We could not have asked for a better start to the season … and we are not even in July yet.

Sign on day and the weeks following has seen a huge number of founding members return for 2011/12 along with 27 brand new SBTC members already. Supporting this was our AGM which was held the morning of our sign on day. As much as it is an honour to have the members support allowing me to volunteer as President again this year, I was personally overwhelmed about the level of desire and willingness from a number of our members to volunteer and take on other specific roles within our committee that will take SBTC from a club with great people and great potential to an all out Great club period.

This season will see a number of key areas evolve at a similar rate to that of our overall membership. Melanie Gillespie has taken on the role of Training Co-ordinator. An Australian Age representative and qualified PT, Mel knows what is needed to be an all round Tri-athlete at whatever your level. Beginners will be spoiled by Mel’s knowledge and our more elite athletes will have an enviable training partner network to soar them to even great accomplishments in 2011/12.

I could go on about the entire committee in this email, but I would rather you get the chance to experience each one of these great people in their new roles rather than hear me boast about them. However, the other two new additions I would like to make note of are David and Heather Cutcheon. With SBTC clothing and apparel turning over in excess of $12k in revenue in our first year we were blown away with the level of effort required to keep up with demand at a cost effective and quality level. David has been kind enough to take on the Merchandise Officer responsibility this year and in doing so, will facilitate the backbone of our club’s profits which we obtain off small margins from our clothing range. Heather Cutcheon, our SBTC Support Crew benchmark has further extended her passion to Communication Officer for the club. In addition to being the first point of contact for all new members, Heather will spark added life into our Facebook identity as well as our regular communications. As a result of these new identities within the club keep a look out for different email addresses hitting your inbox and also providing a greater communication channel for the respective area of business.

Our next ambition to realize throughout the year will be that of a junior program. It’s phenomenal to think that in under a year we have become so established that we are now looking at how we can add juniors into our club!

Last but by no means least I am elated to announce that EVERY SINGLE ONE of our founding sponsors have again signed up to be part of the SBTC experience in 2011/12! These guys not only sparked much appreciated funds into our club at our outset but also unprecedented credibility for our Tri Club model. Their support continues to spoil us by way of sign on gifts, raffle prizes and of course training assistance. I am not sure of many other clubs that have turned away 11 sponsorship approaches in a single year because we only want Sponsors that provide a direct Triathlon benefit to our members.

I hope to see all of you at our inaugural Awards night on Friday 8^th July at our Sponsor The Melbourne Hotel. We are all set to go out the year with a bang and have arranged an environment and bar tab to reflect as such!

Proudly,
Drew Standish

President – South Bank Triathlon Club Inc