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Rotary Club Clothes Bank – Any old clothes lying about??

Clothes Bank

One of the Club’s sponsors – Rotary Club of Whickham – have a couple of clothes banks in the west Gateshead area.  All proceeds raised go back into the local community.  If you have any old clothes lying about, please consider dropping them in to these banks, thank you.

The Clothing banks are located:

The Coachman, Broadway, Whickham … on the left as soon as you reach the parking area.

Marley Hill Community Centre … next to the building wall in the car park.

 

ASDA bag pack – 10th & 11th Dec – Every bit helps

RotaryBagPackPresentation2017

President-elect David Bollands of Whickham Rotary Club presented cheques to representatives from two local community groups which had assisted with pre-Christmas 2016 bag packing at Morrison’s and ASDA super markets.

Above left Secretary Karyn English, represented the staff and cadets of the Whickham 1313 Squadron, Air Training Corps, and received a cheque to the value of £300.00; on the right Karen O’Halleron Hutchinson, a swimming instructor, represented Gateshead and Whickham Amateur Swimming Club which for two days of bag packing received a cheque for £1,000.00.

All three community groups are grateful to the supermarkets for allowing access to the stores for one of the Rotary club’s annual fund-raising events and will ensure that the monies raised by the time and efforts of the groups, and especially the kindness of local shoppers, will be used for the benefit of Whickham and District residents.

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rotaryasda

A massive thank you to everyone who helped make the recent bag pack a great success.  Through the generosity of the Asda shoppers we received £900 which really is a great early Xmas present for the Club.

Well done everyone 🙂

 

Committee elections 2017 – Nomination window now extended and message from the Club Chairman.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

You may have noticed from the website that I’ve extended the nomination period for volunteers to come forward to join the Committee.  The closing date is now 18th January 2017.  I’ve also made it more explicit which roles are currently vacant in terms of Committee membership as there are a couple of roles being covered temporarily by an existing member.

The existing Committee is keen that anyone who thinks they have the necessary skills, experience and commitment nominates themselves as a candidate for any position – vacant or filled. Please just forward your names along with which member is seconding your nomination to the email address on the website.

I can’t stress enough how much a Club like ours needs people who are prepared to step up and be Committee members.  It does take time and effort to carry out the functions but a lot of it can be done when you’re sitting by the pool. I can assure you it’s very rewarding knowing that you’ve helped ensure the operation of the Club for so many children to benefit from.

If you do want to help, but aren’t keen on taking on the formal responsibility and personal liability of a Committee position, then we do need help in other areas too. However please keep in mind that if you want to be involved in the decision making and direction of the Club then you need to be on the Committee.  Some of the areas we could improve are:

▪          Fundraising – simple things like taking part in bag-packs and other events are always a struggle to get volunteers for.

▪          Sponsorships – identifying potential sponsors and helping to cultivate the relationship.  There’s loads of things we can do with this such as sponsoring squads, sessions, coaches etc.

▪          More volunteers for poolside helpers at galas

▪          Communications

▪          Social Media

▪          Advertising and marketing

▪          Merchandising

The list could go on and on but without your support and a bit of time we will just never achieve it.

If you’re unsure please either drop me or any of the Committee a line, or grab us at a training session and we can discuss the opportunities.

Kind regards,

Andy Strickland, Chairman

Gateshead and Whickham ASC

📞   07557789115

📬   Andy.strickland@gawswim.org.uk

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The nomination window is currently open and official positions within the Club are available as detailed below. Express interest in a role by contacting enquiries@gawswim.org.uk.

With the introduction of the new squad structure there are additional Squad Reps roles which need to be filled.  If you are able to spare a few hours per week to help out, please consider submitting a nomination.  These roles are vitally important in the day to day Club operations and without them the Squad’s members, parents and guardians struggle to participate fully in Club matters.

Role descriptions for all the available position can be found here (half way down the page).

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All Executive and Club Committee positions will be confirmed at the AGM, 12th February 2017.  The intention is for these positions to be available to volunteers, supported by a seconder.  Any position where there is more than one volunteer will be opened to a vote to Club members.

The nomination window will be open between 28th December 2016 and 18th January 2017.  All nominations are to be forwarded by email, with ‘NOMINATION’ in the subject line to enquiries@gawswim.org.uk. Any questions / clarification can also be sought through this address.

Instructions for voting will be disseminated on the Club Website and via Swimming Group Reps before the voting window opens 21st January – 30th January 2017.

For positions where no volunteer or nomination is received, the current incumbent will continue to hold the post unless a resignation is received.

Handovers to new Committee members will be conducted prior to the AGM 12th February 2017.

Position Current Incumbent Nomination
Chair (Executive Member) Andy Strickland
Secretary (Executive Member) Joanne Griffiths
Operations Coordinator (Executive Member) Steven Reynolds
Treasurer (Executive Member) Vacant
Membership Secretary Liann Brown
Competition Secretary Jill Barrett
Officials Coordinator (position not available for election) Janice Dodds Not Available
Academy Representative Vacant
Competitive Development Representative Norman Thompson
Potential Age Group Karen O’Halleron Hutchinson
Performance Age Group Vacant (from 11th Feb)
Potential Youth Senior Neil Campbell
Performance Youth Senior Sarah Pashley
Masters Representative (position not available for election) Matthew Grant  Not Available

committee-elections-2017

2 in and 1 out – Changes on the Squad Rep merry-go-round :)

To coincide with the introduction of our new squad structure there are a few changes to Squad Reps.

Carl Barrett stepped down as C+ Squad Rep at the end of Dec 2016.  The Club Committee wish to express its thanks to Carl for his hard work and support during his time as Squad Rep.

Two new squad reps have been appointed Norman Thompson (Development Squad) and Neil Campbell (Potential Youth Senior).  Details of how to contact both Reps can be found here.

A new club squads structure

To Parents, Guardians and Carers of all GAW Athletes

For some considerable time, we have been working towards improving the potential for the
Club’s athletic performance whilst ensuring we also improve sustainability in administrative
terms. We are now able to do this and a few changes will be implemented in January 2017.
Change is never easy to implement or accept and I acknowledge that some individuals and
families will be affected more than others. The changes, however are essential if we are to
continue to increase our levels of competitive success whilst driving forward as a sustainable
and supportable organisation. Your Club Committee discussed the arrangements last week,
accepted the proposals and agreed to implement the changes with effect from Tuesday 3rd
January 2017.

The intention with these changes is to build upon some amazing performances and successes,
both from hugely talented individuals but also from the Club as a team. Our representative
footprint at championships, County, Regional, Scottish and English or ASA National levels has
increased dramatically, and given the right environment to develop in, the signs are great for
our swimmers in the future.

Your Representatives have all the administrative information you will need, such as new
swimming groups, fees and swimming times and you coaches stand ready to answer any
questions or concerns you have from a coaching perspective. The major changes are as
follows:

• A new swimming group structure will be implemented which will require some
individuals to move between swimming groups. Coaches and Reps will inform all
athletes as required (below).

structure
• There will be considerably more flexibility for the movement of athletes between
swimming groups to match individual performance, ability and potential

• New swimming times will be implemented from 3rd January 2017. These times have
been agreed with GMBC and fit into the Borough’s aquatics development plan
alongside all other clubs (below).

Squad training schedules 3rd Jan 2017 onwards

• Fees for over half of Club members will not change and those members being
promoted would have experienced similar changes under the current system. The
other changes that are required now and effective from 3rd are calculated to bring
those members back into a fair parity with other areas of the Club. Fees will of course
remain under review and susceptible to external influence.

proposed-fees

• More swimming time will be available to many Club members.

• There will be no planned sessions on Sundays across the whole Club, recovering many
lost hours due to competitions and galas and freeing up valuable family time.

• Coaches of swimming groups will undertake to provide individual feedback on
progress and potential on a six-monthly basis and, exceptionally as required.

The Head Coach and I firmly believe that these changes will present the greatest opportunity
for us as a Club to progress competitively long into the future and see Gateshead and
Whickham ASC firmly as the most progressive swimming club in the North-East region. I hope
we can rely upon your support and understanding to ease the implementation and ‘beddingin’
of the changes and that we can all watch the progression of all our children with great
pride.

I’m really excited about these changes and believe that 2017 will be a year of even greater
success for the Club and the people that matter most:

Our swimmers!

Thank you
Andy Strickland
Club Chairman

Club-structure letter to members

Gateshead’s answer to Michael Phelps

Gateshead and Whickham Swimming Club is celebrating its best ever performance at the recent North East Region Age Group Short Course Championships. The Club won 23 medals and finished third overall behind City of Bradford and Borough of Stockton

ryan-zhao

Star of the team was twelve year old Ryan Zhao. Ryan won nine gold medals, and a silver and a bronze for good measure. His gold medal haul was the most of any swimmer at the Championships.

gatesheadwhickhamregionalmedallists

Ryan was joined in his golden success by fellow twelve year age group swimmers, Ella Watson (50m butterfly) and Adam Barrett (400m freestyle). Two other Gateshead and Whickham swimmers, Jamie Young (12) and Jessica Cottee (11), won medals and five more finished in the top 10 of individual events.

The Club is also celebrating success in the Senior Championships with para athlete William Hardy winning three golds in the multi-disability classification in 50m and 100m breaststroke and 50m butterfly.

Head Coach Ken Nesworthy said “These young athletes show great dedication, training for many hours every week. It’s really pleasing to then see them perform at their best when it counts and achieve such a tremendous set of results against high quality opposition.”

Ryan and his fellow age group medallists will feature in Gateshead and Whickham’s thirty strong team of swimmers representing the North East this weekend in the national final of the Arena Junior Interleague.  This is the second year running the Club has qualified as one of the top eight teams in the country.

Club Chairman Andy Strickland commented “This fantastic medal haul by Ryan and his fellow team members, along with the repeated success in the national Interleague competition, shows how the hard work by coaches, parents and above all the swimmers, can pay off.”


Friends of Team GAW


Huge good luck to our diddy league team today at Tynemouth. Enjoy it! A photo from the archives… #TeamGAW pic.twitter.com/ojkvRowHyy

About a year ago from Gateshead and Whickham Swimming's Twitter via Twitter for iPhone

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