President's Prattle - January 2018
Well congratulations all, you have made it through the festivities of Christmas and New Year. If you are like me, then this season has added to your buoyancy (The sacrifices we make for our sport??). I trust the new-year has you recommitting to your swimming regime with renewed vigour and purpose…..or that you are at least still getting wet other than shower time.
We have a busy part of the year ahead. Firstly comes our Australia Day Swim on Jan 26th at Doddi’s. This is a great day for all to be involved either swimming or helping on land. The organising committee looks like making this our biggest ever, so we require all hands on deck. If you aren’t yet involved contact Steve Ferguson, Gerry Green or others on the committee and offer to lend a hand…set-up, kitchen, registration, clean-up, returning gear to MSWA trailer…..there are plenty of times when extra hands will be required.
On March 3rd, Rockingham will be hosting the State Championships. This will be their first OWS event and Mandurah are looking to assist. Once again, there will be a need for helpers if you are available….more specifics as we get closer, but put the date in your diary.
Our own pool Club Challenge Swim is on Sunday 25th March. We had a spectacular participation rate for this event last year and seek to build on that. This is a friendly and easy way to get involved in pool racing for those swimmers a little daunted by the idea, and every swim scores points to help us retain our own trophy. This should be a perfect warm-up event for those entered into the Nationals at Perth in April. We will be using the Dolphin timing system that we assisted in buying last year. We expect the electronic timing to add to the day’s smooth running. In preparation for this we will dedicate one of our Feb training sessions to a small “mini-meet” to give our recorders another chance to practice the use of this technology. Watch this space for a date as we will need a reasonable number to volunteer their time for this practice event.
As well as all the above many are in training for the Busselton Jetty Swim on Feb 11th and subsequent Rottnest Channel Swim on Feb 24th. Our Doddi’s beach sessions certainly illustrate this with as many as 42 swimmers on Saturdays swimming up to 8km at a time. We were well represented at the Mullaloo 10km swim that was a qualifier for the solo Rotto swimmers. All our swimmers made the cut-off time easily and have given themselves a chance at the Rotto Challenge. There are a couple still hiding in the woodwork who are eyeing the “Port to Pub”, so Feb will be a big month!!
We are always keen to increase the skills capacity of the Club, so just a reminder that the Committee will support individuals who wish to gain basic First Aid accreditation, or who might be interested in gaining credentials in Officiating or refereeing at events, or coaching within the Club. Talk to a member of the committee if this might appeal to you, as funds are available.
Last word…if you have not renewed your membership, it is NOW time to do so!!
Keep Swimming and look after each other!
Steve C