Ballarat Swimming Club (BSC) have been awarded Club of the Year at the Hancock Prospecting 2019 Swimming Australia Awards on Sunday 24 November, making it the second year in a row a Victorian club has taken home the prestigious award.
Around 12 months ago the Committee of the BSC was concerned that many senior swimmers were leaving the Club. “We wanted to provide every possible opportunity for young people to keep swimming and participating in sport, make sure our current members were fully supported and be ready for Ballarat’s future predicted population growth – doubling in the coming years. We want to be an open, learning and welcoming club, offering current and future members a responsive program for our busy family lives and a brilliant coaching strategy to match,” said Shelley Bowen, Club President.
This Club strengthening has resulted in the appointment of Kirsten Lowe-Jabornik as Head Coach, taking swimming and the Club in a new direction. Kirsten is a silver advanced level accredited coach, has a PhD in sports and exercise science and has trained under the great Michael Bohl OAM – Australia’s national multiple Olympic team coach.
“We have brought a new era to the club, with the goal to provide all our swimmers with a clear pathway to their swimming goals, whether that be to compete at an elite level or a social/recreational focus. With a clear structure and progression through our program we have seen swimmers now more enthusiastic and motivated to chase their dreams and squad members increasing rapidly. This opportunity is nothing short of exciting for the Club and its future – we are ready”, said Lowe-Jabornik.
The club has gone from strength to strength in the past 6 months: “We are seeing senior swimmers return and swim more, reaching goals of personal best and state times and now set goals for nationals; we have had over 20% growth across our squads – including two new squads. We have also established a new Team Manager role shared by three wonderful parents; developed a club leadership strategy for young people with two female and two male club leaders volunteering to be role models; created a healthy food and drinks culture and engaged members like never before; to name a few of our achievements,” said the President, Shelley Bowen.
Nunawading’s Matthew Temple was also recognised at the Awards for his outstanding year, taking home the AIS Discovery of the Year Award. Matthew made his international debut at the 2019 World Championships, claiming Gold in the Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay as a heat swimmer. He also placed 6th in the Men’s 100m Butterfly – hit first international meet final.
Swimming Victoria congratulates Matthew and Ballarat Swimming Club on their achievements. We are extremely proud to have such worthy recipients recognised on the national stage.
For the full list of award winners click here.