We hope you’ve had a great break and are ready to dive back into the action at Drummoyne Swimming Club! Swim club races start up again this Saturday, and it’ll be exciting to see everyone poolside for the second half of the season.

This week we will get back into the swim of things with:

• 100M Freestyle inclusive of:
  • Molly Wark & Les Henry U/10 100m Freestyle – Week 3
  • 35 and Over 100m Freestyle – Week 3
  • We’ll also have a 50M Freestyle 30M and 20M events.
• 50M Breaststroke being the heats for the Bill Gallie 50m Breaststroke (H’cap) trophy
• The final event for the morning will be the 400M final of the George Russell 400m Freestyle (H’cap) trophy race, followed by 200M, 4 x 30M and 4 x 20M events.

The finalists for the George Russell 400m Freestyle (Handicap) trophy race are as follows:

ID	Name
1156	Luke SELLARS
1324	Yunos YAQUB
1112	Hannah SVOBODA
1491	Daire HENDERSON
1502	Lincoln VAN LOO

Lincoln van Loo has kept up the training over the holiday period with weekday squads and a water polo tournament. We’ll see if anyone else can challenge him!

New Club Costume

It’s been a while since we’ve had club costumes on offer. This summer we’ve been working with the good people at Budgy Smuggler and we’ll shortly have a new club costume for sale. We’ll have three options – male brief (traditional cut), male Jammers and the female thin strap as shown below. Keep an eye out for communications about this. We’ll take orders and all going well the costumes will arrive in time for the Battle on the Bay.

Monday and Wednesday Squads – older kids welcome

In order to cater better for our youth swimmers, club swimmers aged 12 and above are welcome at our Monday and Wednesday squads.

So, if you’re older kids are looking to improve for competitions or get in some extra fitness while having fun, we’d encourage you to bring them along on a Monday and/or Wednesday.

We have dedicated coaching on deck, to provide guidance, motivation, and a friendly push to help swimmers achieve their goals. Our adults squad members will also provide support and motivation.

Season calendar

As noted above, the season calendar has been published so you can now check out the racing schedule. But here are some key dates to keep an eye on:

Date	Activity
Ongoing…	Adult Squads have commenced – Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 6:00 to 7:00 Lanes 1 and 2 Open for older kids (12 +)
Ongoing…	Junior Squads commenced – Tuesdays and Thursdays 6:00 to 7:00 Lanes 1 and 2
18 January 2024	First Saturday after the holiday break
TBC	Battle on the Bay @ Ashfield
22 March 2024	Last Saturday morning races of the season. End of Season lunch at Grill’d!

Swimmers,

As the year draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on the highlights of 2024 and celebrate the incredible achievements and community spirit of Drummoyne Swimming Club. We’ve had a fantastic season so far, and there’s plenty to be proud of and look forward to.

A Season of Success

From our youngest swimmers taking their first strokes in competition to our seasoned members smashing personal bests, this season has been a testament to the hard work, dedication, and camaraderie that defines our club. Thank you to all our swimmers, coaches, and parents for your unwavering support and enthusiasm.

Special mentions go out to:

• Harry Thompson for setting a new club record in the U10 50M Freestyle championship race with a blistering time of 35:42, and
• Hayden Howard who smashed it at the NSW State Championships. Hayden qualified for 9 events, made 3 finals – achieving a bronze in the 13 y/o boys 50M breaststroke, and achieved 2 national qualifying times.
• Lynette Brown and Tony Sellars for their tireless efforts with the Junior Squads. Lynette and Tony never miss a beat and we’re very appreciative of their commitment! Lynette, Tony and their helper Jessica will be back on Tuesday the 21st of January.
• Our adult squad swimmers! After a slow start our numbers have picked up considerably with the addition of some of our club teens and new regulars. Our new coach Jessica is working us hard! More swimmers always welcome. Adult Squads will continue throughout the holiday period.

Our Sponsors

This year, we’ve been fortunate to welcome new sponsors who share our passion for swimming and community. A big thank you to:

• Grill’d for their delicious burger vouchers, adding excitement to our raffles and giveaways and for hosting our men’s night out.
• Sew & Sew Wines for their generous contributions of premium wine for our fundraising efforts.
• M9 Fitness at Chiswick for providing 2 x fitness vouchers – we’ve still got one to raffle off in the new year!
• Inspirations Paint Five Dock for their generous sponsorship package.
• Pest2Kill for their generous sponsorship and the lollies at the Christmas extravaganza
• Clean Swim for their product bundles, helping us promote sustainability and healthy swimming practices.
• Kadmus for generously providing vouchers for our raffles and for hosting our ladies night out.

Your support makes a world of difference to our club and its activities.

Christmas Party

Thanks to Santa for coming along to our Christmas extravaganza last weekend and to Dave Smith and Brodie Murdoch for cooking up a storm on the BBQ and to Bec Smith for procuring the goodies and dishing them out.

Holiday Break

Regular Saturday morning meets will resume on January 18th, 2025. Stay tuned for updates and details on our summer schedule.

Thank You

To our committee members, volunteers, sponsors, supporters and our Patron Mayor Michael Megna – thank you for making 2024 a remarkable year. Your dedication ensures our club continues to grow and succeed.

Wishing all our members a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May your holidays be filled with joy, laughter, and a splash of summer fun. We can’t wait to see you poolside in 2025!

Warm regards,

Adrian

President

Drummoyne Swimming Club

The results for Saturday 21 December 2024, including the 50m Breaststroke Championships, have been published here.

Drummoyne Amateur Swimming Club Race Results – 21st December 2024

It was yet another beautiful day at Drummoyne Pool. The winds were doing a little dance—from north to northeast—before they calmed down for a lazy evening.

Club Championship Highlights

Hold on to your goggles! The 50m Breaststroke Club Champs served up excitement with fierce rivalries and smashing personal bests. Young gun Alessandro Rapisarda outpaced his rivals, slicing down his recent best to emerge victorious in the Under 8 Boys, while Lara Hartley wowed us all by surpassing her recent best time in the Under 8 Girls.

• Under 8 Boys: Alessandro Rapisarda, who had his grandma Patricia Douglas cheering loudly, blitzed to the top.
• Under 8 Girls: We saw a disqualification storm as Phoebe Noach got caught by the technical rulebook, but not before gaining DQ status for swimming with a bit more ‘fetch’ than ‘breast’.
• Seniors Division: Claresta Hartley put those juniors on notice with a 50.11 outright speed in the breaststroke. Meanwhile, a swifty Santa repaid the competition with well-deserved festive cheer.

Handicap Point Score Blow-by-Blow

Every meet’s got its dark horses and Max Thompson made sure he was the undisputed king of the Under 6s with no fancy starts but pure swim grit earning him a top spot. Little sister Cara wrote her legacy by zooming in the Under 8s. Santa would be proud of your dedication, mates! Special nod to lifeguard-hopeful Luke Sellars, who bagged the gold with a tight finish in Under 14 Boys, proving that practice beats even the toughest competition.

Family Hurrah and Birthdays

Welcome onboard to the Peat family, diving right into the holiday spirit, and to young champion Skye Brombley, who decided to splash out a first race debut at a mere one year old! Talk about breaking the water’s surface with a bang, eh? Let’s not forget our birthday cooldown—a big cheer for all the December babies! May your year be as full of fun and family as our poolside barbie was today.

Cup of Cheers

Tip of the cap to Denver Pelly, your 2024 Open Men’s Club Champion and clearly the one who set the swim lane on fire! And another wave to Elizabeth Allan for keeping her hold tight on the Open Women’s North Star trophy.

See you in the New Year! Let’s dive back into tip-top poolside antics, good vibes and perhaps, an inflatable rubber duck race. Until then, may your strokes be smooth and your mince pies plentiful!

 

Note: The above meet report was automatically generated using an artificial intelligence tool. While care is taken to ensure that the information in this report appears reasonable, please contact racesecretary@drummoyneswimclub.com.au if you would like to provide any feedback on this content.

This Saturday we have our final Saturday morning meet of the calendar year before we take a short holiday season break.

We’re having a Christmas extravaganza with Santa flying in from the North Pole and a BBQ breakfast. Feel free to bring a friend or two to join us for the festivities.

So far as racing goes, this week we continue our championship races with the 50M Breaststroke race. Championship races are off scratch – so no handicaps. As usual we’ll have age group races and then an open final for the fastest qualifiers – young and old – to see who is the fastest in the club.

The 50M Breaststroke event will be followed by the 50m Freestyle event and then by our long distance event, which this week is 200M Freestyle. As always there will be shorter races for youngsters.

Monday and Wednesday Squads – older kids welcome

In order to cater better for our youth swimmers, we’re opening up our Monday and Wednesday squads to club swimmers aged 12 and above.

So, if you’re older kids are looking to improve for competitions or get in some extra fitness while having fun, we’d encourage you to bring them along on a Monday and/or Wednesday.

We have dedicated coaching on deck, to provide guidance, motivation, and a friendly push to help swimmers achieve their goals. Our adults squad members will also provide support and motivation.

We’ll see how this goes up to the Christmas break and evaluate the program from there.

Season calendar

As noted above, the season calendar has been published so you can now check out the racing schedule. But here are some key dates to keep an eye on:

Date	Activity
Now running…	Adult Squads have commenced – Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 6:00 to 7:00 Lanes 1 and 2 Now open for older kids (12 +)
Now running…	Junior Squads commenced – Tuesdays and Thursdays 6:00 to 7:00 Lanes 1 and 2
21 December 2024	Last Saturday before the holiday break
18 January 2024	First Saturday after the holiday break
22 March 2024	Last Saturday morning races of the season. End of Season lunch at Grill’d!

Swimming NSW is offering the 2025 Referee Course, and we are inviting club members to express their interest in participating. This course is an excellent opportunity to enhance your skills and knowledge, and, it is completely free.

We have been lucky to have Phil and Lynette and a couple of others act as our race referees, but it would be good to get some additional people signed up and trained up.

Our goal is to help you feel confident and prepared to officiate at our local meets and other competitions across the state, if you would like to do so.

Please contact Adrian Bell on 0424 561 831 if you would like to be nominated to undertake the course.

Click Here for the Course Schedule

‘Free AFL all girls Development Clinic’ 

The Canada Bay Cannons AFL club would like to pass on an invitation to join them at their Youth Girls AFL Development Clinic in the January school holidays.

Held for 6 sessions over 3 weeks, the program is free, so sign up for just 1 or all 6 sessions. No experience necessary. Come and try AFL with other girls in a fun welcoming environment and bring a friend.

There will be giveaways and visits from AFLW players. More details in the Flyer and sign up through the link below 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1aCHmI_REBnNG3lKtjp13A9ONqpg2CYuMI5-2evHjHkY/edit

The results for Saturday 14 December 2024, including the 50m Butterfly Championships and Week 2 of the 100m Freestyle Special Events, have been published here.

It was yet another beautiful day at Drummoyne Pool, with the sun taking a peek-a-boo behind the clouds, keeping the weather comfortably mild. The buzzing chatter of splashes echoed around as swimmers dived into the weekend’s splash-tacular events.

Butterfly Club Championships

Today, the pool was churning with excitement for the 50m Butterfly Club Championships. A special shout-out to Henry Godden who flew through the water like a young Ian Thorpe, clocking in at a stellar 40.63 seconds, smashing his previous best by almost a whopping 10 seconds!

Phoebe Noach came out swinging in the Under 8 Girls Butterfly, making waves with her win, and sporting a gold-time finish of 54.82 seconds. In the testosterone tumbles, teenager Hayden Howard led the pack for the Under 14 boys, beating his personal best like it was yesterday’s tea!

George Russell Handicap Heats

The George Russell 400m Freestyle Handicap heats had some serious shoulder-to-shoulder racing. Luke Sellars zipped to first place, surprising everyone and likely himself, with an impressive 10:01.46. Keep your eyes on him – he’s sneaking up the ranks faster than a hot snag off the barbie!

In her heat, Hannah Svoboda showed everyone why she Club Captain last year, delivering a finishing time of 6:59.90, earning her well-deserved bragging rights at the brekkie catch-up!

100m Freestyle Events

Let’s not forget the rip-snorting Under 10’s. Harry Thompson, marking his 49.04-second triumph, is surely running high on sugar from those Tim Tams he had earlier. On the women’s side, Ava Cochrane proved again that hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard, with a great freestyle maneuver taking her to third overall!

Senior Shake-up

Among the Seniors, Matthew O’Connor, our Chief Race Marshall, busted out a solid performance, leaving his loud voice at bay and letting his swimming do the talking as he clocked a remarkable 1:44.04 in the Men’s 35 and over 100m freestyle handicap heat.

In the Female senior category, Frances Christodoulou dazzled with her butterfly stroke finesse, taking top honors in the Seniors category. Her former Club Captain credentials shining bright as always! Current Club Captain Elizabeth Allan pipped her out in the Open Women’s though.

New Faces and Veterans

A hearty welcome to new joiners and a nod to all the swimmers celebrating their birthdays underwater! The community spirit at DASC is as strong as Vegemite on toast, and ain’t nothing gonna change that!

From newbie nugget to veteran legends, DASC had a splash-tastic day celebrating the joy of swimming, camaraderie, and, of course, the cheeky banter we hold dear. So until next Saturday, keep those caps dry and goggles polished!

Note: The above meet report was automatically generated using an artificial intelligence tool. While care is taken to ensure that the information in this report appears reasonable, please contact racesecretary@drummoyneswimclub.com.au if you would like to provide any feedback on this content.

Last week we had a club record and a couple of close attempts. Most impressively, Harry Thompson took out the U10 50M Freestyle championship race in a new club record time of 35:42. Harry knocked off the time posted by Denver Pelly, whose record stood for 8 years.

Technically, Christian Taylor – on a break from university in the US – set a new club record in the Open 50M Freestyle event with his split second victory over older brother Will. Unfortunately, that record probably won’t stand because this was Christian’s first meet for the year. Swimmers need to attend 3 meets before they can officially participate in Championship events.

Newcomer Danielle Johston was a fraction off Lily Borozan’s 30.56 from 2022 with Danielle storming home in 30:90. Lily’s record will be in real jeopardy next season.

The other highlight last weekend was Neave Murdoch for taking our the Rotary Club of Five Dock 200M Medley race.

This week we continue our championship races with the 50M Butterfly race. Championship races are off scratch – so no handicaps. As usual we’ll have age group races and then an open final for the fastest qualifiers – young and old – to see who is the fastest in the club.

The 50M butterfly event will be followed by the 100m Freestyle event and then by our long distance event, which this week is 400M / 200M Freestyle. As always there will be shorter races for youngsters.

Monday and Wednesday Squads – older kids welcome

In order to cater better for our youth swimmers, we’re opening up our Monday and Wednesday squads to club swimmers aged 12 and above.

So, if you’re older kids are looking to improve for competitions or get in some extra fitness while having fun, we’d encourage you to bring them along on a Monday and/or Wednesday.

We have dedicated coaching on deck, to provide guidance, motivation, and a friendly push to help swimmers achieve their goals. Our adults squad members will also provide support and motivation.

We’ll see how this goes up to the Christmas break and evaluate the program from there.

Season calendar

As noted above, the season calendar has been published so you can now check out the racing schedule. But here are some key dates to keep an eye on:

Date	Activity
Now running…	Adult Squads have commenced – Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 6:00 to 7:00 Lanes 1 and 2 Now open for older kids (12 +)
Now running…	Junior Squads commenced – Tuesdays and Thursdays 6:00 to 7:00 Lanes 1 and 2
14 December2024	Saturday Racing 7:30 start, arrive by 7:15 – 100M Freestyle (plus 50M, 30M and 20M events) – Butterfly Championships (50M, 30M and 20M) – 400M and 200M Freestyle plus 4x30M and 4x20M freestyle events – Time trials for new and upgraded swimmers
21 December 2024	Last Saturday before the holiday break
18 January 2024	First Saturday after the holiday break
22 March 2024	Last Saturday morning races of the season. End of Season lunch at Grill’d!

Pool entry fees

A reminder to all swimmers and spectators that pool entry fees must be paid on entry to the pool. The club’s agreement with Belgravia Leisure requires all swimmers and spectators to pay entry each time they attend a squad or Saturday morning race meet.

We appreciate that the pool receptionists have not always been consistent in being present or collecting payment.

Belgravia Leisure offer a range of multi-visit passes that reduce the cost of entry per visit. Check them out on the Drummoyne Swimming Centre website.

The results for Saturday 7 December 2024, including the 50m Freestyle Championships, have been published here.

Note: The above meet report was automatically generated using an artificial intelligence tool. While care is taken to ensure that the information in this report appears reasonable, please contact racesecretary@drummoyneswimclub.com.au if you would like to provide any feedback on this content.