00:08I'm Bev Ratcliffe and I'm the current president of the Port Kembla Mermaids
00:13Ladies Swimming Club, a club that's celebrating next month 60 years since it
00:18was inaugurated. A wonderful group of ladies who swim each week during school
00:24term time, have lots of fun together, lots of friendship and support of one
00:32another. I think the important thing is that that social aspect not just the
00:37physical exercise that keeps us all going because there's a lot of us now who
00:42are over 80 and getting on in years and declining physically but the support and
00:48love and friendship that we have between one another is a wonderful thing and
00:52it's a great club to be part of and you can find us on Facebook if you're
00:56interested in joining us. Hello I'm Dawn Robinson and I helped start the Port
01:03Kembla Mermaids. We started with nine ladies teaching their children to swim in
01:11a heated pool. After they finished their lessons they had to go to school at nine
01:17o'clock. The pool was empty and warm so a few people that were interested were
01:26invited to swim in the winter and we grabbed at it. It was wonderful and from
01:32then on there's no holding us back. We were a bit cheeky if someone was in a relay
01:40and right ahead of all the others. We'd jump in and grab her leg and hold her until the
01:48others got close and then let her go and she'd still win but not by a big margin. I
01:55wouldn't dare do that today. They'd throw me out. Very competitive we are today and
02:03we've got some beautiful swimmers and we've got some beginners and they come on
02:10really really well so we're very proud of what we're doing.
02:14Okay timekeepers are you ready? Swimmers take your mark!
02:38Good job! Nice one gal!
02:43Good job!
02:44Good job!
02:45Good job!
02:47Good job!
02:48Good job!
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