Hey Stingers! 

Metro and INTRA summer seasons have begun, the Perth Rainbow Grudge Match is next weekend, and AQuA registrations have opened...the Year of Polo has officially begun and we are excited about everything to come! There's some great events coming up like our end of year social and ways to get involved and give feedback, so please read on and be sure to check out Rev and Facebook to stay up to date.

AQuA Festival registration is open! 

The Australian Queer Aquatics (AQuA) Festival registration is open and now is the time to register for the best Sydney World Pride event next year!

We would encourage you to book any leave you need now and register for the Beach Festival events and Closing Party. Note that Closing Party capacity is limited, so register soon to avoid missing out! 

Scheduled at the opening and closing of World Pride on 11 February and from 1-3 March 2023, AQuA comprises:

• a Beach Festival with ocean swimming, beach water polo and social events on Saturday 11 February;
• a water polo tournament with both a comp and rec division happening over Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in the week between Mardi Gras Parade and World Pride;
• a swimming competition over Wednesday and Thursday 1-2 March; and,
• a Finals Festival Day on Friday 3 March with incredible social events, including an exclusive Closing Party for AQuA participants on The Island in the Harbour.

Stingers teams for the competition will be confirmed and announced in the next week in Stingers Members group. 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 want to get involved reach out to Nathan Collett (events@sydneystingers.org.au) for AQuA or Tahlia Mihell for the water polo competition.

Be a part of shaping the future of the Club

Late last year we codified a structured approach for how we continue to deliver the club's operations and prioritise new actions and initiatives over the next few years. Initiatives that get up are aligned to one or multiple of our key strategy areas, like buying goals and securing funding for a clock system at our new pool continuing to make our operations more resilient and our skills more competitive, or the continued evolution of INTRA as an all-inclusive, social competition within the club that also develops the next generation of club leaders and coaches. With input from our club exec, key managers like recruits and events, our team captains and our coaches, we have outlined 4 key strategy areas - competitive skills, resilient operations, inclusive sport and engaged community - each with goals and stretch objectives, and we continue to identify actions to deliver these goals in a way that keeps our members and our values at the core of our decision-making.

The next stage of this work is to ask you for your feedback. In the next two weeks we will be sending out a member survey that is broad-reaching about your experience as a Stinger. We want to hear it all: the good, the not so good, and the not happening that you wish was. Please reflect on your experience with the club and where you'd like to see us go in the future. When you receive the survey please take some time to give us your considered views...and of course if you'd like to see more or get involved, reach out to myself or anyone else on the exec!

Be a part of the club's magic...volunteer!

Many hands make light and inclusive work, and the magic of the Stingers is a labour of love by all of us. The more of us that contribute in a small way the better the club is for us all! We are always keen for brains and brawns to help make things happen, from supporting INTRA and other competitions, to planning out events or supporting on comms, social media or recruitment. If you have skills or ideas to lend, reach out to Ben, Dylan, Stef, James or Tom to have a chat. 

Also a reminder that we are in the final day of nominations for Club Ordinary Exec nominations. The Club's appointed ordinary execs represent the views of members and help make decisions that are in the best interest of the Club as a whole. In addition, they contribute to running key activities such as social events, competitions with sibling clubs, or other opportunities. These positions are appointed on 12 month terms and ideally help deliver on the Club's objectives to represent the many diverse views from across the club. Find out more and how to nominate here. 

A reminder about Club Policies and Member Protection

With the start of the year it's as good a time as any to remind you all about our club policies, including our Code of Conduct and the WPA/WPNSW Member Protection Policies. Stingers is an important sense of connection and community for everyone in the club and we are committed to preserving the safety and inclusion of this community for all. The club intends for all members to feel safe and included to learn and play the sport, and we will support, investigate and act if you witness or are the subject of feeling unsafe or disrespected in connection with the club.

Stefani Jelic is the Club's Member Protection Information Officer and you can reach out to Stef confidentially in an informal or formal way to seek support from the club about non-inclusive or unsafe behaviours or experiences. Stef's role as the MPIO includes her maintaining discretion and we have a process in place for her to work with the Executive to ensure that the Club's, WPA's and WPNSW's policies are adhered to. If you have questions about the MPIO or would like to have a conversation with Stef you can email her at mpio@sydneystingers.org.au.

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

There's so much coming up and this email is already jam-packed...so some parting notes and key dates coming up:

• 18-20 Nov 2022: Perth Rainbow Grudge Match - good luck to our Stingers competing!
• 21 Nov 2022: The Team Shop closes, with the last chance ever for you to get your 20-year commemorative club merch...get in before you miss out! Password is Stingers
• 27 Nov 2022: Special Goalie training session at Sunday All IN
• 18 Dec 2022: Training, INTRA and Metro are finished for the year, see you back in the water in January 2023!
• Early Dec: Mardi Gras Parade registration is almost upon us! Be on the look out in early December to sign up to march with the club up Oxford Street after a 3 year hiatus..and express your interest today here.
• 21 Jan 2023: Save the date for the club's end of year social and to be StarStruck at our next big party! We are finalising details and registration will open soon for a 2 part evening to StarStruck: an evening social for all members to look back on 2022 and proceedings like our annual club awards, followed by the StarStruck Afters party with fabulous performances and DJs to celebrate and look ahead to 2023!
• 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
• 25 Feb 2023: Mardi Gras Parade and After Party
• 1-3 Mar 2023: AQuA Competitions and Closing Party - Register here
• 4 Mar 2023: Sydney World Pride
• 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. 
• 26-30 Jun 2023: London IGLA Championships - registration details will be released by the IGLA team soon!
• 3-11 Nov 2023: Guadalajara Gay Games - registration details will be released soon!

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