President's Prattle (Spring Edition)
We’ve had an exciting couple of months since the last edition. Rough conditions continued at Doddi’s throughout the winter months to challenge the regular swimmers. And squad training is still well supported despite a decline in numbers from the early July peak.
On 24 September, pool swimming returned outdoors. The Tuesday session has now changed to 6:30pm in the 50-metre pool. The morning session (with fresh muffins) moves to 10:30am Thursday. Let’s hope the new roster attracts more swimmers.
The recent Golden Groper Relay Carnival attracted 20 Mandurah swimmers to help the club to fourth place (out of twenty clubs) - a creditable performance. Most agreed it was a fun day – well done to all swimmers! The next event to look out for is the Stadium Masters Carnival on October 20. This will be followed by our own Mandurah Carnival on November 3 and there will be plenty of talk about this one over the next five weeks. In the meantime, expect to see much more of our trainee coaches; Greg and Kath, who have both completed their coaching theory and are now keen for some no-nonsense deck time alongside legends Des and Wayne.
Keep in mind the ongoing opportunity for all swimmers to participate in the Endurance 1000 program. The program should also be attractive to open water swimmers wanting to complement their endurance training. With the sea surface temperature still hovering around 16°, there’s currently not much interest in stretching the distance beyond the 1km Doddi’s course (although I notice that marshalling for “round the stick?” has commenced). The Endurance 1000 program may be an alternative good option in the lead up to the open water season.
‘Half of all drowning deaths recorded in WA are adults aged 45 years and over’ - That’s us! Fourteen members attended the 25 July CPR/Defib Course (Heart Beat 45+), conducted by SLSWA. It’s a community education initiative rather than a qualification course so it’s ideal for our group and is tailored to our needs. It’s an important refresher for the regular ocean swimmers, at no cost to the club so we intend to offer this as an annual opportunity.
Some interesting detail emerged from the session, including treatment of stings. We’re now fully aware that immersion in hot water is standard sting treatment, but so is application of pink MUM roll-on deodorant and to a lesser extent, urine (?) Yep, apparently. So, if you emerge from the water complaining of being stung, and someone not carrying Mum roll-on offers to help, best to run for the hot shower.
And on stings, a few weeks ago Doddi’s Beach was invaded by blue bottles. Thousands were washed up on the beach at high tide. There was no escaping the wrapping tentacles if you encountered one in the water. And if you did, it was generally followed by guaranteed long-lasting pain. Here’s some advice for the future - if the high-water line is blue, buy a coffee and stay dry.
Another question emerging from the defib course related to the spotter’s role and how the activity can be improved. So, our Kath (she an ideas girl) took the initiative to summarise our Emergency Response Plan onto a set of laminated palm cards, attached to a lanyard. This gives the spotter ready access to BEN numbers, important contact phone numbers and a summarised version of emergency procedures to read when ocean conditions are boring, and swimmers are behaving. Great initiative Kath!
As usual, the October and November swimming calendars are looking busy. Take note of these important registration dates.
· Busselton Jetty Swim Ballot Registration 1 – 8 October https://www.openwaterswimming.com.au/
· Rottnest Channel Swim Registration https://rottnestchannelswim.com.au/registering/
· Solo Mon 21 October
· Duo Tue 29 October
· Teams Wed 30 October
And these events
· Stadium Masters Carnival Sun 20 October
· Mandurah Carnival Sun 3 November
· Doddi’s Dash 2024 Sat 23 November
· Mannas Christmas Party Sun 1 December
Also, for those new to open water swimming, or those open water swimmers who need more challenges and have lots of money, the following links will connect you to most of the local OWS opportunities for the 2024/2025 season. https://www.mybeach.com.au/news-events/open-water-swims/
Have fun in the water and be safe!
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