Thirty-five swimmers from 11 Dorset clubs arrived at Dorchester Sports Centre on Sunday 2 April for the inaugural England Programmes Dorset County Pathway Programme with Lead Coach Barry Alldrick (Poole). The day started with a brief to both parents and swimmers after which the swimmers met with their group Skills Coaches – Becky Brown (Poole), Richard Brocklehurst (North Dorset), James Cameron (Poole), Colin Cracknell (West Dorset), Trevor Keep (Blandford) and Jeff Sandley (Wareham). Also invited to attend and observe were any Level 1 and Level 2 coaches from Dorset clubs, an opportunity taken up by Tracey Walburn of Tornadoes of South Dorset.
The morning was spent working on Streamlining, Freestyle and Backstroke followed by an outdoor land training session involving a nine station circuit at which the swimmer would gain scores and with all exercises related to movements in the morning pool session. The afternoon began with a workshop for both parent and swimmers on basic stroke techniques using a presentation set by Fred Furness and using video footage from Rio to emphasise and reinforce home key points. This was followed by a final pool session of Underwater transitions, Breaststroke and Butterfly.
Organisation of the day was undertaken by Lead Team Manager Jacquie Broyd (BCS) assisted by Sean Duffy (Poole) who ensured the day went as smoothly as possible. The next camp will be on Sunday 25 June.
Dorset England Programmes swimmers are as follows: BCS – George Mahon, Sophia Malmyha, Tiasha Michelo; Blandford – Amelia Chaffey, Grace Chaffey; Bridport Barracudas – Isabelle King, Kirron Wheeler; Clayesmore – Joeleen Charlery; Poole – Grace Camm, Holly Chandler, Hannah Dean, Liam Duffy, Tilly McHugh, Charlie Meek, Sam Russell, Alyssa Sanders-Jones, Marley Smalling, Zoe Steele, Zack Studley, Xavier West; Seagulls – Naomi Ellis, George Gillet, Lara Hancock, Thomas Massie; Swim Bournemouth – Angus Corbin, Jenson Harris, Georgina Hawkins, Eryn Holderness, Anthony Leung, Millie Sleeman, Arohi Singh; Tornadoes – Ellissa Walburn; Wareham – Antonia Bourne; West Dorset – Jessamy Fursman; Lauren Osgood; Weymouth – Ruby Cartwright.