The Cast
Neil Rogers
Neil Rogers has been coaching squads and taking lessons at the Icebergs for nearly three decades. His regular squad still meets three mornings a week, year round. Neil represented Australia in the finals of the 100m butterfly in two consecutive Summer Olympics, 1972 and More…1976. He also won gold in the 100m butterfly at the 1974 Commonwealth games. He won 9 Australian titles in 3 different strokes and was the Australian surf belt champion. At the winter swimming championships, he won every division from the opens — over 60’s. Sadly Neil passed away after a brief illness in April, 2024.
Alan Gow
Alan has been a swimming member of the Bondi Icebergs Club for 50 of his 75 years. He learned to swim in the Pool, was a Member of the Bondi Amateur Swimming Club and joined the Icebergs in his early twenties because his father was a long-time member and More…Club Secretary. He has been a Race Judge, the Point Score Secretary, a Board Member, Vice President and the President of the Club. He was elected a Life Member last year. Alan’s son Sean is also a long service swimming member. These days Alan enjoys the Pool for swimming competitively with the Bergs, swimming laps for exercise but also as a launching pad for swimming Bondi Bay daily with the Puffers, the Bergs’ unofficial ocean swimming group. Three generations of Alan’s family have now enjoyed swimming membership of the Icebergs and regular use of the Pool. With a grandson almost ready to start swimming lessons, a fourth is on the way.
Margaret Simpson-Lee
Margaret Simpson-Lee has been an active member of Bondi Icebergs Club for nearly 20 years. Swimming is her passion. She swims every day regardless of the conditions. Even during her two pregnancies she continued to swim daily, including More…the morning she gave birth to her boys who have spent a big part of their young life at the pool and now swim with the ice-cubes. Marg loves every aspect of the Club and has regularly represented the Icebergs at The Australian Winter Swimming Championships and has won medals each time. Marg has also been awarded Female Swimmer of the Year. The Icebergs community is her second family (and sometimes her first!). She is also proudly an executive producer on THE POOL.
Les Crane
Les joined The Bondi Icebergs Winter Swimming Club in 1963 and since then has competed in the Club, Southern Metropolitan, Sydney Invitational and Australian Winter Swimming Championships. He has won many Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals in all of these competitions. During the More…last 60 years Les has been a volunteer, in various roles, on club race days. Les is a regular swimmer in the pool and has completed well over 1,000 club races. Les has been awarded Iceberg of The Year, Male Swimmer of the Year and Full Life Membership.
Bec Key
Bec is Assistant Pool Manager and regular lifeguard.
Alex Aroney
Alex was a lifeguard for a number of years at the pool.
Todd Slater
Having been a social visitor to the Icebergs Club, from the mid-nineties on, Todd re-learnt to swim there in 2010. From early 2011 on he has been a member of the Neil Rogers Swim Squad. In 2012 he commenced his journey to becoming an Iceberg, achieving 97 More…swims over the mandatory five years. During this period he also swam for the Bondi Mermaids. He continues to be an integral part of the Neil Rogers Swim squad and 14 years in, swims daily at dawn, all year round. A four-season pleasure. Todd loves being part of the Icebergs Club and community.
Jenny Waterman
This year is Jenny’s 20th as a swimming member of Bondi Icebergs. In summer she swims with Bondi United club. Seventy years ago she learnt to swim at the pool. So it holds many
memories for her, from spending summer holidays playing around, diving off More…the then diving board, competing in school carnivals and attempting to learn synchronised swimming (water ballet!!) Now she competes in most of the winter swim carnivals and sometimes brings back medals. For her Bondi Baths is the ‘top pool’ of salt water pools.
Janice Cranch
Janice has been a Member of Icebergs for 14 years after joining with friends who no longer go. Janice so enjoys swimming in Winter with like-minded people, loves the competitive side, the trips away all over Australia. Janice says More…”I feel so privileged to be part of an incredible group of people and a club whose history is indelible, the bonus is being able to swim in this pool”.
Beda Grey
I started swimming at the pool in 2006 and finished my 5 years of winter swimming in 2011. A very proud moment for me as I am not a natural swimmer. The help I enjoyed was phenomenal. We then switched to personal training classes with Miro More…followed by Ben Cush who has been our trainer for the last 10 years. It is one of the joys of life to walk down to the pool every day at sunrise. We train, hard and then have a regular coffee social, a laugh or a tear. The gym and the pool is our happy place and we have had our fare share of celebrations at the Bistro upstairs with the occasional Xmas at the Icebergs Dining Room — Top Level stuff.
Andrew Crabbe
The man behind The Crabbe Hole Cafe, and supporter of the “Cultural Wing”.
Simon Nothling
Long-time squad member and squad leader.
Adrian Newstead
Long-time swimmer — Adrian is also a member of the “Cultural Wing”.
Russell Cheek
Russell started swimming at the club in 1986. He has since swum more and more frequently, and from 15 years ago, has swum virtually every day as a Gold Social Member. He is not fast, like the squad members… but he is not bone lazy, like the More…sauna-slouching/pool-edge-grabbing bobbers… He is mister in-between: measured, stylish, regular and consistent… (but WAY faster since he got his flippers — why didn’t someone tell him earlier…?!) He has been granted privileged entry into the Bondi Icebergs “Cultural Wing”, which allows him: extended seating time in the café, to pontificate about anything at any time, and to answer Good Weekend Quiz questions slightly louder than other participants.
Ben Cush
Ben Cush has been a member of the Icebergs Winter Swimming Club for nearly 2 decades and has successfully won gold at the winter swimming nationals most years. He has been awarded Male Swimmer of the Year twice during this time. Ben swims More…at the pool year-round, 6 days a week, and has grown a fond appreciation for the cold water! Since 2019, Ben has been the owner of the Bondi Icebergs Gym and has worked as a personal trainer there since 2001. Ben loves being part of the Icebergs Club and community.
Donna Moclair
Much-loved swim teacher and squad regular.
Helen Tran
Squad member and swim enthusiast.
Nicki Vinnicombe
Nicki is currently the Vice President of the Bondi Icebergs and has been the starter for the Winter Swimming Club for the past 3 years. After joining the Bondi Mermaids in the early 90’s, Nicki signed up for the Icebergs in 1995 — the first More…year the winter swimming club opened applications to female members. In addition to her voluntary roles with the club, she also swims as often as she can across the Bondi Bay, and is a member of the summer club, the Bondi Diggers.
Tim Smith
The race recorder for Bondi Icebergs, and the person to whom the 15B letters are sent.
Robert (Bobby) Smith
Long-time volunteer, often seen at the timekeeper end of the pool.
Robert (Bobby) Elliott
Long-time volunteer, often seen at the timekeeper end of the pool.
Jan McCloskey
One of the first female members of the Bondi Icebergs Winter Swimming Club.
Emma Pask
Emma has been a member of the Icebergs Winter Swimming Club for 10 years. She swims all year round, and is also a proud founding member of “The Puffers” — a group of Icebergs who swim daily across Bondi Bay and back. Emma suggested the group be More…called the Puffers as in the early days of the group, a puffer fish was spotted along the way of every crossing. Emma loves her Bondi community and the Bondi Icebergs Winter Swimming Club.
Susan Woodland
Susan has been swimming at the Icebergs pool since 1993 when you could squeeze through the old turnstile after hours. She joined the Bondi Amateur Swimming Club in 2013 and still swims with them on Saturday mornings from October till March. Susan reluctantly More…joined the Icebergs Winter Swimming Club in 2021 but is a total convert. She hopes to be doing the winter races well into her eighties when she thinks she may have a chance in the age championships.
Dnita Batcheler
Dnita (Joy) Batcheler comes from Thailand, a very hot country. Not knowing how to swim, she had a 5-hour swimming lesson many years back in Bangkok before migrating to Australia. Dnita is not yet a confident swimmer learning to swim in adulthood. With More…the support of her husband, Gavin, she then had another 5 hours of lessons at the Icebergs pool when she moved to live in Bondi. She frequently comes to exercise, sauna and practices her swims. Dnita joined the Bondi Diggers and Bondi Junction Waverley RSL summer swimming clubs to start her swimming journey, and joined the Bondi Icebergs winter swimming club in 2022 after her husband. Dnita has been a volunteer for the club. Dnita and her husband enjoy both lifestyle, friendship and community at the ‘bergs, coming 3-4 times a week to the gym, swimming, sauna, cafe or the bistro.
Abdallah Abou Hamdan
Gym and swimming member.
Ted Wildie
Long-time swim member.
Annabelle Paterson
Swimming member.
Gary Nicholls
Gary has been a member of the Bondi Icebergs Winter Swimming Club since 1986. He has represented the Club in relays and individual events in the Club Age Championships, the Southern Metropolitan Championships (now called the Invitational More…Championships) and in the Winter Swimming National Championships. In 2022 Gary was made a Life Member of the Bondi Icebergs and in 2026 he will become an Honorary 40 year member. Gary also swims in summer with the Bondi Digger Swimming Club which he joined in 1974.
Cooper Silk
Swimming member.
Patrick Fitzsimons
Pat joined the Bergs in 1983 and over the years served as Check-Starter, Starter, Director, Treasurer, Race Recording Secretary and many other volunteer roles. Pat served 5 years on the Icebergs Trust, which set-up the new complex in the early 2000’s. For the More… past 20yrs Pat has ‘worked in the engine room and will continue as long as I can put pen to paper and will continue to swim every Sunday, I love the joint’.
Greg Parr
One minute I am just another social swimmer swimming his laps in this iconic pool, and the next I am being thrust into the world of this winter swimming club called quite simply ‘The Bergs’. 14 years later and I have never looked back. In that More…time I achieved well over the minimum 75 swims in 5 years requirement to becoming ‘a Berg’ and reaching a total of 104 which put me in the very exclusive ‘100+ swims in 5 years’ 100 Club, which is quite a feat of commitment, determination and perseverance. An active volunteer in both merchandise organisation and contribution to the very successful end of month Sundeck BBQ. I am also an avid member of the ‘Puffers Bay Swimmers’. A group of Bergs that swim the all up 1800m south to north and back, up to 6 days a week all year round.
Karen Stott
Swimming member.
Dori Miller
Swimming member.
Penelope Willcoxson
Penelope joined the Icebergs in 2002. Thanks to Lofty Petrie for keeping all us newbies “on the blocks”. And to Les Williams for assuring me I could swim with the Bergs despite hating cold water. I was planning not to swim on my second Sunday because More…it was Mother’s Day. But my Mum said — “you made a commitment, so you swim”. Which I then did for 20 years without missing any season swim. My highlight was five years as the Handicapper and Race Recorder for the Bondi Icecubes, with the number of swimming Icecubes peaking at 128.
Jason McCormack
Jason McCormack is a local photographer who grew up in a house up the road just 1 kilometre from the Bondi Icebergs. He has attained full membership at the Bondi Icebergs (75 Swims in 5 years) and is a member of the “Puffers” swimming group that More…Championships) regularly swims the Bondi Bay. Jason is also an Ambassador for The Black Dog Institute & is an advocate for the benefits of strong community and swimming for good mental health.
Jason Ching
Jason moved to Bondi 6 years ago and Ice bergs soon became a regular haunt. Jason was originally attracted by the sauna and cold plunges and a perfect spot for relaxation, now he is a regular swimmer and finds the same peace in the pool. He loves More…the place, and the multi-layered community, making friends from all walks of life. Swimming in this pool is truly amazing both mentally and physically.
Jimmy Robison
Swimming member.
Shark Island Institute acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.
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