A new committe has been appointed see the contacts page for details.

Welcome to Jenny Dooley and Nerida Murray as new members of Pheonix. Our membership is now 22 as of Dec 07.

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PHOENIX MASTERS SWIMMERS WIN NATIONAL TITLES (2006)
With just three men competing against 83 other teams, Blue Mountains Phoenix Masters gained 23rd place on points at the 31st National Masters Swimming Championships held in Canberra in early April. Russell Merrick, Troy Newell and Kip Hobson swam in 26 events over the four days and between them came home with 18 medals.
All three men showed their versatility in the water by competing in events in all swimming styles and distances.
Kip Hobson swam in 5 events in the men's 35 to 39 age group and won 5 medals: 1 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze. His events were the 50m, 100m and 200m Butterfly and the 200m and 400m Freestyle.
Troy Newell swam in 9 events in the men's 25 to 29 age group and he also won 5 medals: 2 silver and 3 bronze. Troy's events were the 50m Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly, the 100m Free and Breaststroke, and the 200m Free, Breaststroke and Individual Medley.

Russell Merrick was the standout performer at these championships. He competed in the maximum number of 12 events and won medals in each of the four strokes as well as the Individual Medley. Russ swam in the 50m Backstroke and Butterfly, 100m Breaststroke and Butterfly, 200m Free, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and Individual Medley, 400m Free and Individual Medley, and 800m Freestyle. His times in these events garnered him 2 gold medals, 5 silver and 1 bronze. To top it off, he became the National age champion for his 35 to 39 year age group, winning more points at the carnival than any man in Australia in his age group. This was a magnificent effort.

Masters swimmers come together to complete for fun, fitness, friendship and national medals at these annual championships, which are held at various cities around Australia. Blue Mountains Phoenix swimmers enjoyed success with personal best times at this carnival, but they also enjoyed the friendship and camaraderie that Masters Sports is famous for. They enjoyed their time together as well as the opportunity to revisit old friends and find new ones. Indeed, they did say that the racing often got in the way of the dining and the socializing. Though, from the medals they won you'd have to say they did very well at both.
Coach Paul Dobson is to be congratulated for the excellent training he has given Blue Mountains Phoenix swimmers this year. Phoenix swimmers have also competed very successfully in several other carnivals already this year and are keen to achieve the goals they have set with Paul's help for their future in the water.