Hi Athletes,

RE: Swim Squad at Melbourne Sports Centre

We have been awaiting our booking confirmations for February, not anticipating, nor receiving any indication that anything would change.  However, at the eleventh hour (last Friday) we received disappointing news that our decade long booking would be interrupted, as a result of lack of lane space available at MSAC.  There are several factors contributing to this current demand:

• A government mandate for MSAC to ensure adequate space for the public is maintained at all times.
• As a State facility, MSAC is required to provide space for all state governing bodies requiring facility hire.
• A need to guarantee the safety of the high-performance athletes, by reducing movement between pools.
• Pool space generally across Melbourne has been impacted, and MSAC have an obligation to accommodate development and elite pathway squads (e.g. Nunawading have had to move their program to MSAC as they cannot have space in their own pool).

We were in discussions all day Friday with MSAC’s CEO and COO up until the late afternoon, to find a workable solution.  So, for this month, squad swimming will be at the following times:

• Mondays @ 7pm – 8:15pm (outdoor 4 x 50m lanes)
• Wednesdays @ 7pm – 8:15pm (indoor 4 x 50m lanes)
• Fridays @ 6am – 7:15am (indoor 3 x 50m lanes)

Considering all the above competing demands, we consider ourselves fortunate that we can still swim.  Even more so knowing there are many squads that have been bumped and don’t have pool space at the moment.  Tri-Alliance will continue to have 3 quality pool sessions each week, in 50m lanes.

We are recommending that athletes eat a very small meal 1.5hrs before the night sessions and ideally have your dinner prepared so it can be eaten as soon after the session as possible.  This will help with recovery and the short turnaround time.

We have all been inconvenienced in some way over the last 12 months in what has been a challenging year, and we have learnt to be flexible…and so it continues.  We just need to adapt and be grateful that we can still all train together.

As a long-standing partner with MSAC, the negotiations are ongoing and we aim to resume our regular timetable as soon as is reasonably possible. 

Thank you for your understanding.

Regards,

Ollie