The objectives of the Alice Springs Swimming Club:
(From the Constitution of the Club)

• To promote and encourage the sport of swimming in Alice Springs.

•  To train members of the Club in the sport of swimming in Alice Springs. 

• To promote and organise swimming carnivals at Alice Springs and to arrange for members of the Club to participate in swimming carnivals held at any place. 

• To affiliate with such other clubs or organisations having the same or similar objectives as the Club in such manner and upon such terms as the Club may determine. 

• To do such other acts, things and matters as shall assist in the furtherance or promotion of the above objectives.

Fundraising:

• Over recent years the major source of fundraising for the club has been from Nellie, our hot baked potato van.  Enthusiastic volunteers can be seen from time to time selling potatoes at events such as the Alice Show, the Camel Cup,  the Henley-on-Todd, Masters Games opening and closing ceremonies, and the Corkwood Festival.  As well as raising much needed funds for the club, this activity also promotes friendship among the parents and swimmers of the club.  Funds raised go towards the cost of a bus to various competitions.  

Competitions:

During the season the club will send swimmers away to various carnivals & meets. For our younger swimmers, the Katherine Carnival (Oct) and the Tennant Creek Short Course Carnival (Nov) are good fun & and a chance to improve times and make new friends. The NT Age & Open Championships are held in Darwin in March and our own carnival is held here in December. In December and January some of our swimmers will travel interstate to compete. This standard of meet requires qualifying times to be met. In April our top swimmers will be hoping to qualify for the National Age Championships and in May every second year we hope to send some of our swimmers to the Arafura Games. Swimmers this season will also be competing at the 2008 Pacific School Games which are to be held in Canberra.

Also throughout the season, the club runs two series of small competitions that are held on Saturday mornings. One of these is a “Pre-Christmas” competition and the other is held over the second half of the season. These competitions are generously sponsored by local businesses and are a “race against the clock”. Swimmers choose up to four of the events on offer each week and try to improve their own times from those previously swum. This is what we call a Personal Best or “PB”.

At the end of each series, each swimmers’ improvements (calculated in seconds) are tallied up, and awards are given to the male & female swimmer in each of the following age groups who has improved the most – 9yrs & under, 10-12yrs, 13yrs & over. After each meet each swimmer is given or emailed a computer printout of their times and PB’s for each event swum.

Gates open at 6.45am on Saturday mornings for a 7.30am start and this allows time for a warm-up swim. We expect parents will come along and support their children at these meets and provide assistance to the club in running the meet. e.g. help setting up the pool, timekeeping etc.   Don’t worry! No experience is necessary.

A book will be kept on pool deck for swimmers to mark down their entries for these meets. All entries need to be in the book by 6.00pm on the Thursday evening prior to the meet. Over the page is a list of the dates of these meets and the events on offer. They can also be found on the club website. The events will be swum in the order they are printed, so please choose carefully so that you don’t have to back-up for swims one after the other. Swimmers need to check with their coaches to see what events they should be attempting.

Alice Springs Carnival:

As well as the series of Saturday morning meets during the season, the Club organizes it's own Carnival.  This is held in December or February of each year.  All swimmers are encouraged to participate, not only in their own age groups but in the open events as well.  In previous years visiting swimmers have come from all over the Territory and Queensland. 

As well as medals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each event there are age aggregate trophies to be won in each age group.  The Mayoral Trophy is presented to the male and female 10 years and under swimmer who obtains the most points in the 200m freestyle and 200m Individual Medley swims.  Other trophies can be won for Champion Club, Champion of the Carnival, Champion Male and Female swimmer, Sprint Champion, and Distance Champion.