Some members of the Limerick Masters Committee & Club attended the Swim Ireland AGM which were held on Saturday last 12th April in Limerick. There was a very big turnout from other Swim Ireland members from various Clubs representing not just Masters but other aquatic disciplines such as Children’s swimming, WaterPolo, Diving & Open Water.

The event was well attended with interesting presentations covering the annual accounts, a detailed report on achievements & goals on the year gone by and also a view to the future.

Mary Phelan (Seal SC) handed over her chain of office to Anne McAdam. Mary had a great year as President of Swim Ireland and as many of you know she has continually played a strong role in promoting Munster swimming on the national stage.

Did you know Swim Ireland have a Strategic Plan mapped out 2013 – 2016? As part of this plan they want to grow the current membership base of approximately 15,000 to 100,000. In so doing it would give swimming a much higher weight on the political agenda & decision making table.

So on this positive front, votes to include additional membership categories were passed. The idea is that these new categories will enable clubs to expand their membership bases through channels other than the traditional ones.

Leisure Member – events such as the Swim for a Mile have shown that there is a huge number of swimmers partaking in swimming at their own pace & stride in pools both public & private across the country. Many of these swimmers would not have felt they had a place in the Swim Ireland family and by opening up such a category it is felt we will open the doors to the beginning of a new adventure that will get these people more involved in the sport of swimming with hopefully some of these ultimately joining local clubs.

Special Member – this second membership category will provide for those who do not fit into any other membership category to compete in Swim Ireland events. This category would have a qualification criteria. Triathletes for instance could qualify to partake in this membership area. It would also facilitate swimmers that wish to take part in events during the summer months in open water etc but do not have any active part during the winter.

The evening was set aside for the annual awards and of course some fine food & entertainment. Declan Harte of NAC Masters Dublin, whose face will be familiar to many Masters & Open Water swimmers, was awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award.

Our own Club featured well with Coach John Dempsey & Geraldine Keane both being awarded a 20 years+ service award. Well done & congratulations to both!

Next years AGM will take place on April 15th in Dublin.