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Jo Stalley

Swim England mourns the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II

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Swim England has expressed its heartfelt sympathies to the Royal Family following the death of Her Majesty The Queen at the age of 96.

Her Majesty was the patron of the national governing body – then known as the Amateur Swimming Association – for 63 years from 1953 until handing over the role to The Duke of Cambridge in December 2016.

Jane Nickerson, Swim England chief executive, said: “Her Majesty was an iconic figure and an inspiration – and she will be sorely missed. She touched the lives of so many across the world and it was an honour to have her as our patron for so long.

On behalf of Swim England, I’d like to pass on our thoughts, prayers and heartfelt sympathies to all members of the Royal Family at this extremely sad time.”

Gerry Metcalf heads to Peru!

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Gerry Metcalf is heading to Lima, Peru shortly to officiate as a Starter at the FINA World Junior Championships from 30th August to 4th September. This comes shortly after her Starter role at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham a few weeks ago where many of you will have spotted her as the Starter in the televised coverage of the Games. Hopefully FINA’s YouTube channel will  be showing the competition.

We wish Gerry safe travels to Peru!

 

East Region Athletes Medalling on the International Stage!

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East Region swimmers and divers were amongst those celebrating a medal win at some of the recent international competitions taking place.

At the European Junior Championships 2022, held in Romania during July, Erin Little of Chelmsford SC (formally Maldon Sharks SC) won a silver medal in the 4 x 100m Mixed Medley event as well as a Bronze in the 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay.

Skye Carter from Basildon & Phoenix SC won an outstanding 4 medals at the European Youth Olympic Festival 2022 that took place in Slovakia at the end of July. These were Silver in the 50m Freestyle, Bronze in the 100m Freestyle, Bronze in the 4 x 100 Medley Relay event, and Silver in the 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay team event.

At the European Championships 2022, held in Rome, Laura Stephens from Colchester SC and Basildon & Phoenix SC, (formally a member of Harwich, Dovercourt and Parkeston SC, and Stanway SC) narrowly missed out on a medal in the 200m Butterfly final.

In the diving events at the European Championships, Ben Cutmore, a member of Luton Diving, and a former member of Cambridge Dive Team, won the Gold medal in the 10m Platform Synchronised event. Ben also won the Bronze in the 10m Platform Individual event.

Amy Rollinson from Luton Diving, finished fourth by 0.30 points in the synchro 3m Springboard event.

Well done to the swimmers and divers, and the support team around them- parents, coaches, and volunteers that are involved in getting these athletes to the top!

Director Recruitment

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Swim England East Region currently has two vacancies for Directors.   These are key posts to the operation of the region and The Articles of Association for the region can be read here for your reference.  In addition, the Role Description can be read here.

If you are a member of a Swim England East Region club and have relevant experience, we would love to hear from you.  The Board of Directors meet once a month, all meetings are on-line and arranged at times to suit the members.

If you would like to apply, please complete the nomination form or want to find out more, please contact the Regional Chairman, Ian Cotton at [email protected] before 12th September 2022.

 

Commonwealth Games success for East Region athletes!

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As the Commonwealth Games aquatic events have come to an end at the Sandwell Aquatic Centre, the region would like to congratulate all swimmers and divers that took part.

The country made second in the swimming medal table, totalling 32 medals. Six of these medals were won by swimmers from East Region clubs, or began their journey at clubs in the region. Martyn Walton of Hatfield SC (formally a swimmer at Stevenage SC) also contributed to the Scottish medal count with a bronze in the 4  x 100m Men’s Medley Relay.

In the women’s 200m freestyle S14 event, East region swimmers dominated the medal podium with Jessica-Jane Applegate, City of Norwich SC (formally a swimmer at Team Waveney SC) taking Silver, and Louise Fiddes, Hatfield SC (formally a swimmer at Welwyn Garden SC) taking Bronze.

Grace Harvey, Hoddesdon SC (formally a swimmer at Team Luton SC) took Silver in the Women’s 100m Breaststroke SB6.

Laura Stephens not only took home the Silver medal in the Women’s 200m Butterfly, but also took home a Bronze medal in the Women’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay. Laura is a member of Colchester SC and Basildon & Phoenix SC, (formally a member of Harwich, Dovercourt and Parkeston SC, and Stanway SC).

Luke Turley, Hatfield SC (formally a swimmer with Stevenage SC) won Bronze in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle event.

James Hollis, a former East Region swimmer, won a Bronze medal in the S10 100m Butterfly event. James was a former member at Epping Forest SC, Bishops Stortford SC, and Harlow Penguins SC.

Next came the success on the diving boards. Divers from around the world took to the stage, including Amy Rollinson from Luton Diving club. Amy’s great performance resulted in her winning Bronze in the 1m Springboard final. Amy also narrowly missed out on another bronze medal, coming 4th in the Women’s Synchronised 3m Springboard final. Amy’s father, Ian Rollinson, an active regional volunteer, saw her success from close range, as he was the Diving Secretariat for the Games.

Thank you to all the volunteers that contributed at the Games, they could not take place without your support.

Financial Support for Clubs Taking in Ukrainian Swimmers and Teachers

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Club Funding and Qualification initiative

Swim England is offering a one-off bursary of £150 to clubs who have welcomed one or more Ukrainian swimmers. This will be a contribution to the overall financial support that clubs are providing, and can be used by the committee to directly support the swimmers’ resettlement journey. Please note, this funding is going fast so if you are planning to apply, please do so quicky!

Swim England is also working on a new initiative with the Institute of Swimming to offer Ukrainian swimming teachers, who have been forced to flee the invasion, the chance to gain a world-renowned qualification free of charge. The two-part initiative is part of the Homes for Ukraine and Ukraine Family Sponsorship scheme and will allow Ukrainian swimming teachers to gain their Swim England Qualifications (SEQ) Level 1 and Level 2 Teaching Swimming qualifications at no cost to themselves.

For more information, please visit: https://www.swimming.org/swimengland/ios-swim-england-support-ukrainian-swimmers/

Regional Awards- Time to Nominate!

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The Swim England East Region Awards are now open for nominations. The Awards recognise and celebrate the incredible spirit of our aquatic community especially evident during these challenging times. The Awards will showcase individuals and groups who create and foster the community spirit of aquatics.

The nomination process is done through the Swim England National Award webpage, and once closed, the region will receive the nominations to select a regional winner. Each regional winner will then be submitted to Swim England for the live ceremony inside the Great Hall at the University of Birmingham on Saturday 26 November where the national winners will be announced. Closing date is 31st July 2022.

The categories are;

Water Polo Referee Course

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There is a Referee Course being hosted by Hitchin SC on 11th June, 1pm-4pm (latest) as part of a Junior Water Polo Tournament.

Following a classroom course, candidates will have the opportunity to get some practical experience with Paul Metcalfe.

Venue– CHQ architects, Whitehorse Street, Baldock, SG7 6QQ

Cost- £5 per candidate

To book– please contact Daniel Cheney of Hitchin SC on [email protected]

Tutor– Jon Lane, Northampton WPC

Please note, Swim England East Region is not the organising body for this course. 

 

East swimmers amongst Team England squad heading to the Commonwealth Games

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Congratulations to all athletes that have been selected to represent Team England at this summer’s Commonwealth Games. Amongst the 48 swimmers competing, Grace Harvey (Hoddesdon SC), Jessica- Jane Applegate (City of Norwich SC) , Louise Fiddes (Hatfield SC) and Jordan Catchpole (Team Waveney SC) have all been selected to be para swimmers within the squad. James Hollis, a para swimmer formerly a member at Epping Forest SC, Bishops Stortford SC, and Harlow Penguins SC, has been selected to be part of the team.

Also making up the team is Laura Stephens, a former Colchester SC swimmer, as well as a previous member of Stanway SC, Basildon & Phoenix SC, and Harwich Dovercourt/ Parkeston SC. Luke Turley, whilst now at Bath SC, had progressed this career through Hatfield SC and Stevenage SC.

Swim England East Region wishes the very best for these swimmers and will be cheering them on, along with the rest of the squad.

The full article can be found on the Swim England website.

 

Open Water Development Camp Opportunity

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Swim England East Region is hosting a Development Camp for 13-17 year olds that are interested in developing their open water racing skills. The event is happening on 11th June 2022 at Stanborough Lakes. This year, we are inviting swimmers that would like to attend, to apply for a place, providing the criteria is met. The camp will include classroon theory sessions, lake sessions, and a race simulation event. The criteria can be found in the Information Document.

The region is also opening an opportunity for swimmers of the same age, and that meet the same criteria, to attend just the race simulation part of the day if it is just the race practice they are after. In addition to this, coaches are welcome to come along to observe the day, to gain more knowledge on techniques. For more information on the day, and the registration forms, please visit the Open Water Development webpage.

Welcome to our new East Region President

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Helen Stephens, of Colchester SC, has become the East Region President following our Annual General Meeting. We welcome Helen into the role and look forward to seeing her at regional and national events throughout the year. Helen is a long standing volunteer in the sport, and will always offer a friendly smile on poolside.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Paul Kendall for his time as Regional President, and for all his support and enthusiasm he has provided our athletes and volunteers at the many events he has attended during his time in post.