Poolside Report

On behalf of the club, I would like to thank our team of teachers and coaches, past and present, who have worked so hard and given up their time to teach and train our swimmers. I would especially like to thank Jan Humphreys and Trevor Bisdee, who have decided to take up alternative challenges outside the pool. Jan

has given many years of teaching to our younger members as they start on their competitive swimming journey and Trevor has worked with our width swimmers for three years. We wish them both well. I would like to especially thank Robin Willis, our senior teacher, for his never ending support and guidance. I would also like to welcome Zoe Watson, Richard Jones and Neil Fisher who have agreed to join our team. I look forward to working with them and hope that they find this new role rewarding and enjoyable.

It is essential that we recruit new teachers for us to continue with the weekly sessions. We are still operating at the minimum level of teachers and would like to increase this. Many hands make light work! As our teachers/coaches are unpaid, it is the club’s policy to pay for all training courses in return for a commitment to working within the club. If you or anyone you know is interested in becoming a coach/teacher, please speak to any of the team or myself to find out more information.

We have had a huge number of swimmers achieving Speed Awards. I must thank Jane and Howard Willis for co-coordinating this job. These flashes allow your child to monitor their progress and it is fantastic to see the badges when they are sewn onto T-Bags on poolside. Please make sure that you name your shirts to ensure that they do not get mixed up though!

We held two successful diving courses in 2011 and we have a further 32 children who are now able to dive safely and consistently into 1.2 metres of water. We intend to continue with these courses throughout 2012 and will be inviting children who we consider will benefit from this course based on their ability as the

opportunity arises.

As a club we are committed to inspire and develop a passion for competitive swimming – this being the primary BASC Vision. We expect our members to become involved in all club activities, including Club Championships, Time Trials and Galas when they are picked. We competed successfully in the Herts Major League (two teams), the National Swimming League, the Peanuts League (for swimmers 9-13 years of age) and the Chiltern League during 2011. We were also involved in many other invitation galas throughout the year. We produced some excellent swims in these events, both as teams and individually. Thank you to all of the children who have been involved in these teams throughout 2011, and thank you to all squad managers and poolside help at these events.

A number of our swimmers compete at Open Meets regularly, where they represent our club as individuals. As well as giving swimmers further opportunity to achieve new PBs, these events also allow the opportunity to swim distances that are not offered within our club schedule, such as middle distance events i.e. 200m Breaststroke, 200m Fly (for the very brave!) 400m IM etc. If your child wants to give it a go, they can get involved by contacting our Open Meets Coordinator, Kevin Binns.

I would like to thank, on behalf of all of the teaching team and the swimmers, the army of officials, committee members and other parents for their efforts in supporting the club in every way throughout the year.

of a coaching environment at Bushey Grove Leisure Centre.

As always, the coaching team would like to congratulate our swimmers for every one of their successes and achievements this year, from the mastering of a new skill, through the tiniest PB to the Club Record and beyond. Look at the number of awards being given tonight at the AGM. This is testament to your hard work and commitment to the club. We wish you all the best for this year and hope that you will all progress further and achieve more in 2012.

Please feel free to catch me at any session for a chat if you have a query or question regarding your child, or the club as a whole – or speak to any member of the team.