Condolences

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the loss of Max, much loved husband of good friend and club member Cath Fagerstroem. Our thoughts are with Cath during this difficult time. Flowers are being sent to Cath on behalf of all club members.

Pool Closure Over Christmas Period

Seasonal Pool Closure
The word on the street is that the pool will be closed on December 24th, 26th and 31st. There was no mention of the 25th but presumably no one is going to be wanting a swim that day anyhow. Right?

Kohi Swim Series
This is on every Thursday evening at Kohi Beach. Last week we had a very good turnout with 10 swimmers there and swimmers in the 1000, 1500 and 2000m categories. There is also a 500m category if you want to have a crack at it but aren't too sure. I won't be posting individual results each week as it is a 16 week series so the season is long but suffice to say all our swimmers did a grand job and no doubt will be back for more.

Christmas Function - Be In! Russell to Paihia Results

Christmas Function
It's that time of year again and Christmas is sneaking up on us. It's a good excuse to get together in something other than togs and goggles. It could be difficult to recognise each other with dry hair, maybe we should think about name tags (?). Anyhow, Anne, our social controller, has been working behind the scenes on a venue and has asked me to pass on the following:

You are invited to South City Christmas Brunch

10.30am on Sunday 16th December

Ara-Tai Cafe, 1/C4 Ara Tai Road, Half Moon Bay

Pay Your Own Way – Cold Cabinet or Menu Board

There will be a sign up sheet at the pool on Wednesday. Please put your name on it (only if you are coming to the brunch - duh!) because we need to know numbers.

As an aside, I just this minute received an email in my inbox that told me to 'say NO to socks this Christmas'. I'm thinking if that's all I have to say 'no' to it's going to be a very happy Christmas this year.

Russell to Paihia Ocean Swim

We had a strong contingent of 8 swimmers make the trek north this year and they all did the club proud. Four of our swimmers medalled which is a 50% hit rate, excellent by any standards. Here are the individual results:

Dave Donaldson   56.43     3rd in age group

Giles Walker         57.06     2nd in age group

Dawn Walker       1.00.27   2nd in age group

Dave Bradding    1.01.51 

Grant Sykes         1.02.38

Jon Flatley           1.03.22

Liz Hayes            1.03.49    2nd in age group

Anne Smith         1.45.27

Great work, we are looking forward to seeing our swimmers on the podium at the end of the season (no pressure!).

Club Night Results Out

Results from Wednesday's races have now been posted to the Results and Records pages. There were 20 swimmers in attendance. 12 New records were set, 5 by the men, 6 from the women and 1 new relay record. A big thanks as always to our dedicated timekeepers who give up their time to make sure our swimmers racing always have enough hands on deck.

Swimmer of the Month award was most deserved (isn't it always?). As most of you will know, unless you live under a rock, Jo Cook has has been powering away all year for the World Triathlon Grand Finals here in Auckland. This involved biking, swimming, running, swimming, biking, swimming over and over and over and doing all this in between work and family commitments. Superwoman! She did this through illness and injury, one injury during the taper phase. Grand Final day came and Jo finished an extraordinary 39th in the stunning time of 1 hour 43. Well done Jo, we are all proud of you.

Kath, I believe, is very attached to the wooden spoon.

November Birthdays, Kohi Swim Series

November Birthdays
November is a busy month for birthdays. Here are our special people celebrating this month: Rochelle Gebbie (milestone - we'll keep that to ourselves though won't we Rochelle?), Colleen White, Dave Bradding (also a milestone but doesn't he look so much younger than he is?), Jo Cook, Julie Devonshire, Neil Finnigan, Jon Flatley and Anne Smith. Now, if all those people could just slip me a bit of their birthday cake........

Kohi Swim Series
As a club we would like to win the points trophy this season. Everyone earns points no matter where you finish and it's a lot of fun. There will be lots of us there so come and join us. The Kohi sea swims are every Thursday at Kohi beach with a break over Christmas. The start time is 6.15 pm. You can enter online or at the beach that evening, and the entry is discounted (for online) if you enter before the Tuesday prior to the swim. You can also pay for the whole series at a less expensive per-swim price. Distances are 500, 1000, 1500 and 2000 metres. You can mix up the distances so you can do 500m one week and 1000m the next etc. There is boat support and good spot prizes, some to the value of your entry for the whole 16 weeks. Make sure you select South City Masters as your swimming club so your points count towards the trophy for the winning club.

Here is the website Kohi Swim Series