Charlotte Varcoe
MOUNT Gambier/Berrin will host the South Australian Country Swimming Championships once again next year despite one of the local clubs disbanding.
Mount Gambier Swimming Club will host the event at the Wulanda Recreation Centre from January 5 for four days.
It comes following the success of its recent two-day short-course swimming meet which had more than 170 competitors.
Mount Gambier Swimming Club president Nathan Stratford said hosting the championships once again was an exciting opportunity for the local swimmers.
“We are really excited in a sense we now have lots more time to prepare and our swimmers are excited to have the luxury to have the competition and be home in their own bed that night,” Mr Stratford said.
“This is a great opportunity for our swimmers as it is a strong competition for them .”
He said the club was expecting about 450 swimmers from across the state to travel to the region and compete against each other.
“We have a lot of local swimmers competing in state school sports and seven or eight swimmers heading to the top-of-the-state level looking to enhance and bring in good competitions” Mr Stratford said.
“We are hopeful we will have more national competitors coming through now.”
With the club being in its second year of training at the recreation centre, Mr Stratford said it had been nothing but positive.
“The club has been going great since Wulanda as beforehand we had 12 swimmers but now we have 62,” he said.
“That increase is over the four year period with more coming in due to Blue Lake Y Club folding.”
City of Mount Gambier Mayor Lynette Martin welcomed the 2025 State Championships claiming the event would provide significant economic benefit to the city.
“Events such as this reinforce why it is important to invest in high quality community infrastructure and I congratulate the Mount Gambier Swimming Club for securing the event following on from the successful community event of the year in 2023,” Ms Martin said.
Mr Stratford said due to the Blue Lake Y Club deciding to cease operating, it would result in the number for the Mount Gambier Club reaching 89 swimmers and extra coaches.
“A lot of the kids were friends already and this generates a good competition between them,” Mr Stratford said.
“Knowing they have friends and support really makes a difference.”
He said while it was disappointing the Blue Lake Y Club folded, having more members in the Mount Gambier Swimming Club meant the region could continue to attract more statewide competitions.
“We have grown and have set up coaching mentors and have coaches coming over from the other club,” Mr Stratford said.
“Everyone is excited for the extra pool space and not having to share but not competing against another local club and bringing bigger events to the region will help.”
Blue Lake Y Swim Club secretary Bec Spicer said the committee was disappointed with the decision to disband the club.
“We recognise the club would not have been viable without sufficient committee representation,” Ms Spicer said.
“We have worked collaboratively with the Mount Gambier Swimming Club to ensure a smooth transition for swimmers to their club.”
She said both clubs had ensured minimal disruption to members and training.
“There have been numerous members over the years who have committed a large number of hours to ensuring the success of the club,” Ms Spicer said.
“The club has always prided itself on being a cohesive and encouraging team environment. “Competing at Country Champs each year was a highlight, with members often cheering the loudest for our swimmers in the pool.”
She said volunteers and coaches worked hard to develop a culture which supported swimmers of all levels and ensured members celebrated successes both in and outside the pool.
“Blue Lake Y Swimmers also successfully secured the prestigious Advertiser Shield nine consecutive years from 1985 to 1993,” she said.
“We have hosted numerous successful and well attended carnivals over the years.
“The club also hosted the SA Swimming Country Championships a total of five times.”
Ms Spicer said the decision to wind up the club was made earlier this year after consultation with members and a lack of nominations.
She said the club was set to lose three executives with insufficient nominations received during a May meeting.
“Following the close of nominations, insufficient nominations had been received and the committee voted to wind up the club,” Ms Spicer said.
“The club was in a healthy financial position, had recently secured new coaching staff to join the existing coaching staff.
“However, sustainable operation requires ongoing volunteer commitment to ensure the varied operational tasks are distributed.”
She said the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the outdoor pool being shut for the building of Wulanda, attracting swimmers was also a difficult task.
“While the club had received new members since Wulanda’s opening, the club lacked swimmers who were moving into competing at countries and states,” Ms Spicer said.
“It is generally the parents of these swimmers who are most interested in joining the committee and while the club had a healthy number of swimmers, we had limited interest from members to help run the club.”
The club first began in 1980 with a total of 15 member and while numbers had fluctuated, it reached a total of 30 registered swimmers this year.
