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Mount Wellington Amateur Swimming Club

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Mount Wellington Amateur Swimming Club

Mt Wellington Swimming Club members are making a splash at regional and national swim meets thanks partly to a $20,000 grant from Mount Wellington Foundation to cover coaching costs for the club.

Mt Wellington Swimming Club members are making a splash at regional and national swim meets thanks partly to a $20,000 grant from Mount Wellington Foundation to cover coaching costs for the club.

The club has served the Panmure, Mount Wellington and surrounding areas since its inception in 1970, providing coaching and training at the Lagoon Leisure Centre for competitive swimmers, triathletes, ocean swimmers water polo players and recreational swimmers.

Swimmers abilities cover those straight from swimming school up to National Open Competition standard, and membership has more than doubled in the past three years.

Members are aged from six to 21 years old and include a very diverse range of ethnicities including: NZ European, Maori, Chinese, Taiwanese, Polynesian, African, Palestinian, Bulgarian and Russian.

What The Grant Was For

Recent grants from the Mount Wellington Foundation have been used to offset the cost of coaching. With the growth in members, the club now employs two experienced coaches as well as two part-time coaches.

Without this funding the club would not be able to provide the level support to its swimmers and keep its fees at levels able to be afforded everyone.

Results

The quality coaching has meant:

  • Success of club competitive swimmers in regional and national competitions, such as nine-year-old old Alyssa Wangford, who has broken two Auckland breaststroke records.

  • Several recreational swimmers have gone on to be competitive swimmers.

  • Club triathlon swimmers placed well in national competition and many of the water polo players swim in top school and regional teams.

  • Over the past five years 10 of senior swimmers have become qualified learn to swim instructors and now work with the YMCA swim school.