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Welcome to Term 2, 2011 at McKeon’s Swim School. Congratulations for continuing with swimming lessons this term. The benefits of continuing to swim year round for all ages are many:
- Continue to reinforce learnt skills
- Improve and learn new skills
- Healthy lifestyle from exercising in a temperature controlled environment
- Improved aerobic fitness as cross training for other sporting activities
Enjoy the term and please let us know if there’s anything we can do to make your experience with us more enjoyable,
Don;t forget that you can also interact with us on Facebook and Twitter!
McKeon’s Swim School
Contents
1. Facility Upgrade
Recent improvements ensure that McKeon's Swim School continues to operate in the best facilities in the Illawarra!
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2. Term 2 Winter Special
Pick up a second lesson for the last 5 weeks of Term 2 at a special discounted price
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3. McKeon's Make a Splash at Industry Convention
McKeon's Swim School has been nominated for an industry award for spreading the SwimSAFER water safety message to the community
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4. MS Mega Swim Goes the Distance
Staff members and squad swimmers raised over $3700 for people with MS living in the Illawarra by swimming for 24 hours
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5. Sustainability
An outline of some of the initiatives we've taken to become more environmentally sustainable
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6. McKeon's Swimmers Shine
Competitive swimming wrap up
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7. Ealry Years Swimming Survey
Your help is needed to document the advatnages of early years swimming
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8. Diary Dates
Important dates to remember – put them in your diary!
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Facility Upgrade
Following on from last year’s major works at Towradgi which resulted in a spacious, new reception area and the best quality pool water in the Northern Suburbs, significant work was undertaken at McKeon’s Swim Centre, Unanderra over the autumn school holidays.
These works involved replacing the liner in both the 12m and 25m pools, as well maintenance on the surrounding concourse. This ensures our facility remains the benchmark for swimming centres in Wollongong.
McKeon’s Swim Schools at both Unanderra and Towradgi are great options for all aquatic activities for people from across the Illawarra:
- Learn to swim
- Stroke development
- Fitness and competitive squads
- Adult and teenage swimming programs
- Aqua aerobics (Unanderra)
- Casual swimming (Unanderra)
- Birthday parties (Unanderra)
- Holiday programs
- No Limits special needs programs
Fore more information on the programs we offer please visit our website at http://www.mckeonswimming.com.au/
 
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Term 2 Winter Special!
Attending swimming lessons twice a week is a great way to speed up progress. Attending lessons more regularly allows your child to reinforce current skills and pick up new skills quicker than they otherwise would. We’ve made it that bit easier for you this winter to give you the opportunity to give your child’s swimming a boost by offering a one off special deal.
If you book your child into a second lesson for the last 5 weeks of Term 2, we’ll give you a special discount meaning you’ll pay half the price of a normal lesson – that’s only $7.20 per lesson!*
To find out more or to make a booking, call our Customer Service Team on Unanderra (02) 4272 7272 or Towradgi (02) 4285 1666.
*Conditions Apply
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McKeon's Make a Splash at Industry Convention
McKeon’s Swim School has been nominated for a 2010 Outstanding Community Service Award to be presented at the annual Swim Australia Awards at the Australian Swimming Coaches and Teachers Association (ascta) Convention on the Gold Coast to be held later this month.
Our nomination is due to the contribution to water safety and in spreading the SwimSAFER ethos that McKeon’s Swim School makes. We conduct regular water safety presentations for local pre schools, schools and other community groups. In 2010 we conducted 55 such presentations, reaching an estimated 1800 children, all free of charge. We believe that as a leader in aquatic education it is our responsibility to educate the wider community on how to be safer around the water, not just our paying customers. If you’d like us to attend your pre school or community group, contact Nicole Costello, our Pre School Program and Community Education Coordinator by
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Additionally, in 2010 McKeon’s Swim School also branched out into surf education. We felt that this was a natural extension of our approach to water safety.
The ascta Convention is universally described as the best swimming convention in the world, and McKeon’s Swim School are regular attendees and presenters. This year both Ron and Susie McKeon will present to over 700 swimming teachers, coaches and swim school managers. A further 6 staff members will attend the Convention to ensure that McKeon's Swim School remains at the forefront of the aquatic industry.
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MS Mega Swim Goes the Distance
In early March, McKeon’s Swim School entered a team in the MS 24 Hour Mega Swim held at the University of Wollongong. The MS Mega Swim is a 24 hour swim-a-thon designed to raise awareness and much needed funds for those suffering with Multiple Sclerosis. There are currently over 20,000 people in Australia that have been diagnosed with the disease, with that figure likely to increase as detection methods become more advanced.
Funds raised from the event go towards the further development of local community scholarships. These scholarships are designed to provide programs and services to local MS sufferers and give them the support they require in order to go about their daily activities.
The event was a great success with almost $40,000 raised for MS! Our team of staff members and squad swimmers swam over 83km and raised over $3700, placing us 3rd out of the 17 teams that entered. Thanks to all who swam throughout the 24 hours and to those who donated to what is a very worthwhile cause.
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McKeon's Swim School Sustainability Update
You may not be aware that we have a number of initiatives in place to reduce our carbon footprint. As you enter our Unanderra Centre you may notice a board on the wall which displays the output from our solar panels and therefore the greenhouse gas savings made. Solar is only one of the energy saving measures we have in place. We also use rainwater to supply the water in our toilets. Additionally, the in-floor heating is provided by recycled water.
If you’re interested in measuring your home energy usage, Integral Energy has a home energy calculator available on their website at http://www.integral.com.au/cfmx/calculator/calculator.html
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McKeon's Swimmers Shine
Last term was a busy term for our competitive program swimmers and coaches. In addition to the many school carnivals, championship level meets took place at NSW Country, NSW State and Australian National level.
NSW Country Championships
Wests Illawarra finished 5th in the overall Pointscore after winning 22 medals at the Country Championships, of which 7 were gold.
The Championships started with a bang for Wests, scoring a trifecta in the Men’s 15 Years & Over 400m freestyle. David McKeon won gold with teammates Ryan Hanson and Jarrod Poort filling the minor placings.
McKeon was a force to be reckoned with in the freestyle events, also claiming a silver medal in the 200m freestyle and a bronze medal in the 100m freestyle. Ryan Hanson also added to his medal haul, finishing 3rd in the 200m freestyle.
Zoe Elkerton showed her versatility in the Women’s 15 Years & Over events, winning four medals. She was 1st in the 400m Individual Medley, 2nd in the 200m Individual Medley and 400m freestyle, and 3rd in the 200m backstroke.
Emily Rosskelly set the Girls 11-12 Years age group alight, winning the 50m and 100m freestyle sprint double. She was also a silver medalist in the 200m backstroke and performed strongly in a number of other events.
Alexis Mastro, in the 15 Years & Over 200m backstroke, and Emma McKeon, in the 15 & Over 50m butterfly, also won gold medals.
Kiera Eady, Isobel Humphreys and Jordan Chyra also bagged individual medals.
Additionally, Wests won an impressive four medals in relays. The Girls 12/Under teams were particularly successful. Caitlin Smith, Isobel Humphreys, Abbey Dawson and Emily Rosskelly teamed up to win gold in the 4x50m medley relay. Smith, Dawson and Rosskelly were joined by Holly Haine in the 4x50m freestyle relay which finished second
The 15 Years & Over Men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team of Ryan Hanson, Jarrod Poort, Jordan Chyra and David McKeon claimed a well deserved silver medal. The corresponding Women’s team of Zoe Elkerton, Alexis Mastro, Lisa Jurak and Emma McKeon also won silver.
Many of the younger swimmers performed extremely well, a reflection of the coaching being provided to the Junior Squad, as well as those mini squads that feed into the competitive program. In fact, our mini squad program provides a fantastic mix of skills, fitness and discipline for all children.
Australian Championships
Two Senior Squad swimmers competed at the Australian Open Water Championships, with each winning a medal in the 10km event. Jarrod Poort was crowned Australian Champion in the 16 years age group while Zoe Elkerton finished 2nd in the 17-18 years age group. Jarrod’s swim placed him 6th overall, which is a great result. The 10km is obviously quite a challenging event, so credit to both swimmers and their coaches.
The Australian Open Championships were held in Sydney at the start of April. Wests were represented by Aaron Cannon, Jordan Chyra, Zoe Elkerton, Ryan Hanson, Robert Hurley, David McKeon, Alexis Mastro and Jarrod Poort. These swimmers represented to club with distinction at the highest level. The Mens 4x200 Freestyle Relay team of David MceKeon, Ryan Hanson, Jarrod Poort and Jordan Chyra finished in second place, with Robert Hurley winning two individual medals. David McKeon and Jarrod Poort also qualified for finals.
The Australian Age Championships were held in Adelaide with Wests sending a team of 10 swimmers including Age Nationals “rookies” Cameron Thompson, Jessica Rosskelly, Emily Rosskelly and Matthew Webster. Our swimmers achieved some outstanding results:
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David McKeon 1st 200m freestyle, 1st 400m freestyle, 2nd 100m freestyle
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Jordan Chyra 1st 200m butterfly
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Jarrod Poort 1st 1500m freestyle
Among those swimmers who made finals were Zoe Elkerton, Alexis Matro, Emily Rosskelly and the Mens 18/Under 4x200m freestyle relay team.
No Limits
There have also been some outstanding results from No Limits swimmers. Aaron Cannon swam some massive personal best times at both the Country and NSW Open Championships, including notching two Australian Open Multi Class qualifying times.
Additionally, Sebastian Mackintosh and Lachlan Harley had great success at school carnivals.
Team Selection
As a result of their performances at national level, David McKeon (World University Games) and Robert Hurley (USA Tour) have both been selected on Australian teams. Congratulations!
Wests Illawarra Aquatic Swim Club
For more information on Wests Illawarra Aquatic Swim Club, visit their website.
http://westsillawarraaquatic.wordpress.com/
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Early Years Swimming Survey
There are a range of swimming programs developed for the under-5 age group. Most of these programs have been developed to cater for the physical developmental milestones of the child. The impact of these programs has not been well documented. There have been no comprehensive studies on the impact of early swimming programs on young learners despite this being a large, multi-million dollar industry that employs a significant number of teachers.
This research aims to identify if engagement in early years swimming enhances the development of children. This study is run through the Griffith Institute of Educational Research. The information gathered from you via a survey will be used as a guide for identifying the key factors in swimming programs that enhance development.
As a volunteer in this project, you will be asked to complete a survey that will take approximately 5 minutes. All data collected will be treated as confidential and your responses will be combined with those of other participants to generate an overall picture. The overall information collected through this data collection process once analysed and written up will be published in the Swim Australia Journals.
Your participation in this research is extremely valuable. We would appreciate if you could take 5 minutes of your time to answer some questions regarding your child’s development. If you are interested in contributing to this important research please access the survey through the link below.
http://www.earlyyearsswimming.com.au/
Diary Dates
Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday Monday 13 June
McKeon’s Swim School will be closed for the public holiday on this day.
Reenrolment Week Monday 20 June – Saturday 25 June
Reenrol this week to confirm your place for Term 3
Changes Week Monday 27 June – Saturday 2 July
Reenrol this week if you wish to change your lesson time for Term 3
Winter Holiday Program Week 1 Monday 4 July – Friday 8 July Week 2 Monday 11 July – Friday 15 July
Holiday programs are a great holiday activity! Enquire at reception
Swim Australia Teacher Course Saturday 16 July
Become a learn to swim teacher! Enquire at reception.
Term 3 Commences Monday 18 July
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For a printable, text only version of this newsletter click here
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