It
was at a meeting convened by Nunawading City Council
on 22nd July 1960, where a decision was taken
to form the Nunawading Amateur Swimming and Life
Saving Club. Following a talk by Mr. Les Phillips
of the Victorian Amateur Swimming Association,
it was decided to affiliate with this Association.
An interim committee was formed and received a
donation of ten guineas from the Nunawading Chamber
of Commerce.
In December 1960 the Nunawading
Memorial Swimming Pool opened. The pool was classified
the Memorial Pool in recognition of those who
served in the wars of 1914-18, 1939-45 and 1950-53.
Mr. Don Smith was appointed as
the Club's first Captain/Coach in March 1961 together
with Mr. Dick van der School as the Manager/Coach
of the proposed Water polo team. The first Annual
General Meeting was conducted two months later.
In April 1962 the Committee received
advice from Nunawading Council allocating an area
as the site for the proposed clubrooms and in
May 1962 at the second A.G.M. the President announced
the opening of the Clubrooms Building Fund. Mr
Len Booth was later appointed as overseer of the
actual construction.
The Nunawading City Council loaned
the Club 2000 pounds ($4,000) towards the building
fund and the Lions Club donated 500 pounds ($1,000).
Other principal fund raising efforts were - a
popular girl contest, Bingo, operations of the
pool kiosk, and numerous marathon swims. A Bank
loan of $10,000 guaranteed by Mr. Paul Hamlin
(the book publisher) was received and repaid within
four years.
The total cost of the Clubrooms
was $26,385 raised between 1962 and 1972.
The Governor of Victoria, SIR ROHAN DELACOMBE
KCMG, KBE, C13, DSO, and KSG held the Official
Opening on 10 April 1969.
The Club quickly established
itself as a major force in Speed Swimming, Water
Polo, and Synchronized Swimming with members from
all sections competing at National and International
competitions.
Leigh Nugent Head Coach from 1979 to 2000 and Mark Thompson Head Coach 2000 to 2005 have been the driving forces behind the success of the Club in past years. The Club has produced Olympians and Commonwealth Games representatives including Rod Lawson, Rob Woodhouse, David Wilson, Adrian Radley and Brooke Hanson. In July 2008, Amanda Isaac was named as the Head Coach of Nunawading Swimming Club.
The Club has a strong affiliation with NYP Water Polo Club, Nunawading Synchronised Swimming Club and has recently formed relationships with Nunawading Triathlon and Masters Swimming Clubs.
The Club has one of the largest memberships of a local swimming club in Australia and has established a strategic focus on creating an environment where success is inevitable.
In 2002 the Executive Committee
reviewed the Club's overall direction and strategy.
A steering committee comprising a cross section
of club members, parents, staff and swimmers was
set up to do this.
This involved a comprehensive survey of the club's
community to determine strengths , weaknesses,
opportunities and threats.
Based on this information the
committee formulated a new vision for the club
" to be the most recognised and well regarded
swimming club in Australia both in Learn to Swim
and Speed Swimming". A streamlined constitution
was developed together with a new professional
management structure to ensure the ongoing future
success of the club. Believed to be a first for
a swimming club, Australian Swimming's National
Events Manager, Gary Barclay was appointed as
the first General Manager of Nunawading Swimming
Club Inc in 2003.
In 2004, Leigh Nugent, Nunawading
Swimming Club's former coach (1980 -2000) was
appointed as Head Coach for Australian Swimming
and will lead the National Swimming Team to the
2004 Athens Olympic Games. Leigh is well respected
for his dedication and commitment to the development
of swimming over a long period of time and his
appointment to this position is rightly deserved.
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