News for this month

Congratulations - Talent ID

Well done to both Emily Randall and Jorja Brown who were selected onto the Talent Id scheme. This means that once a month they will get to go to Bisham Abbey for dry land training alongside the GB Senior Squad. They will also be given other opportunities to attend event held at the High Performance Centre in Aldershot.

Good Luck

Our good luck wishes go to Emily Randall, Danielle Leavold, Sophie Usher and Jorja Brown when they attend their next England Development Camp. It will be at this camp that the development squad will be selected for the Comen Cup later on in the year. I know the athletes have all been working hard and putting in the extra training, and it is certainly showing in their performances within club.

Figure Groups and Technical Elements now available

The new figures and technical elements have now been added to the club website. To view these please click here.

Skill Level Booklets now available

Please note that the new skill level booklets are now available. Click here to go to the right page.

Swimmer of the Month - December 2009 and January 2010

In December the award went to Leonie Kearn for her outstanding performance at Nationals which gained her a spot on the England Junior Squad.

The January award goes to a young lady that has secured a place on the Talent ID scheme and is part of the current England Development squad, and that person would be Jorja Brown.

Skill Level Assessments for 2010

The skills are due to change from January 2010 and the new skill booklets are now out. These have been aligned to the new figures that were recently announced for the period 2009-2013. However the mandatory elements in skill level 3 and 4 are still incorporated as it is felt that athletes should continuously work on all their splits. Flexibility is one area that Biz Price, the NPD for GB Synchro, holds in the highest regard.

The new booklets will shortly be available through the club website.

It should also be noted though that for skill levels 4 and 5 athletes will be required to show that they are continually working on their flexibility as follows;

1. Athletes taking skill level 4 will be asked to perform flat splits on dry land before proceeding with the rest of the assessment. If they do not pass this they will not be allowed to continue with the assessment.

2. Athletes taking skill level 5 will be asked to perform flats splits on dry land and the Ariana element from skill level 4 before proceeding with the rest of the assessment. Again if they do not pass both they will not be allowed to continue with the rest of the assessment.

Therefore it is imperative that athletes keep up their flexibility sessions and that they attend the gym/flex sessions when scheduled. The club will not put forward anyone for their skill level 4 or 5 if items 1 or 2 can't be met.

From January 2010 the head coach or head of figures of a club will have to confirm in writing to the organisers that those being put forward for their skill level are capable of passing the skill level.

Please take note that coaches have been asked to continually assess their athletes to see if they are ready to be put forward for forthcoming skill levels. It is therefore imperative that swimmers turn up for the figure sessions so that a continous assessment can be undertaken. If swimmers do not turn up then the coaches are unable to assess and therefore it could end in the athlete not being put forward for their relevant skill. This is also true for gym sessions on Sunday when scheduled to attend.

Development Forms for 2010

Athletes will shortly be receiving Development forms for 2010 that need to be completed. If you do not receive one then please ask Simon. Without these the coaching staff are unable to plan the development of swimmers for the initial 12 months and beyond. Once filled in can you speak to Simon to arrange a time slot to go over the forms.

Garrison News

Dates for the Garrison 2010 can be found under the Club Notices section. Please place them in your diaries now.

Schedule News

Please note that the February schedule is now available for 2010. Please check the schedules regularly as they may change.

Coaching News

There are a number of courses coming up for prospective coaches. Please see the British Swimming Website under the Teachers and Coaches section for more details.

Stamina Training

The club has been offered by Rushmoor Royals for some swimmers to join their Masters training sessions on a Tuesday night after club training. This runs from 9.00 - 10.00pm. They do have some pre-requisites for anyone wishing to take part and they are that you attend on a regular basis (so that they know numbers and who is turning up), are at a standard that can swim with there fastest Masters and that there will be a fee of £4 per session payable on the night. If anyone is interested then please let Simon know.

Garrison News

If anyone in the 15/16/17 competitive or British Champs teams would like to join in with the stamina training undertaken by British Synchro, then they are able to go along on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 - 9.30am. If you are interested then either get in contact with Adele Carlsen, or speak to Simon. However please note that you have to be able to repeat 100m Freestyle on about 1 minute 25 seconds or less.