It’s been a successful Aquatics and Recreation Victoria Industry Awards with two Swim, Sport and Leisure employees taking home honours.
The awards recognise excellence within the aquatic and recreation industry, with 21 awards presented out of a competitive field of 237 nominations.
City of Greater Geelong was well-represented with eight individuals and one venue nominated with Sarah Rindel from Splashdown winning Most Valuable Employee Award and Leisurelink’s Jeremy Williams winning Personal Trainer/Gym Instructor Award.
Sarah joined the City as a lifeguard in 2021, however her rapid progression within the organisation has seen her work in duty management, coordinator and centre manager positions, before becoming the permanent aquatic operations coordinator at Splashdown last year.
“I’d say my favourite thing is the community impact aspect – you can really see how what you’re doing impacts the patrons who come in and out of Splashdown every day,” Rindel said.
“We definitely try what we can to problem solve and improve efficiencies and the City took on board the evidence-based trial I proposed to address algae in the pools, which has worked well so far.”
Since joining the team in April 2024, Williams has been instrumental in the successful establishment of Leisurelink’s Personal Training program. The centre averaged just 4.1 hours of PT per week but with Jeremy on board, this jumped nearly to an average of 28.7 hours – personally taking on 40 clients per fortnight over 47 hours, with a 90 per cent retention rate.
Williams said Leisurelink was his second home.
“I honestly enjoy coming to work each day and I get a lot of satisfaction from working with people one and one, seeing the difference the training is making to their lifestyle,” he said.
