Water Polo Trials for 12 & under

The water polo section are now forming their 12 & under team for 2014. If your child is aged 8 - 11 years please feel free to come down to the Saturday session at Great Sankey starting at 5pm. We are looking for children who are strong swimmers and looking to have fun and develop new skills. 

We are building on success as this years 12 & under team who got through to the final of the Bolton & District League and the majority of the team now train at the Regional Training centres at Liverpool and Manchester.

Remember as a member of Warrington Swimming Club paying by standing order you have already paid for this session so no further payment required.

 

Chris Byrne

Head Water Polo Coach

 

Percy Mason Gala on 30th November and 1st December

Please find details of the Percey Mason gala run by Warriors of Warrington  please download forms and return to Maureen or Shaun or submit online 

Thank you

 

Percy Mason Meet 2013

Our Percy Mason Memorial Gala will be held this year on Saturday 30th November & Sunday 1st December at Orford Jubilee Park, Warrington.

This is a level 3 licensed meet open to 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 & over swimmers. Note this year we are permitting 9 year olds to enter if they meet the 10 year old qualifying times. We very much welcome competitors from other clubs to join us.

Please find attached below the meet conditions and information, qualifying times and entry forms. The electronic entry file from Hy-Tek Team Manager software will be posted on the website next week if clubs wish to make an electronic entry or you can request it from homegalas@wowsc.org.uk.

We look forward to seeing you there.

  

Monthly news letter from Mr S Woodward

 

I have been in the role for just over a month now , and I have seen a good outlook by the swimmers regarding the training program and its implementation. The main focus by the coaching staff is to work on turns, finishes and stroke development, and as part of this the swimmers need to buy into this , all swimmers should have a set of short fins which are available at the Decathlon store or the following web site http://www.swimstop.co.uk/ or http://www.swimshop.co.uk/ as this is a vital part of swim training and all swimmers with long hair must wear a swimming cap.

Over the next couple of weeks’ times will be done at club sessions by the teachers/coaches to capture 100/200 times in all strokes and these will be displayed on the web site as part of being a competitive swimming club, the next time trials which will be (100) IND MED on the 17th Sept 2013 , failure to attend these time trails could result in the swimmer moving down lanes or staying in the same lane until they do this time trail as this is a vital part of measuring the swimmers improvements.

Also could swimmers please make themselves available for selection for galas as this is also a vital part of being involved in a competitive swimming club and you should be proud to represent your club.

 

Feel free to talk to me any time after club sessions

 

Thanks

 

Shaun Woodward (MIOS/FIOS)

 

New Swimming Coach appointed

 1) Chief Swimming Coach Shawn Woodward has been appointed as the Chief Swimming Coach of the club and has taken up the position from 2nd June 2013.  He will normally be attending swimming sessions on Tuesday and Thursday

 2) Time TrialsAs a first evaluation of the swimming performances time trials will be held for appropriate lane on Tuesday 25th June and on Thursday 27th June starting on each occasion at 7.00 pm. 

3) Starting Time. The new Chief Coach expects swimmers to be on the poolside and not less than 5 minutes before the starting time of the session on each occasion.

1.1 million Primary School children cannot swim

Children at risk as report finds more than half cannot swim Over 1.1 million primary school children will break up for half term next week unable to be safe in and around water.  That’s according to a report released today by Swimming’s Governing Body, the ASA (Amateur Swimming Association) and Kellogg’s entitled “Learning the Lesson: The Future of School Swimming”, which surveyed 3,501 primary schools on how many of their children have attained Key Stage 2 swimming requirements. It found 51% of children aged seven to eleven cannot swim the length of a typical swimming pool (25 metres) unaided. The report, the largest ever investigation into the state of school swimming, found that schools are not achieving anywhere near the recommended level of delivery time. The average state school pupil spends just 8 hours and 15 minutes a year in swimming lessons at school, which is well under the 22 hours The Department for Education recommends in the current National Curriculum. But a lack of monitoring by Ofsted means that schools are not required to show any evidence of their swimming programmes. With schools increasingly under pressure to deliver good exam results there are concerns that head-teachers and school governors are not allocating budget to support swimming in the National Curriculum, preferring to concentrate on academic indicators instead. With drowning amongst the leading cause of accidental death of children and young people in England (according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents), experts are worried these numbers could increase in future if the current issues with school swimming programmes are not addressed.  In 2011 there were 407 deaths from drowning reported across all age groups, of which 47 involved children and young people under the age of 19-years-old. Where schools are achieving high attainment rates amongst their pupils it is attributed to better pupil to teacher ratios, longer lesson times and a higher number of lessons offered.   The report concludes that budget constraints in schools and a lack of auditing by Ofsted to ensure schools are delivering swimming programmes, as set out by the Department for Education, are at the heart of the problem.  Almost 45% of schools stated the biggest barrier to delivering better quality school swimming was budget constraints. This September each primary school will receive a minimum of £9,000 additional ring-fenced funding as part of the Government’s £150 million injection into PE & School Sport. The ASA is calling for curriculum swimming and water safety to be a priority for this funding, with schools that are not currently meeting the statutory requirement to ensure that every child has the opportunity to swim 25 metres by the time they leave primary school. To coincide with the ASA report over a thousand parents of primary school children were surveyed for their thoughts on the state of school swimming. The research highlighted that despite swimming’s place on the national curriculum just four in ten parents say their child is currently receiving lessons at school.    And over half of parents wanted the new additional Government funding to help rectify this by putting school swimming over and above other sports. One in ten parents say their child only swims on holiday - presenting clear risks in terms of ability, water confidence and safety - especially when 52% of parents do not think or are not sure if their child could swim to safety if they found themselves in danger in open water. 39% of parents also told the ASA that their child was not in any type of swimming lessons. The ASA, whose 2012 “Save School Swimming: Save Lives” report laid down a six point manifesto to provide direction for everyone involved in delivery school swimming is also urgently calling for the Government to ask Ofsted to include the inclusion and monitoring of compulsory swimming lessons as part of primary school inspections, as well as offering more training for teachers. Commenting David Sparkes, Chief Executive of the ASA (Amateur Swimming Association) said, “Swimming is one of the easiest, safest forms of exercise for children of all abilities, and school swimming is the single most effective way of teaching children how to be safe in and around water.  Yet swimming is one of the few areas of a child’s statutory education that is all too often left unmeasured, unchecked or, for 1.1m children, unfulfilled. “The additional £150m of ring-fenced investment by Government for PE and School Sport this September can provide a real lifeline for school swimming.   I believe that schools have a rare opportunity to seize the moment in September 2013, and take action by investing in an activity that has a lifelong legacy and the ability to keep future generations safe”. David Walker, leisure safety manager at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), said: “RoSPA is astounded at how bad some of these figures are. “Having the swimming and water safety skills to save yourself or others doesn’t come instinctively, it has to be taught. “Worryingly, in our work with bereaved parents and coroners, RoSPA hears all too often how parents believed their children could swim, only to find out their abilities were little more than being able to float and doggy paddle. “RoSPA supports all the ASA’s recommendations including its call for curriculum swimming and water safety to be a priority in schools.” To support the provision of school swimming, the ASA have provided a range of resources for schools and parents available here.

Mark Foster invtes you to his one day swim camp

 I’m writing to you because I’m running the Mark Foster Swimming Academy again in May and June as a set of one day swim camps throughout the UK and I’d love your young swimmers to get a chance to be a part of it. I’m holding these one day camps in Lancaster , London , Oxford and Dorchester . I’m looking for young swimmers between the ages of 11 to 17, who are currently swimming at club level aiming for county qualifying level plus any aiming at regional or national qualifying level, to join me and Katy Sexton MBE. I’ve put together a team of some of the most knowledgeable people in swimming to help me cram these three days with the most up to date techniques, drills and methods available to swimmers. We’re going to work together to give your young swimmers:

 §         Proven ways to dramatically improve their strokes, speed and endurance

§         Advanced land training and conditioning programmes to transform their fitness levels

§         The mental and physical strategies that I and other successful international swimmers have used to achieve champion level performance I’d like to ask you to help me by publicising the Swim Camp to your young swimmers and their parents. I can forward you an eflier and letter for you to forward to your swimmers parents on my behalf if you respond back to this email. As you’ll see, there are only 60 places available, so if you want to reserve places for any of your own young swimmers, please let my team know as quickly as you can. If you want to reserve places, go to www.mfsa.co.uk the day costs £97 each and includes my Sporting heroes book and a swim cap for each swimmer I would also like to extend an invitation for you to come and observe for free. Damian Lo Cascio is organizing the camp for me and he used to swim with me at Barnet Copthall and was a former international, he would be happy to answer any questions you have about the camp, you can reach him on 07941766659  All the very best   Mark

Important dates to note for swimmers

Important Dates 7th April the 3rd Round of Bolton and District Mini League5at Wigan. Time to be advised 13 & under, 21st April Bolton and District Inter Club swimming gala at Wigan at 2.15pm 11 & over, 28th April Warrington Festival Gala at Orford Jubilee Park were we will have two teams in the gala all ages.  If anyone has any unwanted gifts that can be used as raffle prizes please pass to Maureen    as they would be greatly appreciated.