Our swimmers and supporters celebrated the success of the 2023/24 season at our annual Presentation Night. This was held at Club Merrylands, one of our club's generous sponsors.
Club President Graham Edwards kicked off proceedings with a summary of achievements and a heartfelt thank you to all those who volunteer for our club.
The Graded Pointscore was presented and it was great to see so many swimmers eligible for an award. There was a lot of excitement from swimmers young and old to see who earned lots of points by improving their times throughout the season. Congratulations to Gabriella Assi for the highest point score and also for winning the Junior Girls Pointscore. Lily Palise was Junior Girls Runner-Up. Jude Johnston took out the Junior Boys Pointscore, a tight competition with 3 points separating the top 3 placegetters. Patrick Hannan was Runner-Up Junior Boy. Ian Johnston and Alison Johnston won the Senior Mens and Senior Womens Pointscore respectively, with Varant Jambazian and Kylee Murray in 2nd placings.
The Relay Pointscore was won by the Grumpy Old Men team, consisting of Graham Edwards, Alireza Farshad, Varant Jambazian, Ian Johnston, Peter Johnston and Ian Wilson. We hope more teams will enter and swim consistently next year to knock the smug smiles off the Grumpy's faces. Ian Wilson also won the Senior Handicap and believes he has finally worked it out.
Coaching Awards were presented for squad members' consistent effort, improvements and attitude towards their training throughout the year. Congratulations to Gabriella Assi, Jokubas Urbonas and Ian Johnston who all received a prized beanie.
The Age and Open Pointscore were awarded to swimmers based on championship results, with some very competitive age groups and close results. Congratulations to all our Age and Open Champions.
The P-Plate Award recognised the "Silly Mistake of the Year" and was awarded to Margaret Edwards for swimming with the protective film on her goggles all season.
The Jack Smart Encouragement Award is in memory of Life Member, Jack Smart. This was awarded to Tomas Dlesk for his progression from 25m races up to 200m races throughout the season.
The Jim Pye "Minties" Development Award is in memory of Life Member, Jim Pye. This award is presented to a Junior Swimmer who has swum consistently over the season, steadily improving and representing the club at various swimming meets. William Johnston was the recipient of this award.
Representative Awards and club shirts were presented to Joseph Assi, Daniel Vicic, Matthew Vicic and Leo Zhu for their representation of the club at Swimming NSW Events. This was the first time Daniel and Leo had received these awards.
The Lions Award was presented to Peter Johnston for his services to the club over the past season.
The Masters Swimmer of the Year was awarded to Alison Johnston for her performances at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships and 2024 National Championships.
The Champion of Champions Award is based on performance in Graded Races, Championships, and representative swims for the club. Matthew Vicic won this award, gaining many of his points for his dominance in the Club's Open Championships, setting five records throughout the season and his attendance at Area and Metropolitan Meets. Congratulations to Joseph in 2nd place and Alison in 3rd.
Thank you to Margaret Edwards and Tricia Johnston for organising the trophies and to Denise Assi for being the official photographer for the evening.
See Also