World Masters Games (Auckland) - Registration Closing Soon

Hi all. Most of you will be aware that Auckland is hosting the 2017 World Masters Games. Although the games take part in April, registrations will be closing as at 31st January 2017.

If you haven't registered yet and intend to you will need to do so ASAP to avoid the possibility of missing out.

If you are intending to register or have already registered for WMG in pool swimming you may also wish to be included in relays. A separate message will be sent to you shortly concerning relays and how to proceed if you wish to be part of South City Masters relay teams.

Update - Club Night January Being Rested

Like the rest of us, sometimes Club Night needs a chance to recover from seasonal frivolities and just go on a summer holiday.

You, however, are expected to show up on 11th January and do some good old-fashioned hard yakka and work off that Christmas pudding.

You'd better be quick!

Hi all

NZ Masters Games
If you plan to enter the swimming in the Masters Games but haven't done so yet, you'd better be quick. It's proving popular and at a recent news conference the organisers let slip that entries for swimming would probably close before Christmas (which is only 2 weeks away! Aarrgh!)

Monday Night Training Times
Just a timely reminder really, that on Monday evenings we can train an extra 1/2 hour until 8:30 pm. If you're training for the Masters Games, or anything else, it's a good opportunity to work on those skills, or even just add kms.

Lots News

Club Night Results
Results from club night on 7th December are up if you want a squizz. There were 4 new records set. If you want some practice at going fast or just something different from the usual training then club nights may fit the bill. Club night for January will be delayed a week due to holidays and what not so the next one is on January 11th.

Swimmer of the Month
Congratulations to Min Yang who won this trophy for the month. Min suffered a terrible break to her hip some time ago but has made a truly amazing recovery. She got back in the pool as soon as she could, set herself some targets and has started racing again. Min raced at the recent Nationals and was part of the record breaking ladies relay team. A role model indeed!

Ocean Swim Series
I don't have all the results yet but it's shaping up to be a cracker season! Congratulations to Dave Donaldson and Avy Judelson who both claimed 2nd in the age groups in the recent Harbour Crossing. This was the first year the crossing went in the opposite direction.

Postal Swim
South City proved a force here also. I hope I've got this right but my memory might be fading. Avy and Lapo nabbed 1st place in both the 800 and 1500m events in their age group and Min gained 2nd place in the 800 and 1500 in her age group.

Xmas Brunch
This is only a week away! Yay for you. Boo for me coz I can't go. 18th December at 9.30 am over at the Homestead Cafe.

Training over Christmas

Hi all

No doubt you're feeling summer get ever closer, and with that comes Christmas!

Christmas Training days
Last training of 2016: Wed 21st December
First training in 2017: Wed 4th January

Normally we train through the break, but this year Christmas falls on a Sunday, which means Lloyd Elsmore pool closes for the Sunday & Monday of Christmas and New Year. That leaves only the Wednesday. We thought you'd like the break!

Club Night Results Up, Successful Nationals Completed

Club Night
Results from club night have been posted so if you can't remember what you swum and how you did then go to the results tab and you will find it all there.

Xmas Breaky
This will be on 18th December after swimming so save the date. More information on this will be forthcoming shortly.

2016 Long Course Nationals
These were held over the weekend at the new Millenium pool in Albany and very nice facilities they were too. It was a successful weekend for South City swimmers with most of our swimmers posting PB's or close to them and bagging new records.

New records were:
Mark Cowling 100 Br - lowered his own record (never too old to get faster eh Mark?)
Dawn Walker 50 Br - smashed by some margin
Dawn Walker 100 Br - smashed that one by quite a bit too
Ladies 4 x 50 Free Relay (Avy, Min, Deryn, Dawn) - lowered South City's record by 3 seconds

It appears we might need to learn some other strokes!

Congratulations to all new record holders.

Save the Date!!!

Xmas Brunch

 Just a reminder to keep the date of Sunday 18 December from 9.30am free as we are going to have our annual Xmas brunch at the Howick Historical Village cafe.

More details and a flyer will be out shortly.

Put this date in your diary now so you don't double book.

Club Relay Night Records Posted

Hi all. Following on from the posting of the relay results there were a few new relay records recorded also. These have now been 'officially verified' by our club recorder and are now on the club relay records tabs for you to check out.

Because of the size of the spreadsheet that is coming to you again by email with the record setting teams highlighted.

Congratulations to all new record holders!!!

Postal Swim & Monday evenings

Hi all

800m/1500m Postal Swim - Call for interest...

Would you like to swim a timed 800m or 1500m this month? NZ Masters are running a postal event, where people can swim the 800m &/or 1500m in their own pool. As usual, John is happy to organise it, so talk to him if you're interested. Be quick though, because it must be swum in the month of October.

Monday evenings

We'd like to remind everyone that we have the pool booked until 7:30 every Monday evening for anyone wishing to train more. There is a Lane 1 & 2 programme for the extra time, but it's also a good opportunity to practise things not covered by the programmes, e.g. dives & turns, or a technique you're working on.

Best regards
Tony Shacklock

HEY!!! We Had TWO Club Nights

Yes two club nights have been and gone. Who knew? It's been a bit quiet over the last couple of months, what with pool closures and rubbish weather and whatnot. I have no idea what the whatnot is but anyhow we are publishing the results of July's 400's swims as well as September club night's pick 'n' mix.

Over the 2 club nights a total of 8 records were set so we continue to swim faster (or get older maybe ha ha).

Reminder for October Club Night
Club night for October will be on Wednesday 5th. This is going to be fun as it will be a dedicated relay night. Please get your entries in to Deryn or Lapo by Sunday 25th September. One entry form per event you are entering please.

If you don't have team members and you want teams put together for you, that's fine, put an entry in and we will make up teams for you.

Also, if you can be a timekeeper or a marshall please put that on the form too. It helps with planning.

Club Night on 5th October - Now for Something Completely Different

Greetings all swimmers!

For October club night on Wednesday 5^th October we are going to do something a bit different. It will be a little bit fun, a little bit exciting and also a little bit serious (but not that serious). So it can be anything you want it to be.

Wednesday 5^th October is going to be a dedicated relays night.

The relays on offer are the same relays that you would find at a Masters swim meet. In other words: mens, ladies and mixed 4 x 50 Freestyle and 4 x 50 Medley.

It is all in age groups, the same as it would be at a Masters swim meet.

Sounds serious doesn’t it? But it doesn’t have to be. Come along and have some fun and see how fast your team can go.

To assist with organization we want as many entries in advance as possible. So ring, text or email your mates and ask them to join join your team. You could even do something as old-fashioned as talking to them at training.

Then, please fill in an entry form when you know what teams you have. One entry form please per event you are entering. Please also check with your team members that they want to be on your team before entering them.

Enter your teams by Sunday 26^th September by giving the entry forms to Lapo or Deryn or by emailing them to deryn@bitsnbobs.co.nz

If you don’t have teams, well that’s all good – just show up on the night and we will sort you into teams. You can also indicate on the entry form that you will be coming as a swimmer with no team and this will help us in advance to organise for you.

We are also going to need helpers – timekeepers and whatnot. If you can help but don’t want to swim, please indicate that on the relay entry form. There is a grey box at the bottom of the entry form where you can indicate that you are a helper rather than a swimmer.

Oh yes, in case you are wondering what this is about, November is the month for the National Masters Swim Champs so this is a chance to practice with your teams (that’s the serious bit) but if you aren’t going to Nationals then come along and have a hoot (that’s the fun and exciting bit).

Entry form is below (as a jpg and you may need to blow it up). Print out as many as you need. This message and entry forms are also poolside and coming to you by email. If you need more pleas just ask Deryn or Lapo.

Hi all

Venue change for training on Sunday 28th August

You may remember once a year HPK Swim Club hold a big swim meet at Lloyd Elsmore Pool. This year it’s on 28^th August, so we’ll use the Pakuranga College pool instead to make more time available for the swim meet.

Although the pool is outdoor, it is well heated and very pleasant to swim in (even in the rain!). We will also have access to the school changing rooms. The pool is 33 m long so we’ll try to run a slightly different session to take advantage of the pool's special features.

There is a map below showing where the pool is and where to park. Please park in the staff carpark (yellow square) and walk down the driveway to the pool (red square). There is not much space for cars near the pool and there will be HPK swimmers leaving when we are arriving.

Best regards

Tony Shacklock

Secretary SCMS

Annual Awards Dinner

Hi all

Last Saturday we had our annual Awards Dinner at Frantalia, in Panmure, and what a great evening it was! The venue, menu and service were all great.

Of course, the highlight was the presentation of awards for Club Member of the Year, Most Improved Swimmer, and Swimmer of the Year.

Dave Donaldson was presented with Club Member of the Year. Dave has coordinated regular practice sea swims during the summer at Eastern Beach or Bucklands Beach, and continually offers encouragement and advice to anyone wanting to get involved.

Fiona Grigg was awarded Most Improved Swimmer of the Year. Fiona has made great gains over the last year, knocking large chunks of time from her PBs (including 13 seconds off her 400m Free at the North Island Short Course Champs), and on occasions training up in lane 3.

Dawn Walker was awarded Swimmer of the Year. Dawn has excelled in both open water swimming and in the pool. She placed first and third in her age group in a couple of the Ocean Swim Series swims without a wetsuit. In the pool, she broke two new Zealand records, in 50m & 100m breaststroke (one of which belonged to Rebecca Perrot), as well as winning her age group at the North Island in both 2015 & 2016.

Congratulations to them all!

Here are a few photos.

Half Hour Postal Swim

Hi all

Here's something that's a good benchmark for your distance swimming. Every year Shear Magic organise a postal swim, where the aim is to swim as far as you can in 30 minutes. It's swum at your local pool and the distance swum is sent in with the entry. John will organise timekeeping for anyone wishing to do it. We've penciled it in for 18th July, so let John know if you're interested.

Regards
Tony

Lloyd Elsmore Maintenance Closure

Hi all

The dates for the annual pool maintenance closure at Lloyd Elsmore have been set. The pool will be closed from:
Monday 25th July - Sunday 7th August 2016

Our arrangements for training this year will be a little different from previous years. We've booked Sundays at Papatoetoe as usual, but we are making no arrangements for Monday or Wednesday evening training. Mondays at Manurewa are not available now and we felt attendance at the Wednesday evenings at Papatoetoe wasn't worth it.
So...
No weekday training Monday 25th June - 5th August.
Sundays 31st July & 7th August 8:00 - 9:00 am training  at Papatoetoe Centennial Pool.
Normal training resumes Monday 8th August

Tony Shacklock
for the Committee

Upcoming Pool Meets

Hi all

In case you missed the email from NZ Masters about upcoming pool competitions, here it is. You'll notice that the NZ Masters website has more convenient access to the pool meet documents, now.

Dear Masters Swimmer We have already had two great pool competitions this year - the North Island Short Course Championships in Taupo in May, and the Auckland Short Course Championships in June.  There are more pool events to look forward to as many swimmers build towards the World Masters Games being held in Auckland in April 2017. Hamilton Mid-Winder Long Course Meet The welcome return of this event which has been very successful in previous years. This is a great opportunity to swim a Long Course event prior to the Nationals in November. Date: Saturday 30th July Venue: Waterworld, Te Rapa, Hamilton Entries close: 14th July Entry form & information: http://www.nzmastersswimming.org.nz/pool/hamilton-masters-mid-winter-long-course-meet.html South Island Short Course Championships This event is once again being held in Ashburton in their lovely new pool. Date: 12th-13th August Venue: EA Network Centre, Ashburton Entries close: 24th July Entry form & information: http://www.nzmastersswimming.org.nz/pool/2016-south-island-short-course-championships.html National Long Course Championships This event will be held at the Sir Owen G Glenn National Aquatic Centre in Auckland - venue for the swimming events of the World Masters Games in April 2017.  This is your chance to swim in the first ever Masters event in the premier pool in the country, and start your build up for the World Masters Games. Date: 11th-13th November Venue: Sir Owen G Glenn National Aquatic Centre, Mairangi Bay, Auckland Entries close: 21st October (late entry fee applies after 1st October) Entry form & information: http://www.nzmastersswimming.org.nz/pool/2016-national-long-course-championships.html Reminder: You must have paid your subscription to your NZMS-affiliated club for 2016 to participate in these events.  Contact your club secretary if you are unsure of your status. Happy swimming Liz Davidson IT Officer - NZ Masters Swimming