 |
Wandsworth Swimming Club
|
|
|
|
|
Affiliated to the ASA, London Swimming, SCWP&SA and Wandsworth ASA www.wandsworthsc.com c/o 47 Ringford Road Wandsworth London SW18 1RP Dear Swimmer / Parents January Newsletter I hope you have all had a peaceful and happy Christmas, allowing time to rest and recharge the batteries. I trust you haven’t missed swimming too much? Given there have been many competitions over recent weeks there is much news to impart as well as several pieces of information I need to pass on to both swimmers and parents. Important - 2012 Timetable We return to regular training from Tuesday 3 Jan (for Regional and National squads), Wednesday 4 Jan (for Seals, Dolphins and County squads) and Sunday 8 Jan (for Otters). As mentioned before there is a slight change to the timetable in 2012. This affects the sessions at Putney Leisure Centre on a Wednesday. The County squad will swim from 17.00-18.30 (18.00-19.30 previously) and Seals from 17.30-18.30 (18.00-19.00). In addition, the Dolphin training session previously held on Friday switches to Wednesday (same time, 18.00-19.00). See website for full details. Karl becomes a GB record holder It is not everyday, or even every year, we have a GB record holder in our midst. Congratulations to Kahoru (Karl) Harazawa for breaking the British Disability 200m breaststroke record at the Winter Championships in December. His time of 2:49.36 knocked almost a second off the previous record that had stood for the past five years. Karl also won a clutch of gold medals at the Championships, including 100m breaststroke, 100m Fly, 200m and 400IM. Arena League – WSC finishes 7th in the Greater London region As many will know, and several will have witnessed first hand, WSC made it through to the final of the London Arena League for the second consecutive year. (For some reason, the London Region stretches far and wide, up into Norfolk and into the depths of darkest Essex!) Many of the older swimmers travelled over to Basildon for the final. Up against some of the mighty London clubs (many of whom have at least 2-3 times as many members as we do), WSC swimmers battled valiantly, finishing in seventh place (out of 40+ clubs in the Arena League). Cheered on by an army of Wandsworth parents in the spectators gallery there were some great performances from many of our swimmers. Our finalist ‘flag’ is on display in the trophy cabinet at PLC. Many thanks, as always to our team managers, Marina and Kamilla, for their support and hard work over the three rounds of the competition. Competitions and Galas in Nov and Dec The events calendar has been heavily loaded over the past couple of months – Guildford Open, Junior Boroughs, Guildford Open, Hillingdon, Winter Regionals, Club Champs etc. Space does not permit me to list all the achievements of every swimmer in the club. Suffice to say that numerous PBs (‘personal bests’) were achieved and medals won, right across the age range. Congratulations to everyone who took part regardless of whether this was your first major gala or whether you’ve swum in so many competitions you’ve lost count. Again, our sincere gratitude to our four coaches – Marina, Kamilla, Cindy and Shaun – for spending many weekend hours at various galas and competitions. Once again we held a very successful Mini Gala in November. Expertly masterminded by Cindy, these have become a permanent fixture each term and are an excellent, and hopefully gentle, introduction for Otters and Seals into the world of competitive swimming. ASA officials William Collins, Richard Willis and Alan Thurlow were on hand to ensure far play and to guide swimmers and parents through the various gala procedures. Again many medals were won and there was much excitement, especially in the final two events of the morning – the relay races. The next Mini Gala will be held in late February – details to follow in due course. Forthcoming galas in early 2012 In the coming weeks there are various competitions: Club Champs (final session, Saturday 7 Jan), WASA Surrey Qualifier (open to anyone still looking for a County qualifying time, Sunday 8 Jan), ASA Zonal Championships (Level 1 at Millfield, 29-30 Jan, entries now closed) and Surrey County Championships (Feb-Mar – entries closing on 8 Jan). Full details of all competitions are on the website. Please discuss any issues or questions with your coach. Once again do ensure that entries are completed in good time and handed to our competition secretary, Jayne Sutcliffe, or one of her able assistants well in advance of the deadline. WSC Shop – please ensure you have a WSC hat and shirt When representing the Club in competitions all swimmers must wear a WSC swim hat (either navy or the new turquoise colour) and have a WSC T-shirt or polo shirt (in similar colours) to wear on the poolside. In some recent competitions this has not been the case, conveying a sloppy and unprofessional attitude. If you do not have the correct hat and shirt or have lost them please buy the proper kit from the WSC Shop (contact Claire Canning, 07920 027767, cecanning@hotmail.com). Claire has recently received a new supply of WSC polo shirts, hoodies and kit bags and is also well stocked with the regular items, such as flippers, floats, pull-buoys etc. Congratulations - International swimmers & NQTs I am delighted that four WSC swimmers have been selected to compete at International level. Well done to Paige Kern, Julian Chan Quee Lin, Georgina Rendell and Tim Robinson. They are all part of the London team selected to compete in Barcelona in January against other top international clubs. Well done and good luck in Barcelona. Over recent years Wandsworth swimmers have had considerable success at the ‘National Championships’, held each summer in Sheffield. Over recent weeks several of our older swimmers have already achieved NQTs (National Qualifying Times) for the 2012 Championships – ranking them among the top 30-40 swimmers of their age group and stroke discipline in the entire country. The number of NQTs has been rising weekly and I think at the last count we have 11: David Scott (200m fly), Tim Robinson (1500m freestyle), Archie Mitchell (1500m freestyle), Katherine Pyne (100m & 200m backstroke), Paige Kern (50m & 100m freestyle), Julian Chan Quee Lin (400m freestyle), Georgina Rendell (100m backstroke), Katie MacKenzie (100m & 200m breaststroke). In addition, both Tim and Archie have qualified for the British Championships Olympic trials in 2012. These are fantastic achievements, with hopefully more NQTs to follow in the coming months. Open Water Development Camp – November Head Coach, Marina Pollara, writes a summary of her weekend in Scotland: I was privileged to be invited, as part of a team of six selected coaches, to a British Swimming Open Water Camp held at the spectacular Stirling University Sport Facilities, in Scotland, over the final weekend in November. We were all there for a reason, or more specifically, an ASA National Championship swimmer winner. My reason was WSC member Archie Mitchell, who last year brought home a gold medal in the Open Water championships and an impressive silver medal in the 1500m freestyle. We were divided into three groups: Coaches, Swimmers and Parents. Once in our different sections, we began to rotate lectures by the hour. The talks covered four different areas: Introduction to Open Water; Nutrition; Coach/Athlete/Parent Education Sessions; and Opportunities in Open Water. The sessions were endlessly informative, but the most interesting part of the weekend was undoubtedly the two pool sessions held at the University Pool: the coaches were not only set the task of learning new techniques involved in Open Water swimming (which are very different from those in the pool!), but also asked to plan and self-coordinate an entire training session. It was an informative, intense and productive experience. Everything was brilliantly executed and I, for one, learnt a lot. I don't think I was alone in feeling that the weekend ended all too soon. Stroke Clinics at Crystal Palace A number of specialised stroke clinics are held at Crystal Palace on a regular basis. Those swimmers that are part of the Beacon programme (at either the Performance or Hub level) will be familiar with these clinics and may have participated in recent months. However, the clinics are aimed at all competitive swimmers (ages 9-16) and typically run from 9.00-15.00 during the school holidays. As well as concentrating on the main strokes, certain clinics specialise in other areas such as ‘starts and turns’ and ‘competition preparation’. Please talk to Marina or myself if you would like more information or advice about the clinics. The cost is typically £50 per day, but if the cost is a problem, do see me as we have some money available to assist those who would benefit from the clinics but require financial help. Putney Leisure Centre – be considerate Just a reminder: we share PLC with the general public. Please be considerate when you are in or around the pool or changing rooms. I have had a couple of complaints in the past few months about stray WSC bags and rucksacks being in the way. Do not leave your bags, flippers, kit etc in the middle of walk-ways while you are changing or having a shower or by the edge of the pool where there is a risk of people tripping over it. Please use the lockers or, while swimming, store your bag on the shelving at the shallow end of the pool. National and Regional swimmers For those members that are part of the National and Regional squads it is assumed that swimming is now your primary sport and that you should train at every opportunity. Fridays have been poorly attended, with some National swimmers frequently ‘skipping’ Friday nights. I should also remind all National and Regional swimmers there is a training session at PLC every Friday morning (5.30-7.00am). Yes, I know it’s early but it’s an excellent time to train, when you can get some concentrated one-on-one coaching. Please do try and attend these sessions at least occasionally (even if you have to leave early to get home or to school). Average attendance in the autumn term has been just three swimmers per week – a poor showing. WSC Committee – more volunteers wanted You may not be aware that the committee is staffed entirely by unpaid volunteers, all of whom have full time jobs but still devote many hours each week to ensuring that the Club operates as smoothly as possible. Elaine Kern, who has been an excellent secretary for the Club for several years is stepping down in January as a result of increased work commitments. Elaine has worked tirelessly and we owe her a debt of gratitude for all she has undertaken on behalf of WSC. However, we do need a replacement for Elaine. The secretary’s main responsibilities are taking minutes at the committee meetings, drawing up agendas and circulating the AGM details. In addition, the committee is also light on at least 2-3 other positions. If we spread the workload around, it is manageable and ensures that the Club functions as it should. Parents, can you help? Please do volunteer … alternatively I will start ‘volunteering’ people! Finally, on behalf of the committee, I would like to wish all swimmers, parents and coaches a very Happy New Year. I look forward to seeing you in the coming weeks, be it at Putney, Ibstock Place or the Bank of England. With best regards Nigel Rendell Chairman Tel: 07702 887475 Email: nigelrendell@yahoo.co.uk
|
|
|
