Today we're diving into - Gloucester Thunderbolts SC
Gloucester Thunderbolts SC is based out of Gloucester Olympic and Hydrotherapy Pool in Gloucester, in the North Coast region of NSW. Gloucester is located about three hours north of Sydney, and one hour west of Forster. Established in 1963 as a result of two organisations joining together, the club still trains and races at their original pool. Gloucester Thunderbolts pride themselves on offering a fun, family-friendly and non-competitive environment, while also supporting a handful of state-level swimmers. Club races are held every Thursday at 6pm between October-March.
To find out a bit more about the club, we spoke to Club President Mark Edwards, and Tamara Perry, who holds various roles at the club including Registrar, Race Secretary and Publicity Officer.
Gloucester Thunderbolts in Depth
Gloucester Thunderbolts SC currently offers three levels of squads that train between October to March in their heated Olympic pool, which are overseen by Head Coach Sue Kingston, a Life Member of the club.
Gloucester Thunderbolts currently have 110 active members, with a notable 2020-2021 season increase in younger swimmers at the club. This year, the pool’s Learn to Swim teachers have consciously worked on transitioning swimmers to club members, which has been the greatest contributing factor to the club’s recent growth. The club also attracts new members by advertising their family-friendly club nights in school newsletters.
The team at Gloucester Thunderbolts SC encourage kids to give things a go and are open to giving all kids a chance to race. At a recent club night, a 9-year-old swimmer was mistakenly entered into the 100m Butterfly. His determined attitude and cheering from everyone at the pool made him push through the race. He finished up exhausted but was buoyed by the support of all his club mates.
The club also offer top 10 award points from their club races – an environment where results are often extremely close. This makes presentation night a nail-biter for the kids, especially given canteen vouchers are on the line.
Gloucester have also recently had a revamp of their logo and uniform, which was very exciting for the club!
Over winter, swimmers will head to Forster Aquatic Centre to train and will continue to compete at other club meets.
Come and Try Gloucester Thunderbolts SC
Gloucester Thunderbolts host an annual Picnic Carnival each February which is targeted at younger swimmers to allow them to practice racing. It’s an unofficial meet, which means that an emphasis is placed on having fun, and the pressure is taken off competition. Gloucester also offer ‘Come and Try’ sessions throughout the season, giving new members the chance to see how great the sport of swimming is with a two week free trial.
Find and Contact Gloucester Thunderbolts SC
Club pool: Gloucester Olympic and Hydrotherapy Pool, Denison St, Gloucester NSW
Club website: https://gloucesterthunderbolts.swimming.org.au/
Follow Gloucester Thunderbolts on Facebook.
Want to be featured in the next Clubs in Depth?
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- Purpose of Clubs in Depth initiative
Contact Olivia Kapocius (admin@nsw.swimming.org.au) to organise an interview.
The purpose of Clubs in Depth is to promote NSW-based clubs to both the Swimming NSW and broader community in order to increase engagement and participation. The article is distributed via our website, social media channels, the Hot Off the Blocks Newsletter and Swimmer Magazine.
Swimming NSW will also provide featured clubs with a modified copy of their article so it can be distributed to local media outlets as a new member and community engagement tool.
