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.