Chair's Report

Well, 2009 has been an eventful year for the Club and for me as the new Chair.  Reading the reports in this booklet makes me realise how fortunate we are at Bushey ASC to have such a committed team of volunteers involved in keeping the club running so successfully.  There is lot that has to be done that often is not seen poolside, but between them these volunteers give a huge amount of time to ensure the policies,  finances, website, pool bookings, class arrangements, teaching and training plans, competition entries, and communications are in place to support our swimmers’ development  and ensure they have opportunities to enjoy their swimming.

Achieving Swim21 in the spring of 2009 was a big success for the club – it sets us on a path of continuous improvement and puts us on the same footing as many other swimming clubs in the UK.  It confirms our strength as a teaching club and it is a great joy to see some of our youngest members taking part in their first Club Champs.  It is also very rewarding to see so many of our swimmers competing at galas throughout the year, demonstrating their swimming skills and regularly improving their times.

We remain a family-oriented club and have organised a number of social events in the last year.  My thanks particularly to Alison Ratcliffe for our super Annual Bash last spring and to Pam and Alan Brown and the two Carolines for running a very successful Quiz Night.

You will see from the other reports that we have had some challenges in the past 12 months.  In particular, our membership has had more turnover than expected and our pool time has been disrupted.  Such challenges also present opportunities.  We have been able to welcome more new members and families into the Club and we have been able to experience different pools and extend our swimming time as we move into 2010. 

Looking forward, we have a very busy swimming calendar; please do check the website and get the dates in your diaries.  A particular highlight is that we are using the eight-lane pool with electronic timing at Woodside again for our third club championships – a fantastic experience for swimmers and spectators.  We also have a couple of social events already planned which I hope you will come along to especially if you are new to the club. 

Finally, I would just urge you all to get involved with the club to help us make it even better.

I am very grateful to everyone who has helped in any way in 2009. 

 

Jane Willis

Chair, BASC