Message to our Members – | Masters Swimming

Dear Masters Member,

Thank you for your continued support of our organisation throughout this period.

We hope you are staying strong and resilient at this time; we understand the COVID-19 crisis will have long-term and far-reaching effects on all of us. We encourage you to stay in touch with your Club and coaches, keep in touch with your friends and family; together we can overcome the challenges that come our way.

The health and wellbeing of our members is our priority and the National Board of Management, Branch Presidents, Delegates and Administrators have been meeting (virtually) regularly to ensure we are providing information, resources, and updates to connect members, clubs, coaches and volunteers.

In the coming weeks, we will provide updates for the Masters Swimming community and create a resource page on the MSA website with relevant information and articles regarding COVID-19 as well as swimmer-focused dryland training and various workouts, both of which can be done at home. It is vital that we all keep in touch with each other in these very difficult times!

We will continue to provide communication via our social media pages so please follow us on Facebook and Instagram!

Best wishes
Sarah Pisterman
MSA General Manager

A message from Masters Swimming Australia to all our members. Update on the continuing impact of COVID-19.

16/03/2020

The National Board of Management of Masters Swimming Australia, including the Meet Director of the 2020 Masters National Swimming Championships, met Sunday 15 arch 2020 and resolved the following:

As a direct result of the escalating threat arising from the spread of COVID-19, the National Championships, which were scheduled to be held in Sydney from 15 to 19 April, 2020, have been cancelled.
The National Championships Meet Director will enter into discussions with the event venue, Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre (SOPAC) as to whether the event can be rescheduled for a set of dates in the last quarter of 2020. The National Board will endeavour to provide you with an answer to this, one way or the other, by the close of business Friday 20 March.
Those who have already registered and paid their event registration fees will receive a full refund of those fees over the next few weeks.

We are sure that you are disappointed to learn that our National Championships cannot go ahead as planned in April. However, we have to take into account a number of important factors in coming to this decision, including the particular demographic of those who attend our National Championships, the Government’s ban on non-essential events to events that attracting more than 500 people and that SOPAC is closing the facility indefinitely to the public and scheduled events, effective Monday 16 March.

There is also the added risk for our interstate participants being required to travel by air to attend the event.

The National Board is acutely aware that the changes caused by COVID-19 to our life and lifestyle are moving very swiftly, and change day by day.

What is abundantly clear is that the situation in relation to all these factors is most unlikely to diminish over the coming four weeks.

Once again, we regret the cancellation of the National Championships in April. The National Board wishes to thank the National Championships Organising Committee for all their hard work and endeavour over the past two years.

We are thinking of you and appreciate your dedication and commitment to the event.

The National Board strongly recommends that Branches and Clubs also suspend or defer all their sanctioned competitions until at least 31 May, due to COVID-19 concerns and the impact that it may have on our swimmers and those around them.

MSA encourages all of its members to adhere to prevention best practices and follow the Australian Government Department of Health and World Health Organisation situation reports and their local health officials for updates regarding COVID-19, and strongly discourages swimmers who are sick or had any contact with a person with the virus from attending club training sessions.

Specifically, we ask that you don’t attend MSA activities or meetings if you:

have been in any of the declared zones in the past two weeks;
have been in contact with anyone who has been travelling in those zones, or concerned you have been in contact with anyone who has Coronavirus, or;
you have the slightest sniffle, cold or other flu-like symptoms.

We will continue to follow updates regarding COVID-19 and we will provide updates and information in relation to our organisation and its members as they become available. We thank you all in advance for taking every precaution to protect yourselves and others.

Gerry Tucker (National President) and Jane Noake (National Championships Meet Director).

On Behalf of the National Board of Management.
Sunday 15 March 2020