Have you worked off your Christmas pudding yet?

If you were at training on Wednesday you would have received this announcement already "there will be swimming as normal on Wednesday 4th Jan". Previously we were only to have 3 lanes at 6pm but now on 4th Jan we can have all lanes at 7pm as per usual. So, the pool is closed Sunday 1st (being New Year's Day of course), then we have 3 lanes at 6pm on Monday 2nd Jan and thereafter everything is back to normal. Wednesday 4th is also the cutoff for getting your name down for the breakfast on the 8th Jan so you are going to want to do that if you haven't already done so.

You may have noticed there is a new page on the blog called 'Coaching Corner'. This is where we will post all the news on what is coming up in the coaching arena. Tony, who is our on-deck skills coach, will be keeping us up to date on what is coming up on Mondays, who is due for video, what is around the corner etc. I will also be posting here what is happening with Gary Hollywood's Saturday advanced technique sessions. For those who don't know who Gary, he is HPK's Head Coach and has been receiving all kinds of accolades and being sent overseas with swimmers to various events as a Swimming NZ assistant coach - high praise indeed. He recently was named Counties Manukau Coach of the Year 2011. I will be meeting with Gary soon to plan the 2012 sessions - more on this after I've met with him. Posting on the Coaching Corner page will be done between mid-day and evening Friday most weeks so you can check after that what is happening for the next day's Saturday session with Gary and for the following Monday with Tony. You will need to take it upon yourself to check this page yourself as the only postings that get sent out automatically are those that are posted on the Home Page. Postings on other pages aren't 'postings' as such so you will need to keep an eye on these pages yourself.

For those of you who are contemplating attending swim meets. When you enter you will be asked for an estimated time for each event you enter. While I may have records from race night's past, if there are a lot of you wanting to look back for your time it could become quite a time-consuming task. I would suggest that anyone interested in meets buy themselves a little notebook and start keeping a record of their times. Not only does it make it quick and easy to look up times when entering a meet but it's a great exercise to see the progress over time.

You are going to need to swim this one off

If you are around early in the New Year there is another social function - breakfast at GBS on 8th January. The sign-up sheet will be at the pool, but GBS want orders so that they can purchase to cover, so it would be helpful if you could look at the menu and make a decision on whether or not you will be attending and sign up or not sign up. We are not collecting money in advance for this one.

A big thanks to Shirley & Kevin for organising this.

Here is the menu:


mmmmm yummy

Russell to Paihia OWS Results, Upcoming Events, Seasonal Swimming Times

Russell to Paihia Ocean Swim Report

The Russell to Paihia 3.3km open water swim was on Saturday 10th. Tony Shacklock has sent in this report:

A group of us travelled to Paihia to swim the 3.3 km State Russell to Paihia Swim. A good time was had by all and some great achievements made. The start was early (7:25 am) so we all travelled up on Friday and stayed at various establishments in Paihia. A few of us (Dave, Liz, Angela and Tony) were in Paihia early enough to enjoy the day taking a ferry to Russell to survey the course and plan our strategies, then sampling the local café cuisine and generally soaking in the early summer atmosphere. The “carbo-load” buffet dinner offered as an addition to the entry was good and set us up well for the next day. Staying overnight minimised the early start, but it was still indecently early, with the ferry to Russell leaving at 6:15 am. The wind was a strong easterly, making it off-shore at Russell and behind the swimmers – the swim direction is generally southwest. Consequently, the swim started in smooth water and ended up quite rough but manageable, and the wind being behind the swimmers helped some achieve good times.

Provisional results are below, including a few of our Manukau Masters friends.

Dave Donaldson           49:07    3rd in M50-54 age group
Liz Hayes                      52:20    3rd in F40-44 age group
Pat Castles                   54:55
Tony Shacklock            57:07
Angela Oliver                1:00:38
Dave Walker                 1:04:25
Richard Smith               42:39    2nd in M40-44 age group
Audrey Dunlavy             53:26    1st non-wetsuit and 3rd in F25-29 age group
Rachel Richardson        55:25    1st non-wetsuit in F30-34 age group

Thanks Tony, keep up the good work.

Upcoming Events

There are more events on the horizon so if you eat a bit too much Christmas pudding here is your incentive to work it off:

15th January 2012 - State Epic Swim 2.5km open water, Taupo. Entry form here 

http://www.epicswim.co.nz/ 

15 January 2012 Katikati Masters 2.5km open water, Waihi Beach. Entry form here http://www.nzmastersswimming.org.nz/view-all-events/details/48

 29 January 2012 State Capital Classic 3.3km open water, Wellington. Entry form here http://www.oceanswim.co.nz/events/state-capital-classic-wellington

18 February 2012 Cambridge Masters LC sanctioned meet, Cambridge. Entry form here. http://www.nzmastersswimming.org.nz/upcoming-events-compmenu-74/pool-compmenu-54/details/59

For the Cambridge event we are expecting a good number of us to make the trip so we will be hiring a mini-van or two with a planned arrival time of around 11am. If, however, you are swimming in the 800/1500 you will need to get yourself there. The Cambridge meet is held in an outdoor pool and has a lovely carnival atmosphere. It concludes with a barbeque.

Christmas/New Year Swimming Times 

December 21st (Wednesday) - 7pm to 8pm (as usual)

December 25th (Sunday) - CLOSED

December 26th (Monday) - CLOSED

December 28th (Wednesday) - 6pm to 7pm (3 lanes)

January 1st (Sunday) - CLOSED

January 2nd (Monday) - 6pm to 7pm (3 lanes)

January 4th (Wednesday) - 6pm to 7pm (3 lanes)

January 8th (Sunday) - 8am to 9am (as usual)

Please note the earlier swimming times on December 28th, January 2nd and 4th. There will be no charge for swimming on those dates.

21 New Club Records, December Swimmer of the Month

Hello all. Results of the final race night for 2011 have been posted and what a successful night it was. 21 Swimmers in attendance and records tumbling. The women set 4 new records and broke 4 old records. The men set 8 new records and broke 3 old records. 2 New relay records were set. That is a total of 21 new records. Phew! They just keep coming.

Next up was a light supper. It's really good to see large numbers staying for this. Swimmer of the Month award was presented to Jeannie Smith for her legendary feats at the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge. In spite of grazes, bruises and a sore neck from a fall early in the race she dusted herself and carried on and finished amazing 10th in category. Very deserving.

This weekend is very busy for our ocean swimmers. Russell to Paihia is on today (10th) and the Chelsea Sugar Swim is on Sunday 11th. Good luck to all our swimmers involved.

Erratum

An important birthday has been missed. Yes, Angela Tomlinson also has a December birthday and in fact shares her birthday with someone else special. I'm not sure what happens when your birthday falls on Christmas Day. Do you get double up presents or one ginormous present? Or is everyone so caught up in Christmas festivities they forget the birthday kid? Maybe Angela can enlighten us tonight.

Last Club Night For 2011

Before we get to club night though let's celebrate these special people and their birthdays which they are having during the month of December: Mark Cowling, Elliott Crawford, David Donaldson, Lapo Nustrini, John Trubnick and Marleen Cleyndert. Feel free to break out into song any time you run into these folk.

The last club night for 2011 is on 7th December 2011. The programme is 25m butterfly (or freestyle), 50m breaststroke, 50m backstroke, and 100m freestyle. If time permits we will run 4 x 50m relays. This is to say each relay will have 4 swimmers who have to swim 50m each, not 4 relays with each relay being 50m long because that would be really hard to do and quite confusing.


This is your last opportunity to better your times of 2011 before 1 January when everyone becomes a year older - yes, we all have a birthday on 1 January, maybe we should splash out on a giant cake. Those whose current age ends in a 4 or a 9 will end up in a new age group bracket.


Races will be followed by a light supper (I'm hoping for Xmas cake or something festive, hint hint) and the presentation of the swimmer of the month award and possibly the wooden spoon. Just a word to Avy though, it is against the rules of the wooden spoon to give it back to the person who gave it to you so you need to find someone new to give it to. Keep your eyes open.

Big Ride, Big Wind

Big wind is a bit of an understatement. 6 Of our intrepid swimmers, maybe more if I missed spotting some, ventured to Taupo for the around the Lake Taupo Bicycle ride. I say bicycle but some loony's ride unicycles and some ride tandem's which, yes, are still bicycles even though they have 4 legs and a very few (Jeannie) try sliding their way around - more on that later. Our swimmer/riders who were nutty enough to ride all 160km were Mike Wansink, Barry Cribbens and Jeannie Smith.  Their times were Mike in 6.36.27, Barry in 6.52.58 and Jeannie in 6.30.57.

Peter Lane was in a team called 'I don't know what coz Peter didn't tell me what his team was called'. Peter did the 2nd half which is still a whopping 80km and he did this in a speedy 3hrs 4min. Angela Tomlinson and Deryn McGregor teamed up with Lew Turnbull from Christchurch to make up team 'Does this bike make my bum look big?'. Deryn did leg 3 (40km) in 1 hour 32 and Angela did leg 4, also 40km in 1 hour 32. Now as I'm writing this it is dawning on me that this adds up to 3hrs 4min, the same as Peter's time for the same 2 legs. A coincidence? Where was Tony Shacklock? He is usually to be seen when such going's on are occurring.

Riders were hammered by weather. The wind was doing dastardly deeds, especially on the first half of the course, making it particularly nasty for anyone doing the solo ride or the first legs of the relay event. The mountain bike event even had to be called off due to flying trees. The result was some disappointing times but, hey, all the more reason to return next year. The wind was also responsible for Jeannie's successful attempt at playing dominoes with several other cyclists. Thankfully Jeannie was largely ok and got up and rode on. You can check out her road rash and other war wounds when she returns to the swimming pool. But here is a tip for anyone who comes across injured cyclists on the road. Correct thing to say to them: "Can I help you?" Wrong thing to yell at them "Get off the road!". So to that person who shouted to them to get off the road - YOU will not be nominated for a good Samaritan award.

On to other things now. We did of course recently have our Xmas dinner at Giggles. Big ups to Anne for organising this. You have to be quick to get on these dinner things don't you, it sure filled up fast. I've posted some photo's on the gallery page. I had left my memory card in my computer so used the camera on my phone, hence why they are a bit funny. Also I was kind of hemmed in where I was so didn't get much of the table diagonal to the one I was on for which I apologise. I shall try and do better next time.

Ocean Swims 2011/2012 Are Underway

I couldn't convince Tony to wear his video camera on his head or attach 'cam on a stick' to his feet but he has kindly sent in this report from the first of the season's harbour swims, the State sponsored 2.9km Harbour Crossing:

A good contingent of SC Masters swam from Bayswater to Wynyard Quarter in the viaduct, along with about 1300 others, and all thought it was a good swim. Early morning conditions were calm and it looked promising for some good times. However, the wind was 15 knots SW by the time we started so we swam against wind-whipped choppy waves. Some found it easier than last year, others not. We can be proud of our first-time Harbour Crosser's Liz H, Angela O & Angela T – they all swam good times. As usual, navigation proved to be the biggest issue, with several of us swimming too far west, probably compensating for swimming too far east last time!

Wynyard Quarter was a much better place to finish. It was great to swim the extra 100 m inside the viaduct basin with the crowds watching on, and getting out of the water was easier on the gentle steps up to the finish gantry. There was plenty of space for greeting arriving swimmers and exchanging war stories. We walked the short distance to the fish market for the prize giving and it proved to be a great venue. Unfortunately neither Dave nor Liz won a wetsuit.

The official times are:

Gustav E – 49:53 (7th out of 105 in 35-39 age group)
Dave D – 50:15 (3rd out of 86 in 50-54 men’s age group)
Liz H – 55:15 (6th out of 43 in 40-44 age group)
Pat C – 57:53 (5th out of 22 in 60-64 age group)
Tony S – 1:00:57 (31st out of 86 in 50-54 age group)
Angela O – 1:03:39 (13th out of 43 in 45-49 age group)
Angela T – 1:05:34 (25th out of 53 in 25-29 age group, but she was wetsuit-less, almost naked, au naturelle) ((Tony, can you please explain? - Ed))
Dave W – 1:05:46 (26th out of 53 in 55-59 age group)
Audrey D (Manukau Masters) – 53:03 (7th out of 53 in 25-29 age group, also without wetsuit)

The non-wetsuit results will be published on Monday. ((Ed - and they were. Angela T was officially placed 3rd in her non-wetsuit division. Well done)).

Thanks Tony, good work. 

Race Night Results 2/11/11, Swimmer of the Month

Another successful race night was held on Wednesday with 20 enthusiastic swimmers taking part. Thank you to our timekeepers, it's great they keep coming along and manning the stopwatches for us. For the women 3 records were set or broken and for the men an impressive 13 records were set or broken. Relays are proving very popular and everyone was involved in the relays.

Following the swimming we had supper and presentation of the Swimmer of the Month trophy which was given in absentia to very worthy recipient, Fiona Grigg. Fiona not only attended her first swim meet but she chose an out of town meet as her first one - the Taupo Spring Fling. More than that, she went on her own since no one else from the club was going. Neither was her family so what does Fiona do? She takes a bus to Taupo. To top it off she swims PB's in all her events. What a gutsy performance, we are very proud of you Fiona.

Boo!

First and foremost - these very special people are celebrating birthdays this month:
Dave Bradding
Julie Devonshire
Neil Finnigan
Rochelle Gebbie
Kathy Bendikson
Anne Smith
Jo Cook

Aren't they tremendous. I'm going to have a piece of cake every day in honour.

Remember also we have RACE NIGHT on Wednesday 2nd. We can start the cake eating there as there will be a light supper after and the Swimmer of the Month will be awarded, I'm also sneaky and I know one of the above people are having their birthday that day. Events for those who want to burn off the cake before they eat it are 25 Br, 50 Free, 100 Back and 100 IM or Free.

Before I get on to the important info about the Christmas function which Anne has been beavering away on, we just want to let you know about the Cambridge meet that occurs on 18th February. What with Christmas in the middle this meet will come around faster than you think. If we have enough club members going we will hire a mini-van or even 2 vans and a gazebo but we would like some idea of who is going. What we want you to do now is think about it and let us know if you are thinking of going.

Now, I hope everyone is doing a whole lot better with their Christmas shopping than I am. I'm just starting to think back a couple of years when I left it so late I had to use pepper spray so I could scramble over the old ladies and their poodles to get to the counters. Never mind that for now, we have a Christmas function, yes we do.

It is at GIGGLES. Yes, the very famous Giggles Cafe that is on Picton Street, Howick. Here are the details:

6pm on Saturday 19th November at Giggles Cafe & Grill, Howick (124 Picton Street)
Entree and Main  – Fully Licensed & BYO Wine
Maximum of 45 people – Members $15 – Partners $30
Pay by Sunday 13 November

So, same subsidized deal as when we went to Spices Thai. There is no dessert with this one though, you get entree and main. You can bring your own wine or you can buy soft drinks etc there. There will be a sheet by the side of the pool for you to sign up.

Update On The Swimming Pool

A few of us have been swimming at LEP today and it's not as cold as expected. Thanks to the covers the pools are retaining their heat quite well, with the lap pool still being 25.2 degrees this morning. It's hard to say what the temperature will be by Sunday but the pool will be open for us to swim and the cafe will be open for coffee afterwards.

If there is any change to this then Barry will send out an email late in the day tomorrow so it might be wise to keep an eye on your inbox.

Who Dropped The Ball?

It seems Maui did. As you all undoubtedly know by now there is a major gas leak and services, industries etc that require gas aren't operating. The boilers that heat swimming pools use gas and so the swimming pools, including LEP and Pakuranga College pool are now cold. We can't be 100% certain and will do our best to keep you informed but the chances of training going ahead on Sunday and Monday are..let me see...getting my calculator...plus 5....minus 4...divided by seven...x 2...minus 3...yes I think that's right...................zero.

BUT, there is GOOD NEWS. Of course there is. The good news is that the ocean is open. There is a small group honing their open water swimming skills at Little Bucks on Saturdays. Feel free to join in. They don't even charge. Wow, something for nothing, whoda thought? The time depends on the tide as swimming is on high tide, with alternate weeks being at 10am and 4pm. This week the high tide will be at 10am, or thereabouts. Show up at 10am if you are taking part. Swimming is from the beach to the bollards and back which is about 1km and you can do as many laps as you wish to customise your distance to suit. At this time of year the water is around 16 degrees so a wetsuit is advisable.

We'll keep you informed as things start hotting up. Worst pun ever.

October Race Night Results Out & SOTM

Check out the October race night results on the relevant pages. Four new records were set for women, these are red on the women's records pages and an outstanding 11 records were set or broken in the men's category, shown on the men's records page in blue.  Two new 'best' times were set in the relays, ladies in red and a mixed relay in green. 20 People took part on race night and most stayed to enjoy the sumptuous supper put on afterwards. Thanks to John for your efforts with the supper, it's marvelous.

During supper the Swimmer of the Month award was given out. This was presented to Ivo Pabbruwe. Ivo is a long standing member of the club and is truly a superstar timekeeper not only giving his time freely to help the club out in this regard but also freakishly accurate with a stopwatch. How does he do this? I don't know, he must have a 6th sense. Well done Ivo, don't go disappearing on us will you, we need you.

I'm still trying to give away the wooden spoon. Someone had the nerve to suggest I could use it to make muffins. Wash your mouth out!

Events for the next race night, scheduled 2nd November, are 25 breaststroke, 50 freestyle, 100 backstroke and 100 IM.

Club News To Start The Month

Race Night is on this Wednesday 5th October at the usual time of 7pm. Events for this round include 25 backstroke, 50 butterfly, 100 breaststroke and 200 any stroke, including IM.

I am now accepting nominations for SOTM. Not up with the play on the the latest acronym? SOTM stands for Swimmer Of The Month. If there is someone that you feel is deserving of this trophy then please email me at deryn@performancemarketing.co.nz and tell me who you think should get this award and why. Don't stress though, it's pretty casual and the nominee doesn't have to have broken 6 world records or anything like that. Nominations by 5pm Tuesday 4th please. There is the wooden spoon to potentially be given out too so if you know of something that's just a little daft that someone did then you can slip me that info too.

We also have some special people having birthdays. They are: Christine Gill, Carol Gray, Adam Jaidin, Heather Legg, Cameron Ormsby and Peter Young so a big round of applause to these folk.

The ocean swimming season is about to kick off in full force but it's not too late to go to Taupo for the Taupo Masters Spring Fling on 15th October. Fiona is going and would love company so have a chat to her if you are thinking of a pool event before Xmas. Otherwise, get your wetsuits out of the closet and check it still fits because here's what's coming around the corner:
13/11/11 - State Ocean Swim Series, Harbour Crossing
27/11/11 - ACM Harbour Swim 1, Herne Bay Swim
11/12/11 - State Ocean Swim Series, Paihia Classic
11/12/11 - ACM Harbour Swim 2, Chelsea Sugar Swim

Last but not least, if you haven't been to any of Gary Hollywood's coaching sessions yet and you are keen on learning breaststroke he is about to commence the breaststroke sessions. If you want to learn more then contact me on the email above and I'll add you to the mailing list.

That's probably enough for one posting.

Naked Travelers

That got your attention didn't it? Well the bus might be naked but Fiona won't be. Fiona is traveling by Naked Bus to Taupo on 15th October for Taupo Masters Spring Fling Carnival and is looking for company. This is her first foray into the world of competitive swimming so how about a bit of support? Here's the rub: the meet is an afternoon one on 15th October, so plenty of time to not get out of bed till 7am and still get there. Taupo Masters have invited attendees to accompany them to a pub that night to watch the rugby. Fiona will be going that's for sure (grrrrrrr - get in there Fiona, I hope you've got some sprigs). Stay in Taupo for the night and be fully clothed on the Naked Bus on the way home again on the Sunday.

Fiona's Naked Bus is leaving 172 Quay Street at 8.40am and arrives at Taupo 12.55pm which is plenty of time for the 1.30pm warm up. There is still plenty of space on the Naked Bus - supply your own clothes. Fiona has booked a twin room at the Berkenhoff Lodge so has a spare bed and is looking for another female to help share her accommodation costs. Yes, women only please, coz anything else just wouldn't be right.

Gentlemen, don't feel left out, you can still go, you just have to book your own accommodation. Everyone can join in this event and enjoy the Naked Bus ride, swimming, pub night out with the Taupo Masters and everything that I haven't thought of.

How Could We Forget Ron? September Race Night Results Out.

Erratum
A very important club member was left off the list of September birthdays - Ron Tomlinson. He may be overseas but he is still having birthdays. So happy birthday, feliz cumpleanos, joyeux anniversaire to Ron and everyone else having a birthday in September.

Race Night
Numbers were down a little but those there had a good time and some new records were broken or set. New records are denoted red for women, blue for men and green for mixed relays. Check out the times and new records on the usual pages.

Race night was followed by a supper which included the first presentation of the 'Swimmer of the Month' trophy. This trophy was proudly presented to Sally Walker for all her wonderful efforts bringing the books, writing names it, collecting money and making sure everyone pays - a job that Sally does tirelessly. Well done Sally, we need you and appreciate all your efforts. You are a star.

Not so much of a star was myself (Deryn) who by tripping over Angela's foot on the way to the start blocks and injuring both of us earned the wooden spoon. It was a bit naughty giving it myself first but there you go, someone had to be first.

If you want to nominate anyone for Swimmer of the Month or the wooden spoon (funny stuff only though for the wooden spoon please, nothing shaming) then please send the name and why to deryn@performancemarketing.co.nz. The nomination could be for anything spectacular (or unspectacular) that is swimming or even non-swimming related e.g. saving someone's life with CPR would be pretty good for the trophy as would breaking a NZ record, or anything really when you think about it. Get your nominations in.

A Big Happy Birthday To These Special Folk

It's been September for a week already and I'm very late with the September birthdays, just blame my own advancing years for getting behind the times. These special members are enjoying birthdays this month:

Robyn McCullough
Tony Shacklock
Sally Walker
Mike Wansink

It is race night tonight so you will have ample opportunity between racing and relays to wish these people a happy birthday. I sense there might be cake involved - yes, that's a reminder that there is supper tonight. It would be great if you could join us for 10 - 15 minutes after the swimming and have a little something to eat.

Race Night this Wednesday 7th - Supper afterwards

We have Race Night at 7pm on Wednesday. This month is 400 Free, or IM if you are up to it. And yes, there will be time for relays after the 400's have been swum. For those who don't wish to race but still want to swim we will have at least one lane set aside for upping and downing. It's ok to swim in the relays even if you don't swim the 400m first.

If swimming makes you hungry then why not hang around for 10 - 15 minutes afterwards? There will be some light snacks and juice and (possibly) the presentation of an award. What's that? You'll have to come along to find out.

BREAKING NEWS! - You Need To Know This

Fulton Cup - Change of Date
The organizers of the Fulton Cup have realized that they have a clash with the North Island Short Course Champs and have changed the date of the Fulton Cup to Sunday 28th August. If you were planning to go to the Fulton Cup you need to get your calendar out and twink out what you already had and then put a circle around the 28th instead. The good news is that now you can go to both the Fulton Cup and NISC.

Hamilton Mid-Winter Long Course Meet
Wow, what a turnout. South City had 8 swimmers there which is the most I can remember at a non-Auckland meet for a long time. I don't have all the results as none have been posted on the NZ Masters Swimming web site and with the meet being fairly small we were all in and out of the pool in quick-fire fashion (a bit too quick for some eh Dave) so needless to say it was hard to keep up with.

What I do know is that Deryn and Mark both were overall winners of their age groups, for which the spoils were golf umbrellas decked out in Waikato colours. Now, I can't speak for Mark but I can say that I'm hoping for some torrential downpours so I can show my umbrella off. Everyone reporting in their results has said they did some great times; even the times that weren't PB's were close to them. There wasn't any time for relays and this was a bit of a pity because I feel sure that South City would have totally cleaned up.

Hamilton always put on a fun meet and know how to make everyone feel welcome. As they often do, they started with a synchronized swimming display, this year joined by the lovely Alfredo Adler from Masterton. They did a dazzling display to Lady Gaga's 'Edge of Glory'. If you are considering getting involved in a few meets this is one I can wholeheartedly recommend. Mark it already on next year's calendar.

I didn't get very many photo's as we were busy, busy, busy but there are a few more on the photo gallery page for you to look at.

Results Are Out - Race Night 3rd August

Race Night Results
It was a busy night with 25 enthusiastic swimmers showing up to blast their way up, and sometimes down, the pool. Races swum were the 25 fly or free, 50 back, 50 breast and 100 free followed by a few relays. There were 9 new records set by men, highlighted in blue if you head over to the men's records page and 10 new records set by women, highlighted in red. To view go to the women's records page.

You might notice a new tab and thus a new page. This is for results of our relays. Just be aware however that although the page is called 'Club Relay Records' we do from time to time have swimmers from other clubs or unaffiliated swimmers join in so they are really 'fastest times'. Just a small point. To really motivate you New Zealand records in each category are listed in the right hand column.

Next race night is Wednesday 7th September at 7pm. This will be 400's night. No you don't have to swim 400 laps. You can choose either 400 Free or 400 IM but please only choose 400 IM if you are reasonably able to complete the 100 fly that the IM begins with.

Technique
There is a new comment on the Technical Tips page with several links to tips on improving your underwater work. A dead easy way to improve your times. Scroll to the bottom of the tech tips page.

August Birthdays
Seems like August is a very busy month for birthdays. So a big WAHOO to Rebecca Kemp, Marius Campher, Pat Castles, Barry Cribbens, Kevin Fergusson, Janet Laing, David Walker, Peter Lane and Ivo Pabbruwe

Wow, They're Coming Thick and Fast. I Can't Keep Up!!!

Look at all these swimming events coming up that you can enter, if you went in all of them you would be a professional athlete. If you want to check on what is coming up you can always go the the NZ Masters Swimming web site at www.nzmastersswimming.org.nz and you will find all kinds of stuff there. So here is what is on the horizon:
Hamilton Masters Mid Winter Christmas Meet on 6th August. Entries closed on 25th July but it's not too late to be a cheerleader (bring your own pompoms).
Manukau Masters Skins on 20th August. Fun for those who love sprints. Get your name, $10 and what strokes you want to swim to Angela T by 10 August to be in on the bulk entry.
North Island Short Course Champs, Levin on 2nd and 3rd September. Entries close on 12th August. Medals will be awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd placegetters in each age group only (not for individual events) and will be awarded at the function on Saturday night. Follow this link for an entry form: http://www.nzmastersswimming.org.nz/view-all-events/details/25 
The Fulton Cup on 4th September. Entries close on 26 August and entry forms are pool side when you go to training. This is a club competition with points awarded and the club with the most points winning the trophy. Each swimmer, no matter their ability earns at least one point per event depending on placing.
Taupo Masters Brown Trout Spring Fling on 15th October. Entries close on 3rd October. Follow this link to find an entry form: http://www.nzmastersswimming.org.nz/view-all-events/details/29 
2012 World Masters Champs, Riccione, Italy from 7th to 17th June, 2012 (includes training days, competition days and closing ceremony as well as open water swim day). If you would like to be sent a copy of the programme and the qualifying time standards please contact the blogmaster. To contact the blogmaster, look near the top of the page where it says 'Why A Blog' click on the 'view my complete profile' link and then on the 'email' link.
Open Water Swims The best I can see for those who like donning wetsuits and splashing around for hours without the hindrance of lane ropes is that the State sponsored Ocean Swim Series kicks off with the Auckland Harbour Crossing on 13th November. From memory this isn't the first OWS of the season, just the first one I can see advertised for now. More on open water swims as we get closer to the season and our open water swimmers get more excited.

Ok, so that's enough news for now on the upcoming events. You might want to cross on back to the tech tips page because 'anonymous' has posted in the comments a couple of links to some interesting articles. Scroll to the bottom of the tech tips page; if you can't click on the links simply copy and paste them into your browser. If you want to not be anonymous you can become a 'follower' by scrolling to the bottom of the home page and clicking on the 'join this site' button.

Results & Records of 20th July Race Night Posted

A small but enthusiastic group of swimmers showed for race night on Wednesday. Of the 15 people clad in togs 17 records were set or broken, 9 in the women's and 8 in the men's events. Of the women, Anne Smith was most successful, breaking 3 records and for the men, Mark Clavey and Mark Cowling were battling for honours, breaking 3 records each. So well done to Anne, Mark and Mark.

For a bit of fun, and because there was time, 3 teams were organized into 4 x 50 freestyle relays. Organization was so professional in fact (thanks Mike!) that we had a ladies team, a men's team and a mixed team and they had a set age group.

Go the the Overall Results page to see the times swum and to the records pages to check out the current records.

The next race night is scheduled for Wednesday 3rd August at 7pm. The events will be 25 butterfly, 50 breastroke, 50 backstroke and 100 freestyle.

Upcoming Swimming Meets You Want To Enter

There are a couple of swim meets on the horizon that you want to enter. Here they are:

Hamilton Masters Mid-Winter Meet

This is always loads of fun. This year there is a sit-down dinner afterwards. The meet is on 6th of August and entries close on 25th July so get them in quickly!

To get an entry, coz you're going to want one, follow this link:

http://www.nzmastersswimming.org.nz/view-all-events/details/23 

and then click on the entry form link to download the form.

Manukau Masters Just Skins

Join our friends from down the road for an afternoon of sprint racing. Don't like swimming 1500m? Then this is the swim meet for you. All races are 25m, yep you read that right, 25m, right up your alley, except you might have to do lots of them. Read the flier below to see how it works.

There's always lots of spot prizes and a sausage sizzle too. Entry is only $10. MM Skins is on 20th August and entries close on 14th August. 

For an entry form, follow this link:

http://www.manukaumasters.co.nz/upcoming_events.php# 

then click on the link saying 'details' to download and entry form. Job done!

A Few Reminders

Sorry this is last minute but for those who have forgotten we are back to regular swimming training at Lloyd Elsemore tonight.

July's race night was deferred so it is on this Wednesday 20th at the usual time of 7pm.   Events are 25m Breaststroke, 50m Freestyle, 100 Backstroke, 100 IM or Freestyle.

REMEMBER, The Hamilton Masters Mid-Winter meet is on 6th August. Hamilton always put on a great meet. Entries close on the 25th July so be quick to get your entry in.

On Deck Coaching - Starts August

Many of you will be aware that on Saturday mornings a number of members troop across to Pakuranga College pool for technique coaching from HPK Head Coach Gary Hollywood, and during Gary’s recent absence, Olympic swimmer and HPK coach Jana Korbasova. Over the last couple of years much has been learned and put into practice and we would like now to share the knowledge more widely throughout the club. Tony Shacklock is going to be on deck on the first Monday of each month to help with the more technical aspects of swimming. He’ll be ‘spotting’ but will also be available for those burning questions you’ve been dying to ask. The first date for Coach Tony is Monday 1st August. Having on-deck coaching is a great step for our club.

Pool is Closed, Reopens 18th July. Happy Birthday Diane and Bruce.

Hi All. A quick reminder that this morning's session was the last one at our home pool for a couple of weeks as Lloyd Elsemore is now closed for it's annual maintenance. Other arrangements have been made for training during the 2 week period - see our last 2 postings for details. There will be no poolside charges for this 2 week period should you take advantage of the swimming on offer at Papatoetoe and Manurewa. Hooray, everyone loves a freebie but you need to be in to win.

Normal swimming (whatever that is) resumes at Lloyd Elsemore on Monday 18th at 7pm.

Not to be outdone on the news front, a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Diane Keen and Bruce Bell who are both celebrating birthdays in the month of July. Ohhhhh, isn't that nice.

We Are Now Incorporated

Just to confirm Barry's email of a day or 2 ago:

At the AGM in March 2011 we voted for our Club to be an Incorporated Society.
This was formally approved on the 16th June 2011 by the Registrar of Incorporated Societies.
Our official title is:

SOUTH CITY MASTERS SWIMMERS CLUB INCORPORATED 

Also, a reminder that the swimming pool will be closed for its annual maintenance from Monday 4th July to Sunday 17th July inclusive. We resume normal swimming times on Monday 18th July at 7pm. 

During our 'refugee' period we have arranged to swim at Papatoetoe pool on Wednesdays at 8pm and Sundays at 8am and Manukau Masters have kindly invited us to swim with them at 7.30pm on Mondays at Manurewa pool. There will be no swim charges at Papatoetoe or Manurewa. See the previous posting for more details.

Pool Closed for Maintenance Soon - READ THIS!

Super Secretary Barry has sent in the following important information about the upcoming closure of the pool for it's annual spruce up.

POOL CLOSURE

Lloyd Elsmore Pool will be closed for maintenance as follows:

Dates:                              Monday 4 July 2011 to  Sunday 17 July 2011
Last Swim at Pool:          Sunday 3 July 2011 8-00 am
Resume Swimming:        Monday 18 July 2011 7-00 p.m.

ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS

Papatoetoe Centennial Pool, Sutton Crescent, Hunters Corner,Papatoetoe (Off Great South Road)

Dates:                              Wednesday 6th July 2011
                                        Sunday 10th July 2011
                                        Wednesday 13th July 2011
                                        Sunday 17th 2011

Times:                              All Wednesday night sessions 8-00 pm to 9-00 pm
                                        All Sunday sessions 8-00 am to 9-00 am

Entry Fee:                        No charges will be made

Sunday Coffee:               At Plaza Building 100 m from Pool


JULY CLUB NIGHT

The July Club night due to be held at Lloyd Elsemore on Wednesday the 6 July will now be held at Lloyd Elsmore Pool on Wednesday the 20 July 2011.  Events are 25m Breast Stroke, 50m Freestyle, 100 Back Stroke, 100 IM or Freestyle.
 

Barry Davies
SC1 Secretary
14 June 2011 

Race Night Results Out and Other News

Race Night Results Out
Results of Wednesday night's races have been posted on the Overall Results page. Click on the tab to see your times. New records established are on the Men's and Women's Records pages. There were 12 new men's records and 18 new women's records. Phew! It's getting hard to keep track of so bear with us please if we leave the odd one off. Just let us know you set a new record and we'll sort it out for you.

Due to the pool closure (annual maintenance) the next race night will be held on 18th July. The events will be 25 Breast, 50 Free, 100 Back and 100 Free or IM.

June Birthdays
4 Special members are celebrating birthdays in June - Elizabeth Hayes, Avy Judelson, John Manning and Annette Stewart so remember to wish them a happy birthday next time you are at the pool.

Good Night Had By All At Spices Thai - Photos Posted

All 45 people who attended the dinner at Spices Thai on Saturday had a great time and enjoyed the food as well as the wonderful company. Spices Thai was a fantastic choice of restaurant and a big thanks to the organizers of the night out. It seems that overwhelmingly everyone agreed that 'we should do this more often'. If you want to see some photos from the evening click on the Gallery tab, there are a few photos there. Some of them are as mini-collages in order to save space.

Just a reminder that we have race night this Wednesday 1st June. After the races there will be some juice and cake if you would like join us for a short mix and mingle. The events on the menu this race night are 25m backstroke, 50m butterfly, 100m breaststroke, and 200m any stroke.

Next Race Night Coming Up 1st June - Plus Extras!!!!!

Just a reminder that the next race night is this coming Wednesday, June 1st at the usual time of 7pm. If you don't wish to race we would love it if you wanted to help out with timekeeping or marshaling etc. As usual, there is no charge for swimming on race night.

The events on the menu this round are 25m backstroke, 50m butterfly, 100m breastroke, and 200m any stroke.

As an added bonus we are going to supply a bit of nosh and juice for afters (yes, we're a little bit fancy) where we can have a brief chat and brag about our exploits in the pool. We all love to brag don't we? So........... we'll have a table in cafetaria set up; no chairs mind, because we're not that fancy. It would be great if you could stay, even for just 10-15 minutes to share a piece of cake or fruit and a cup of juice before you go home for your dinner. Dessert before dinner - perfect!

Where's Arthur - Answer Revealed

Remember, if you want to receive instant notifications of new postings by email, scroll to the bottom of the postings on the home page and where it says 'follow by email' pop your email address in and click on the submit button. Ezy pzy.

Also, for those attending the dinner this Saturday; it is at 7pm at Spices Thai, 123 Ormiston Rd, Botany South. You should have paid for your meal by now (money to Anne pronto please if you haven't paid yet). You can buy drinks there on the night or bring a bottle of wine with you.

Roving Reporter will be there with a camera so wear your best smiley face.

Where's Arthur? - Message from Martha

Martha has sent me a message and asked me to pass it on to you all:

Hello to everyone. I try to keep very much to myself but it has got back to me that people have been asking what has happened to my darling son Arthur. Well he was offered a position as a lifeguard at a swimming pool in Osaka, Japan. The job is difficult as the pool is very crowded, as you can see from the photo. He tells me he is happy but I can't tell from the photograph as my eyesight is failing. Can you find him in the photo for me?

Thanks Martha, it's good to know that Arthur is OK. Club members, remember, if you want to receive instant notifications of new postings by email, scroll to the bottom of the postings on the home page and where it says 'follow by email' pop your email address in and click on the submit button.

Fame! I'm Gonna Live Forever.

I wonder if they are giving autographs? What did they do with the sponsorship money they received from Orca? Were they wearing Blue Seventy goggles? Why are the rest of the team not in the photo? Why can't Howick and Pakuranga Times spell Cribbens? The answers to these and many more........

NOW, you can also subscribe to posts by email. So get notifications of new posts instantly in your inbox. How? Scroll to the bottom of this page and put your email address in the white box where it says 'follow by email'. Job done!

Race Night Results Published! Check Them Out

Wednesday night saw the first of the 400's nights. One sad, lonely soul chose to swim the 400 IM and all other contestants swam the 400 Free. Some very good times were swum and there were some races that had swimmers playing a bit of cat and mouse, jockeying for position and then sprinting for a nailbiting finish.

We have 36 different club members holding records. Yes, 36, so this might have to be the last time I add that one up since I've run out of fingers and toes and I'm not sure which colours to use on the abacus. The most hotly contested women's age group is the 45-49 age group with 4 record holders and in the men's it's the 50-54 age group with 6 record holders. 

Elizabeth Hayes now holds the most records in the women's events with 10 records in total and for the men, it's game on between Lapo Nustrini and Barry Davies who each hold 7 records.

We have now completed the 13 events in the four Club Nights we have had.  Next club night in June we start the programme from the beginning again. The events will be 25 Backstroke, 50 butterfly, 100 breaststoke and 200 any stroke. This gives you an opportunity to lower the times you set last round.

To see the results from Wednesday night click on the Overall Results tab, and on the Records tabs to view the current club records.

All Kinds of Exciting Stuff Happening

New Posting On The Tech Tips Page
From now on, doing slow open turns in freestyle will be a thing of the past. If you want to learn how to do new-fangled tumble turns at lightening speed then go to the Tech Tips page and you will find a set of excellent You Tube clips that give you step by step instructions. Pretty soon you'll be turning so fast that even Michael Phelps will be eating your bubbles. Thanks to Barry D for finding these clips.

The Race is On!
Yes it's race night again this Wednesday 4th May. It's 400's night so if you like swimming long then get thee along at 7pm. We shall be aiming to keep one lane free for general swimming, but if there are 20 of you in that lane, well, don't blame me for the congestion. If you don't want to swim we are quite happy for you to timekeep.

Dinner Is On Us (almost)
Remember to get your name down for the subsidised dinner at Spices Thai, Botany South, 7pm on 28th May. There's a set banquet menu and it's licensed and BYO wine. Check out the posting on 29th April for more details.

Upcoming Swimming Events
Currently there are no open water events around the corner as the season has finished so more on this closer to next season. Also no postal events on the horizon. Below are some upcoming pool events:

• 14/5/11 - Auckland Short Course Championships. Held at Cameron Pool, Mt Roskill, Auckland. Closing date is 8/5/11 (get your skates on to enter this one). Follow this link for an entry form: http://www.nzmastersswimming.org.nz/view-all-events/details/22
• 6/8/11 - Hamilton Masters Mid Winter Xmas Meet. Held at Waterworld, Garnett Rd, Te Rapa, Hamilton. No entry form available yet. Hamilton always put on a fun meet that is worth attending. Also, this will be a long course event.

Din Din's

South City Masters is holding a dinner to which everyone is invited. It will be held on Sat 28th May at 7pm, at Spices Thai, 123 Ormiston Road, Botany South (just down from Celsius). Fully licensed & BYO Wine. Menu is below ($32 version – with dessert, no soup). The evening will be subsidized with a rather generous subsidy for club members; so the evening will cost $15 for club members and $30 for non-members.

Please confirm your attendance by May 21st. There will be the usual sheet by the side of the pool at training sessions for you to do this. Anne Legg will be collecting payment in advance (nice one Ann, this makes it easy for everyone). 

Maximum of 45 people, so first come first served.

Banquet Menu

Entree

Chicken Wing

Curry Puff

Money Bag

Chicken Satay

Main Courses

Panang Curry with chicken

Beef with oyster gravy sauce and veg

Pork with chili, garlic and veg

Chicken with ginger and veg

Pad Thai noodle with chicken

Steamed Thai jasmine rice

Dessert

Banana rolls with strawberry sauce, icecream, cream

Filtered coffee or tea

Prince of the Bays - Son of KOB

16th April was the date for the annual King of the Bays swim. Unfortunately the weather was not being kind to the organizers or the swimmers. Nasty wind and rain meant that the normally 2.8km swim was shortened to 1.5km. It was so rough in fact that the organizers didn't even let the swimmers venture out into open water and they only swam twice around the 750m course and even then it was rough. 

Undercover Detective wasn't hang-gliding but did have 360 degree goggles on and saw everything. I don't know how many swimmers were entered (they usually get around 1300) but 651 swimmers cheated certain death and recorded a time. Here’s how our swimmers did.

JASON GRANT                  00:16:48            35th
RICHARD SMITH               00:17:06            40th
DAVID DONALDSON         00:18:20            87th
RACHEL RICHARDSON    00:18:25            93rd
ELLIOT CRAWFORD         00:20:03            194th
LIZ HAYES                         00:20:07            199th
TONY SHACKLOCK          00:21:40            289th
ANGELA TOMLINSON       00:21:45            294th
ANGELA OLIVER               00:22:31            342nd
DAVID WALKER                 00:23:54            408th
BARRY CRIBBENS            00:25:35            484th

What's this? Tony and Angela T 5 seconds apart again. That's the same margin as last time. I'm starting to think this is deliberate and conspired. To quote Angela 'only a fool breaks the 5 second rule'. It's really not necessary guys, it's not like there's food on the floor. To make matters even more confusing Elliot and Liz finished just 4 seconds apart. Now I've heard of tethered cycling but not tethered swimming. I'm sure this kind of thing is against the rules.

Undercover Detective - next time perhaps you could wear your head-mounted waterproof video camera and take some video. Or at least get some photos. I promise that the head-mounted gear won't add any drag and slow you down.

Satellite Spies - Lookout, They're Everywhere

That ocean swim that makes even Chuck Norriss run for the hills was on again today. Yes, The Rangitoto to St Heliers 4.6km swim. Roving Reporter wasn't there but Satellite Spy was and here is how South City members and honorary members did:

Richard Smith 1:01:12 (7th)
David Donaldson 1:09:52
Elizabeth Hayes 1:12:16
Rachel Richardson 1:12:51
Elliott Crawford 1:18:11
Pat Castles 1:22:00
Tony Shacklock 1:22:39
Angela Tomlinson 1:22:44
Mike Wansink 1:23:19
David Walker 1:29:02
Ross Faulkner 1:30:16
Barry Cribbens 1:41:06
  
Brilliant conditions: Partly cloudy, light wind, flat water. South City was well represented with 10 club members swimming. No one won a spot prize though. What's with that? Going on times it looks like a few people were holding hands throughout the race. Are Tony and Angela conjoined twins? They were just 5 seconds apart. I might need a spy-in-the-sky next time to check that one out. You can volunteer for spy-in-the-sky position if you like, it is unpaid but you get to learn hang-gliding.

Didn't they all do well.

Build A Better Mousetrap.........

and they shall come. And they did! 30 Masterful swimmers enjoyed their races on Wednesday with lots of short stuff to keep the sprinters happy. There was 25 Fly or Free, 50 Back, 50 Breast and 100 Free. Some great times were swum and 7 swimmers who had swum the 100 free last round managed to lower their own times and lower their own record or break records set by others in the previous round.

In the Womens there were four (4) record changes as follows:

25-29 age group  Angela Tomlinson reduced her own record from 1.24.32 to 1.22.31
40-44 age group  Elizabeth Hayes reduced her own record from 1.17.47 to 1.15.11
55-59 age group Avy Judelson set a new mark of 1.20.19 from old record of 1.44.15
70-74 age group Cathy Fagerstroem reduced her own record from 2.03.99 to 1.54.28

In the mens there were three record changes as follows:

45-49 age group Michael Harrison reduced his own record from 1.14.60 to 1.09.30
55-59 age group Ron Tomlinson set a new mark of 1.09.47 from the old record of 1.22.70.
65-69 age group Barry Davies reduced his own record from 1.39.77 to 1.38.99 

Checkout the Overall Results page to see what times were swum by whom and then have a look at the Records pages to see who holds what records.

There are now 33 different club record holders. The most hotly contested category is the men's 50-54 age group which now has 5 men holding records. Myself, I think they are just being far too nice to each other and sharing it around. Sharing is caring, so I've heard. Maybe they have a pact; one for me, one for you.....

The next race night is pegged for Wednesday 4th May, 7pm. If you are not the sprinting type and it takes you 20 minutes just to get up on the start blocks then you will like what's in store because I believe it might be the 400 Free (or IM if you are fast enough to finish an IM before 8pm bowls around). This is to be confirmed yet though. So if you like the longer stuff then start dusting off those enduro-goggles.

Busy Weekend of Competition For Club Members

Roving Reporter was kept busy during the last weekend of March keeping up with the activities of club members competing around the country.

First event kicking off for the weekend was the Long Course Nationals in Hamilton which ran from Friday 25th March to Sunday 27th. 6 Club members made the trip to the lovely Waikato - Mark Cowling, Barry Davies, Ross Faulkner, Mike Harrison, Avy Judelson and Deryn McGregor. By the time they returned to the Big Smoke they had bagged themselves a pretty impressive 10 gold, 11 silver and 1 bronze medal. With only 2 women there were no women's relays but placings were gained in both men's relays and both mixed relays; 2 firsts and 2 seconds in total. Deryn managed to get an extra relay swim when she was invited to the flying squadron relay which this year was won by the South with the Northern region coming in second place. It wasn't all swimming though, almost all the South City contingent attended Saturday night's Dine and Dance and, not to be outdone, John T officiated at the meet and ensured he was well looked after by convincing the meet organizers that he was Fina's official representative, there to check that all ran smoothly (much to the hilarity of the South City members).

Go to the Gallery page to see more photos 

from the LC Nationals.

Out of the pool now and into the sea. So we're off to Mt Maunganui for sun, sand and surf. Sun? It's raining! Oh never mind, what's a little rain when you're swimming? Great times were posted by South City swimmers in this awesome event. It's 2.8 km and not for softies! Here's the results of Saturdays swim:

Jason Grant, 5th in age group (age 30 to 34), time 36m50
Patrick Castles, 3rd in age group (age 60 to 64), time 43m19
Tony Shacklock, 15th in age group (age 50 to 54), time 47m03
David Walker, 20th in age group (age 55 to 59), time 50m52

If the Roving Reporter has left anyone off the Ocean Swim results, sincere apologies. Send your results to southcitymasters@gmail.com so the posting can be amended.

If you still want to do an Ocean Swim this season it's not too late to get your entry in for King of the Bays which is on 16th April and if you aren't too keen on swimming 2.8 km then why not try your hand at the 1.0 km option.

SOUTH CITY MASTERS SWIMMERS CLUB - SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING

LLOYD ELSMORE POOL  WEDNESDAY 30TH MARCH 2011

STARTING 7-00 PM

AGENDA - (SEE BELOW)

(a)   REVIEW FINANCIAL POSITION AS AT 1 JANUARY 2011

(b)   APPROVAL OF CONSTITUTION AND RULES FOR CLUB -  (AVAILABLE ON REQUEST PRIOR TO SGM, OR SEE THE EMAIL SENT OUT)

(c)   ELECTION OF OFFICERS / COMMITTEE

(d)   APPROVE INCORPORATION OF CLUB

(e)   OTHER BUSINESS (IF ANY)

MEETING WILL BE HELD AT POOL SIDE.   AT CONCLUSION OF MEETING BACK TO SWIMMING

NO CHARGES THIS NIGHT

SOUTH CITY MASTERS SWIMMERS CLUB

SPECIAL  GENERAL MEETING

DATE:                  Wednesday 30^th March 2011                                     

LOCATION:     Lloyd Elsmore Leisure Pool Side

QUORUM:   Ten (10) members                                                       

TIME:                  7-00 PM

PROCEEDINGS

1.     Welcome and review.   (Interim  President  Mike Wansink)

2.     Financial Position  as at 1 January 2011 (Interim Treasurer J Trubnick)

3.     Adoption of a Constitution and rules for the Club (Interim Secretary Barry Davies)

(a)   Overview

(b)   Questions / clarification

(c)    Amendments (if any)

MOTION

“ That the South City Masters Swimmers Club adopt Document ‘A’ as their Constitution and Rules for the Club.”    (Davies /Judelson)

4.     Election of Officers (Nominations called for)

(a)   President

(b)   Secretary

(c)    Treasurer

5.     Election of other Committee Members  (Nominations called for)

(a)   Up to five (5)  members.

6.     Election of Auditor (If necessary)

7.     Election of Hon. Solicitor (If necessary)

8.     General Business

(a)   Incorporation of the Club

MOTION

“That the Committee takes steps to Incorporate the South City Masters Swimmers Club under The Incorporated Societies Act 1908”  (Wansink / Trubnick)

(b)   Other (if any)

NOTE:   The proposed Constitution and rules were an attachment to the E Mail  dated Monday the 14/3/2011 notifying this meeting.  Please bring a copy with you to this meeting if possible.

MEETING AT SIDE OF POOL. AS SOON AS FINISHED BACK TO SWIMMING UNTIL 8-00 PM. SO BRING YOUR  SWIM GEAR

NO POOL CHARGES BEING LEVIED FOR THAT NIGHT

 

Great Turnout At Second Race Night

On 2nd March 2011 we held our second race night and 25 people showed up to splash and dash their way up (and down) the pool - some several times, often in quick enough succession to cause Master Starter John to call for a 3 minute break a couple of times so the swimmers could catch their breath.

A big thanks to John and our other volunteers who manned stopwatches. I noticed a few future masters swimmers practicing their timekeeping techniques and a fine job they were doing too.

Times for the recent race night are now posted on the 'Overall Results' page where they will remain till next race night and any records that were created have been posted on the records pages. So take a gander and enjoy seeing your name up 'in lights'. It's good to see so many different names on the records pages; I only have 10 fingers but if I've counted right then 29 club members hold club records so that's more than half the club!

Next race night will be on Wednesday 6th April at 7pm (to be confirmed) and the events will be 25 Fly, 50 Breast, 50 Back, 100 Free; also to be confirmed. That's a lot of confirming isn't it? So you'd better watch this space.

Next Club Race Night Wednesday 2nd March 2011, 7pm

Just a reminder that it is Club Night on Wednesday the 2 March 2011 starting 7-00 pm.   As usual a warm up from 7pm to 7-10 pm.  The events being held are as follows:

(a)  25 m   Breaststroke
(b)  50 m   Freestyle
(c)  100 m  Backstroke
(d)  100 m  IM or Freestyle

For those swimmers who don't like using the starting block, you can either start from the edge of the pool or push off from pool wall.

Any non swimmers, friends etc who would like to volunteer as time keepers, this would be appreciated

First Club Night A Success And Records Created

Click on the tabs, men's records or women's records to view club record holders.

It Worked!

My gadget in iGoogle got updated within a few minutes. Unfortunately I didn't get an email though so I think for anything really important or urgent club members should still get an email even if it's just one directing them to the blog. So how can people set it up so they know there is a new posting? Several options:

1. Don't do anything fancy but just be diligent in checking the blog twice a week.
or
2. Save the South City Masters blog as your homepage in your browser.
or
3. I use iGoogle as my homepage so things like news, weather etc automatically show every time I open my browser. It's a bit more fiddly to set up but isn't as hard as it looks and is worth it once you are done. You need a google account but we'll get to that.
Firstly, go to the blog (http://southcitymasters.blogspot.com), scroll to the bottom of the page and click where it says 'Posts (Atom)'. You will be taken to a new page. In the yellow box you are given a drop down menu with the default being Google. I suggest you stick with Google. You can choose another option but you are on your own instructions-wise. Hit 'subscribe now'. Now click 'Add to iGoogle Homepage'. If you have a Google account, use it; if you don't, then create one using your email address and a password of your choice.
Now, open Google in your browser. On the top right of the screen you will see a menu. Click on 'iGoogle'. Sign in using the email and password of your Google account. Bob's your uncle! You should see the South City Masters Gadget on the page with the 3 latest postings. Click on the + to read the post or the words 'South City Masters'  in the blue band to go straight to the blog.
You can rearrange iGoogle so your gadgets appear on the page where you want them (just drag them around), you can add and delete gadgets (Add Stuff link) so you can keep your eye on several blogs at once, Herald news etc, and of course you can set iGoogle as your homepage so you can have a quick squizz at things that are important to you every time you open your browser.

Phew! I think we are done now. That's pretty much it for the mock up.