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Lewis Burras was crowned sprint king of the British Swimming Championships after defeating the man he then praised for playing an influential role on his promising career.

He stormed his way to the Men’s 50m Freestyle title at Sheffield’s Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in a FINA World Championships consideration time.

Burras set a new personal best with a brilliant second half of the race to fly past Ben Proud, who had got off to a fantastic start and looked like he would take the gold medal.

Winchester’s Burras had other ideas, however, as he found an extra gear to top the podium in 21.77 – 0.14 seconds ahead of Proud.

Wycombe District’s Adam Barrett took the bronze medal in 22.52.

Burras, who also won the 100m Freestyle gold, was quick to praise Proud for the role he has had on his career.

Full report

Reading Royals were crowned champions and retained the prestigious Mrs Y M Price trophy at the Swim England Artistic Swimming National Age Group Championships.

It is the sixth time Reading have won the trophy, which is awarded to the team with the highest combined figure and free routine score in the 13/14 years age group.

A 10-strong team clinched gold in the 13-15 free team competition, which consolidated their win.

Their routine score of 67.3000, added to their figure score of 62.0697, resulted in an overall total of 129.3697 – which was an improvement on their 2020 score.

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Recruitment has started to fill two voluntary vacancies which will help play a leading role in the future direction of all aquatic sports.

Swim England’s Sport Operations Committee is looking for two members to be part of the group for the next four years.

They will replace Pippa Jones and Jim Boucher who have both stepped down from the committee after completing their term.

The Sport Operations Committee reports directly into the Swim England board and has a wide brief including overseeing the effective delivery of the talent pathway for all disciplines.

It also provide direction on the development of the sport from clubs through to Regions, as well as guidance and input into the annual implementation plans in place to deliver the Swim England strategy.

More information

A new educational resource to help club-level aquatics coaches support athletes who may be struggling with eating disorders is being created by Swim England.

The creation of the resource aligns with National Eating Disorder Awareness Week which takes place from 28 February – 6 March and aims to fight the misunderstandings that surround eating disorders.

The resource will consist of a referral pathway and is being produced by Swim England’s sports science and medicine manager Diane Elliot and performance nutritionist Laura Salmon.

The new pathway will include information on where athletes can get support in their local areas and examples of screening questionnaires for coaches and sports science staff to use to help identify those who need further support.

It will also contain GP referral letter templates to allow athletes to get appropriate support from their GP and gives athletes guidance on how to discuss the matter with medical professionals.

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Swim England has introduced a new coaching policy in 2022 which now focuses on the minimum expectations for clubs in relation to coaching qualifications.

The updated coaching policy is an expansion of the 2018 coaching and teaching guidance which was created as a resource for clubs and members.

This guidance also coincided with the introduction of the Teaching and Coaching register, which is a comprehensive register of coaches and teachers operating within Swim England clubs.

Now in 2022, the guidance has been rewritten to further assist clubs and coaches in understanding how to operate within the scope of their respective certificates.

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Swim England will host a full programme of Water Polo National Age Group Championships for the first time in three years in 2022.

The coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of the U17s and U19s competition in both 2020 and 2021 – with the U15s managing to return to action after a two-year hiatus last December.

Dates and venues have been confirmed for all the championships, which will be a ‘welcome return’ to action for players, coaches, clubs and supporters.

Toby King, Swim England Water Polo Leadership Group chair, said: “We’re delighted to be able to announce a full programme for the National Age Group Championships in 2022.

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Do you know somebody who is ready to step forward, make a change, and take it on?

Commonwealth Games organisers need 2,022 Batonbearers, each with inspiring stories, to take on the special experience of carrying the Queen’s Baton through England in summer 2022.

Batonbearer Nomination Terms & Conditions

They are looking for individuals from England that meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Always willing to take on a challenge and has a unique and inspiring story;
• Has made a meaningful contribution to sport, education, the arts, culture, or charity;
• Is a figure of inspiration that positively challenges others to achieve their best;
• Has taken on a challenge or cause and made a positive impact within their community.

The Queen’s Baton Relay will travel to every region in England, before arriving at the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games on 28 July 2022.

Nominate a Batonbearer

Start Para Swimming is a Swim England programme supported by the South East Region designed to get more young disabled people with an eligible impairment into clubs and develop them into Para-Swimmers. The programme aim is to provide a seamless pathway from Learn to Swim into clubs by offering additional sessions for young swimmers to develop their skills.

Ideally the Start Para Programme will offer additional sessions on top of the athletes Learn to Swim lessons. All Start Para Swimming Programmes need to demonstrate links with a Learn to Swim Provider and the club with clear entry points into the club(s) development/entry-level section.

Start Para-Swimming is targeting the following:

• Young disabled people aged 5 –16 years old
• Focus is on physical disabilities and visual impairments
• Swimmers with an eligible impairment at stages 3 to 5 of Learn to Swim

Clubs interested in creating a new Start Para- Swimming Programme should carefully consider the following points;

• Does your club offer a Learn to Swim Programme or does your club have links/partnership with a Learn to Swim Provider
• Available Pool time – Does your club have pool time that could be used for Start Para Swimming or would you need to purchase additional pool time?
• All Start Para Swimming programmes will need to become financially sustainable after any initial funding. Consider how you would make this programme financially sustainable.
• Level of demand – Understand the level of need and demand in your local area. Consider how you would advertise this program to the relevant community?
• Pathway – Do you have a clear pathway for the Swimmers to progress from the Start Para Programme into your club?

We are currently looking for clubs that are interested in setting up a Start Para Swimming programme to work with us and to help create multiple Start Para Swimming Programmes around the South East region. If your club is interested please do get in contact with Ben McDonald ([email protected]) to arrange a suitable time for a phone call to discuss this further.

A talented cohort of 100 swimmers and para-swimmers have been selected for Phase 2 of the Swim England National Event Camps.

The group of 15-16-year-old athletes were selected based on their performances from the Festival of Swimming and the 2021 Swim England National Winter Championships.

The selections have been described as a ‘significant step towards creating an inclusive and fully integrated talent pathway’.

The athletes will now experience a mixture of training sessions, educational workshops and physical screening, as well as an event-specific camp to be held in Birmingham later this year.

There will also be an exciting opportunity to race at the Commonwealth Games Test Event at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre which is planned for May 2022.

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The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has released the 2022 List of Prohibited Substances and Methods.

The list states which substances and methods are prohibited in-competition, out-of-competition and by specific sport.

WADA has published three documents in total, the 2022 List of Prohibited Substances and Methods (List); the 2022 Summary of Major Modifications and Explanatory Notes; and the 2022 Monitoring Program.

All of these came into force on Saturday 1 January 2022 after the list was approved by WADA’s Executive Committee during its meeting on 14 September 2021.

Level playing field for all

WADA Director General, Olivier Niggli, said: “Every year, WADA leads an extensive consultation process concerning the Prohibited List, which involves some of the most qualified experts in the fields of science and medicine from around the world.

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Maidenhead’s Tom Dean has joined a host of other leading swimmers in being recognised in the New Year’s Honours list announced today.

A total of 17 athletes who topped the podium in Tokyo are to receive awards from the Queen for their contribution to swimming and diving.

Diver Tom Daley and world record-breaking swimmer Adam Peaty, who finished second and third respectively in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, plus para-swimmers Hannah Russell and Bethany Firth, are to be appointed Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Daley won Olympic gold in the Men’s Synchronised 10m Platformalongside Matty Lee, who himself is named an MBE, and is to receive the honour for his services to diving, to LGBTQ+ rights and his charity work.

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Two coaches from the Regional’s have been selected for a prestigious UK Coaching programme which offers support to female coaches.

Guildford City SC’s Claudia Clements and Southampton Diving Academy’s Mollie James are among the 20 woman representing 13 sports on the Women’s Coaching Programme which runs from December 2021 through to March 2022.

The programme offers support to those aspiring to progress within their sport performance pathway and focuses on:

• Increased self-awareness
• Broader understanding of talent development environments
• Enhanced coach-athlete interactions
• Developing reflective practice
• Developing personal coaching behaviours.

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