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A cross-party group of MPs have vowed to raise the issue of potential pool closures with Government minsters in the hope they recognise the ‘unique value’ of facilities.

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Swimming discussed Swim England’s Decade of Decline report at its recent meeting in Westminster.

Swim England is warning there could be a 40 per cent reduction in the number of pools across the country by the end of the decade.

During the meeting, MPs raised concerns about potential pool closures in their constituencies and said they were committed to raising the issue with ministers to increase the pressure for investment in facilities.

Catherine West, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green and chairperson of the APPG for Swimming, said: “It’s time the Government recognised the unique value of swimming pools and invested in them.

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Swim England has published new guidance on a return to competitive training and grade days for artistic swimmers.

As the sport continues to return to full activity, the document focuses on the safe delivery of routine training and competitive activity for duets and teams, as well as a safe return for grading days.

Gradings are essential for the development and growth of artistic swimming and have been run virtually post-lockdown.

However, these can now return to face-to-face days, although it is recommended that athletes stay within their region.

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The winners of the Swim England National Awards 2021 have been revealed during a virtual ceremony.

A total of seven awards were announced by Olympian Leon Taylor during a presentation on the Swim England Facebook page. Nominees from the South East  won in two categories:

• Lewis Baybutt – Maxwell Swimming Club won the Swim England Inspirational Young Volunteer Award, and
• Keiron Piper – Sevenoaks Swimming Club shared the Inspirational Coach/Teacher Award

Nominees featured in the roll of honour in every other category.

The Awards recognised the vast contribution made by individuals and organisations from all aquatic sports.

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British Swimming has selected a total of 34 English athletes for its 2021-22 World Class Programme in what has been described as an ‘exciting time’.

Swimmers from the South East Region included in the 55-strong squad as Podium Potential are: Eva Okaro (Sevenoaks SC), Kayla Van Der Merwe (Winchester Penguins SC) and Cameron Brooker (Wycombe District SC).

Following the Olympic swimming success in Tokyo and with a home Commonwealth Games nearing.

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Sunday 17th October 2021
Athletes: 10:00am – 12:00pm (Coaches are welcome to observe)
Coaches 12:30pm – 2:30pm

Join the England Para – Swimming Talent Team for a FREE, fun day of workshops and
activities, designed to help athletes, coaches and parents / guardians, gain valuable
information about the development of Para-athletes.

Booking deadline 12 noon on 14th October.

Full details and booking information can be found here.

Since May 2020, Sport England have been running a successful crowdfunding initiative called Active Together, helping sports clubs and other organisations to set up and run their own crowdfunding campaigns to help sustain themselves through the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis.

Initially with a £1 million budget from the National Lottery, Active Together was designed to help with the immediate financial impact of coronavirus and in the longer-term, the return to play.

To date, Sport England supported campaigns with a financial pledge towards their target fundraising amount, but in addition to this, we’ve been providing:

• free 1-2-1 coaching by experts
• advice and guidance on campaign improvements
• access to free online courses
• free 30-minute webinars, monthly.

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The first-ever virtual Swim England Artistic Swimming National Junior and Senior Championships will be streamed live on Facebook this weekend.

The competition will take place on Sunday 26 September, with the live stream starting at 10am.

There has been a total of 55 entries across the four events – Technical Solo, Technical Duet, Technical Mixed Duet and Technical Team.

Fourteen clubs have performed their routines in their own pools and submitted footage to be scored by qualified judges.

The top 12 routines from each event will be shown on the live stream, followed by announcements to reveal each winner.

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Almost 2,000 swimming pools could be lost forever by the end of the decade unless the Government and local authorities ‘act now’ to replace or refurbish ageing facilities.

Swim England has warned in its new A Decade of Decline: The Future of Swimming Pools in England report that there will be a huge reduction in the amount of water space available by 2030, which could threaten the future of aquatic sports in some areas and leave millions shut out of the activities they love.

The looming shortage is based on pools which were constructed in the 1960s and 1970s and are coming to the end of their lifespan – while not enough new facilities are being built to replace them.

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Poolside practical sessions of the Swimming Officials Judge 1 training are being resumed after being put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The move has been described as an ‘important step forward’ for volunteers who are working towards the qualification.

Since the beginning of 2020, the training has included an online theory session followed by practical poolside elements – which trainees had 11 months to complete.

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A ‘more inclusive and integrated’ consideration policy has been developed by the Swim England Para-swimming Talent Team – which will see new athletes being invited onto the programme at the beginning of next year.

The aim of the talent programme is to develop athletes’ attributes to progress onto British Para-Swimming World Class progress and perform on the international stage.

However, as a result of the pandemic limiting training and competitive opportunities there will be a slightly different approach to the programme with two phases being introduced.

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All results from the Festival of Swimming are now available as a league table.

Check your times against every other swimmer and see how you did.

Just hit the link for the full results

Swim England has confirmed the dates when the national artistic swimming events which make up the Virtual Series will take place.

Four competitions will be held for all age groups throughout September, October, November and December.

However, instead of each event being held at one venue, clubs and individuals will perform routines in their own pools during a certain time period and submit video footage which will be scored by qualified judges.

The top routines will then be shown during a Facebook live stream and the winners announced. 

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