Chair's Report (Including Poolside Report)

A very warm welcome to everyone to the 2013 AGM and this year’s celebration of the achievements of the club. Bushey Amateur Swimming Club has an enormous amount to be celebrating this year following the massive efforts of both children and parents.

Last year the club was facing a difficult time. With the loss of a large number of teachers, it was becoming increasingly difficult to manage the amount of swim time the club had. We had to cancel some swimming sessions. This had a knock on effect, with us loosing swimmers because we could not offer them the amount of swim time they needed.

During the year we saw the retirement of Jane Willis and Richard Henson from the teaching staff. We also lost Robin Willis, Becky Wood, Kirsty Hawes, Charlotte Henson, Jonluke Summerfield and Clare de Gidlow from the teaching team. I would like to give a big thank you to Jamie, Karen, Rafal, Richard and Colin for keeping the faith and carrying on.

Through the determination of the committee and teachers we have been able to turn the situation around. I would like to give a big thank you to all the volunteers who have stepped forward to become teachers this year, both parents and young people, as without them we would not have a club.

However the club is not out of the woods yet. On looking forwards, over 95% of our officials and committee are made up of parents from Erica Squad. Without new volunteers, within the next three years the club will not be able to function.

We are now facing increasing difficulty in supporting our in-house club champs with officials. This will soon impact on the external galas we entre as we have to supply a time keeper and judge at each one.

I am appealing to parents, even if you feel you are not ready this year to join the committee. Please think about shadowing a member of the committee or becoming an official. So that next year or the year after, you will feel able to take up a position. There is a wealth of knowledge in the club which will be lost within the next 3 years if no volunteers come forward.

Therefore our aims for the following year are:

                     Find 3 new teachers to join the team.

                     Find 10 judges to support the club

                     Increase the amount of time keepers for the club by 6

                     Fill the vacant post on the committee

                     Identify one person for each role on the committee to shadow the committee member.

                     Continue to develop our leadership programme.

                     Swim 21 accreditation

                     Increase our membership

                     Improve communication to parents and swimmers

This year we have started to develop a leadership programme for our swimmers. The aim is to give all swimmers over the age of 14 years the opportunity to develop their skills outside the pool through volunteering. The two pathways identified are  teaching or officiating for the club. We are already benifiting with our young people becoming teachers, volunteers and officials for the club. 

The aim of the club is also to regain our swim 21 accreditation. This is effectively a kite mark for swimming clubs which demonstrates a level of achievement in attaining standards across the whole spectrum of the club.

So what does it mean to us? Well, there are many benefits to the administration of the club, lending more structure and solidarity, but perhaps more noticeably, we will have access to training courses and support from the ASA and British Swimming which we would otherwise not recieve. There is a large amount of work to be done and I would like to thank Lou Gooden who in her role as Development Co-ordinator, is driving this monstrous admin truck on its very long journey. 

Part of accreditation is the reviewing of our constitution,  Bushey has not reviewed our constitution since October 2010. So this evening we will be asking you to adopt a revised constitution which incorporates the changing rules of the Amateur Swimming Association.

Tonight gives us the chance to reflect on both the glory of the swimmers and the huge contributions of parents and helpers, so to all of you – thank you very much

This year you will have seen a change in your children’s swimming times. This has been driven by the number of teachers the club has available. Through their hard work I am delighted to inform you that Bushey swimming club now runs a swimming session on every day of the week. Apart from our youngest swimming group, all swimmers are now offered at least two swims a week.

We have seen this year seven new teachers come on board to support the club and I would like to congratulate both Karen Jones and Jack Jackson for completing their level two qualifications.

It also gives me great pleasure in congratulating Jack Jackson on being given a place in the National Youth Coaches Academy. There are only 20 places in the country, so it is a huge achievement for him and the club. We will all benefit from Jack being in the Academy.

The teachers have not only been busy teaching, but they are working very hard to develop a comprehensive guide to the parents and swimmers on how swimmers progress within the club. This will be completed over the next year thank you and good luck.

I would like to thank all the committee for their hard work and support that they have given me this year. They have worked tirelessly to ensure the club runs smoothly.

Thank you to Judith Charman who is stepping down as Treasurer for all her support. Judith has overseen the changes in how the club finances are organised and run. Without her expertise this daunting task would not have been achieved so smoothly. Yvonne Pope who is stepping down as membership secretary, Thank you for organising the membership data base and ensuring that the systems are in place for new members. Thank you to Gillian Wertheim who has worked in various positions within the club and is now retiring as 100 club organiser. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Tracey O’Sullivan, Sam Saville and Jackie Summerfield, they have stepped down from the committee during the year. The club wishes them and their children great success in their new swimming clubs.

Congratulations to all our swimmers we have seen many new PBs and records broken within the club. Over the year we have had 98 swimmers represent Bushey in external galas. The commitment of our swimmers is recognised and I often receive compliments on their behaviour and the support that they give each other during their races. We have a great team spirit and are known as a friendly club. You should all be extremely proud of yourselves as it is only through your behaviour when you represent the club that we have this reputation.

There are so many more of you that contribute and help out and I know that swimmers and parents really do appreciate everything you all do.

It is evident when you see the swimmers faces when they have achieved a PB or achieved their goal in a race.

I wish you all the very best for 2014 and enjoy the evening!

Caroline Shermer