Uncategorized

Following our success full roll out of live streaming from the first two days of Festival of Swimming at Wycombe we are committed to providing a  similar service for the events at Crawley on 31st July and 1 August.

You can catch all the action each day by following the links below:

For Saturday 31st July

For Sunday 1st August

The start times for events over the weekend are in the table below:

Saturday 31st July: session 7 – 09:15, session 8 – 12:30, session 9 – 15:45

Sunday 1st August: session 10 – 09:15, session 11 – 12:30, session 12 – 15:45

Newly-crowned Olympic champion Tom Dean admitted he was ‘lost for words’ after shattering the British record to pip his team-mate Duncan Scott to gold.

Dean, who has twice contracted Covid and spent seven weeks out of the pool in the last 12 months while he recovered, clocked 1:44.22 to touch 0.04 ahead of Scott in a thrilling 200m Freestyle race.

It sealed the first one-two for Britain in an Olympic swimming final since 1908.

It was an incredible performance from Dean, who knocked 0.36 seconds off his lifetime best to seal top spot on the podium.

He said: “I knew it was going to be a dogfight – I didn’t know how people were going to swim it.

Read more

Swim England is aiming to stage a number of national events in 2021 as the coronavirus lockdown restrictions are being officially lifted.

The recognised national governing body will also be taking down its Covid guidance as social distancing requirements will be removed from Monday 19 July.

Instead, it has updated its coronavirus frequently asked questions page to cover the most commonly-raised queries being asked.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed the UK will move into Step Four of the roadmap out of lockdown – signalling the end of the vast majority of legal Covid regulations.

As restrictions are eased, however, individuals are asked to exercise caution and venue users will need to adhere to leisure facilities’ requirements as some may choose to keep enhanced Covid measures in place beyond 19 July.

Read more

An organisation which plays a crucial role in increasing support, visibility and engagement of the LGBTQ+ community in aquatic sports is being relaunched.

Swim England is proud to be supporting the official relaunch of Pride in Water, which coincides with the beginning of Pride Month – a celebration of LGBTQ+ communities all around the world.

Pride Month is set in June to commemorate the Stonewall riots in America and as a reminder of how far we have come with LGBTQ+ rights.

After initially forming in August 2020, Pride in Water started out as a collaborative working group of individuals who came together to fill what they saw as a gap in aquatic sports.

Josh Devine, the chair of Pride in Water, said: “It was an area that was needed and there was nothing happening there.

“We came together and thought what are we going to do and how are we going to make an impact.

Read more

In line with the announcement by government on Monday 26 April, licensed Level 4 single club meets will be allowed to take place from 17 May 2021.

The licensed meets webpage has been updated with the new Licensed Meet Application Form for Level 4 Single Club events, where the following statement has been added closer to the end of the form:

It states:  I confirm that the appropriate Risk Assessment has been carried out and that the pool operator has approved the arrangements for Covid security.

Additionally, a dispensation on the timeframe for submission of the licence application forms is allowed.

Licensing for all other Level meets will open from 1 June with these meets permissible from 21 June, subject to the government roadmap for easing of restrictions. An updated Licensing form for these Level meets will be published in due course.

More information

British Swimming, while confirming that there will be no British Championships or Swim England Summer Meet in 2021, have invited all English Regions and equivalents in Scotland and Wales to organise regional competitions, which will be aggregated to create a National Leader Board.

Swim England South East, after consideration, has decided to participate, even if there are still Social Distancing rules in place. Two weekends of swimming will be run, in collaboration with the host clubs at Wycombe and Crawley.

More information

A new toolkit has been issued by Swim England which will act as a ‘valuable asset’ to both clubs and operators across the country.

The ‘Working Together’ toolkit has been created in conjunction with a focus group consisting of club and operator representatives and has been driven by the sector as both sides recognised the need to work effectively together.

The toolkit aims to help develop new relationships and build on existing ones between clubs and operators, which are both seen as cornerstones of the aquatics sector.

The content is centred around three key areas and will provide insight into club and operator’s organisations, practical advice on developing partnerships and exploring shared opportunities and useable resources that will assist with the practical elements of developing partnerships.

Alex Hains, head of business engagement at Swim England said: “This practical resource has been designed to help clubs and operators to foster new partnerships, strengthen existing ones, and understand each other’s value within the sector.

Read more

An ‘exciting prospect’ to compete in a national ‘Festival of Swimming’ has been unveiled by Swim England and British Swimming.

While the plans for a return to competition are still in the early stages, a network of racing opportunities has been agreed.

This ‘restart to racing’ will consist of meets held throughout England, Scotland and Wales, in long course facilities, with the aim of getting as many young swimmers back racing as possible.

It is hoped that the meets will be held within a short window between mid-July and early August, combining to create a ‘Festival of Swimming’, with a pooling of results to create a national leaderboard for age groups and events.

The meets will be largely age group based, with a focus on 100m to- 400m distances and following a similar format.

Read more

Swim England chief executive Jane Nickerson said confirmation that indoor pools will reopen on Monday 12 April would be a ‘welcome relief’ to millions of people.

At an Easter Monday press conference, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Step 2 of the roadmap out of the coronavirus national lockdown would go ahead as planned.

That will allow indoor swimming pools, leisure centres and gyms to reopen once again after being closed for more than three months – two weeks after outdoor pools were given the green light to open.

However, while clubs will also be able to resume training indoors, over 18s will not be permitted to join in until Step 3, which is currently scheduled for Monday 17 May.

Read more

The Swim England Swimming Leadership Group is ‘keen to see’ formal competition resume before the end of the season.

Following the Prime Minister’s roadmap out of lockdown announcement, the Swimming Leadership Group has been formulating plans for the safe return of licensed and unlicensed meets, open water, Masters, para-swimming and league competition.

Meanwhile, a second series of Level X Racing will run until 23 July when pools reopen from Monday 12 April.

Tom Baster, the chairman of the Swim England Swimming Leadership Group, said: “We know that our aquatic community is looking forward to hearing of our plans for a return to competition.

Read more