Southern Cross Swimming Club. 2014/15 Annual Report

Southern Cross Swimming Club 2014/15 Annual Report

Contents 1. 2014/15 Position Holders... 3 A. 2014/15 Management Committee... 3 B. Coaching Staff... 3 C. Club Captains... 3 D. Membership... 3 2. Presidents Report... 4 3. Treasurer s Report... 6 4. Club Night Report... 8 5. Race Secretary Report... 9 6. 2014/15 Regional & State Competitors... 11 A. Brisbane Swimming Points Meets... 11 B. State... 11 7. Award Recipients for 2014/15 Season... 12

1. 2014/15 Position Holders A. 2014/15 Management Committee President: Stuart Koch Vice President: Libby McManus Secretary: Tania Kouvaras (resigned April 2015) Secretary: Cat Bisset (April 2015 current) Treasurer: Shannon McGrath Registrar: Cat Bisset Race Secretary: Michelle Ditton Committee Members: Louisa Starr Brad Steel Dave Armitage B. Coaching Staff Head Coach Steve Hadler Assistant Coach: Andrea Collins (resigned March 2015) Paulo Alvear-Fuji (March 2015 to current C. Club Captains Captains: Vice/Junior Captains: & Jack Powers Josie Mathison & D. Membership Membership for Southern Cross Swimming Club at 31 st May 2015 Total 265 Registered Members Made up of: Competitive Swimmers aged 9+ 97 Junior Dolphins (under 8 yrs at time of registration): 83 Parent Members: 85

2. Presidents Report Another swim season has passed for Southern Cross Swimming Club, and again it s been a privilege and an honour to serve this great Club as President. Looking back, this past swimming season has returned great results, both in the pool and out, with regard to the Club s progress and development. I m sure you will grasp how much our committee, members, coaches, swimmers, parents, volunteers etc. have achieved over the past year. Here are some of the achievements I have detailed in this report from the 2014/15 season include: In the water: 1. From last year, our membership numbers have increased by 25%; 2. We hosted 16 club nights and the Club, with approximately 60 swimmers participating at each evening; 3. 36 new Club records were set over the past season; 4. 12 Swimmers competed at 2014 Qld State in December. 5. 3 Swimmers competed at 2015 Australian Age Swimming in Sydney during April 6. Our swimmers participated in 26 Long course meets; 10 Short-course meets, a total of 36 Local competitive events in the Brisbane area, in addition to travelling to Hobart and Sydney to swim at State and National level. Well done to all the swimmers, who could not have achieved so much without the input and dedication from their coaches, Steve Hadler, Paulo Alvera Fuji and Andréa Collins, whose relentless efforts on pool deck, through rain or shine, certainly provided the solid foundation and building blocks that produced the above results. Congratulations to all our parents for a great swimming year. All those early starts and fitting in swimming around busy work schedules! Thank you for the courtesy and willingness to meet the challenges swimming demands from your children. Well done! Out of the water: Not to be outdone by the pool performances, some of our Club s greatest feats over the past year need to be acknowledged including: 1. Passed resolution for Southern Cross Swimming Club to become Incorporated. 2. The creation of a Face Book site where our members can access all the excitement of the club including important information regarding up and coming events / Meets 3. The purchase and implementation of Semi-Automatic Timing Equipment for Club Night Meets 4. Entering a Team in the Our Village Challenge and taking out 1 st Prize ($10,000) 5. Increased Membership by 25% 6. Hosted a very successful Trophy Night with over 180 members in attendance.

The management of our pool: I Thank Coach Steve Hadler for his interest in our swimmers and for his dedication, friendship and assistance over the past season, not to mention the immaculate pool complex and water quality Steve tirelessly maintains. I must also mention the ongoing support from Principal Greg Myers at Southern Cross Catholic College, who provides us with such a great facility. Our 2014/15 Committee: A very special thank you to the outgoing Committee, who have been the back bone of this club. There was so much to do, organising and executing the various actions which make our Club function. I truly thank each and every one of you for your hard work, patience, sense of commitment, persistence, sound advice and support and attention to detail you have all provided me. Our future: I would like to finish by reminding all that the Annual General Meeting is the most important meeting on the swimming calendar. This is where our committee members are chosen to; organise, lead and control the direction of the club. A number of current office holders, including myself, have elected not to re-nominate for those positions, so we look forward to welcoming a new team into what is a financially sound club, with an awesome group of swimmers, support staff and families. I encourage everyone to get involved in their Club, be it through joining the Management Committee or a Sub-Committee, or assisting with Club Nights or Fundraising. We learn from those who have served, and together we can take on the challenges of running a successful Club. No matter how successful we are, we need to remember why we are all here: To support our wonderful, amazing group of swimmers and guide them towards a successful future in and out of the Pool. Again, it has been a privilege to be associated with Southern Cross Swimming Club. To have been part of the team, experiencing the spirited efforts of the swimmers and to have witnessed a massive effort that all have contributed during the 2014/15 swimming season. I am looking forward to a very successful 2015/16 swimming season. Yours in swimming, Stuart Koch 2014/15 Season President,

3. Treasurer s Report The 2014-2015 season has been an exceptional year, not only in the pool but for the current committee, with many milestones being made. Once again the membership numbers have continued to increase with the Junior Dolphin program being rolled out by Swimming QLD and strongly implemented by the Southern Cross Swimming Club. The Junior Dolphin program encouraged children 8 years and under to join and compete at no cost, as a way of boosting numbers State wide. Southern Cross Swimming Club has been recognised by Swimming QLD and commended for how productive we have been with implementing this program throughout our younger members. By having a larger membership base, we found larger numbers attending our Thursdays Club Nights- buying raffle tickets and supporting our weekly club BBQ. At the beginning of the 2014/15 season, the bank balance was $11,970. Overall, the club has had a fairly good year in terms of fund raising, with financial contributions coming from Our Village and Bunnings BBQs which the club will continue to organise. OUR VILLAGE This year the Club was fortunate to chosen to be part of the Our Village Foundation 101 Causes. The 101 Causes selected benefit from 12 months of fundraising opportunities and marketing strategies. This has seen the club reap some very good financial benefits, none more rewarding than receiving the $10,000 cheque for winning a Community Challenge Day in March this year. As part of joining the Foundation, we also had to sell raffle tickets at $5 each, which every member contributed to buying and selling. The result of selling these tickets was not only the opportunity to win some great prizes, but also the club received money for every ticket sold. The lump sum payment we received for selling the Our Village raffle tickets throughout the season was $2734.

At the end of the current financial year the Club has been advised we are to receive more funds from Our Village, once they tally up all profit made through festivals they have run and distribute the money to the 101 Causes. We have signed up to be involved in the OUR Village 101 Causes for the 2015-16 season as well, and look forward to our members once again supporting this. BUNNING BBQs As mentioned above, the club also continued with our Bunnings BBQs as an additional fundraiser. This year we had two BBQ s and each raised approximately $1000. The money from the first was put towards the Club trip to the Tasmanian SC. Hopefully in the new season we will organise some more of these extra fundraising activities to help boost club funds. CLUB EXPENSES As part of the Go Club program by Swimming Australia, our Club received an equipment grant of an electronic timing system valued at approx $3000. While this was great for the club, the purchase of a second electronic timing set was in order, to ensure the fairness in recording swimmers times. With funds raised throughout the year we were able to do this and use the system for 2015 Club nights and for Club. It is important to remember that money raised from fundraising throughout the year is used to benefit all swimmers at all levels. Every year we have a Christmas break up party, catered for with pizza, drinks, Santa (and a Santa stocking). At the Christmas break up party we also celebrated the achievements of some our older swimmers and supplied them with a specially embroidered team shirt for the State in December. Earlier this year the club once again funded a Family Fun Day at Scarborough Beach, where all water equipment hire, lifesavers and a BBQ were paid for by the club for its members. More recently we provided $50 to each our National swimmers so they could buy themselves a souvenir while away competing in Sydney. The money we fundraise goes straight back into the club and the kids. We recently finished the season with our annual Club Presentation Night, held at the Redcliffe RSL. The Club funded all children s meals and was able to slightly subsidise all adult meals as well. Awards and gifts for the evening totalled approximately $5000 and included embroidered towels, trophies and special gifts for committee members and the Our Village community Challenge team. Southern Cross Swimming Club is presently in a good financial position at the end of the 2014-15 season. The closing balance as at 31 st May 2015 is $11,200 with all major payments being paid. Shannon McGrath Treasurer 2014/15

4. Club Night Report Of the 19 rostered Club Nights for the 2014/15 season, 3 were cancelled due to Storms and bad weather, including the Christmas Break Up, and 1 was cancelled after the first two events (Distance and Freestyle). Club Night were well attended, with a total of 92 swimmers took part in Club Night for the 2014/15 season with 82 of these taking part in 3 or more Club meets over the season, an increase of 34% on the previous season. The average was 60 swimmers nominating per night, with a peak of 69 competitors in mid-february 2015 to a minimum of 45 swimmers in the last week of the Christmas School holidays (22 January 2015). 71% of swimmers attending Club Night were aged 10yrs or under at the close of the season. The Male to Female ratio was slightly higher at 1.7:2 (34:58), with male attendance numbers being slightly more stable than female. The Club s biggest age group was the 9yrs Girls, with 14 swimmers in that age group at Club. Club on 14 March 2015, once again saw an increase in competitors. There were 64 competitors, spread over 53 events, including multi aged events to cater for our MC swimmer, Dan Baker. Club were officiated by SQ Referees Lori Chaplin & Gary Shepherdson. From January 2015, the Club started to use the Semi-Automatic Timing equipment which we received by Equipment Grant from Swimming Australia. A second set was purchased from Club Funds. After a few teething problems, the dual set was up and running successfully by the end of the season. The Club also started the Race Jayden competition with a swimmer chosen from a name draw, to race Olympian Jayden Hadler (with a handicap) in their chosen stroke over 25 or 50m. The competition was well received, especially by the younger swimmers.

5. Race Secretary Report For the 2014/15 Season, Southern Cross Swimming Club had 50 Competitive swimmers who attended 1or more meets, with a core of 22 swimmers who attended 5 or more meets. Of these, two were AWD Registered Swimmers (Blake Cochrane & Dan Baker). Regional Competition: Southern Cross Swimming Club attended all the Brisbane Swimming points meets for the season, except for the Brisbane Relay. The club finished in 7 th place in the Second Division points table (out of 19 clubs). Medals were won at all these meets as follows: Gold Silver Bronze No. Swimmers Brisbane Short Course 10 2 3 14 Senior Mets 2 1 9 Brisbane Sprints 1 2 1 19 Junior Mets 1 8 Brisbane Open Water 1 swimmer achieving 8th places State Competition: Southern Cross Swimming Club also competed at the 3 pool-based QLD State with the following results: Gold Silver Bronze No. Swimmers QLD Short Course Champs 2 1 5 10 QLD & MC 1 1 3 12 QLD Sprints 2 13 Our swimmers who qualified for Individual Events at the QLD in December 2014, with Coach Steve Tasmanian Short Course : For the first time, Southern Cross Swimming Club sent a team of 8 to the Tasmanian SC 6-7 September 2014, in Hobart. Swimmers had a great time and returned with the following results: Gold Silver Bronze 3 2 3 3 rd Place in Female 14&U Medley Relay As the trip was a great experience for all, the Club intends to make this an annual Club Trip.

National Competition: Southern Cross had 4 swimmers competing at the National level competitions (NB Does NOT include the School Swimming Competition circuit): 2015 GHSF Australian Age & MC Ella Parker 2015 Australian Swimming Blake Cochrane Local Competition: Local Meets attracted a good portion of the Club s younger and newer swimmers, with the most popular being those held at Sheldon, Australian Crawl, Chandler and Albany Creek. Although Southern Cross received approval to host an Introductory Meet in December 2014, we were unable to go ahead with it due to lack of interest from outside the club (a large number of similar meets had been held in the previous weeks). Swimming Qld have requested the Club hold a Junior Dolphins Meet during the next season, with support and promotion to be done by SQ. Junior swimmers at the Sheldon Development Meet, July 2014 Nomination Process: All meet correspondence is through the Race Secretary email address: racesecretary@scsaints.org.au. Meet Flyers and Results are loaded onto the MEETS page of the Club Web site, and no longer emailed out to reduce the email traffic, especially during the peak of the swimming season. This has been well received, with regular bulk emails only going out to advise of upcoming meets and Final Entry List checks. Payment of nomination fees before the Meet Closing Date is still an issue, however progress has been made in getting most members paying nomination fees by Internet Transfer. Summary: Overall, we have seen a 36% increase in the number swimmers taking part in local Meets. A number of our junior swimmers (under 8yrs) have also experienced racing this season, by attending Introductory and Development meets, such as Sheldon SC and Albany Creek LC Development meets, where Rule Tolerance is applied to encourage junior participation. This has been a great experience for the juniors, some of them returning with medals and all having a great time. Swimming Qld is looking to continue promoting this trend of Junior involvement, by continuing to offer free competitive swimmer membership to those under 8 years at the time of registration and half price to those who are 8years. For most of the season, we have had a core of 14 Competitive swimmers taking part in the Regional, increasing to 20 swimmers in early 2015 as younger swimmers aged up and new members joined. We look forward to seeing more of our 8 & 9yrs swimmers taking part in the Competitive aspect of swimming in 2015/16, and qualifying to represent their Club at Regional Meets. Michelle Ditton Race Secretary

6. 2014/15 Regional & State Competitors A. Brisbane Swimming Points Meets Brisbane Short Course Brisbane Open Water Brisbane Senior Metropolitan Brisbane Sprint Brisbane Junior Metropolitan Daniel Baker Ethan Collingwood Cooper Woods Daniel Baker Ethan Collingwood Daniel Baker Ethan Collingwood Mikaela Dades Glase Dominic Elliott Maddison Kouvaras Dominic Elliott Josie Mathison Jordan McGrath Dominic Elliott Maddison Kouvaras Taylah Kouvaras Josie Mathison Jordan McGrath Taylah Kouvaras Josie Mathison Tahlia McGrath Tahlia McGrath Ally Nicholson Ella Parker Ally Nicholson Ella Parker Jack Powers Tahlia McGrath Jack Powers Abby Trembearth Hayley Trembearth Jackson Young Cody Starr B. State QLD Short Course QLD Swimming - Relays Ethan Collingwood 9-10 Yrs Female Taylah Kouvaras Jordan McGrath Tahlia McGrath Bronte Parker 16 & Under Male Matthew Callahan Ryan Callahan Aidan Melvin Jack Powers Dominic Elliott 12 & Under Female Lilli Fallon-Marin Josie Mathison 14 & Under/Open Female Kamala Cemeljic Ceverine Coralie Sharda Steel Jordan McGrath Ally Nicholson 12 & Under Male Trevor Cemeljic Drew Mathison Samuel Powell Celine Coralie Ella Parker Hayley Trembearth QLD Swimming - Individual QLD Sprint Daniel Baker Blake Cochrane Ethan Collingwood Daniel Baker Dominic Elliott Josie Mathison Taylah Kouvaras Jordan McGrath Tahlia McGrath Ella Parker Jack Powers Hayley Trembearth Ally Nicholson Jack Powers Joshua Voigt

7. Award Recipients for 2014/15 Season The following swimmers received Awards at Presentation Night on Saturday 9 th May 2015 2014/15 AGE CHAMPIONS Boys Girls 5 Years & Under Cael Armitage Zoe Wright 6 Years Luke McManus Bronte McGrath 7 Years Max Armitage Rylee Whitmore 8 Years Cody Starr Madison Kouvaras 9 Years Jackson Young Sophie Burger 10 Years Luke Maranik Bronte Parker 11 Years Jordan McGrath 12 Years Samuel Powell 13 Years Ethan Collingwood Sharda Steel 14 Years Hayley Trembearth 15 Years Open MC Daniel Baker TROPHY Winner COMMENTS Sprint Champion Distance Champion The Patrons Award Sophie Burger Ethan Collingwood The overall Sprint Points winner will be awarded the CLUB SPRINT CHAMPION trophy The overall Distance Points winner will be awarded CLUB DISTANCE CHAMPION This award is for the swimmer who brings the most recognition to the club throughout the season Dennis Longley Memorial Trophy The Coach s Awards The Jayden Hadler Award Savannah O Grady Hana Costello Georgia Dine Recognition of outstanding participation and contribution to swimming. This award can be received by either a boy or girl 13 years and over, who has been a member of the Club for the full season. To be awarded at the coach's discretion. Junior Rising Star award to swimmer aged 12yrs or under