Author: Renee Carroll

Unfortunately, as a result of the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, we have decided to finish the Swim Club season early and have cancelled the meets scheduled for the remaining two weeks on Saturday 21st and 28th March 2020.

The season results and trophies will be determined based on the racing completed up to last Saturday 14th March 2020.

The Drummoyne Swimming Club Committee has been closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation and the guidelines and recommendations released by Health NSW and Swimming NSW. Following Swimming NSW’s latest advice issued on Sunday 15th March 2020, the decision was made to cancel the last two Swim Club meets for the health and safety of our members and families. 

The final awards and trophies will be based on provisional results as at the 14th March 2020. Please note that the provisional results on our website will be adjusted by excluding non-financial members and Championship points for members who did not attend the required three Club meets before racing in those Championship events.

The Awards Dinner function planned for 8th May 2020 has been postponed and a further update will be made in the coming weeks.

Junior squad coaching is cancelled from this Thursday 19th March 2020. Winter Swim Club has also been put on hold at this stage.

Thank you for your understanding. If you have any questions or comments please call Tim Doolan on mobile 0418 969591 or email him at president@drummoyneswimclub.com.au.

Thank you to all of our new and existing members for supporting our Club in what has been a very enjoyable swimming season. We hope that your family and friends stay fit and healthy until we resume swimming next season.

Tim Doolan, President, Drummoyne Swimming Club

If you haven’t already done so please pay your club membership/s by Saturday 28^th March in order to qualify for trophies at our presentation night being held on Friday 8^th May. This includes adult squad swimmers.

We understand that the new renewing process can be very clunky. For instructions on joining the Club or renewing your membership, please click here.

If you are unsure if you have paid or if you’re having difficulty registering, Michael Donnellan (Club Registrar) is happy to help you navigate through the renewal process. You can email Michael on registrar@drummoyneswimclub.com.au.

An incredible story of fearlessness and determination to achieve an incredible personal goal from our very own super fish, Annette Jamieson…

On Sat 22nd March I swam 20km from Cottesloe Beach to Rottnest in 6hr 8min. 

Friday 21st, the day prior, I spent staring across the big blue ocean to the tiny spec of an Island wondering why I ever thought this was a good idea. On this day I decided I needed new friends – ones that create roadblocks not support. In crept self-doubt and a healthy fear of what lay beneath but I knew I’d toe the start line the next morning so it was then a question of how. How painful will this be? Which part of my body will go first – my shoulder or lower back? Or will it be my mind?

I had a race plan, however I’m impatient and struggle to constrain impulse – not helpful over 20km. An early bust would mean hours of torture and tears, neither of which I was prepared to endure. The whole family were invested and there was no turning back. l told myself the same thing I’d tell my kids (and perhaps the Friday am swim squad) – “pull your head in and get it done”. 

And with that I completed an absolutely epic swim. I pushed my mental and physical limits and now get to hold tight the intense feeling of pride at having endured the swim, pushed through the pain and completed the event in a very respectable time. 

As it turns out the stingers got my legs and face and I fell apart piece by piece – shoulders, back, wrists, elbows and fingers (who’d have thought) and by this point I got a little angry.  The last few kms were brutal, each stroke felt like I was pulling through sand. I’m still puzzled when I see any solo swimmer who smiles or raises a shoulder for a fist pump across the finish line. An impossible task. 

I reflect now more on the underwater haven, the comfort of seeing the seabed the entire swim and most importantly the smiles of my family and paddler who supported me the whole way.  Brave Luke jumped in mid-way to accompany me and I watched his every stroke – he glowed. Hannah my cheerleader and master of my feeds who was preparing my celebration party (with pinata) before I’d even finished. And not least, Mark for being calm in the face of my nerves and complete distraction and holding everything together (including my social media and my anxious mother).

I don’t need new friends – less extreme goals, perhaps, but not new friends. Both my friends and family enabled me to challenge myself and achieve. My mates who trained lap after lap with me (especially Steve / Colleen / Justine), those who sent me messages, gave me advice, watched my tracker (at the BOB!) and supported the children’s charity I raised funds for.  Brett and crew who were in Perth who helped me laugh off the shark stories and have a blast. I could not have done it without these people. Thank you xx. 

Well done Annette Jamieson on your incredible journey from all of us at Drummoyne Swim Club. An absolutely smashing achievement!

If anyone is keen to do this challenge in the future, please see Annette who can give you her training tips! 😉

The photos include; with Steve Williams who also swam solo, the feeds and the view from Cottesloe.

For this week’s article on getting to know our club volunteers, we interviewed our very own super race starter, Gerry Tibbertsma.

Q: How many years have you been a club member?

A: 21 years

Q: What motivates you to volunteer each week?

A: I enjoy being the race starter every week because I want to be involved and interact with everyone which makes it a much more enjoyable day!

Q: What is your favourite memory?

A: I love encouraging young new swimmers and one day a young boy was swimming in his first ever 30m race. To encourage him I told him that he only needed to swim to the 30m rope which I pointed to. During the race he swam to the “false start rope”, stopped and was jumping out of the water to try and grab the rope during the middle of the race which was a bit odd. Once I realised what he was doing I said “noooo to that rope” and I pointed to the 30m rope which was in the water. It was very cute and funny at the time!

Q: What’s the best thing about Swim Club?

A: The people.

Q: What is your favourite stroke?

A: Breaststroke

Q: Who is your favourite famous swimmer?

A: Ian Thorpe.

Q: What is the next PB (Personal Best time) you are aiming for?

A: To get back under 200 seconds for 200m freestyle. Then I can qualify for 400m again! Not that I’m excited about that lol! 😊

Q: Do you have any tips for other swimmers?

A: Just enjoy your swimming.

Thank you from all of us at DSC. We really appreciate your hard work and assistance with running our wonderful club 😊

When the season is said and done, there’s nothing better than reflecting on the year’s races and maybe snag yourself some silverware.

This year’s trophy presentation night will be at Drummoyne Oval Pavilion on Friday 8th May 2020 from 6pm. All members, parents and juniors are invited.

Please save the date! More information to come.

There are only three meets remaining this season, finishing on Saturday 28^th March with the 800m Open Freestyle Championships followed by our Family Fun Day.

800m Championships – 7am Start

The 800m Championships will start at the earlier time of 7am. Everyone who is able to swim the 16 laps is welcome to participate. Please arrive at the pool before 7am to sign in for the race.

Family Fun Day – 8am

The Family Fun Day will start after the 800m Championships, at around 8am, so you can arrive at this time if you are not swimming in the 800m.

We will be holding lots of fun races and relays, including boogie board races and a relay race for the tastiest prize of the season – the hotly-contested Geribo Cup chocolate trophy!

Remember to bring along your boogie board, li-lo and thongs for some fun races in the pool!

Last weekend, four of our Club Members Tadgh, Kylie and Michael Donnellan and Sophie O’Brien made the road trip down to picturesque Huskisson to participate in the triathlon festival.

Tadgh completed the 200m swim, 8km cycle and 2km run triathlon.

Kylie participated in the sprint triathlon with a 750m swim, 20km bike ride and 5km run. The swim course was very choppy but Kylie navigated the swim course beautifully.

Michael and Sophie completed the classic distance, which consisted of a 950m swim, 60km bike ride and a 10km run in warm conditions of 30 degrees. It was a fun weekend for all!

This Saturday morning it’s swim club as usual at 7.30am followed by the Battle on the Bay swimming carnival, starting at 3pm in the afternoon.

Program for this Saturday includes:

• 100m, 50m, 30m, 20m Freestyle Championship
• Form Stroke:
  • Final Tom Brown 50m Backstroke Handicap
  • 50m, 30m, 20m Backstroke Handicap
• 4x50m, 4x30m and 4x20m Medley

We are delighted to announce that members of the Brown family will be attending to present the Tom Brown perpetual trophy to the winner.

Lynette Brown provided us with an interesting bit of history on some of our club trophies, including the Tom Brown:

Back in the 1970’s George Brown, Bill Gallie & Fred Congdon decided that the club needed a trophy for the form strokes (the BBB).  This was to encourage everyone to try different stokes.  In those days, you entered for your preferred BBB stroke each week, so if you liked Breaststroke that’s all you swam until the Championships started. 

So George named the Trophy after his father Tom Brown and, as his family liked Backstroke, he took the Backstroke trophy.  Bill Gallie was a Breaststroke fanatic and Fred Congdon was passionate about Butterfly. 

The 2020 Battle on the Bay swimming carnival starts at 3pm sharp this Saturday at Leichhardt Park Aquatic Centre.  Swim Club will be on in the morning as usual, giving a few hours rest before you dive in to race against our neighbouring swimming clubs – Leichhardt, Ashfield and Enfield.

There will be 280 swimmers at the carnival, so it will be crowded in the pool area and parking will be tight. Please aim to arrive between 2-2.30pm to give yourself plenty of time to arrive, warm up and bond with our team. If you arrive late and miss your race, you will lose points for yourself and the club, so please be punctual as Leichhardt will be running the carnival like clockwork to fit in all of the events.

The afternoon involves a fun swimming carnival to determine the fastest Club on the Bay!  Every swimmer will earn valuable points for their Club in the fight for the Battle on the Bay Trophy.  The fastest individual swimmers will be awarded Age Group medals.

Points to remember:

• Carnival starts at 3pm sharp. Please arrive between 2-2.30pm to give yourself plenty of time to find parking, line up for pool entry and for a warm up (if you feel like it!)
• The event is expect to go until at least 7.30pm. If you will be arriving late or need to leave early please let Duncan know ASAP
• Food and drinks are available for purchase from the pool café but we suggest bringing your own snacks and drinks to keep the energy and hydration up or share among your friends
• If you have your own Drummoyne cossies and/or swimming cap, please wear them on the day to show your proud colours!
• Please bring your cheering voice and cheer on your fellow Drummoyne Swim Club members

If you have any queries please contact Duncan Lyon (Race Secretary) or Tim Doolan (Club President).

Good luck to everyone and have a great day!

We’re placing another order with Delfina and need to confirm order numbers for costumes.  If you are in the market for a new costume or shirt for the Battle on the Bay Swimming Carnival or want some Drummoyne Swim Club logo wear please read on…

The options are:

• Boys / Mens swim brief
• Boy’s / Mens jammer
• Girls / Ladies Open Back costume
• Unisex Tee Shirt
• Unisex Polo Shirt

A few things to note:

• We need to order a minimum of 5 x pieces per costume and 10 x pieces per shirt. If we don’t make the minimum quota for any particular style we’ll be in touch to discuss an alternative.
• Be sure to check out the size guide before making your selection as we are placing a special order and returns to Delfina will not be possible. Although we’ll try and arrange to on-sell the garment to another club member if possible.

Note that experience from our first order suggests that sizing is on the small side (ladies costumes in particular). So go for a bigger size if you’re not sure. For certainty, ask to try on a costume from the sample stock at Swim Club or talk to a club member who has a costume about sizing.

To place an order follow this link:

• Drummoyne Swimming Club – Uniform Order Form

If you have any questions about ordering any merchandise please contact Adrian Bell on 0424 561 831.