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:
- Club Development needs (work previously covered by the Club Development Officers or the National Development Officers) – clubdevelopment@swimming.org
- Volunteering – volunteering@swimming.org
- Return to Training Guidance – clubguidance@swimming.org.