The St George Swim Club Annual Awards Presentation was a clear signal that the club's operations are returning to normal after the COVID lockdown.
The awards were presented by Federal Member for Banks, David Coleman before a crowd of enthusiastic club supporters .
The club has 200 members including 150 swimmers ranging from five years to the early 20s ,training at the Bexley Aquatic Centre.
Club president Fiona Kolokas said it has been a challenging time but the awards evening is proof that members are quickly getting motivated for the competition season.
"It was quite tricky during lockdown to keep people motivated," Fiona said. "But we held lots of Zoom training sessions and group meetings, mostly for advanced swimmers.
"The community spirit is coming back and we are really starting to rebuild.
"The club's Open Age Champions were Alexander,11, and Jessica, 15.
"Jessica was also the recipient of the Judith Arnold Citizenship Award."
Georges River Councillor Nancy Liu, who is a club member, thanked club president Fiona for keeping the club going during lockdown.
"We greatly appreciate Fiona Kolokas's leadership to keep the club operating, and for other committee members and voluntary parents for their dedication and commitment.
"Huge appreciations to the Head Coach Robby Cox and Assistant Coach Helena Miao for their expertise and professionalism"
Head coach Robby Cox said it was awesome to see all the club members getting together to celebrate what has been a tough yet successful year in the pool.
"From the young junior swimmers to our older more elite athletes they have all done an amazing job over the past 12months, navigating the pandemic and still maintaining their hunger and drive for competition," Mr Cox said..
"This was evident with our results at NSW Junior State Age Championships in March, where we had the most qualifiers we have had in years, and walked away with fantastic results. 13 year old Darcy Button won the 100m Breaststroke and got a Bronze in the 50m, and also 11 year old Alexander Chung finished top 10 in his 50m Breaststroke also".
"Our older elite athletes had a hugely successful Australian Age Champs down in Adelaide this past April as well, with 16 year Lachlan Lau achieving a Bronze medal in his Multi-Class 50m Backstroke at his first ever nationals, as well as 14 year old Florence Jiang making two finals appearances, and along with her teammates Juliet King and Amon Saito, had a very successful week".
"The future looks very bright for our club, and I cannot wait to see what the future has in store".
