Issue 4, 2022/2023 by Graham Edwards - 28th October, 2022

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Whales Challenge #1

Last week saw the first of the three Whales Challenges for this season. Thank you to everyone who swam for their teams. The final results saw the White “Emery” team (881 points) score a victory over the Maroon “Turner” Team (707 points) to take a 1-0 series lead.

The 2^nd Whales Challenge will be held on Saturday 10^th December 2022 and this will give the Maroon team a chance to level the series.

Club Championships

Last week we held the 200m Individual Medley championships. Congratulations to all swimmers who competed and especially to Joseph Assi who broke the record in the 12 Year Boys, swimming a record time of 3:02.75, breaking the record time of 3:08.37 set by David Wang in 2005.

Club Captains

Nominations for the positions of Male and Female Club Captains close today at 9.30am. Information about the duties and responsibilities of Club Captains can be found on the club website in the By-Laws.

Please ensure you take the time to nominate members for both Male and Female Club Captains. All financial first claim members can vote for these positions on week 6 (12^th November, 2022).

Learn to Swim

Our Learn to Swim program starts on 5^th November 2022. Enrolments are open to existing members and the cost is $55. Enrolments close at 8.00pm next Wednesday (2^nd November 2022). Full details about the program and how to register can be found on the club website. We also need helpers to assist in delivering this important program. Please speak to Peter Johnston if you are able to assist with any roles for this program.

Relay Competition

Time trials for the Relay Competition have concluded and the competition for points commences next Saturday (5^th November 2022).

To ensure your team can compete in the relay competition you must nominate your team members (maximum of 6), the team time and pay the team entry fee of $12 before next Saturday. Enter your team on the website.

MSW Long Course Championships

Merrylands will be represented by a team of 13 swimmers competing in a total of 50 individual events at the MSW Long Course Championships at SOPAC this weekend.

Good luck to the team of Aisha Abdelraheem, Ameena Abdelraheem, Joseph Assi, Laura-Belle Casey, Ren Hum, William Johnston, Alison Johnston, Jay Shrestha, Lisa Shrestha, Daniel Vicic, Matthew Vicic, Leo Zhu & Lillian Zhu who have qualified for the meet. May the Whale with you all

Skills Sessions

The next Super Saturday Skills Session will be held on Saturday 5^th November 2022 (between 9am to 10am).

Swimmers from Novice 2 and above are welcome to book into this session. The cost is $7.50 per swimmer, which will come off your multi-session pass.

These sessions should be considered an extra session, not a replacement for a session during the week, and need to be booked online.

Membership Cards

Remember to download a copy of your membership card from Swim Central to show to the pool staff if requested when entering the swimming centre. Instructions are here.

Technical Officials

To be able to run club races and have the times accepted by Swimming NSW we need to ensure that we have qualified technical officials. This includes various roles around the pool deck, including timekeeping. Training for most roles is conducted online and we encourage you to start by obtaining your timekeeping qualification. See https://nswtraining.swimming.org.au for more information and ask Graham any questions you may have about becoming a technical official.

Parramatta Inter-Club Cup

The Inter-Club Cup is only 2 weeks away. We will take on Parramatta City and McCredie Park right here at Merrylands Swimming Centre on Saturday, 12^th November 2022.

Every club swimmer should be looking to enter the meet to represent our club. So enter today! Entries close on Wednesday, 9^th November 2022.

We also require the help of everyone on the afternoon as we will need to set up, provide timekeeping (we will have automatic timing system being used), catering, pack up etc. Please see Graham to volunteer.

This will be the 8^th time the meet has been held, with the past years not being held due to Covid restrictions.

Club Uniforms

We have a great range of club uniforms available for sale. These can be purchased through the club’s online shop.

To order uniform items go to https://shop.merrylandsasc.asn.au/club-uniforms

Club Facilities & Equipment

The Committee work hard to ensure we have the best equipment and facilities available for our club members.

We know the swimming centre is in need of refurbishment and we continue to work with Council to pursue the upgrade of these major facilities.

However, you will have seen a few new things over the past year. These include the storage shed, starting equipment and digital signage. Our club has been fortunate to obtain a number of grants to fund these purchases.

The storage shed, including storage shelving, crates and trolley were provided through the Local Sport Grant Program (NSW Government).

The starting equipment was purchased through a grant also provided through the Local Sport Grant Program (NSW Government) and was purchased just prior to this season starting.

We also now have new digital signage which you will see displaying information about our club. This was just purchased through a grant provided by Club Merrylands in the ClubGRANTS scheme.

Thank you to the organisations providing these grants as the funds assist our club in continually upgrading our equipment, and to the Committee members who have worked behind the scenes.

Lions Club Award

The Lions Club Award is presented each year at the Club’s Annual Presentation Evening. The Award is presented to a club member in recognition of their services to the club.

Each month the Committee vote for the Lions Club award, with the total votes accumulating to the presentation of the annual award.

We are looking for your help in recognising those members who provide service to the club, over and above their normal duties. So if you would like to nominate a club member to be considered for their service please submit your nomination.

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.