2019/2020 Season Wrap-Up
We expected to be enjoying the last morning of club races for the season today and a breakfast to end what had been a very successful and rewarding season for our members.
However as we know our world has changed so much in the last month or so. The first 51 years of the club’s activities went smoothly, however the 52nd season has been the most unusual, with events such as bushfire smoke, air quality and the Coronavirus pandemic impacting upon club activities.
The support and flexibility of our club members over the season has been fantastic, as we coped with these events. Unfortunately the pandemic has not allowed us to complete the last week of the season, and our thoughts turn to those in the community and world who have been affected by the various events.
Some particular highlights we want to acknowledge during this season are:
Club Championship Records
We have seen a total of 11 records broken this season. Congratulations to:
Club Meets
This was the 2nd season we have held the Masters BPS Sprint Meet and SwimFest on the same day and we again hosted the InterClub Cup. We had a great number of club members swim in these meets and again outstanding results were achieved, with constant PB’s being achieved by our swimmers at all meets.
Thank you to our broader family members who supported us in hosting these meets, without your help we are not able to provide such successful events. We again received very positive feedback about how our club works together and provides fun well run meets.
Area Meets
We saw record numbers of swimmers represent the club at meets such as the Speedo Sprint Heats and 5 – 8 Year meets. We also had a number swimmers compete at Area Championships during the season.
The 5 – 8 Years meet was swum after the last Whales Tales was published, so we want to recognise the fantastic performances of our swimmers at this meet. We had a team of 11 swim, many in their first ever official meet and the results were outstanding. Congratulations on achieving 14 PB’s, picking up 9 medals and finalist ribbons for their great efforts.
Metropolitan & State Championships
We had a number of swimmers achieve qualifying times for Metropolitan and State Championships during the season. Unfortunately Junior State Age Championships have been cancelled for this year. The State Open Championships were held after the last Whales Tales were published and Alison Johnston competed in the Women’s 50 metre Freestyle. Alison swam 28.70 which is her fastest time since 2016, and just 0.19 outside her all time PB. Congratulations Alison.
Congratulations also to our coaches, who have worked tirelessly to prepare training programs to have swimmers peaking for all of these events. It has been a difficult season for the squad program with regular changes being forced upon training schedules.
New Technical Officials
We saw 12 of our members obtain their timekeepers accreditation this season. Welcome to the ranks of our technical officials and we hope you are keen to progress with further accreditations in the coming seasons.
Club AGM & Annual Presentation
At this time we still have the following dates booked:
- Club AGM – Monday 25th May, 2020 commencing at 7.30pm in the Club Room
- Annual Presentation – Saturday 30th May, 2020 commencing at 6.30pm at Club Merrylands
As such the dates for nominations for committee positions and club awards are:
- Service Excellence Award – closes 31st March, 2020
- Life Member nomination – 60 days before the AGM (Thursday 26th March, 2020)
- Committee nomination – 30 days before the AGM (Saturday 25th April, 2020)
However we will continue to review the dates for these events, depending on circumstances over the coming month or so. It is possible that these dates may be altered and pushed back to later in the year. Updates to these events will be provided on the club website and Facebook page.
Sponsors
We again thank our major sponsors who provide fantastic support to our club. If you know of a business or organisation who may be interested in providing sponsorship or support to our club please let Graham know.
Raffle prize sponsors for the Merrylands Masters BPS & SwimFest Meets
Photography