83 in the 12yrs 50m Breaststroke, breaking the record held by Mitchell Emery since 2002. Joseph took 0.76 off the old record.

Lastly, Leo took 1.31 seconds off the 13yrs 50m Breaststroke record, finishing in 37.48. This record had been held by Anthony Ventra since 2006.

Congratulations Leo, Lillian and Joseph on your record swims last week.

Upcoming Meet Calendar

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

Merrylands SwimFest entries

Only 1 week to go before entries close (4^th February) for the Merrylands SwimFest.

See the website for details, get your entries in and think about how you will help on the day.

Merrylands SwimFest jobs

We need lots of people to help run the meet and now is the time to volunteer.

Put your name down to do one of these jobs online today.

• Timekeeper
• Chief Timekeeper
• BBQ Cook
• BBQ Sales
• Marshal
• Check Starter
• Starter
• Announcer
• Recorder
• Runner
• Medals
• Refreshments

We will also need help setting up and packing up on the day.

Relay Competition

The Relay Competition resumes this week. Remember to nominate your 4 swimmers before the event here.

Teams can nominate a new time to swim against from the 4^th February. If you want to nominate a new time to swim against, email the Race Secretary with your team name and new time before the race on 4^th February.

Speedo Sprint Series Heats

Entries close on 31^st January – see the website for details. Speak to your coach if you are unsure whether you should enter.

Club Uniforms

Order your club uniforms before the Merrylands SwimFest online here.

Video Promotion

A videographer will be attending Club Races next Saturday (4^th February) to film some of our club activities and conduct some interviews with members to promote the club and one of our sponsors, Starr Partners.

Please make sure you are wearing your club uniform on the day.

Do your kids know what is going on?

Keep your kids informed about what is happening. Print them a copy of the newsletter to read each week or sign them up to receive a copy via email.

Lions Club Award

Each month the Committee votes for the Lions Club Award – the club’s Volunteer of the Year.

You can nominate a club member to recognise their service online here.

Speedo Sprint Series Heats

Entries close on 31^st January – see the website for details. Speak to your coach if you are unsure whether you should enter.

Free Membership for kids 8 & Under

Did you know that thanks to Club Merrylands, we provide Free Membership for swimmers 8yrs & Under who regularly swim in our club races? Swimmers who meet the criteria can request a reimbursement of their membership fee. Details are here if you haven’t claimed your reimbursement yet.

Lucky Door Prize

The Lucky Door prize is back this week. You could win your choice of a Speedo kickboard, flipper bag or pair of Opal Mirror goggles. How do you win? You must be in attendance at the Championship presentation when your name is called to win.

Upcoming Meet Calendar

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

Boardshort Relay

Our annual Australia Day Boardshort Relay will be held today. Get your boardshorts on and we will put you in a team.

Championships resume next week

Club Championships resume next week. Don’t forget you need to have swum an event previously this season to qualify, plus, you need to get your entries in on time!

50m, 25m & 200m Breaststroke are up next week.

Video Promotion

A videographer will be attending Club Races on Saturday 4^th February to film some of our club activities and conduct some interviews with members to promote the club and one of our sponsors, Starr Partners.

Please make sure you are wearing your club uniform on the day

No Training – Australia Day

There is no training on Thursday 26^th January due to the Australia Day Public Holiday. Enjoy a day off to celebrate our great country.

Merrylands SwimFest – closing soon

The clock is ticking on entries for the Merrylands SwimFest with now only 14 days until the entries close.

See the website for details, get your entries in and think about how you will help on the day.

Club Uniforms

Order your club uniforms before the Merrylands SwimFest online here.

Do your kids know what is going on?

Keep your kids informed about what is happening. Print them a copy of the newsletter to read each week or sign them up to receive a copy via email.

Merrylands SwimFest Jobs

We need lots of people to help run the meet. There are many niche jobs we need to fill.

Announcer: Do you like the sound of your own voice? Then the job of announcer at the meet could be for you!

Medal Table: Fancy a bit of bling? Then maybe a spot on the medal table distributing medals is your thing.

Marshal & Check Starter: Swimmers need help getting to the correct lane at the correct time. These positions are critical to the meet running smoothly.

Recorder: Can you handle numbers? The recorders process the results and relay entries for the meet.

Do any of these sound like you? If so, please volunteer when asked later this month.

Lions Club Award

Each month the Committee votes for the Lions Club Award – the club’s Volunteer of the Year.

You can nominate a club member to recognise their service online here.

Speedo Sprint Series Heats

Time is running out to enter the Speedo Sprint Series. Speak to your coach if you are unsure whether you should enter. Entries close on 31^st January – see the website for details.

P-Plate Award

The P-Plate Award recognises (or perhaps highlights) the “Silly Mistake of the Year”.

This award is hotly contested and we have even had a couple of visiting officials trying to get in on the act recently.

So, have you seen a swimmer, spectator or official 17 years or over do something silly? Nominate the person here.

Upcoming Meet Calendar

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

Merrylands 50s

There was some exciting racing in the Merrylands 50s last week. Congratulations to all who took part – we hope you enjoyed the event.

The top 3 in the final were:

Well done to Matt on taking out the competition for this year!

Metro South West Qualifying Meet

Congratulations to our team at the Metro South West Qualifying Meet last week. It was a long meet, plagued with technical difficulties – the highlight being a meltdown of the timing system with 50m left to swim in one of the 800m Freestyle heats. Good times. Nevertheless, our team performed very well maintaining a positive attitude and bringing home 3* medals and 9 PBs. Great job!

* Well, it should have been 3 medals, but for one swimmer who was told by an official the event had been amalgamated, swam in the wrong heat, and then because of the timing issues didn’t get a time.

Handicap Relay

The fun events continue this week with the 2x50m Handicap Relay. Entries have already closed, so if you didn’t enter, you’re too late. Sorry.

Merrylands SwimFest – Entries open

The clock is ticking on entries for the Merrylands SwimFest with 21 days until the entries close.

The meet will be held on Saturday, 18^th February, 2023 and we need everyone’s support in running the meet, and our swimmers to compete.

See the website for details, get your entries in and think about how you will help on the day.

Merrylands SwimFest – BBQ

What is a swim meet without a BBQ? The SwimFest involves feeding a small army of volunteers and officials, plus the visiting competitors and their families. You don’t need to be a Master Chef - if you can burn a sausage without burning yourself you are qualified. We need people to help cook and sell the BBQ so please volunteer when asked later this month.

Lions Club Award

Each month the Committee votes for the Lions Club Award – the club’s Volunteer of the Year.

Nominees last month:

Thank you to all these people for their work around the pool last month.

You can nominate a club member to recognise their service online here.

Entries for Club Races

Reminder: Entries close at 8pm on Thursdays! Entries are open for the rest of January, so there are no excuses. Championships resume in 2 weeks – don’t miss out just because you didn’t get your entries in.

Next Week: Boardshort Relay

Next week is our annual Australia Day Boardshort Relay. To get involved, just bring a pair of boardshorts to club and we will put you in a team.

Speedo Sprint Series Heats

Time is running out to enter the Speedo Sprint Series. Speak to your coach if you are unsure whether you should enter. Entries close on 31^st January – see the website for details.

Do your kids know what is going on?

Keep your kids informed about what is happening. Print them a copy of the newsletter to read each week or sign them up to receive a copy via email.

P-Plate Award

P-Platers: they make silly mistakes; we all know it. But they aren’t the only ones. The P-Plate Award recognises (or perhaps highlights) the “Silly Mistake of the Year”.

Any swimmer, spectator or official 17 years or over (because they should know better) is in the running for this prestigious award. The good news is, once you have won it, you are unlikely to win it again (unless you do something really out there).

“So how can I be in the running for this award?”

I’m glad you asked. Previous winners have received the award for feats such as:

• Making their cup of tea using the hotdog water
• Disappearing with their stopwatch to the car park just as a meet was due to start
• Repeatedly pressing the start button on the starting device rather than the microphone button when giving the “Take your marks” command.

If you have seen an outstanding performance, nominate the person here.

Set up and pack up

Thank you to the families that have been helping with set up and pack up for club races. Please remember to arrive before 6:50am to help set up the pool and then assist with packing up before you leave. Don’t know what needs to be done or where something goes? Ask one of the Committee members and they will point you in the right direction.

Club Uniforms

Order your club uniforms before the Merrylands SwimFest online here.

COVID-19 Conditions

Read the conditions for club races here.

Upcoming Meet Calendar

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

School Holiday Activities

Kids Disco
Tuesday 17 January 11-1pm
Who is ready to party? Dress up in your favourite costume and join in the fun, Kids FREE soft drink, Prizes up for grabs
Register at https://www.clubmerrylands.com.au/

Kids Barefoot Bowls
Thursday 19 January and Friday 20 January
Roll up for a fun day on the green
10.30-11.30am
Register at https://www.cumberland.nsw.gov.au/

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year and welcome back to swimming club for 2023. We hope you had a restful Christmas and New Year and are ready to hit the water again to maybe work off some holiday indulgences!

Merrylands 50s

The highlight of this week’s program – the Merrylands 50s – is back for 2023.

How does it work? Swimmers that have entered the event have been evenly seeded across 4 heats for the preliminary round, and given a time handicap. You need to finish in the top 4 in your preliminary heat to progress to the semi-finals. The top 4 from each semi-final will then progress to the final. Swimmers will be re-handicapped after each round based on their time from the previous round.

The rules for handicaps are detailed on the website. Note that rule SW14.2 will apply to this event while rule SW14.3 will not apply. So you can’t get disqualified for going too fast, but you may get your seed time adjusted if you go too slow.

Need some tips for the event? Try asking one of our previous winners:

The first-placed swimmer in the final will win a prize.

Next Week: Handicap Relay

The fun events continue next week with the 2x50m Handicap Relay. Want to enter? Get a teammate, come up with a team name and enter online before 8pm Thursday.

Metro South West Qualifying Meet

Good luck to our team swimming at the Metro South West Qualifying Meet tomorrow: Joseph, Laura-Belle, Ren, Alison, Daniel and Matthew.

Merrylands SwimFest – Entries open

Our annual swim meet, the Merrylands SwimFest will be held on Saturday, 18^th February, 2023.

This meet is not only great competition practice for our swimmers, but is the club’s main fundraiser of the year with proceeds going towards our annual presentation evening.

Needless to say, we need everyone’s support in running the meet, and our swimmers to compete.

Our members get discounted entry fees for the meet and both Full Swimmer and Club Only Swimmer members are able to compete.

Entries close on Saturday, 4^th February. See the website for details, get your entries in and think about how you will help on the day.

Merrylands SwimFest – Timekeeping

One of the most important and best jobs at the SwimFest is timekeeping, and it couldn’t be any easier – push a button when the swimmers hit the wall at the end of the race. No pencil, no clipboard, no splits, no writing times. All you need is eyes, a thumb and a connection between the two. The rest of the time you have a front-row seat to all the action with food served to you on a platter. We need 16 timekeepers to run the meet, so please volunteer when asked later this month.

Speedo Sprint Series Heats

The Speedo Sprint Series Heats will be held at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre on Sunday, 12^th February. Swimmers aged 8-13 years that can swim 50m are encouraged to swim at this meet - speak to your coach if you are unsure whether you should enter. Entries close on 31^st January – see the website for details.

Do your kids know what is going on?

Keep you kids informed about what is happening. Print them a copy of the newsletter to read each week or sign them up to receive a copy via email.

Lions Club Award

Each month the Committee votes for the Lions Club Award – the club’s Volunteer of the Year.

You can nominate a club member to recognise their service online here.

Club Uniforms

Order your club uniforms before the Merrylands SwimFest online here.

COVID-19 Conditions

Read the conditions for club races here.

Upcoming Meet Calendar

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

School Holiday Activities

Bingo

Tuesday 10 January 10.30-12pm
Great prizes to be won
Register at https://www.clubmerrylands.com.au/

Kids Disco

Tuesday 17 January 11-1pm
Who is ready to party? Dress up in your favourite costume and join in the fun, Kids FREE soft drink, Prizes up for grabs
Register at https://www.clubmerrylands.com.au/

Kids Barefoot Bowls

Thursday 19 January and Friday 20 January
Roll up for a fun day on the green
10.30-11.30am
Register at https://www.cumberland.nsw.gov.au/

Christmas Celebration

Well, we are now halfway through the current season and Christmas provides a time to celebrate and rejuvenate for the new year.

On behalf of the Committee, I would like to thank everyone for their help with club activities. We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2023 ahead.

Today is our last swim of 2022 and club races resume on Saturday 7^th January 2023 (squad training resumes on Tuesday 3^rd January 2023).

Following club races today we will have:

• Novelty races and events
• Christmas Breakfast & Hamper draw

Merrylands 50’s

The Merrylands 50s is a knockout handicap competition with 3 rounds: Preliminaries and Semi-Finals, all leading to a Final with a winner-takes-all prize at the end. The top swimmers from each round progress to the next round. Each swimmer is given a time handicap, so everyone has a chance of winning.

Just enter Club Races as usual for the 7^th January.

Updated conditions for attendees at all club activities

Updated conditions applicable for attendees wanting to attend any club activity (e.g. club races, squad training & social events) can be found here:

• Club Races & Social Events
• Squad Training
• Learn to Swim

Important Club Reminders

We want to reiterate some important membership requirements:

• Parents of swimmers under the age of 18yrs are required to attend club races with their children. It is not a babysitting service and if at least one parent is not able to attend then the child/children should not attend club races that morning;
• The club is run by volunteers and requires the assistance of everyone to be able to run club races each week. We require at least one parent from each family attending club races on the morning to assist with jobs around the pool deck. This means a parent of each family is required to assist with roles such as timekeeping, marshalling, check starting;
• Arrive at the pool early to assist with set up and be ready for races to start at 7.00am. Set up and pack up of the club’s equipment is not the domain of 1 or 2 people. Everyone can assist with this. So why not come down earlier and learn how to set up.
• Even if your child/children are not swimming in the first event being at the pool assists us in getting races started on time as we need to ensure we have enough timekeepers to start races;
• When timekeeping please ensure you use the lanyard to secure the stopwatch around your neck, remain quiet when a race is about to commence (the referee’s whistle is an alert for you that a race is about to start, as well as inviting the swimmers to get on the blocks or enter the pool), concentrate on the swimmer in your lane and be in the correct position at each turn and the finish of the race, i.e. looking directly down the pool wall so you can see the swimmer touch the wall.

Upcoming Meet Calendar

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

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.

School Holidays

Bingo

Tuesday 10 January 10.30-12pm
Great prizes to be won
Register at https://www.clubmerrylands.com.au/

Kids Disco

Tuesday 17 January 11-1pm
Who is ready to party? Dress up in your favourite costume and join in the fun, Kids FREE soft drink, Prizes up for grabs
Register at https://www.clubmerrylands.com.au/

Kids Barefoot Bowls

Thursday 19 January and Friday 20 January
Roll up for a fun day on the green
10.30-11.30am
Register at https://www.cumberland.nsw.gov.au/