15.05.12 We have just confirmed a new training session at South Woodham Ferrers swimming pool Thursdays 5:00-6:30pm. We have booked 2 lanes for 10 weeks starting from this Thursday 17th May. As a trial for the first week we are only inviting a few people to see how it goes. The session will then be opened up to a few more who Carly will also invite. Obviously, with only 2 lanes available we cannot invite the whole club.
We are hoping by taking up the 2 lanes it could lead to further pool sessions being available to us in the future. We think this is a great opportunity for the club and great for the swimmers to gain the extra pool time we have been wanting for a long time.
As we are only doing this as a trial we don't wish to increase monthly fees yet, but run much as we have for Basildon sessions will charge £3 per session. We'll then see how things go and discuss with everyone at the AGM what we think the best way forward is regarding the sessions and payments in the future
Please inform Carly as soon as possible if you would like to attend these sessions. I am sure you can appreciate that the club can not afford to cover the costs for these extra sessions, so it is important to let Carly know if you do not wish to attend on Thursdays.
01.05.12 Just a reminder that there’s NO swimming this Bank Holiday Monday (7th May) as Blackwater Leisure Centre shuts early. There is however, the normal regular session on this Sunday (6th). Good luck to both Emily and Amy who are swimming at this weekend's East Region Championships at Basildon.
06.04.12 - There IS training on Easter Sunday, the 8th April as usual from 5pm. Because we don’t think the later 6-7pm session will be very busy this weekend, if anyone does want to do stay on and do a full 2 hours that doesn’t usually, they’re more than welcome. Carly’s taking both sessions and has said she can always fit in some extra diving practise if necessary.
There is NO training on Easter Monday as Blackwater Leisure Centre is closed. Swimming is then back to normal from the weekend after.
03.04.12 - A summary of how the Club's swimmers got on at the Essex Age Group Championships can be found in the gala results section or by clicking on the link here. Congratulations to everyone that performed so well.
23.03.12 - We have just become aware that due to a cycle race on Sunday the 1st April, there will be a road closure outside Blackwater just when you usually drop off for the 5pm session. Please see details below -
Text copied from Maldon DC website reference Cycle race on 1st April
On Sunday 1 April 2012, Maldon will play host to the Maldon Dengie Tour 'Hell of the East' cycle race. One of British Cycling's Premier Calendar race series, a number of the UK's and foreign elite road racers are expected to compete.
The 120 competing cyclists will be leaving race headquarters at Plume School in Fambridge Road at approximately 1pm. They will make their way down Maldon High Street to the start line in Park Drive. From the start, they will leave the town via Mundon Road to complete 104 miles of gruelling racing on the roads and farm tracks between Maldon and the Dengie Marshes.
At approximately 4.45pm, the leading cyclists will return to the town via Mundon Road, ready to sprint to the finish in Park Drive.
To accommodate the start and finish of the race, Park Drive will be closed to through traffic all day on Sunday 1 April 2012. Access to properties and businesses will be maintained, and Promenade Park will be open and operating as normal.
A short full closure of Park Drive will be in place between approximately 4.45pm and 5pm to allow the leading cyclists to race to the finish safely. This closure will be enforced by Essex Police motorcyclists who will accompany the race for it's duration.
If you would like to come and watch the start/finish of the race, there is car parking available at a number of locations in and around the town. Car parking is also available at Promenade Park, which is only a short walk from the start/finish. Promenade Park car parking charges will apply.
If you're coming to watch the start or finish of the race, why not visit the SX Urban Games being held on Promenade Park. There will be opportunities to try out and watch demonstrations of different street sports including basketball and football freestyling, street dance, cheerleading and free running.
06.03.12 - On Sunday 4th March a group of 54 swimmers and parents from the club attended the British Gas Swimming Championships held in the Aquatics centre at the Olympic Park in Stratford. This was the test event for the pool and selection spots were up for grabs for British swimmers to secure their places in the Olympic team for later in the year.
A fantastic evening was had by all and it was a great experience to see such great swimmers in close quarters. Amongst the big named swimmers the club got to see compete were Rebecca Adlington & Jo Jackson in the 400m freestyle, Ellen Gandy & Fran Halsall in the fly and Lizzie Simmonds & Liam Tancock in the backstroke. The venue itself is very impressive and the atmosphere generated by the crowd made for a memorable evening. I think we were one of more lively groups and subsequently managed to get quite a bit of TV coverage during the evening!
Shannon was picked from crowd to participate in a quiz on the big screen, where she won a Speedo goody-bag for successfully naming Hannah Miley as the winner of the 400IM the previous evening.
Carly & some of the girls (plus Callum) going all weak at the knees as they (literally) grab Mark Foster for a photo opportunity before the end of the evening....
29.02.12 - Please remember that there’s no training this Sunday 4th March because of the club trip to the British Gas Swimming Championships at the Olympic pool at Stratford. To try and make amends for the missed session and the previous sessions when we had an issue with the pool temperature at Blackwater, we’ve scheduled a couple of extra sessions at Basildon in 25m mode. Ideally we’d have tried to fit in some further sessions at Blackwater, but there’s limited pooltime available there and Basildon has the added advantage of being able to practise starts, turns and relay takeovers far more easily. The dates coincide with the Long course sessions that we’ve already planned on 24th March & 21st April, but run from 3 until 4pm. Please let Carly know if you’re unavailable on these dates and she’ll send out an invite list in the next couple of weeks.
26.02.12 - The temperature issue at Blackwater is now solved so training resumes as normal this weekend (26/2). To try and make up for the lost sessions we're trying to organise some extra sessions, but these will probably be at Basildon because of the lack of spare space at Blackwater.
20.02.12 - Apologies to everyone for the continued problems we seem to be having with the temperature at Blackwater. It really is out of our hands - the ASA recommended temperature for training and competing is 27-28 degrees. We've been told the pool was up to 10 degrees higher than this at some points yesterday, so we've had no alternative but to cancel the sessions. An engineer is supposed to be visiting the centre on Wednesday to sort it out - we're all crossing our fingers hoping it gets sorted soon.
24.01.12 - Some more great swims at the Bishops Stortford 200 Meet at Braintree last weekend. Congratulations on a first county time for Jeremy plus new county times for Amy and Ciara. There were some great swims with PB's, near misses plus medals for plenty of others....a special mention to Joanna on her first Open Meet and congratulations to Amber on gaining some well-earned medals. A summary of results can be found in the gala reports section
18.01.12 - Some great swims at the Thurrock last chance gala last weekend. Congratulations on another county time each for Shannon, Emily Lane and Ciara and a first 2012 qualifying time for Alice plus some very near misses too. Maybe one or two more will be achieved at the Bishops Stortford 200 this weekend. Some of you may know already, but the Sharks have their own facebook page. Carly posts on there regularly from galas and it would be good to get some comments & discussion going on there. Just search for Maldon Sharks Swimming Club when logged into facebook.
15.12.11 - Our last training session before Xmas is the Monday 19th December Blackwater session from 6:00-7:30. Because of Xmas & New Year falling on a Sunday, there’s then no swimming until January, our first sessions back being :- Wednesday 4th January if you want to do the Moulsham School session Saturday 7th January if you’re doing the Basildon starts & turns or long course sessions Sunday 8th January – back to normal at Blackwater
Don't forget the Xmas Party on Thursday 29th December - Bowling at Madison heights at 1100 until 1200, the club will pay for the members. The plan is to go to the Izumis Chinese buffet afterwards for those that want it.
9.12.11 - Please remember that there is no Basildon session this month. We have, however, managed to secure further sessions for 2012 running up to July. Take a look at the Basildon 50m Pool page here for all the latest dates. Well done to everyone that swam at Canvey Open last weekend - we'll try and put something on the reports page of the website soon.
28.11.11 - This weekend Emily & Amy swam at the Essex Winter long Course Championshops at Basildon. The age groups were split into 2 categories - 16 and under and Open (all entrants irrespective of age). Both Emily & Amy produced some outstanding swims and PB's in all their events. Emily finished 9th & Amy 15th in the womans 50m free. On the Sunday Emily finished 18th in the 50m fly, but came a fantastic 2nd overall in the 100m backstroke and 3rd in the 50m backstroke finals. Well done girls!
18.11.11 - A couple of dates for the diaries, as we’ve managed to re-arrange the ‘starts & turns’ session that we had to postpone earlier this month at Basildon because of the James Gibson Gala. We’ve booked 2 sessions, again at Basildon, that this time precede the 50m sessions that we’re doing in January & February. They’ll run from 3:00pm to 4:00pm on the 7th January and the 11th February. We could only get 3 lanes in 25m mode, so we’ve had to book 2 sessions to accommodate everyone over the 2 days. The usual 50m sessions will still run from 4:30 onwards on these days, so we’ll try & make sure that those invited to the 50m session can do the corresponding starts & turns sessions beforehand.Carly will sort out who goes to what session and send out invites nearer the time. If you already know that you can’t make a particular session, then please let Carly know and we’ll try and accommodate
24.10.11 - The club have postponed the previously announced 'starts & turns' session at Basildon. This is because we've been invited to the annual James Gibson invitational Gala on Saturday the 12th November held by Witham Dolphins Swimming Club. We'll send out full details when we have them.
19.09.11 - Congratulations to the small group of swimmers that attended the Harwich Open meet at the weekend. There were some good swims and medals won by Holly Buckingham, Joe Lane, Emma & Katie Fowler. Well done everyone.
14.09.11 - Another good performance at the weekends minileague gala at Saffron Walden. Well done to everyone that turned up and thanks to all the parents for making the long journey. The final points totals were..... Dunmow 144 pts Saffron Walden 143 pts Hornchurch 132 pts Havering 126 pts Maldon Sharks 112 pts
27.07.11 - Well done to everyone who attended the Canvey minileague on Saturday. Despite the late notice we managed to get a team together to compete, so well done to everyone involved. The final placings and points were Romford Town 199 1st Canvey Island 156 2nd Basildon & Phoenix 137 3rd Maldon Sharks 135 4th
25.07.11 - Now the schools have broken up and the holiday season is upon us, please remember that there will be no mid-week swimming at Moulsham school until September. The Sunday & Monday training sessions at Blackwater continue as normal. If you're off on your holidays then have a great time and come back fit and ready to work hard come September!
11.07.11 - A big thank you to all the parents and helpers that made the home Mini-league gala possible - plus an even bigger thank you to the swimmers who achieved a fourth place finish with a total of 116 points.
05.07.11 - Some great swims and loads of PB's at the Braintree Open Meet on Sunday 3rd July. Look out for a summary of the results on the Gala Reports page shortly.
13.06.11 - Well done to Matthew Thompson who competed last weekend in the East Region swimming championships at Norwich. Matthew was asked to represent the Borough of Southend in a range of events. He swam extremely well and gained long course PB's in the process. Good News also for Emily Lane who has been asked to represent the Essex team swimming at ASA East Region Inter County Championships at Peterborough on 3rd July. This is the first time anyone from the club has been asked to represent the County, so a fantastic achievement.
03.06.11 - Training is back to normal this weekend. With a couple of Mini-league Galas and 2 Open Meets in the next couple of months it would be good to get everyone back training hard in the next few weeks. Also remember that the September Bishops Stortford Open entries will be required soon.
12.05.11 - Last year Gemma & Matt took part in the ASA East Region Open Water Championships. This years event takes place on the 17th July at Trowse near Norwich - full details can be found by clicking on the link here If anyone wants to enter then please download an entry form and the Club can enter you. If you're undecided you can always speak to Matt or Gemma for their first hand experiences of last years event.
09.05.11 - The first Basildon training session commences this weekend for those that have been invited. The session starts at 4:30, but arrive in plenty of time to get changed and ready beforehand
05.04.11 - Due to the upcoming holidays there will be NO TRAINING on the following dates:- Monday 25th April Monday 2nd May Monday 30th May A reminder also that there will also be NO Wednesday session training at Moulsham on Weds 13th & 20th April due to it being out of term time. All other sessions will be running as normal.
14.03.11 - We've had confirmation that the Canvey minileague gala has been postponed until later in the year. Canvey are having some problems with staging galas at their home pool. Keep an eye on the website for news on when & where the revised fixture will take place.
13.03.11 - Well done to everyone that swam at the Harwich minileague. At the half-way stage things were close and it looked like we might have an outside chance of another win, but there were some strong teams competing and we just came up short. The full results and a short summary will be available on the gala reports section shortly. Emily, Amy, Kayleigh, Matt & Ciara have now all swam in the Essex Age Group Championships. Look on the gala reports section for a summary of how they got on.
07.02.11 - Basildon & Phoenix Novice Gala report has been added to the Gala reports section of the website. We've also added a blank timekeeping form, for those keen to track their child's progress or just keep a record of their PB's. A copy can be downloaded here and is also available in the Gala Dates section of the website.
23.01.11 - Some fantastic swims at the Bishops Stortford 200m Meet on Saturday. For a full report, see the Gala Reports section of the website here
11.01.11 - Happy New Year everybody. Training sessions are all back to normal now until the Half-term break. The entries for the Basildon Novice Gala are now closed - please try and get your entries in for all future Open Meet Galas as early as possible to avoid disappointment. There's quite a lot of admin that has to go on behind the scenes to enter our swimmers and the hosting club have strict cut-off dates and entry criteria that we have to adhere to. The Club now have 7 swimmers that have achieved the 2011 County Qualifying time for various events. Well done to all those that have achieved their times and will be taking part in the Essex Age Group Championships in February & March.
20.12.10 - No training now until Sunday 2nd January. No training on Monday 3rd Jan because of the Bank Holiday, then it's back to normal session times after that.
19.12.10 - The Club Christmas party is arranged for the 30th December. 11'o'clock bowling at Madison Heights followed by Izumis (optional) afterwards.
05.12.10 - The minutes of the club AGM are now available here
16.11.10 - The swimming club AGM has been arranged for 7pm on Monday the 29th November at the creche at Blackwater Leisure Centre. This is your chance to influence the way the club is run. All parents welcome.
15.11.10 - Some great swims at the James Gibson development gala at the weekend. See the Gala Reports section for a run-down of the results
13.10.10 - Another date for the diary.....on November 13th we've been invited to attend the James Gibson Gala at South Woodham Ferrers. Watch out for further details and team sheet in the near future
12.09.10 - A first for the Sharks at the weekend as we secured our first ever mini-league victory. Some brilliant swims from all that were present meant overall victory at Dagenham Swimming Pool. The final scores were Maldon 176, Witham 164, Harwich 137 and Havering 129. Next mini-league is on the 25th September.
19.07.10 - Don't forget that there's no midweek Moulsham school training sessions until September when the school re-opens after the summer holidays. Please also remember that September is a busy month for Galas - the first being the Halstead invitation on the 4th. Details of this and other September Galas are available on the Gala dates section of the website. Please try to keep these dates free.
11.07.10 - Thanks to everyone that helped out at the home gala at Witham. Despite the hot conditions everyone enjoyed themselves and the swimmers achieved a creditable 2nd place against some strong clubs. Well done everybody!
13.06.10 - Well done to Emily Lane and Matthew Thompson who swam at the British Gas Eastern region Championships in Norwich over the past 2 weekends. They're the first Maldon Sharks swimmers to have ever qualified for the Regional Championships, so it really is a fantastic achievement.
13.06.10 - Congratulations to all the team that competed at the Mini-League meet at Witham this weekend. An excellent 3rd placed finish was achieved against some very good opposition. Well done everyone.
23.05.10 - No swimming on Bank Holiday Monday 31st May
23.05.10 - Good luck to Matthew Thompson & Emily Lane who swim in the British Gas Eastern Region Championships at Norwich in June. Matt swims on the 6th June and Emily on the 12th - Good luck guys.
22.05.10 - Well done to everyone that swam in Canvey Open at Blackshots. Loads of PB's and some excellent swims.
17.05.10 - Reminder for those going to the Canvey Open Gala at Blackshots in Grays this Saturday (22/05). Warm-up times can be downloaded here. If you're not sure whether you entered or what event you're down for then a full list of swimmers is available here. Good luck to everyone competing!
30.04.10 - Please let Carly know ASAP if you can make the Minileague gala at Witham on the 12th June
29.03.10 - A big well done to all the swimmers that entered the Essex Championship, they all swam well with many PB’s times broken. Well done to you all. Emily Lane and Mathew Thompson both achieved Regional times and will be taking part in the Eastern Region Championships in June, well done Emily and Mathew.
29.03.10 - Helpers: we are looking for helpers? Poolside at training sessions. Officials: Time Keepers and Judges, if you are able to help in any capacity please speak to Ian or Carly.
01.01.10 - Swimsuits From 1st January 2010 all competitions in England, Scotland and Wales will be applying the FINA rules below in relation to Swimsuits for swimming (excluding Masters and Open Water) competitions. Current FINA rules state:-
GR 5 SWIMWEAR GR 5.1 The swimwear (swimsuit, cap and goggles) of all competitors shall be in good moral taste and suitable for the individual sports disciplines and not to carry any symbol which may be considered offensive.
GR 5.2 All swimsuits shall be non transparent.
GR 5.3 The referee of a competition has the authority to exclude any competitor whose swimsuit or body symbols do not comply with this Rule.
BL 8.2 In swimming competitions the competitor must wear only one swimsuit in one or two pieces. No additional items, like arm bands or leg bands shall be regarded as parts of a swimsuit.
BL 8.3 From January 1, 2010 swimwear for men shall not extend above the navel nor below the knee, and for women, shall not cover the neck, extend past the shoulder, nor shall extend below knee. All swimsuits shall be made from textile materials.
This statement will be posted on the British Swimming website and published in Wavelength. Please can you advise all your clubs. Thank you.
Carly & some of the girls (plus Callum) going all weak at the knees as they (literally) grab Mark Foster for a photo opportunity before the end of the evening....