Issue 9, 2025/2026 by Matthew Vicic - 28th November, 2025

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Saturday Races

Please arrive at 6:45 to help us set up! See if you can be nominated for a lion's club award!!

NSW Metropolitan Youth Championships

A huge congratulations to Coralie Havea and Jay Shrestha, who have both qualified for — and will be swimming at — the NSW Metropolitan Youth Championships this weekend!

This is the first time both swimmers have qualified for Metros, which makes the achievement even more exciting.

Events & Race Times

Coralie Havea

Session 1 – 50m Freestyle

Approx. 11:33am, Saturday

Session 2 – 50m Butterfly

Approx. 2:18pm, Saturday

Jay Shrestha

Session 4 – 50m Breaststroke

Approx. 2:42pm, Sunday

Enjoy your swims — we are incredibly proud of your achievements and the way you represent our club at these championships.

May the Whale be with you both! 🐋💙🏊‍♂️🏊‍♀️

Club Race Videos Now Live!

You can now watch our club race videos online. Head to: https://merrylandsasc.asn.au/clubraces/

A big thankyou to Sylvia, and Johnson for organising and creating the video!!

Swim for Your School – This Saturday!

Bring your school spirit to the pool! This Saturday, swimmers have the chance to represent their school at our club races. The school with the highest points on the morning will take home a special prize!

Invite your friends to join in and help boost your school’s score — all they need is a Come & Try membership to participate.

🗓️ When

• Saturday 29th November, 2025 – 7am to 9am
• Saturday 14th February, 2026 – 7am to 9am
• Saturday 21st March, 2026 – 7am to 9am 

🏊 How to Get Involved 

Current Club Members

• Enter Club Races as usual via Swim Central
• Make sure we know which school you attend

Friends / New Swimmers

• Register for a Come & Try membership
• Enter Club Races via Swim Central
• Let us know which school you attend

Let’s see which school will make the biggest splash! 🐋🌊

Whales Challenge – Coming Up Next Week!

The Whale's Challenge is a fun and competitive 3-meet intra-club series where our members go head-to-head in two teams, each proudly named after former Merrylands State Champions who went on to represent Australia.

Next week is our first Whales Challenge meet, so make sure you check the Merrylands website to see which team you’ve been placed in!

🏊 How the Whales Challenge Works

• Members are divided into two teams.
• Swimmers compete to earn points for their team.
• Team names honour two of our club’s past champions.
• Swimmers must wear their club cap in their team colour while racing to ensure their points count.
• Entries are submitted as usual through the normal Saturday morning process.
• Team lists will also be posted on the Club Notice Board.

Maroon “Turner” Team

Named after Darren Turner, Merrylands’ first-ever State Champion.

In 1977, Darren won the Boys 10yrs & Under 100m Backstroke at the NSW State Winter Championships and claimed Bronze in the 100m Freestyle. During his time at the club, he set 21 club championship records and won the 50m Backstroke at the NSW Shell Age Series.

Darren later became one of the world’s best open water swimmers, winning the 1989 Australian Marathon Swimming Championships and representing Australia on the 1989 Australian Marathon Swimming Team Tour of the USA.

White “Emery” Team

Named after Mitchell Emery, another star in the club’s history.

Mitchell won the 10yrs 100m Breaststroke at the 2001 NSW State Age Short Course Championships and claimed Silver in the 50m Breaststroke. He also won the 50m Breaststroke at the Shell Age Series and set 11 club championship records.

Mitchell later excelled in Water Polo, representing Australia at the 2015 FINA World Championships and the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Get ready, the Challenge begins next week! Check the Merrylands website to find out which team you’ll be swimming for and wear your team colour with pride. 🐋🔥⚪💪 

Free Membership for 8yrs & under!

Thanks to the generous support of Club Merrylands, we are offering FREE Membership for swimmers aged 8 years & under who regularly participate in our club races. This free membership is provided as a reimbursement of membership fees and is limited to the first 30 registrations who meet the eligibility criteria below.

✅ Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for the free membership, swimmers must:

• Be a First Claim Member in the Club Swimmer category or above
• Be 8 years & Under at the time the membership fee is paid

And meet one of the following:

Existing Swimmers

• Must have participated in 25% or more of Club Races in the previous season

New Swimmers

• Must have completed a 4-week trial of Club Races
• Must have attended at least 75% of those 4 weeks

Please note:

• Swimmers who only participate in Learn to Swim or Squad Training are not eligible
• If joining in a higher category, only the cost of the Club Swimmer membership fee will be reimbursed

📝 How to Claim Your Reimbursement

1. Register as a Swimmer in the Club Swimmer category (or above)
2. Complete the Reimbursement Form, including your bank account details

The club will then assess your eligibility and, if approved, reimburse your membership fee directly to your bank account.

New Club Record – Congratulations Leo!

A huge congratulations to Leo Zhu, who set a new Club Record this morning in the 100m Backstroke Championship!

Leo swam an outstanding 1:12.10 in the 16yrs 100m Backstroke, taking an impressive 3.4 seconds off the previous record, which had been held by Robert Griffey since 2000.

What an incredible achievement — congratulations, Leo, on an exceptional swim! 💙🌊🐋 

🗳️ Inter-Club Cup 2025 Feedback Survey

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this year’s Inter-Club Cup. Your feedback helps us improve and make next year’s event even better! Please take a moment to complete the survey here:

https://forms.microsoft.com/r/atHKnWEBD6

Thank you for helping our pod grow stronger each season! 🐋💙

How You Can Help – Become a Technical Official!

We have a small but dedicated group of Technical Officials (TOs) in our club and we need your help to grow this team. Having qualified TOs is essential for our Saturday meets to run smoothly and for our swimmers’ times to be officially recognised by Swimming NSW.

Many of our members are already qualified as Timekeepers, and we would love to expand this number, as well as develop more TO roles across the club.

Becoming a TO involves two simple steps:

1. Online theory training (free and self-paced)
2. Practical assessment (completed at a Metro Southwest Area meet)

Once qualified, you can choose to help just at club races, or, if you wish, you can also help at other meets — with Metro Southwest providing payment for each session you assist with.

🏊 How to Get Started

• Online theory training is available through Swimming Australia:
  Swimming Australia – Online Training for Technical Officials
• You can also find a QR code on the club room screen every Saturday morning to register quickly.
• The Metro South West Area website has additional resources and information:
  https://metrosw.org.au/officials/
• Speak to Graham, our club’s TO Co-ordinator — he can guide you through the process, answer questions, and help you get started confidently.

🔄 Re-Accreditation Support

If you already hold a TO accreditation, the club will assist you with your four-yearly re-accreditation. This is simply a form noting your contributions at club races and meets over that period.

Helping as a TO is an invaluable way to support our swimmers and strengthen our club — and we’d love to have more Whales join the team! 🐋💙

Swimmer Spotlight – Lisa Shrestha

This week we dive into the journey of one of our long-time Whales — Lisa Shrestha. She’s a familiar face in the lanes, a returning teen-squad swimmer, and someone who embodies persistence, passion, and pod spirit.

Q1. Tell us about your swimming journey.

A: I joined the club in 2016 starting in Novice and progressed through and was swimming my best, but high school pressures and other commitments made it hard to stay consistent, and my motivation faded. Returning to the teen fitness squads, I've felt that spark returning and bit by bit I’m rebuilding my strength and stamina... whilst still juggling school, part time work and Cadets.

Q2. What’s your favourite stroke?

A: Freestyle. I like how the stroke feels and I love it even more after improving my kicking.

Q3. What do you like about the Club?

A: The community feel and the effort everyone puts in. I like the exciting events we hold, the raffles etc.

Q4. An interesting fact about you?

A: I do my best thinking when I'm swimming. It's when I feel a “genuine flow state”. It's where I get to process my thoughts and have actual time to think without distractions.

Q5. A swimming goal for 2026?

A: To participate in an open water swim. The last one I did was in 2022.

Christmas Raffles & BBQ

As we close in on Christmas (and the halfway point of the season) make sure you have Saturday 20th December locked in your calendar, as this is the last morning of club races and we will have a range of events including raffles, bbq and novelty events. The Social Committee are already working hard on plans for the morning, so if you have any ideas or would like to help them, please let them know.

Club Merrylands Christmas Events

At Club Merrylands

Toy Raffle - Monday 8 December from 7.30pm (tickets on sale at 5.30pm)

FREE santa photos on Monday 8 December from 6pm -7.30pm

Ham and Pork Raffle - Monday 1st and 15th December from 7.30pm (tickets on sale at 5.30pm)

Seafood voucher Raffle -Monday 22 December from 7.30pm (tickets on sale at 5.30pm)

At Guildford Bowling Club

Toy Raffle - Saturday 6 December from 7pm (tickets on sale at 5pm)

Ham and Seafood voucher Raffle - Saturday 20 December from 7pm (tickets on sale at 5pm) 

Club Uniforms

We have a great range of club uniforms in stock available for sale. These can be purchased through the club’s online shop club shop . Some items may require a special order to be placed with our suppliers, so planning orders ahead of time will allow for the items to be delivered.

Lions Club Award

Seen someone that deserves recognition for their efforts in helping? Nominate them for the Lions Club Award, our peak award to recognise our volunteers over the season.

Nominate a volunteer

P-Plate Award

As the season rolls along keep an eye out for someone making a silly mistake. We like to recognise and reward all efforts during the season, and the P-Plate award is the perfect way to do this.

Nominate a silly mistake

Seen a Problem? Get it Fixed

If you see something that needs fixing you can elevate this directly with Council by logging the issue here.

Donations

Our partnership with the Australian Sports Foundation allows supporters to make tax-deductible donations to the club. Funds raised help us upgrade and maintain our equipment and systems, providing better facilities for you, our members.

We appreciate the great support our members have provided since the partnership commenced. Donations can be made here.

Upcoming Meet Calendar

Check the website for the full list of upcoming meets, closing dates, programs and qualifying times.