Welcome to the June edition of The Western Swimmer. I hope that you enjoyed the WA Day Long Weekend and that you and your family are keeping well.
On behalf of Swimming WA, I would like to thank all of our Members for your support during this crazy COVID-19 pandemic in which we find ourselves. Over the past month, the SWA Board and I have been working closely with Swimming Australia, the Western Australian government, our SWA Clubs, ASCTA (WA) and many volunteers across the State. There has been considerable effort placed on returning to the pool and this month, WA joined South Australia and the Northern Territory in resuming reduced training.
Late May saw the State Government move to Phase II of “The COVID-19 WA Road Map” opening pools and increasing crowd gathering numbers to 20. It has been heartening to see 10 SWA Clubs back in training, including 4 Clubs using our own WestSwim Lakelands Centre in North Mandurah! This investment has been a major positive for WA swimming at a time when many pools remain closed and appear to be so for some time yet.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, SWA has worked hard to keep communications open with our Clubs, Coaches and Technical Officials. Last Wednesday evening I joined 45 Club Leaders on a Zoom call which was an open forum to discuss the current challenges facing WA swimming and for the staff to outline some of the plans for returning to competition safely. The energy and enthusiasm exhibited by our Leaders was wonderful and with so many Clubs having already re-affiliated for 2020/21, I feel there is a reason for optimism. My thanks to you all for your contributions.
June will see a further move toward ‘business as usual’ at SWA with the various Operational Commitments beginning to resume operations. From the OWS Committee to Competition and Planning, these Committees play an important role in providing insight and experience that is invaluable for the CEO and Management to utilise in their planning in the most uncertain of times. I am aware that some SWA Clubs reduce operations in winter as they operate in ‘cold water pools’. However, given the time in which we find ourselves, change is a given and it is vital for your Club that all members stay abreast of developments and access the Committees or staff to have input as part of the process. We have one chance to get it right, so please stay engaged and provide your input.
So with that in mind, a reminder that the 2020 SWA Winter Calendar is on the SWA website and it includes our plans are to get the 2020 Short Course Season underway on the weekend of July 25th and 26th at HBF Stadium, followed by a ‘virtual Club Meet’. More information will follow in the coming weeks, so please stay tuned on the various SWA social media platforms.
Thanking you for the role you are playing to ensure that swimming is an essential part of Western Australian life.
Regards,
Louis van Aardt
SWA President
