AUSTSWIM ambassador; Geoff Huegill wins 50m butterfly at the 2010 Commonwealth Games trials.

Geoff Huegill wasted no time after completing his fairytale return to the Australian swim team at the 2010 Commonwealth Games trials. Huegill, who got back into the sport 16 months ago, won the 50-metre butterfly in style at Sydney Olympic Park on Thursday night to qualify for the Australian team, 13 years after he made his first national team.

''This is a dream come true,'' said the 31-year-old, who has lost 45kg after his weight rose to 138kg following the 2004 Athens Olympics.

With a time of 23.46sec to make a stunning return to Australia's Swim Team, Geoff said the win was on par with competing at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

"To come back from the position I was in, it's something I definitely don't take for granted. It's been well and truly worth all the pain... The emotions I feel today are well and truly on par with the way I felt 10 years ago when I stood behind the blocks at the Sydney Olympics."

His time of 23.46 ranks him as the fastest 50m butterflier in the world in 2010.

Why not give someone you know the chance to be the recipient of one of the 2010 AUSTSWIM Awards?

The NT, SA, QLD and TAS state AUSTSWIM Award nominations are due to close! This is your last chance to nominate someone you know and believe to be deserving of a respective AUSTSWIM state award, please visit your state page on the AUSTSWIM Website to download an appropriate nomination form or contact your respective state to have them sent to you.

Remember: State awards recipients (except for WA) are automatically nominated for the 2010 National AUSTSWIM Awards in their respective categories.

The NT, QLD SA, TAS AND WA AUSTSWIM state award categories for 2010 are:

- AUSTSWIM Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety™ (TSW)
- AUSTSWIM Teacher of Infant and Preschool Aquatics™ (INF)
- AUSTSWIM Teacher of People with a Disability™ (PWD)
- AUSTSWIM Presenter of the year Award
- Most Outstanding Contribution to AUSTSWIM
- AUSTSWIM Swimming and Water Safety School of the Year

Award Nominations for NT, QLD, SA and TAS close on Friday the 26th of March 2010. WA AUSTSWIM state award nominations close on Friday the 23rd of July 2010.

Nominations are now open for the 2010 Victorian Aquatic & Recreation Awards. Please email info@aquaticsandrecreation.org.au for details on how to nominate and to receive the award criteria.

QLD AUSTSWIM AQUATIC WORKSHOP 2010

Date:            Saturday 10th April 2010
Venue:          The Plantation, Brisbane - QLD

In conjunction with the 2010 AUSTSWIM Aquatic Workshop, AUSTSWIM will be presenting the 2009-2010 QLD AUSTSWIM State Awards, Royal Life Saving QLD will be presenting Workshops on Sunday 11th April including Love to Swim and Grey Medallion and there will also be an AUSTSWIM Coordinator workshop being held on Sunday Morning the 11th April, 2010.

Please visit the QLD page of the AUSTSWIM website to download a copy of the conference program and enrolment form, or contact the AUSTSWIM - QLD Business Centre on (07) 3245 3595 for further information.

NSW AUSTSWIM REGIONAL SPLASHOUT! AQUATIC CONFERENCE 2010

2010 will see the popular Regional SplashOut! Conference head north to Port Macquarie. In conjunction with the conference AUSTSWIM will also be conducting a AUSTSWIM Teacher of Towards Competitive Strokes™ extension course along with an AUSTSWIM Presenter workshop (for current presenters/presenters in training).

Date:             Sunday 18th April, 2010
Venue:           Rydges Resort, Port Macquarie NSW

The conference program is currently available to download on the AUSTSWIM website , for more information or please contact the AUSTSWIM - NSW Business Centre on (02) 9894 2077.

SA AUSTSWIM AQUATIC SEMINAR 2010

Date:            Sunday 26th September, 2010
Venue:          Immanuel College, Novar Gardens

The seminar program and enrolment form will be available to download from the AUSTSWIM website shortly. To register your interested in presenting at the seminar please contact the AUSTSWIM - SA Business Centre on (08) 8354 0873.

WA AUSTSWIM 'KING NEPTUNE' ANNUAL AQUATIC CONFERENCE 2010

AUSTSWIM would like to extend an invitation to all learn to swim and water safety teachers, Aquatic Industry Management and Owners, to be a part of the 2010 WA AUSTSWIM 'King Neptune' Annual Aquatic Conference which has now been set.

Date:             Sunday 10 October 2010
Venue:           Sheraton Hotel | Perth, Western Australia.

The conference will offer all the exclusive opportunity to attend informative and interactive programs, featuring highly respected Guest Speakers. The conference also offers all the opportunity to meet and network with AUSTSWIM Teachers™, Aquatic Industry Management and owners from around Australia, as well as the fantastic trade exhibitor 'conference specials' that will be available to you throughout the conference.

For further information on the 2010 WA AUSTSWIM 'King Neptune' Annual Aquatic Conference and State Awards Ceremony, stay tuned to the AUSTSWIM website www.austswim.com.au or please don't hesitate to contact the AUSTSWIM - WA Business Centre on (08) 9288 4188 or email wa@austswim.com.au.

Royal Life Saving Society - Australia, in partnership with AUSTSWIM, are conducting a national survey of swim school managers, owners and coordinators.

This survey aims to explore the operation of swim schools across Australia and gain a greater understanding of how swim schools are contributing to the prevention of drowning in Australia, with a focus on benchmarking children's water safety and swimming skills.
By swim schools participating in the survey they will be contributing to research that is helping to prevent drowning and improve swimming and water safety skills. This research is an important step towards achieving the 50% reduction in drowning by the year 2020 as outlined in the Australian Water Safety Strategy 2008-2011.

If you are a manager/ owner/ the coordinator of a swim school in Australia, you should expect to receive an email within the next few weeks inviting you to participate in the survey. Each email has an individual link within it, that will take the respondent to the online survey. This is to assist in data collection and avoid duplicate responses for the one venue.

If your swim school teaches across more than one aquatic facility, a separate survey should be completed for each aquatic facility used by your swim school. If this is the case for your swim school, please email Dr. Richard Franklin (coordinator of this research) on rfranklin@rlssa.org.au to receive additional links.

Please also use this email address if you are an Australian swim school owner/ manager /the coordinator and do not receive an email but would like to participate in the survey. Any questions or comments about this research can also be directed to this address.

If you do not wish to participate, there is an opt-out link in the email. By clicking on this it will allow the researchers to record the non-completion rate, as well as prevent you from receiving reminder emails.

By completing the survey, thanks to the support of AUSTSWIM, you have the opportunity to go into the draw to win a free registration for the AUSTSWIM National Aquatic Education Conference 2010, which will be held on the Gold Coast on the 3rd and 4th of July. The prize also includes two nights accommodation at the Radisson Resort. In order to be in the running, you will be asked to enter your full name, email address and a contact phone number. Please be assured that this information will not be used for any other purpose.

The survey will only be open for a short period of time. So to contribute to valuable research on a national scale and to be in the running for a free conference registration and two nights accommodation at the Radisson, please participate.