Swimming in Shepway

1. Swimming in Shepway Tim Wiseman and Kevin O’Connor

2. Agenda Introductions Background What could we improve upon? Challenges Does anyone else…? SDC and Roger De Haan Charitable Trust What next? Who is it for? What competitions? Additional Information Questions and Answers Close

3. Introductions • Tim Wiseman – Head Coach Hythe Aqua • Kevin O’Connor – Head Coach Folkestone Sports Centre Swimming Club • Dan Hulme – The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust • Wilbert Greaves – Shepway District Council Sports Development Officer • Stuart Jones – Chairman Folkestone Sports Centre Swimming Club • Jim Parris – Chairman Hythe Aqua

4. Background • For the past 40 years Shepway has had two strong swimming clubs • Both clubs take swimmers from teaching to swim through to masters • We support currently, or have previously, multiple disciplines including • Competitive swimming • Synchronised swimming • Water Polo • Life Saving • Masters • Open water swimming • Even diving! • Shepway is a relatively small area to draw swimmers from and half of our catchment area is the English Channel! • However each club, and their respective swimmers, have been successful often to very high standards both in the past and currently

5. What could we improve upon? • Is what we are constantly looking at and have been since we started coaching • We have always tried to set objectives for our clubs, both in training and competition, that are stretching and challenging enough to show constant improvement • This has to be a steady improvement so as not to put off those swimmers who don’t have the desire to aim higher but still want to swim competitively for their club • We have strived, as clubs, to meet these objectives and have been successful in hitting them • However taking the clubs to a more successful level generates its own challenges

6. Challenges • Some of our challenges are • Lack of pool time available and at a reasonable cost • Lack of dry land training including stretching • Not enough strength in depth of squads to be as competitive as possible at the higher levels • Not being able to properly support our swimmers as they qualify for more prestigious competitions • A relatively small pool of qualified volunteer teachers and coaches and the ability to train them to better support our swimmers • Access to funding • Losing swimmers to other “bigger” clubs

7. Does anyone else have same challenges? This is when Jim and I started to have discussions It became clear that we both have similar issues and both had ideas on how we could overcome them We continued to meet further with both Stuart and Tim joining our regular discussions to develop our ideas It was agreed that working more closely together to support each other could greatly assist both clubs At this point we decided to discuss further with Shepway District Council and the Roger De Haan Charitable trust as we knew that there were already plans in place for the development of sports in Shepway

8. Shepway District Council and The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust Dan and Wilbert will now explain more about Sports Development in the Shepway area

9. What Next? • Following our discussions and having heard from both Dan and Wilbert we thought the way forward was to form a new club called Shepway Swimming Club • The purpose of the new club being to • Provide additional pool and land training time • Give our swimmers as much support as possible locally • Enter certain events jointly thereby improving the strength in depth of the team • Enter higher standard competitions jointly • Secure additional funding • Utilise the support of the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust and Shepway District Council

10. Who is it for? The club would be open to all but is centred around the members of both Folkestone and Hythe It is not just for Elite swimmers as we will enter competitions with two teams the second being the development squad

11. What competitions will be entered? • Kent Junior League • National Arena Swimming League • Also the ability to enter competitions like • East Invicta Championships • Kent Championships

12. Additional Information (1 of 2) • The clubs are not merging • Both will retain their own identity and enter competitions in their own right. For example the development series of galas • A constitution for the new club has been agreed by the ASA and a committee will be formed with members from both clubs • Is it a take over? • No definitely not hence keeping two separate clubs • Movements between clubs will be discouraged and will only be sanctioned by the agreement of both clubs • Neither club wants to poach swimmers from each other • Will this new club involve the other disciplines? • Yes if they want to

13. Additional information (2 of 2) • How much will it cost? • Very little the Clubs ASA registration has been paid for as has that of the swimmers through their own clubs • We don’t plan on lots of additional kit but will have our own identity with items like hats • How will swimmers be selected for the teams? • On their ability the same as now and jointly by the two clubs • It is anticipated that we will jointly hold a Shepway Championships gala

14. Questions and Answers Please feel free to ask any questions and we will do our best to answer you

15. Close Thank you for coming Kevin and Tim