Our annual Christmas Gala last Sunday was a huge success with over 55 children taking part in 10 fun events.  Great credit is due to our coaches Christian, Oran, Leontia, Cathal O’Brien and Cathal Roche for their help and participation with a particular thanks to our Chairman and MC for the day, Mike O’Sullivan.

The big race, the Family Race, was dominated by swimmers from Muckross (what are they feeding them out there) with the O’Brien family winning for the third year in a row but only just getting in ahead of the Coffey family who were the dark horses in this year’s race.  Afterwards, at our Christmas party, the winners were presented with the Sean O’Grady Plate by Sean O’Grady.

Thanks to all families who brought along food and sponsored prizes.   Spot-prizes were also sponsored by Muckross Garden Restaurant, Muckross Farms, Daly’s Supervalu, O’Sullivan’s Pharmacy, Mods & Minis, The Kerry GAA Shop, Sona Juice Bar, Claires, Nike, Paco, Bits & Bob and The Bag Shop.

The winners were drawn by a particularly trim and fit-looking Santa Claus.  We can now confirm (for all those that asked and commented on how handsome Santa looked) that Santa has been on a strict training regime for the last 12 months which has shifted a good bit of the excess weight, fair dues to him.  When he calls to your house this year, apparently, he’ll be eating the carrots and Rudolf will be on the mince pies so fresh carrots only when you are leaving them out.

Just a final reminder for our Christmas Gala which takes place in the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre this Sunday the 21st of December.  All club members are invited.  Warm up is scheduled for 10:15 am with pool competitions from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm and there will be a Christmas Party afterwards in the multi-purpose room until 2:30 pm – a party for which the Committee have been preparing feverishly for the last few weeks.  Our Chairperson, Mike O’Sullivan also informs me that he is confident that Santa will be able to make a guest appearance.  “He has been training all year and is looking really, really fit,” Mike said.  “In fact, some people are now saying he looks a lot like George Clooney – except more intelligent, of course.”

As always, the Family Race will be the highlight of the days events.  The obvious favourites, neck and neck at the moment in the betting, are the O’Brien family from Muckross and the Niewiadomska family from Castleisland.  There are also rumours of a third family, as yet unknown, who have been spotted training in the Castlerosse.  The lengths that some people will go to!  Remember, it’s not about winning, it’s about taking part.

So, it all starts at 10:15 this Sunday morning.  Watch out for the reindeer when reversing.

Congratulations to our swimmers who took part in the Munster Schools Minor Championships recently with even more medals going the way of the O’Leary brothers, Paudie and Ross.  Yet again, well done lads.
Under 10 Boys – Ross O’Leary took gold in the 50 metres freestyle and a silver medal in the 50 metres butterfly.
Under 12 Boys – Paudie O’Leary won a silver medal in the 50 metres freestyle and a bronze medal in the 100 metres individual Medley.

A new iPhone app called ‘swimsync’ has been released. The makers web address is http://www.swimsync.com.au   According to their press release, “It enables users to store pool and open water swim times, graph results, save times directly from the in-built stopwatch and see all statistics from each swim including lap splits. Swimmers will be able to track their progress and enjoy watching their times improve. They can even view all their personal best times in one screen – no more searching for where and when the times were swum!”  The Swimsync App is free from the AppStore and if you don’t have an iPhone yet, just ask Santa!  No problem.

On the subject of Christmas, the club’s famous Annual Christmas Gala takes place in the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre on Sunday the 21st of December.  Historically, the big event is the Family Race with the O’Brien family from Muckross this year attempting to win for a third year in a row.  Our Chairperson, Mike O’Sullivan has been going through the record books and has officially confirmed that this has never been done before.  “It’s unprecedented,” were his exact words.
However, last year the O’Briens only barely squeezed in ahead of the Niewiadomska family from Castleisland with the O’Connor family from Millstreet a close third.  It’s anyone guess what will happen this year.  Will injury play a part?  What sort of condition is Cathal really in?  The tension is certainly mounting within the club, I can tell you.  Note that date in your diary.

Congratulations to our swimmers who took part in the Invitational Gala in Tralee last Saturday.  The event was an opportunity for the best junior talent in the Munster region to compete against their peers. There were some substantial improvements by our swimmers on their own “personal best” times for events and a very satisfactory collection of medals given the stiff competition. Particular congratulations to the O’Leary brothers, Paudie and Ross, who were absolutely on fire on the day.

Under 11 Boys – Paudie O’Leary took gold in the 100 metres backstroke and silver medals in the 200 metres freestyle and 100 metres butterfly while Ross O’Leary won silver medals in the 100 metres backstroke and 50 metres freestyle. Well done, lads.

Under 16 boys – Robert O’Brien won a hard-fought gold medal in the 100 metres breaststroke with Shane Kerins taking the silver in the 100 metres butterfly.

Thanks to our lead-coach, Kristian O’Donovan, who gave huge support and encouragement to all our swimmers.  Thanks also to all parents for travelling.

The 2014/2015 swimming season is now well under way with the club’s calendar full of upcoming swimming galas.

Congratulations to our swimmers who took part in the recent “C” gala in Tralee. All beat their own “personal best” times for events. Club swimmers won medals in nearly every event on the day bringing a haul of gold, silver and bronze back to Killarney the likes of which hasn’t been seen since the Spanish Armada.

Under 11 Boys – Ross O’Leary took gold medals in the 100 metres freestyle and the 50 metres backstroke, butterfly and Individual Medley while Charles O’Brien took gold in the 50 metres breaststroke and silver for the 100 metres freestyle and the 50 metres butterfly and Individual Medley. Michael Sweeney took gold in the 50 metres freestyle while Killian Spillane won the silver. The boys team also won the 200 metre Medley relay, a first for our club. Well done, lads.

Under 11 Girls – Moya Noctor won gold in the Individual Medley and silver in the 50 metre breaststroke while Pia Hickey won gold in the 50 metre backstroke and bronze in the 100 metre freestyle. Ellen O’Connor won bronze in the 50 metre backstroke with the girls team winning silver in the 200 metre Medley relay.

Under 13 Boys – Rian O’Donovan won gold in the 50 metre backstroke and Paul O’Leary won gold in the 50 metres freestyle. The boys team also won the 200 metre Medley relay, another first for our club. Well done, lads.

Under 13 Girls – Grace Lynch won gold in the 50 metres backstroke while Aisling Reidy won silver medals in the 100 metres freestyle and 50 metres backstroke and butterfly.   The girls team also won silver in the 200 metre Medley relay.

Under 15 Girls – Rebecca Twomey won gold medals in both the 100 metres freestyle and Individual Medley and in the 50 metres freestyle and butterfly. Antoinette O’Leary won silver in the 100 metres freestyle and bronze in the 50 metre backstroke while Sadhbh Ni Cathasaigh won silver in the 50 metres backstroke and breaststroke. Liadh O’Sullivan won silver in the 50 metres breaststroke and bronze in the Individual Medley.

Finally, the under 15 mixed team won silver for the club in the 300 metre freestyle relay.

Thanks to our coach, Cathal O’Brien, who gave huge support and encouragement to all swimmers on the day. Thanks also to all parents for travelling and taking part in timekeeping duties.

Our club AGM took place last Wednesday the 12th of November.  Our Chairperson, Mike O’Sullivan, reported to all attendees on the considerable progress the club has made in the last twelve months.
Kristian O’Donovan has now taken up the role of lead/head coach and will be completing his Level 2 coaching qualification before the end of this season.  A number of new coaches have come on board, namely, Cathal Roche, Leontia Doody and, most recently, Fidelma Cremin.  We now have a very strong coaching team and this will help to improve standards over the coming year.  Special mention was made of Vicki Dando, with the meeting extending her every good wish.  It is hoped she will be back with us in the near future.
In particular, Mike noted the considerable improvements in personal best swimming times by all swimmers, with many swimmers moving up grades and Shane, Robert and Alan making the National Divisional Championships.
Following the election of the Club Committee for the coming year, the Club’s new car sticker was given out to all those in attendance.

Extra stickers are available from Mike.

Congratulations to all our swimmers who took part in the Munster “C” gala in Tralee last Sunday.  Well done to all concerned!  Results will be posted on the website as soon as they have been processed.

A final reminder about the club AGM which is scheduled for the Sports and Leisure Centre this Wednesday the 12th of November at 9pm.  Attendance is crucial with a number of matters up for decision.  All parents are invited to attend.

The swimming season is now fully underway with all squads training feverishly for upcoming galas in November.  Full details are on the website under “Galas”.

A big welcome to our new coach, Leontia Doody.  Leontia is a lifeguard and swim teacher in the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre and is also a teacher with the Seal Swimming Club in Limerick.  She has been teaching in the UL Arena since 2011 and is a Level 2 swimming teacher.  Leontia will be focussing on the Junior “B” squad.

Thank you to all parents and children who participated in our street collection last Saturday – both collecting and giving!  This is a vital source of funding for the club.

Finally, the club AGM is scheduled for 7pm on Wednesday the 12th of November in the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre.  Mike tells me that non-attendance will be punishable by public flogging.

Just a quick reminder that club registration for the upcoming term takes place at the pool tomorrow evening (Thursday the 25th September).  Details of times and registration fees have already gone out by text.  The Membership Form can be downloaded here.  Complete one form for each child and bring the form/s along on the evening to save time.

It’s important to register tomorrow evening.  There is a waiting list for the club and places cannot be held.  However, if there is a problem, please let us know in advance.

A training timetable and Parent Deck Duty Rotas are now up on the website under “Training” as are details of upcoming Galas that may be of interest under “Galas”.

Welcome back to all our swimmers for the new season.  Hopefully everyone is fighting-fit and ready for the competitive year ahead!

We are delighted to welcome Kristian O’Donovan to the new position of Lead/Head Coach for the year ahead.  His role will be to oversee the coaching structure in the club, amongst other things, and he is hoping to take a look at all swimmers in each squad and speak with parents in the coming weeks.

We are sorry to lose Vicki Dando as a Coach for the coming season but want to thank her sincerely for her time over the past two years with the club and hopefully we will be welcoming her back again sometime in the near future.

Coaches for the new season will be Kristian, Oran, Cathal and helping out with our Junior A Squad will be Cathal Roche (some of you will be familiar with him from the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre) so a big welcome to him!

Registration Night for the upcoming season is Thursday the 25th of September.  Fees for each squad will be texted shortly.

We are desperately seeking squad co-ordinators, a Child Welfare Officer and new Committee Members from amongst the parents so if anyone would like to get involved in the running of the club please put yourself forward on Registration Night.  The more hands on deck, the easier it is to sail the ship.