Hey Stingers! 

Another year down...and it's great that we were able to keep training and playing for the entirety of 2022! As we think back on 2022 and look forward to everything in store for 2023 and beyond, I hope you take some time this week to reflect on your experience with the club and where you'd like to see us go in the future. The Club's Member Survey is open until the end of this week, and we would really appreciate your considered views on everything from training times and pools to fundraising, coaches, comms and social activities. 

Congrats to the Stingers Interstate Grudge Match team!

We recently had a team of 15 Stingers compete in the interstate grudge match over in Perth...and we had the incredulous result of being both undefeated and coming equal last. There's a prize for the Stinger (that wasn't there) that can work out how that result was delivered.

It was a great weekend watching sunsets at the beach and catching up with our sibling clubs, and a great opportunity to improve skills, get some game time and bond with fellow club members. We had a broad representation from across the club attend, with everything from new members from this past year to members that joined over 10 years ago and players from every level of competition within the club: Metro Div 1 & 2 as well as INTRA.

Great work team!

Be prepared to be STARSTRUCK on 21 Jan at the Club's End of Year Awards and Party!

Take our hand and join us as we shoot for the moon and land amongst the STARS...be STRUCK by the shine and shimmer of their glory as we celebrate the Stingers that make our worlds go round!

The Sydney Stingers are hosting our annual club awards on 21 Jan from 8pm onwards at Kinselas...and to celebrate the stars of the year we are following up the awards by throwing a party from 10.30pm in their honour! We want to see you don your best out of this world lewk and come celebrate with us! 

For members and partners, join us as we host our annual club awards ceremony with drinks & nibbles from 8.00pm, then from 10.30pm invite and bring along your friends for a night not to be forgotten! Tickets from $25 +bf for just awards (w/ drink & nibs), $30 for just the party  (w/ drink) or discounted $50 for a combo. 

This is an all-inclusive event for the whole queer community including friends and allies, and the party component is a club fundraiser, so we'd love for you to invite along your mates for a star-studded night. 

Visit RevSport to register and for more information. Event link here

Get your Mardi Gras on - Registrations open now to march up Oxford Street like it's 2020

Get excited - It's time to grab your ticket and join the official Sydney Stingers float for 'Gather - Dream - Amplify' 2023 Mardi Gras! Preparations have begun, so dust off your dancing shoes and get ready for another fabulous night! Tickets this year will be $115 and include:

• Our fee to Mardi Gras to participate in the parade
• Your own pair of custom designed, limited edition Mardi Gras 2023 Delfina swimwear

This year, due to high demand with WorldPride, Mardi Gras has reduced the number of participants restricting ourselves and our sibling clubs from 200 participants across 3 floats to only 1 float of 80 participants. As a result, we will be saving some space for our sibling club members to participate with us and have devised a staged opening of registration:

1. Tickets will be on sale for Current Stingers members on TUESDAY 13 DEC at 6pm; then,
2. Tickets will go on sale for $115 for Sister club members (Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth) on FRIDAY 16 DEC at 6pm; then,
3. Any remaining tickets will go on sale to Partners & Friends on MONDAY 19 DEC at 6pm

We anticipate spots will fill, so ensure you reserve your spot early! Visit RevSport to register and for more information. Event link here

We look forward to seeing you all at Mardi Gras 2023!

Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming...Now with more options!

We are excited to let you know that we are continuing to expand our partnership with the Wett Ones, providing further access for Stingers to swim training sessions across the week!

Starting Monday 9 Jan there will be 5 spots available for Stingers in the Wett Ones 6:35pm - 7:35pm Monday Swim Squad at Sydney University Pool.These sessions expand on the already-existing Friday post-work sessions we hold with Wett Ones, and they are being offered for a trial period in January. They're a great opportunity to maintain and improve swim fitness over the break and in the lead up to AQuA, so please take advantage of them! Registration will be handled the same as Friday sessions, via Rev and the Wett Ones website both (to cover both insurances and payment). Please see the video at the link below to get a feel for the Wett Ones and what to expect from a training session:https://www.wettones.org/about-us

AQuA Beach Festival registration is open - get your Beach 4s team ready and enter today!

AQuA's Beach Festival on 11 February features a 1km & 2km ocean swim, in addition to a beach water polo fours tournament, all held in the beautiful Manly Cove! Beach 4s teams are a min of 4 players and a max of 8...it's a slightly smaller field and a faster game, and heaps of fun! This is a great opportunity to get in some extra game time and learn a lot, playing rapid games in quick succession to level up your skills. If you're keen to form a team but don't have one yet, reach out to Dylan who will create a list to help play matchmaker!

...and don't forget to also register for the AQuA Closing Party in the afternoon of 3 March on The Island, in the middle of the Harbour! As a follow-on from our fabulous Finals Day relays and water polo finals matches, 3 March will be a day not to be missed. 

Register for AQuA here

Key Dates and Parting Notes - don't miss this!

• 13 Dec 2022: Mardi Gras Parade registration is open! Register here
• 18 Dec 2022: Training, INTRA and Metro are finished for the year, see you back in the water in January 2023!
• 07 Jan 2023: Training resumes with All In sessions...check out the Club Calendar for details of upcoming training sessions. 
• 14 Jan 2023: Team training resumse...see the Club Calendar. 
• 21 Jan 2023: Get your tickets now for the end of year awards and invite your friends to the Afters! Come be STARSTRUCK by the incredible achievements of our club over the last year. Register here
• 24 Jan 2023: M5 & M7 Round 3 Makeup games (rescheduled from Melbourne Cup Day)
• 29 Jan 2023: Summer season resumes (INTRA and Metro)
• 11 Feb 2023: AQuA Beach Festival, with ocean swims, beach water polo fours and social events across the day! Register here
• 18 Feb 2023: Mardi Gras Fair Day at Victoria Park returns, and the Stingers will be there to promote the club and prepare for our Autumn Bootcamp!
• 25 Feb 2023: Mardi Gras Parade and After Party
• 1-3 Mar 2023: AQuA Competitions and Closing Party - Register here
• 04 Mar 2023: Sydney World Pride
• 21-22 Mar 2023: Sydney Metro League Summer Season Finals
• TBA Apr 2023: Autumn Bootcamp
• 27 May 2023: Stingers Trivia 2023 - Trivia is in planning, and Rachel and Ivan need your help to make it an absolute success! Check out their recent post in Stingers Members, including calls for volunteers and prizes. 
• 25-30 Jun 2023: London IGLA Championships - registration details and training times will be released by the IGLA team soon! IGLA website is here
• 3-11 Nov 2023: Guadalajara Gay Games - registration details will be released soon! GayGames website is here
• Nov 2024: IGLA 2024 Championships have been decided...and Buenos Aires will host the competition in tandem with Buenos Aires Pride! More details to come...

And don't forget to check the Training Calendar for up-to-date info about training each week, including Thursday swim squad, our Friday night swim training with the Wett Ones, Saturday skills training and Sunday All In!

See you in the water 💦

Ben Thomas

Club President