Level X Racing is a club time trial held in training with results being submitted to Swim England’s Rankings database.
It is a fun opportunity for swimmers to practice some racing skills in the absence of competitions due to COVID-19.
Swim England will publish leaderboards at designated times throughout the racing period to celebrate success.
If you need further help and assistance with the software for the results please email [email protected]
Swim England East Region is currently looking for four members to join our Audit, Risk and Probity Committee, or ARP as we have already shortened it too!
The ARP is part of the new governance structure that will come into place when the region becomes an incorporated company on 1st January 2021 and the Terms of Reference for the ARP can be found in the ACM papers on our website.
If you feel that you have the qualities to ensure that the region maintains high standards of governance, please complete the application form and send it to the Chairman at [email protected] by 31st October 2020 or, if you think you may be interested but would like to know more, please contact the Chairman by email.
Swim England has confirmed it is committed to doing everything it can to enable the ‘excellent’ County Age Group Swimming Championships take place in 2021.
However, due to the ongoing coronavirus restrictions, it is highly unlikely that these events will be able to take place in their usual January/February time slot.
To that end, Swim England has announced that the normal window will be suspended until later in the year.
An alternative window will now run from late May until 18 July 2021, with a further racing opportunity opening up for counties later in the year so older swimmers sitting exams will be given the chance to participate at an appropriate time.
Swim England has also confirmed the current plan is to run Regional Championships within their usual window and it will be making every effort to enable this to happen.
Swim England will soon be publishing details of its full Return to Competition strategy, including plans for the phased return of Open Meets.
The first part of this features Level X Racing which will be fully launched next week following completion of the pilot scheme.
More information can be found on the Swim England website.
Sharyn Bord has been awarded a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2020.
The Cambridge Dive Team President and Swim England East Region Diving Committee member has been recognised for voluntary service to diving in Cambridgeshire. “I’m very proud,” said Sharyn. “I feel a bit embarrassed by it to be honest because there are so many people that do such a lot of hard work. “I know I’ve been around a long time, but on the way there have been lots and lots of people that have helped me immensely so in a way it’s not me, it’s a collection of people.
“But I am extremely proud and getting used to the feeling of it at the moment.”
Having initially been a swimmer, Sharyn switched to become a diver when the original Parkside Pool opened in Cambridge in 1963. She started coaching and in 1967 became volunteer head coach of the diving section of Granta Swimming Club, which amalgamated to become City of Cambridge Swimming Club in 1985. The new Parkside Pools opened in May 1999, and with 10 club divers the priority became to rebuild the diving section. Membership swelled, with record numbers competing in national championships. Sharyn founded the Cambridge Diving Development Centre in 2001, providing community Learn to Dive lessons, and in 2003, after a fundraising campaign, a professional diving programme was facilitated and the club’s first professional full-time coach appointed. In 2004, the Cambridge Dive Team was founded. The centre continued to grow with the appointment of more professional coaches plus a development programme for divers to become junior coaches.
Sharyn was administrator and treasurer for 10 years before becoming president, and is a judge, referee, county diving secretary. As club president she uses her experience to provide leadership and offer advice on club, county and regional issues, to represent the club and to provide support to coaches and other club officers.
Sharyn added: “Over the years I’ve had a few awards, long service in particular, but I hadn’t ever thought it would be a Queen’s Birthday Honours’ list, it had never crossed my mind.”
Over a third of the Swim England affiliated clubs that need to submit evidence to meet new Stronger Affiliation guidelines have either completed or begun the process.
Swim England has created Stronger Affiliation so its affiliated clubs which are not yet SwimMark accredited can prove they are well run and their personnel have the necessary safeguarding checks and qualifications in place to ensure members’ safety.
Evidence must be submitted and approved by 1 December 2020 or clubs face the risk of being suspended temporarily or permanently at the beginning of 2021.
There is a Stronger Affiliation workshop on Wednesday 14th October at 7pm via zoom for any club who wishes to find out more and/or seek help with submitting their evidence.
Swim England had recently submitted the Water Polo Return to Team Sport Guidance, this was a key part of our support to ensure clubs could return to playing. Subsequently, the Government has issued further instructions around the ‘Rule of 6’ and its application to sport.
In light of both developments the Water Polo Leadership Group will be hosting a Question & Answer session for club officers and coaches of water polo clubs to discuss the Return to Team Sport Guidance and the impact of the ‘Rule of 6’ on water polo.
Two sessions have been made available both starting at 6.30pm on Thursday 1st October and Tuesday 6th October, club officers and coaches will only need to attend one of these sessions.
The following link can be used to sign up:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/WaterPoloReturntoCompetition
Zoom details for the meeting will follow after 12 midday on the day of the meeting.
The Swim England Return to Pool Guidance has been updated again particularly in response to the recent changes announce by the Government last week and in particular how this affects water polo’s return to team sport. Supporting documents and FAQ’s are constantly being updated.
The East Region is lucky to have three clubs, Basildon & Phoenix SC, City of Norwich SC and Flitwick Dolphins SC, participating in the trials for Level X racing, a new exciting initiative being launched for competitive swimmers across the country.
Congratulations to Karen Pinniger for being selected for the Swim England National Development programme .
City of Norwich Swimming Club coach Karen said: “I’m over the moon to be a part of the National Development Programme again.
“It’s great that the Swim England Talent Team have been able to make this happen under the current circumstances. This programme is always a super opportunity for swimmers and coaches to learn from one other.
“The added dimension of being online is going to expand on the skills we’ve developed in lockdown. It will also support the athletes in their return to the pool, focusing and reframing high standards of performance in the post lockdown training and racing environment.”
As part of our move to create more digital resources, we have launched the first of our ‘Introduction to’ series for coaches. Our first resource is an interview with Ben Negus, recent recipient of a Regional Silver Pin Award for services to regional coaches. In this resource, Ben shares his thoughts on Butterfly and offers some useful tips for coaches working with entry level through to performance level swimmers.
There is a video, podcast and notes version of this resource, all of which are free to access. Thank you to Ben for sharing his time with us and make sure you subscribe to our various platforms as we have three more resources covering the remaining three strokes dropping in the coming weeks.
The next Club Chair’s Forum will be on Monday 5th October from 7-8pm by Zoom. If you wish to register please email [email protected].
Many thanks to everyone who attended our ACM on 12th September. For those of you who were unable to join us here is a summary of what you missed:
The ACM approved the proposals for the region to become an incorporated association with charitable status from January 2021. Those of you who were at the ACM will know what this means, but if anyone would like to know more the full reports can be found on the ER website. These include a helpful one page summary which probably gives the information most members need. The four members of the Management Committee will initially become the company directors, with the current Board forming a Regional Operations Committee. In the longer term, all governance roles will be subject to open recruitment managed by a Nominations Committee.
The ACM also approved the proposals for the change of financial year and as a consequence, we will close this year’s accounts on 31st December, starting a new financial year on 1st January. In reality, the lack of current activity will make this a far more simple process than it otherwise would have been, and our Finance Manager has already done much of the preparation, but wherever possible we do need you to process any claims or invoices before the middle of December.
At the ACM Silver Pins were awarded to Amy Bryant Hatfield SC for services to Synchronised Swimming, to Simon Gee Team Luton SC for services to the region at the Regional Licensing Officer, and to Dave Champion Team Ipswich SC and Ben Negus City Of Peterborough SC for services to regional swimming coaches. Joan Wheeler Modernian SC was awarded the Jeff Cook Salver for services to the region as Regional Chairman. Copies of the citations for the award winners can be read here.
