2004: ANOTHER GOOD YEAR

Redditch Swimming Club had another very good year in 2004.  After becoming one of the first two swimming clubs in the county to achieve Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) Swim 21 and Sport England ClubMark accreditation, the club achieved a series of successes.

In team competitions, Redditch again battled with the top clubs in Division 1 of the Speedo League, after promotion in 2003.  The major success of the year, however, was the victory in the September final of the Nuneaton and District Junior League – which saw Redditch promoted as Division 2 champions.

Some marvellous individual performances during the year brought further successes.  The Club’s swimmers won a total of 45 gold medals at the Worcester County ASA championships in March.  Five Redditch swimmers competed in the Midland District Youth Championships, where Paul Wilkes won the 200 m butterfly in the 19 years and over age group.  A further five swimmers qualified for the Midland Age Group Championships, including Dan Ruckwood who won two District titles.  Dan subsequently went on to compete at his first ASA National Age Group Championships, where he won gold in the 100 m backstroke and silver in the 200 m backstroke.  Two Redditch swimmers took part in the European Cup and British open water events in June, and Paul Wilkes also competed in the British Olympic Trials.  Several swimmers also represented Worcestershire in inter-county competitions.

The Club continues to actively participate in various swimming bodies, including the Worcester County ASA and WASP Swimming Action Group – providing the current Chairperson of each.

The continuing progression of the Club’s young swimmers is recognised as an important priority.  Two Local Swimming Festivals, and accompanying series of Development Camps, were held in Redditch during the year.  Six Redditch swimmers, and two coaches, participated in the recent WASP Development Camp at Worcester.  Two swimmers have taken up invitations to train with the City of Birmingham club.

At the end of 2004, the Club was honoured to accept an invitation to the ASA’s annual ‘Swimtastic’ awards dinner, to be presented with a prestigious award for the top ASA-affiliated Club, in the National Category.

2005 – BUT ANOTHER NOMINATION

We have now been nominated for another top award, as Junior Sports Club of the Year for Worcestershire, at next month’s Worcestershire All Sports Partnership (WASP) awards ceremony.  The Club will be represented at the awards ceremony, at Worcester Rugby Club on 10 March, by Pat Smith (President), Paul Holtom (Chairman) and Chris Britt.

WASP SWIMMING DEVELOPMENT CAMPS

Six Redditch swimmers were selected for two weekend training camps, organised by the Worcestershire All Sports Partnership (WASP).  James Green, Robert Stanley, Elizabeth Humphreys, Michaela Britt, Emma Green and Suzie Britt all attended the first camp, at the RNIB New College at Worcester, on 22^nd and 23^rd January.  They were worked hard by Brian McGuiness, County Development Officer, who was Head Coach for the weekend – but thoroughly enjoyed themselves and learned a lot.  As well as four hours of pool time, there were gym sessions and talks on nutrition and lifestyle.

On the second day, Alex Scotcher, currently one of Britain’s best freestyle swimmers, gave the youngsters a much appreciated talk about what it took to get onto the GB team and how our elite swimmers live their lives.  One message that Alex was keen to get across was that although it takes considerable dedication to reach the top, young swimmers do not have to give up all other interests.

Two of the Club’s coaching staff, Pat Smith and Chris Britt, also attended all or part of the weekend camp – to see what they could also learn!

All six swimmers have been invited back for a second weekend camp on 5^th and 6^th March, where one of the main themes will be monitoring of performance during training.

SWIMTASTIC

REDDITCH SWIMMING CLUB – “BEST CLUB IN BRITAIN”

In case you missed it… back in November 2004, Redditch Swimming Club was honoured as a National Category winner at the Amateur Swimming Association’s prestigious ‘Swimtastic’ Awards evening in Stratford.  Two of Redditch’s young swimmers had the privilege of representing their club at this major national event, held at the Moat House Hotel.  As winners of the award for the top ASA-affiliated club, Daniel Strange and Michaela Britt (both nine-year-olds) took the stage after an introduction from Central TV’s Charlie Neil, compere for the evening, which included the accolade “best club in the country”!

The event began in the afternoon at the Stratford Leisure Centre, with an opportunity for the young award winners to meet the numerous swimming stars, collect autographs and pose for photos with them.  Daniel and Michaela even got the chance to swim with sporting heroes like Steve Parry, bronze medallist in the Athens Olympics, Rebecca Cooke, Adrian Turner, Andrew Lindsay and Sarah Bailey.  In a fun session in the pool, overseen by ex-Olympian Helen Slatter, there were also impressive demonstrations of their respective sports by Olympic diver Tony Ally and synchronised swimmers Tia Randall and Louise Woolley.  One of the highlights, however, was a synchro display by Steve Parry!

Further celebrities joined the group for dinner, including Sharron Davies, who presented the awards, and current and former British breaststroke record holders Darren Mew and Marie Hardiman.

The Redditch group, which also included the young swimmers’ parents Neal Strange and Chris Britt, both teachers at Redditch SC, were proud to represent their club at this important event.  They had a highly enjoyable evening, which provided a rare opportunity to mix with some of the biggest names in British swimming, before dining in the excellent company of Sarah Bailey (a medallist at the last four Paralympic Games) and Marie Hardiman. 

The award presented to Redditch Swimming Club represents a tremendous honour for this long-established club and for the town.

COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 2005 Worcester ASA County Championships are already underway.  A small group of Redditch swimmers performed well at the two long distance galas at Hereford on 12 and 20 March.  In Gala 1, Jamie and Stuart Mackay both won their respective age groups, in the men’s 1500 m – and took 2^nd and 3^rd places in the open category.  Jessica Nice and Suzie Britt swam excellent PBs in the girls’ 800 m, claiming 4^th and 5^th places respectively in their age groups.  In Gala 2, Jamie and Stuart were joined by Sam Holtom for the 800 m.  Suzie was also back again, as our only girl in the 1500 m.  More excellent PBs were achieved, as Jamie and Stuart again won their respective age groups, Sam took silver and Suzie claimed another fifth place.

Many other Redditch swimmers will be springing into action at Worcester on 26-27 February and Wolverhampton on 12-13 March.  Once again, a large number have achieved the necessary qualifying times and we hope that the hard work that they have been putting in during training sessions will be rewarded with some excellent times and a large haul of medals.  Good luck to all of our competitors – particularly to Hannah Rolls, Sophie Bridgman and Daniel Strange who are competing in their first County Championships.

SWIM 21

Our first application for the necessary annual validation of our Swim 21 accreditation has been recommended for approval.

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ATTENTION ALL SWIMMERS AND PARENTS

PLEASE TRY TO ENSURE THAT YOU ARE AVAILABLE FOR ANY GALA FOR WHICH YOU MIGHT BE SELECTED.  UNFORTUNATELY WE DON’T HAVE THE BIGGEST SQUAD, AND WE RELY HEAVILY ON 20-30 SWIMMERS.  WHEN SEVERAL OF THESE ARE UNAVAILABLE, WE ARE FORCED TO PUT OUT A SMALL AND WEAKENED TEAM.

THIS WAS THE SITUATION LAST SATURDAY (19 FEBRUARY) FOR THE SECOND ROUND OF THE WORCESTER WINTER LEAGUE.  DESPITE ABOUT 12 SWIMMERS BEING UNAVAILABLE (AT THE END OF HALF TERM) THE SMALL TEAM THAT TURNED OUT PUT IN A MASSIVE EFFORT FOR THE CLUB, BUT WERE UNABLE TO GET US ABOVE 5^TH PLACE.  THANKS TO EVERY ONE OF THE ‘HEROES’ WHO DID THEIR BIT ON THE NIGHT.  NO ONE EXPECTS EVERY SWIMMER TO BE AVAILABLE FOR EVERY GALA, BUT PLEASE DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO HELP US AVOID FURTHER DEFEATS FROM CLUBS THAT WE SHOULD NORMALLY BEAT COMFORTABLY.  THANKS.

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FURTHER INFORMATION ON SWIMMING COMPETITIONS

Please remember that there are five main categories of competition, with different requirements for each…

1.   Club Championships – RSC members only.  All swimmers in the Development, Junior Competition and Senior Competition Squads are strongly encouraged to enter.  No qualifying times required.  When the time comes for entries, if in doubt, ask one of the coaches/teachers which events you or your child should enter.

2.   County/Midland/National Championships – Open to all ASA-registered club swimmers, but qualifying times (QTs) must be achieved for each event entered.  QTs get progressively tougher from County to National level.  Something for every swimmer to aspire to!

3.   League competitions – Four main ones for Redditch: Nuneaton & District ‘Diddy’ League (for the younger swimmers), Worcester Winter League, Mercian League and Speedo League.  Teams are selected by the coaches and names of selected swimmers are shown on yellow team sheets put on the club noticeboard (Hewell Road) 1-2 weeks before the gala.  Age requirements vary.

4.   Inter-Club Galas – These are mostly one-off, ‘friendly’ competitions against some of our local rivals, although there is usually a trophy at stake!  Our home galas are held at either Droitwich or Bromsgrove.  As for the League competitions, teams are selected by the coaching staff 1-2 weeks in advance.

5.   Open Meets – As the name suggests, these are open to all competitive, ASA-registered swimmers.  Open meets are organised by clubs across the country.  There are meets suitable for swimmers of most ages and levels of ability.  Meets are graded from ‘B Grade’ through to Level 1 Licensed Meets, for prospective National standard swimmers.  Open meets are advertised in ‘Swimming’ magazine and on various club websites.  For information on selected opens speak to the Club’s Open Meets Secretary, Andrew Humphreys – or keep an eye on the club noticeboard.

 ‘NEW’ SQUADS

With effect from 1 January 2005, the Club’s Development Squad has been officially split into two halves: Silver and Gold.  In practice, the swimmers and their parents are unlikely to have noticed much difference – but we are now operating a system which recognises what has been happening in practice for a year or so.  Swimmers new to the Development Squad will usually be invited to join the Silver squad, swimming only twice a week while they further refine their technical skills and build up their strength and stamina.  When their teachers/ coaches consider that they are ready to do more, they will be invited to join Development Gold, and increase their training – doing 3-5 hours every week.  This won’t happen until the coaches, swimmers and parents are all happy that they are up to the challenge.

The following paragraphs provide a summary of the agreed requirements for swimmers in each part of the Development Squad.

DEVELOPMENT (GOLD)

Criteria

As for current Development Squad.  Age range: normally 8-10, but swimmers aged 7-12 may be accepted in some circumstances.

Should be technically competent swimmers in at least two strokes and preferably three.  Should be judged to have the necessary strength and stamina to make them capable of doing 3-5 one hour training sessions per week – or to quickly adapt to such a regime.  Acceptance to this squad, and any modification to the normal guidelines for squad membership, is at the discretion of the squad’s coaches/teachers.

Source(s) of new swimmers

Predominantly from Development (Silver), but may also include more advanced young swimmers who have joined from another club.

Progression

Normally into Junior Competition Squad.

Training times

As per current Development Squad programme i.e. Sunday 12.30-13.30 (Hewell Road), Monday 18.30-19.30 (HR), Wednesday 20.00-20.45 (HR), Friday 20.00-21.00 (Studley), Saturday 12.30-13.30 (S).

DEVELOPMENT (SILVER)

Criteria

Intermediate stage between a learn-to-swim programme (widths or lengths) and Development (Gold).  Age range: normally 7-10, but may be 6-11.

This should be regarded as a squad to which new young swimmers are allocated in the relatively short-term, while they further improve technical skills and build strength and stamina before moving up to the higher level of the Development Squad.

Swimmers should be technically competent in at least two strokes and preferably three.  Swimmers who are not yet judged to have the necessary strength and stamina to make them capable of doing more than two training sessions per week.  Acceptance to this squad, and any modification to the normal guidelines for squad membership, is at the discretion of the squad’s coaches/teachers.

Source(s) of new swimmers

Predominantly from RSC ‘Lengths’ group, but also new swimmers joining the club from council/ private learn-to-swim programmes e.g. through Local Swimming Festivals and Development Camps, or less formal routes.

Progression

Normally into Development (Gold) Squad.

Training times

Wednesday 19.30-20.00 and one other session from Development Squad timetable (see above).  As an alternative, two one hour sessions (i.e. excluding Wednesday) may be attended if previously agreed with the relevant squad coach/ teacher.

Allocation to the different squads is at the discretion of the teachers/coaches.  If you have any questions please discuss with Pat, Neal or Chris.

LAND TRAINING

Land training plays an important part in developing strength, stamina and flexibility in swimmers.  Please remember that Chris O’Sullivan continues to run his excellent weekly sessions at St Augustine’s School on Tuesday evenings (6.00 – 7.00 pm).  The number of swimmers regularly attending these sessions have, unfortunately and inexplicably, fallen over the past few months.  However, the viability of the sessions has been assured by the involvement of a brave/foolish group of Mums and Dads, who huff and puff around the hall, struggling to keep up with the young swimmers.

Why not give it a try?  We can guarantee a well-run and very valuable work-out for any swimmer aged 10 or more.  If that’s not enough, they will be amused by some aging, unfit and overweight parents attempting tricep dips, press-ups and crunches!

MORE HELP NEEDED

The continued success of Redditch Swimming Club depends on its team of volunteers.  As some swimmers inevitably move on to other activities, and their parents depart with them, we need new volunteers to fill their places.  There is also a regular progression of young swimmers into the Senior Squad, leaving a shortage of helpers and officials at ‘Diddy’ galas.  It is vitally important that new helpers keep coming forward.

Thanks to those who have kindly helped at recent galas and particularly to parents who have agreed to take on new positions of responsibility since the last AGM – but we still need more helpers at galas, qualified officials, fundraisers, etc.

If you think that you could help the Club in any capacity, please come forward now – don’t wait to be asked!  Speak to any Committee member for further information.

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CONTACT POINTS

If you need to ask any questions about Redditch Swimming Club, then don’t be afraid to approach one of the Coaches/Teachers or any member of the Committee.  In case you don’t know who they are, here is a short ‘Who’s who’ for the Club.

President                 Pat Smith

Vice President           Martin Hooper (also Chair of Worcester County ASA)

Chairman                 Paul Holtom

Secretary                 Louise Parkins

Treasurer                Sheila Debens

Fixtures Secretary      Bev Nice

Records Secretary     Graham Nice

Committee               Chris Britt (School Development, Swim 21)

Diane Hill (Woodrow Teaching)

                             Ian Pardy (Fund-raising)

                             Tracy May

                             Alison Harwood

                             Alison Knibbs

Welfare Officer          Julie Edwards

Head Coach             Barry Ferguson

Development Squad   Pat Smith

Neal Strange

Chris Britt

Teachers                 David Finney

(Lengths groups)       Alan Field

Julie Edwards

Rika Crisp

Tom Ryder

NB Apologies to all concerned for errors and omissions in the original version of the above.  This list is not all inclusive.  Many other people, not mentioned above, also have very important jobs.  Thanks to all who help the Club in any capacity.

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