Hello Stingers!

We hope you're keeping warm this winter...if not then come jump in the water, it's better in there! 

With our June Bootcamp just finishing (welcome Booties!), winter Metro and INTRA both in action, and a huge year of polo just over the horizon and fast approaching, we wanted to share an update about what's happening in the club.

Read on for details and other announcements and key dates approaching.

Trivia is going to the Beach!

The club is hosting our Trivia Fundraiser on 2 Sundays this month: Sunday 24 July and Sunday 31 July. Trivia is a fun-filled Sunday arvo at Paddo RSL with performances by drag queens, kings and Stingers, spectacular raffle prizes and interactive games, and the occasional asking of trivia questions.

Trivia is also critical to the club's operations: in previous years Trivia has raised upwards of 20% of our annual revenue, which makes our pool bookings, coaching and initiatives like INTRA and coach development possible without increasing member fees. 

Trivia needs every Stinger to do a little bit to make it a success. To help, please:

1. Share the Facebook event and Stingers posts from Facebook and Instagram to your own personal channels and networks. Also be on the watch for some images built especially for you to share.
2. Help your friends organise a table and either be on the table or volunteer near the table on the afternoon!
3. Reach out to trivia@sydneystingers.org.au or send a message to both James Reynolds and Ben Thomas to let us know if you can volunteer on one (or both) of the nights).
4. Help us find great singular prizes (eg. concert tickets) for the raffle or volume prizes (eg. case of beer) for the Trivia winners.

AQuA Festival registration opens soon: register for updates today! 

The Australian Queer Aquatics (AQuA) Festival registration is opening soon!

Scheduled over 2 weeks, AQuA comprises:

• a Beach Festival with ocean swimming, beach water polo and social events;
• a water polo tournament with both a comp and rec division;
• a swimming competition; 
• a Finals Festival day with incredible social events.

AQuA is going to be a fabulous time to promote our clubs and sports during Sydney World Pride in February 2023! Register for updates at aquafest.org.au, and if you wanna get involved reach out to Nathan Collett (events@sydneystingers.org.au).

2023 is the Year of Polo: Join the Swarm!

2023 is a HUGE year for champagne water polo, and a great opportunity to get back out there and see the world.

We have an upcoming Rainbow Grudge Match in November in Perth, followed by 3 major competitions across 2023 and will be able to enter up to 2 or 3 teams in each across both comp and rec divisions:

1. Perth Rainbow Grudge Match | 18-20 Nov 2022: Perth White Pointers have invited us and our sister clubs, the Melbourne Surge and Brisbane Tritons, to go west for sunsets on the beach and polo! We will be seeking interest for these teams soon, but RSVP at the Facebook event, book your flights now!

2. SYDNEY AQuA Festival Water Polo Comp | 1-3 Mar 2023 (as part of World Pride): Stingers and Wett Ones are co-hosting the Australian Queer Aquatics Festival - a 5-sport beach and aquatic festival during World Pride! There will be an LGBTQ+ inclusive water polo competition held 1-3 March with both a competitive and recreational division.

3. LONDON IGLA Championships | 26-30 Jun 2023: During London Pride and right ahead of many Pride celebrations across Europe, the London Out to Swim and Orcas are hosting the International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics Championships next year! We anticipate high interest in this comp, and should be able to send team numbers to match club interest.

4. GUADALAJARA Gay Games 11 | 3-11 Nov 2023: GayGames is back! After an incredible time in 2018 when nearly 60 Stingers swarmed Paris, we are in for a treat with the GayGames 11 water polo to be held in Guadalajara, Mexico. Be a part of the Olympics of queer sport and join us in sunny Guadalajara.

We may partner with our sister clubs to coordinate teams. There are also opportunities for pre-and post-Stingers Tours, if there is sufficient interest to plan these.

Please help us understand your level of interest to attend these comps so we can get planning by filling out the form at the link below, and if you're keen to be the brains behind planning our swarm at one of these comps next year, reach out to Ben Thomas (president@sydneystingers.org.au).

https://forms.gle/fMEkiMHWtmVUWici6

Make new friends, give back and help make the club run!

We are looking for members to help keep comms flowing, events happening and other initiatives possible! If you've enjoyed your time with the club, please consider what skills, time or passion you have to lend to keep the good times flowing! The magic of INTRA, knowledge of training and game times, drama of trivia, social connections from end of season and other events and supportive induction to the club at bootcamp all require Stinger-power to happen. There are a lot of opportunities to give back everywhere at the moment, so reach out to Ben Thomas (president@sydneystingers.org.au), Bianca (secretary@sydneystingers.org.au) or any Exec member for a chat about your skills, time or passion and make a difference with the Club. :) 

Key Dates Coming Up

• Every Sunday until 28 August: INTRA 

• 24 Jul 22: Stingers Trivia at the Beach, week 1

• 31 Jul 22: Stingers Trivia at the Beach, week 2

• 23/24 Aug 22: Last round of Metro Winter Season

• 28 Aug 22: INTRA Round 3 Finals

• 31 Aug 22: Membership year ends, renewals start

• 25 Sep 22: Club AGM (TBC)

• 18 Oct 22: Metro Summer Season starts (TBC)

• 18-20 Nov 22: Perth Rainbow Grudge Match

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

See you in the water 💦

Ben Thomas

Club President