Could there possibly be a more apt team name than the “Aquatic Giraffes” for Drummoyne swimmers and Laps for Life fundraisers Dave and Hugo Smith? Dave, who stands at almost ten foot four and son Hugo have topped the Drummoyne Swimming Club fundraising efforts this season and raised over $7,081 in support of Reachout.com in the Laps for Life Challenge.
Furthermore, between them the boys swam over 130 km in the month of March.
The rest of the Drummoyne crew raised another $2,446 taking the total for Drummoyne affiliated swimmers up to $9,527!
Well done to Sue-Ellen Foster, Duncan Lyon and Elizabeth Allan in particular with their fundraising efforts.
We’ve reached the best day and the worst day of the season. This coming Saturday is the best day of the season because we have our family fun day and novelty events and of course the 800M Championship. It’s also the worst day of the season because it’s the last day of the season! But all good things come to an end eventually and so we’ll go out with a bang!
Final Championship Race
The festivities start with the 800M Championship Freestyle race. Remember that races start at 7:00 so be early if you are planning to do this race. The 800M race is an Open event so it’s young v old.
Novelty Races and Relays
After the 800M it’s time to have some fun… We’ll begin with the novelty races.
Adam Christodoulou will run these races with his usual flair:
Lilo / Boogie Board Race – Don’t forget your boogie board or lilo
Thong race – bring your favourite (clean) pair of thongs.
Over and Under race – across the pool over and under the lane ropes – Matthew Svoboda is a bit upset that he hasn’t won many standard races this season so he’ll be aiming high with this one.
Once the novelty races are over we’ll move to the most important races of the season:
The Family Relay, followed by
The Geribo Cup – the Chocolate Trophy
If you see a news story about a break-in at Coles Five Dock and a chocolate heist it may just have been Jody van Loo. The word is she will outdo herself with another magnificent Chocolate Trophy.
Teams have been defined for these relays but there will still be time for last minute additions or changes on Saturday morning but please do speak up early so we can get the relays set up properly.
The Chocolate Trophy from 2022 along with the selfie ghost of Duncan Lyon…
Recap on last Week
The highlight of last week was the BBQ. Thanks very much to Casey and Jen and everyone else that helped for hunting, gathering and cooking up the breakfast feast for us all! We raised $90 for Laps for Life and we’ll try and boost that by putting it up on a double donation day.
Congratulations also to Duncan Lyon and Gerry Tibbertsma for smashing their 100M handicap times. Duncan and Gerry both recently did the Effortless Swimming Stroke Correction Clinic. They were both obviously paying attention to the coaches because this week Duncan took 12 seconds off his seed time and Gerry took 5 seconds of his. Well done boys. Who said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks!
Well, we’ve almost made it through to the end of the swimming season. We have just two weeks of Saturday swim club race meets to go.
This week…
Our Championship series continues with the 100M Backstroke races. We’ll have age group races and then an open final to see who, young or old, is the fastest 100M racer amongst our male and female swimmers.
The second event of the day will be the 100M Freestyle. This event will be on handicap as usual and will be the final races in both the Molly Wark & Les Henry U/10 100m Freestyle trophy series and the 35 and Over 100m Freestyle trophy series.
The final race this week, our distance event, is the 200M Freestyle handicap.
As usual there will be shorter events in all races including the 4 x 30M and 4 x 20M events for the young ones.
BBQ Breakfast
Racing will be followed by a BBQ breakfast. Masterchef Casey van Loo will be cooking up a gourmet storm so please stick around for a breakfast bite after you have finished your races.
Recap on last week…
We had some great racing last week. Some of the highlights included:
A great swim by Arabella Dixon in the Fred Congdon 50m race. Arabella improved significantly from her heat and is to be congratulated for this achievement. Unfortunately, the thrill of the chase for another trophy messed with Arabella’s technique and she lost a bit too much form with her butterfly kicking. So, while Arabella wasn’t able to add to her trophy collection (after taking out the women’s Tom Williams trophy a few week’s back) it was a great swim and I am sure she’ll be back as Madame Butterfly again next year.
Elizabeth Allan and Natalie Borozan pushing each other all the way to the wall for a hard fought 2nd place in the Open women’s 200M Medley behind Jessica Bell who is coming into her own with the longer Championship races.
Matthew Svoboda and Lukas Taylor for their tight finish in the Open Men’s 200M Medley race.
3 of the Allan clan enjoying their R&B Grillhouse raffle prize
Haven’t swum yet? Have a race for extra raffle tickets and a chance to win!
Parents, grandparents, younger siblings, friends, past members and everyone else who loves Drummoyne Swimming Club… if you haven’t raced this season there is still time!
We want to incentevize you all to have a swim over the last 4 weeks of racing.
So, we’re offering the chance to win prizes for all swimmers who have their first race in March.
Every person who has their first swim in March will receive 3 x bonus raffle tickets in the week they swim.
Adults who have their first swim in March will also have a chance to win a bottle of wine and a club swim cap.
Kids who have their first swim in March will have a chance to win a pair of goggles, a club swim cap and a bag of lollies.
What’s coming up…
Date
Activity
1 – 31 March 2023
Laps for Life commences. Don’t forget to promote our fundraising efforts.
18 March 2023
BBQ Breakfast
25 March 2023
Last day of Swim Club for season 2022-23. Family Fun Day and 800M Championship race.
6 May 2023
Presentation Night is nominally set for 20 May. The final date will be confirmed in due course. Keep an eye out on social media for confirmation.
It’s been a glorious season so far but we’re well and truly turning into the last lap. Sadly, there are now just 4 more Saturday morning swim meets.
This week…
Our Championship series continues with the 100M Breaststroke race.
The second event of the day will be the 100M Freestyle. This event will be on handicap as usual.
The final race this week, our distance event, is the 400M Freestyle handicap.
As usual there will be shorter events in all races. In practicular there will be 200M Freestyle races for those who haven’t qualified for the 400M race and 4 x 30M and 4 x 20M events for the young ones.
Sorry Adam for re-posting this photo but it’s just too good not to use. Let’s see if you smile is still this big after the 100M Breaststroke this week…
Recap on last week
We had some great racing last week. Some of the highlights included:
Matt O’Connor and Arden Hartley dueling it out in the final of the men’s Tom Williams 50M handicap trophy race. Matt took out the race this time but Arden continues to improve each week and will win many trophies in years to come.
Arabella Dixon taking out the women’s Tom Williams trophy – with a few seconds to space.
Elizabeth Allan and Erica Bhatti pushing each other all the way to the wall for second place in the women’s Open 400M Championship race. Well done to both of you!
Liv Sendelbeck winning 1st prize in the raffle securing the Ribs & Burgers Grillhouse voucher. This should dispel any notions in Liv’s mind that the raffle is rigged. This probably also means we can close the swim club’s complaints department 🙂
Matt O’Connor taking out the Tom WIlliam’s 50M Handicap Trophy in a very tight finish. Hats off to the handicapper. Happy happy joy joy! Liv with the winners prize and the friends she will be taking to the restaurant!
Haven’t swum yet? Have a race for extra raffle tickets and a chance to win!
Parents, grandparents, younger siblings, friends, past members and everyone else who loves Drummoyne Swimming Club… if you haven’t raced this season there is still time!
We want to incentevize you all to have a swim over the last 4 weeks of racing.
So, we’re offering the chance to win prizes for all swimmers who have their first race in March.
Every person who has their first swim in March will receive 3 x bonus raffle tickets in the week they swim.
Adults who have their first swim in March will also have a chance to win a bottle of wine and a club swim cap.
Kids who have their first swim in March will have a chance to win a pair of goggles, a club swim cap and a bag of lollies.
What’s coming up…
Date
Activity
1 March 2023
Laps for Life commences. Don’t forget to sign up and start your fundraising.
5 March 2023
Clean Up Australia Day @ Sisters Bay next to the pool.
25 March 2023
Last day of Swim Club for season 2022-23. Family Fun Day and 800M Championship race.
6 May 2023
Presentation Night is nominally set for 6 May. The final date will be confirmed in due course. Keep an eye out on social media for confirmation.
Swim Club members and friends are invited to step-up to clean-up Drummoyne Pool and its surrounds on Sunday 5 March 2023 as part of the Clean Up Australia day.
We will meet at the western end of the pool car park at 10am on Sunday 5 March 2023. Bring hat, gloves, water, sturdy plastic bags and shoes suitable for rocks and bush around Sisters Bay – the area next to the pool.
For further information about participating in this day, please contact Adrian on 0424 561 831.
About Clean Up Australia
Clean Up Australia inspires and empowers communities to clean up, fix up and conserve our environment.
Ian Kiernan – the inspiration for Clean Up Australia Day.
What was started thirty years ago, by an “average Australian bloke” who had a simple idea to make a difference in his own backyard has now become the nation’s largest community-based environmental event.
Of course, Australia’s waste challenges can’t be solved in just one day, so over the past three decades, Clean Up Australia has evolved into an organisation that works with community, government and businesses to provide practical solutions to help us all live more sustainably every day of the year.
Today our focus is as much on preventing rubbish entering our environment as it is removing what has already accumulated.
It is hard to believe that this initiative began as the inspiration of one man, Ian Kiernan. An avid sailor, Ian was shocked and disgusted by the pollution and rubbish that he continually encountered in the oceans of the world. Taking matters into his own hands, Ian organised a community event with the support of a committee of friends, including co-founder Kim McKay AO.
This simple idea ignited an enthusiasm and desire among the local community to get involved and make a difference. And surely if a capital city could be mobilized into action, then so could the whole nation! And so it was that Clean Up Australia Day was born in 1990.
Well we were gifted another warm and sunny day last week and the forecast is for more of the same this coming Saturday. Action in the pool will be hot again starting with the 200M Championship races.
We’ll have seniors and age group races and then the Open finals for male and female swimmers to see who the fastest 200M Freestyle swimmers in the club are.
There have been some fast swims over the last few weeks and it will be interesting to see if any of the club records get a nudge.
As usual we’ll have shorter races for those that aren’t able or don’t want to do the 200M race.
The next race on the program will be the 50M Freestyle events including the finals of the Tom Williams 50m Freestyle Handicap for male and female.
The finalists in each race are:
ID
Name
1626
Arabella DIXON
1376
Isabelle KERR
674
Cara PARKER
1375
Abigail KERR
1598
Liz MANISCALCO
ID
Name
1614
Arden HARTLEY
802
Matthew O’CONNOR
1600
Tarek BHATTI
1501
Cohen VAN LOO
1640
David SMITH
The final event of the morning will be 50M Butterfly along with shorter events.
It’s been great to see that we still have new swimmers coming along to see how things work at Drummoyne Swimming Club.
Please encourage your friends to come on down on a Saturday morning to give swim club a go.
Ava Cochrane, (daughter of Big Dave) with her school buddy Jessica. Ava joined us last week along with Dad Dave who was making a return to racing, Mum Ali (who will swim one week soon, I’m sure) and brother Sam – also a future swim club kid, no doubt, for her first swim club event in preparation for the RLPS school carnival. (Note by coincidence another big Dave in the background).
To encourage new swimmers and parents and others to jump in and have a race we will offer random prizes for people who have their first swim of the season in March. Keep an eye out for this.
March is almost upon us. It’s time to start thinking about raising money for Reachout.com. We need a few more peeps to sign up and create a competitive fundraising spirit. Who knows, if we raise enough money Thorpie might come visit us again!
Why support L4L
Suicide is the leading cause of death for young people in Australia? That means that each year, more young people die by suicide than in car accidents or from cancer.
At Drummoyne Swimming Club we aim to provide a fun, safe and supportive environment for young people (and the not so young) to strive and achieve.
ReachOut is a safe place where young people can openly express themselves, get a deeper understanding and perspective on what’s happening in their lives, connect with people who will provide judgement-free support, and build the resilience to manage their challenges now and in the future.
Our goals are very much aligned.
Every dollar you donate or raise via our fundraising page will help Reachout.com provide all young people in Australia with the support they need to be happy and well.
Sign up now
It’s time to sign up to the Drummoyne Swimming Club Team in the Laps for Life Challenge in support of youth mental health this season – Laps for Life is a swimming challenge that raises money to support youth mental health initiatives by Reachout.com.
Last March we raised an incredible $15,562.43. This was on top of our stellar 2021 effort where we raised over $10,000.00 as well.
We’ve set a club goal of raising $5,000 this time and, over the course of March, we’ll use Adult and Junior Squads to meet our collective goal. Please sign up and seek donations from friends and family along the way.
All going well we’ll smash our fund raising goal again!
After all the excitement of the 400M championship and the Battle on the Bay last week you’ll all need to back it up again because we’ve got another action packed Saturday of racing.
Championship races continue, this time with the 100M Freestyle event.
This will be followed by 50M handicap backstroke including the very special Tom Brown Trophy race.
The final race of the morning will be the 200M Medley.
As usual we’ll have shorter events for the younger swimmers.
Tom Brown Backstroke Trophy Race
This trophy race is named in honour of the amazing Lynette Brown’s grantfather and is always an exciting event. The finalists for the Tom Brown 50m Backstroke Handicap trophy race are:
ID
Name
1674
Eloise PIDD
1377
Gavin TANNER
1502
Lincoln VAN LOO
1345
Adrian BELL
1113
Jaxon LEWIS
1501
Cohen VAN LOO
1389
Hayden HOWARD
1126
Denver PELLY
We’ll have a new champion this year as neither of our last two winners, Jude Wilson and Cara Parker made the final this summer.
Members of the Brown clan will be there to preside over the ceremony.
March is creeping up on us. It’s time to start thinking about raising money for Reachout.com. We need a few more peeps to sign up and create a competitive fundraising spirit. Who knows, if we raise enough money Thorpie might come visit us again!
Why support L4L
Suicide is the leading cause of death for young people in Australia? That means that each year, more young people die by suicide than in car accidents or from cancer.
At Drummoyne Swimming Club we aim to provide a fun, safe and supportive environment for young people (and the not so young) to strive and achieve.
ReachOut is a safe place where young people can openly express themselves, get a deeper understanding and perspective on what’s happening in their lives, connect with people who will provide judgement-free support, and build the resilience to manage their challenges now and in the future.
Our goals are very much aligned.
Every dollar you donate or raise via our fundraising page will help Reachout.com provide all young people in Australia with the support they need to be happy and well.
Sign up now
It’s time to sign up to the Drummoyne Swimming Club Team in the Laps for Life Challenge in support of youth mental health this season – Laps for Life is a swimming challenge that raises money to support youth mental health initiatives by Reachout.com.
Last March we raised an incredible $15,562.43. This was on top of our stellar 2021 effort where we raised over $10,000.00 as well.
We’ve set a club goal of raising $5,000 this time and, over the course of March, we’ll use Adult and Junior Squads to meet our collective goal. Please sign up and seek donations from friends and family along the way.
All going well we’ll smash our fund raising goal again!
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