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Clubs not affected by new coronavirus restrictions

September 10, 2020   By


The Government has now confirmed to Sport England that organised sports and activities which have initiated return to play protocols will be allowed to continue as before. Swim England has published detailed guidance for the safe use of swimming pools, which has been used by facilities across the country.

Swim England CEO Jane Nickerson said, “This is excellent news. We expected this would be the case when the announcement was made by the Prime Minister but wanted to confirm before updating our affiliated clubs, members, coaches, teachers and swim schools. Club activity and swimming lessons will be able to continue as previously as they are taking place in Covid-secure environments, but they must continue to adhere to our Returning to the Pool guidance. All other pool activity operating within the Swim England guidelines can also continue but people should not travel to pools socially in groups of more than six. We’d also encourage everyone to follow the latest advice from the Government and wear face coverings where necessary and ensure you maintain social distancing and good hand hygiene at all times”.

Return to water polo plans submitted to Government

September 3, 2020   By


A return to competitive action for water polo clubs across the country is a step closer after Swim England submitted an action plan to the Government. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport last week updated its guidance for a return to team sports, which enabled NGBs to send in detailed plans for their sport for review.

While swimming pools were allowed to reopen from Saturday 25 July, the majority of indoor team sports are yet to be given the green light to resume again following the Coronavirus lockdown. However, the publication of the Return to Recreational Team Sport Framework by the Government has given clubs hope that they will soon be able to return to training and matches. If approved, Swim England will create specific guidance for water polo clubs and players. That will include guidelines on travel to training and matches, social distancing during breaks and post-game, use of equipment, guidance for match officials, medics and coaches, injury treatment plus advice for spectators.

Safe return to action

Rachel Bayley, Swim England Head of Performance Operations, said: “We appreciate that our water polo clubs are desperate to return to action as soon as possible but we have to ensure that it can be done safely. Swim England has been reviewing game data, seeking expert advice and updating its plans in light of the guidance published by Public Health England and the UK Government. The resulting plan is intended to set out how clubs and members in England will be able to return to competitive team training and matches under the current Government guidance. We are aware that our clubs and members have many questions and we hope that once the document is approved, it will go some way towards addressing those. Once sign off has been achieved, we will issue water polo specific guidance and a road map that will provide a clear direction of travel for our clubs, players, coaches, officials and key stakeholders.”

Issued 1 September 2020

Swimmers selected for Swim England National Programmes

August 26, 2020   By


A total of 430 swimmers have been selected for the Swim England National Development Programme learning and engagement day. The National Development Programme is the third step on the Swim England Extended Talent Pathway but the first on the national framework. Swimmers were chosen using the new adjusted selection guidelines that have been introduced for the 2020-21 season because of the coronavirus pandemic.

A Swim England spokesperson said: “Swim England Swimming Talent has tried where possible to make these guidelines robust and transparent whilst also promoting fairness and inclusion to all of our aspiring young swimmers. We intend to continue to collaborate with our regions and counties and where possible continue our pathway activities to help enhance the daily training environment so swimmers and coaches that show future performance potential have continued support along their journey.”

The 13 and 14-year-olds picked will be expected to join a day of online workshops in early October covering ‘Loving Race Day’, sleep recovery and injury prevention. A dry land conditioning session will also emphasise mobility and stability to enhance the anti-rotational / rotational strokes and streamlining. The highest-ranked 15 to 17 year old male and female pool and open water swimmers have been chosen for an online engagement day in November.

Due to the pandemic, there will be no pool camps in 2020 and dry land activity will be carried out online. It is hoped that pool activity may resume in 2021, depending on timing and the ability to host safely. This is dependent on the latest Government guidelines and will be confirmed in due course.

Swimmers were selected based on the Swim England long course rankings in each individual Olympic pool event and only times achieved between 22 March 2019 and 15 March 2020 were considered. Grant Robins, Swim England Head of Talent – Swimming, said: “We’d like to say well done and congratulate everyone selected for the National Talent Camps. We know this year’s camps will be very different to what we have been used to in the past but it’s still an honour for all these youngsters to be selected. I’m sure everyone will dive into  the opportunity to be involved in the online engagement day and we’re looking forward to working with all our developing swimmers over the coming season.”

Dorset swimmers selected are: Bournemouth Collegiate – Jamie Workman; Poole SC – Max Looker, Tilly McHugh, Charlie Meek, Luca Sartorius; Swim Bournemouth – Frank Chappels, Connor Cherrington.

A further 91 nationally ranked swimmers aged 15 to 17 years have been selected for the National Events Camps, with Robbie Hemmings (Poole SC) being selected from Dorset.

Twelve youngsters have also been added to the 2020-21 Swim England Para-swimming Talent squad, highlighting the quality of swimmers coming through club ranks and investment in regional training. A total of 58 swimmers from 49 clubs across the country have been chosen to take part in the ‘first-class programme’. There are now 12 juniors on the pathway’s foundation tier, 12 in the junior ranks and 24 in the youth section.

Martin Lees, Swim England Para-swimming manager, said the Coronavirus pandemic had led to challenges in how to develop the potential of the swimmers in the squad but he was confident the programme that had been created would help them all to perform in the pool when it matters.

Dorset para-swimmers selected are: Luke O’Dowd (Tornadoes of South Dorset); Zack Sturgess (Swim Bournemouth).

Ponds Forge mothballed for foreseeable future

August 12, 2020   By


Swim England CEO Jane Nickerson has expressed her extreme disappointment at the news that Ponds Forge International Sports Centre will be mothballed for the foreseeable future due to significant issues with the venue, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

The announcement that Ponds Forge, home to Swim England national events and other major international competitions over the years, is to remain shut indefinitely is a bitter blow to the swimming, diving and water polo clubs based at the Centre and which will now need to find a new home. For the diving community especially, the situation looks dire. Ponds Forge is one of a very small number of bespoke diving facilities in England and home to the National Junior Diving Championships.

Ponds Forge, however, is not the only diving venue to remain closed. Only eight of the 35 Swim England affiliated diving clubs currently have access to the water. Some pools have reopened their doors since leisure centres were given the green light to do so by the Government on Saturday 25 July. However, a large majority of local authority owned facilities will still remain closed at the beginning of September and beyond. Statistics such as this make for depressing reading and leave many fearful about the future of aquatic sports.

Swim England fought hard publicly for the reopening of pools with its’ campaign to #OpenOurPools and #SaveLeisure and continues to campaign for emergency funding for this vital sector.

Issued 12 August 2020

Revamp at Swim England

August 3, 2020   By


Due to the impact caused by Covid-19, Swim England recently announced that the national governing body would need to review its structure, and which would result in a reduction in team members.

The ongoing development and delivery of Swim England sports remains the remit of the Sport Development Directorate, headed up by Sport Development Director George Wood. The focus of the directorate is member clubs, competitions, coach development, talent programmes and national events for all disciplines. The Directorate will work with the Swim England Regions to ensure a collaborative, consolidated approach as clubs are supported in their return to water and the further development of the sport. The focus will be addressing the key national issues and opportunities affecting our participants and clubs, while supporting the Regions and disciplines with their priorities.

To achieve this, Swim England has introduced a Development Team led by Claire Coleman (Head of Development) with four managers focusing on the following priority areas of Governance (Helen Weeks), Volunteering (Sarah Darragh), Club & Operator Relationships (Andy Jack), and Club Growth (Becky Walker). The team will work closely with the Regions and with the Swim England club network. This means that the nationally employed Club Development Officer and National Development Officer roles will no longer exist, but the Regions will continue to employ their own staff.

Swim England will adopt a multi-disciplinary approach, working closely with the Discipline Leadership Groups to promote and develop each of the aquatic sports. Talent teams are in place for each discipline, working with the Development Team to support the re-emergence of our sports into the water, as well as talent athletes accessing training in home environments. Talent activity will be delivered online and through a new Diploma in Sporting Excellence programme.

Online and digital methods currently being used will continue to ensure guidance, information and assistance reaches as many members as possible. However if clubs have any support needs, queries or questions, contact details are as follows:

Issued 3 August 2020