This years Bradford Swimming Club Annual Championships are to be held at Aireborough Pool, Guiseley on Saturday 2nd October. Warm up commences at 6.00pm for racing to start at 6.30pm.

Entry forms with further details are available from Ruth whilst paying your training fees or can be downloaded from the bottom of the admin & membership page.

All entries must be submitted to Andy, Jim or Ruth no later than Tuesday 14th September. No entries will be accepted after this date. Please ensure that where possible personal best times for each race are listed on the form, as this will ensure that the swimmers are placed in the correct heat/lane for their ability.

All medals and trophies will be awarded at the presentation evening on Friday 26th November at Fields Sports and Social Club, Clayton.

Please note that due to it being a bank holiday weekend there will be no training session at The John Charles Centre on Sunday 29th September.

Helen Whiteoak, our social secretary, is looking for a group of helpers from the parents and members of the club to assist her in organising the German Exchange trip.  She is hoping to find people that can help in finding and pricing venues, organising trips etc.  If you can spare an evening or so a month to help, please liase with Helen directly on a swimming night. 

Please note that during the school break, the training session at Shipley Pool on a Wednesday will commence at 7pm and finish at 8pm.  This will be for weeks 1, 4, 5 and 6, as there is no training during weeks 2 and 3.

Normal training times will resume after the break.

Due to the switch in training nights at Shipley from Thursday to Wednesday we have had to find an alternate venue for the monthly committee meetings. The next meeting will be at 7.30pm Thursday 22nd July at The Albion. If you require directions please get in touch with Graham.

As you hopefully already know, the club will be finishing for swimming on Friday 6th August, returning on Tuesday 24th at Eccleshill.

Sunday's at John Charles may still be available as the pool is open all Summer (except the Bank Holiday Weekend) - I'll try keep you posted on here, otherwise check with coaches.

Please note, due to Water Polo not going ahead this evening (Sunday 11th July), training at John Charles is cancelled for all Bradford Swimming Club members.  Please pass the message on - we don't want anyone turning up because they haven't been told! Thanks!

A very warm Ponds Forge was the setting for 11 of our swimmers in the Borough of Barnsley Summer Sizzler Long Course meet on Sunday 4^th July.  Swimming against teams from the length and breadth of Yorkshire and beyond, our intrepid bunch of athletes shone in a mix of 50m, 100m and 200m races.  In the morning session, 14 personal best times were recorded, with a clutch of trophies and medals won.  The heat started to take effect in the afternoon session with some tired looking swimmers out there, but they still increased their tally of winnings and personal best times.

Congratulations go to (in no particular order!) Maria Campean (who was competing at Ponds Forge for the first time), Roisin Duffy, Megan Anderton, Yolanda Davies, Lucy Bicker, Jovana Lugonja, Azura Cairns-Poole, Anna Davidson, Chloe Whitlock, Chloe Molyneux and our sole male representative Dale Brundle.  Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, there were some good strong performances on the day and every one who took part should be pleased with their efforts.

A big thank-you also goes out to Rick Davis and Mina Anderton for looking after our swimmers on the day.   

Once a full set of results have been made available, they will be published in the usual place on the website!

The next Open Meet we have committed the club to is the Rotherham Metro Short-Course Meet on Saturday 18^th September.  Entry forms are available from various club members – see your coaches, Rick Davis, Andy Mitchell or Richard Poole if you need a form or download it here –

Rotherham Metro Entry Form

Let's try and take a good number of swimmers down to Ponds Forge, it would be great to see some additional faces beyond those that went down this weekend!

A few pointers for those   members that are swimming at the BOBSC Summer Sizzler at Ponds Forge on Sunday.

Warm-up is at 08.00 and this is also the time by which Rick has to have the entry cards submitted. Can we therefore suggest that everyone aims to meet up in the entrance lobby at 7.30. This will allow the swimmers with experience of the venue to guide those that don't.

There is an excellent café on site which provides a variety of well priced meals, snacks and drinks throughout the day

Poolside seating for the competitors is limited so it may be prudent to take a beach towel to sit on.

Directions to Ponds Forge can be found here

The best place to park is probably the Q-Park which is just to the side of Ponds Forge. The entrance is somewhat concealed as it is an automated roller shutter door just past the left hand side of Travel Lodge. Details can be found here , but if unclear it may be prudent to discuss with one of the other parents attending. A discount voucher can be obtained from the Ponds Forge reception during the meet to reduce the cost at the pay meter.

Good luck to everyone!

A clash with Englands first game in the World Cup took a heavy toll on the turnout at Saturday's 2nd Aire & Wharfe 2010 Gala. Understandably, this was most evident amongst our male swimmers. However, the girls ensured that what we lacked in quantity we more than made up for in quality. This was most evidently demonstrated in the girls 10/11 years 50m butterfly. Our swimmers occupied 6 of the top 7 places, having 5 in the final together with the reserve. At the turn in the final it was neck and neck but in a very tight finish  Azura Cairns-Poole managed to just get ahead of the pack to take Gold. Our swimmers occupied the first four placings with a spread of just 1.3 seconds. However the most astonishing aspect of this event was the 9 seconds that Megan Anderton took off her pb to make the final!

Other medal winners were Lucy Burnside (gold) in the Girls Open 100m backstroke, Abigail Shuttleworth (silver) and Abigail Devanny (bronze) in the 11/12 years 50m butterfly, Dale Brundle (silver) in the boys 13/14 years 100m freestyle, Crysta Rhodes (bronze) in the girls 15/16 years 200 I.M. and Lucy/Katie/Anna/Laura (silver) in the 4 x 50m freestyle team.

In amongst these and other swims were a number of pb's and Yorkshire Championship qualifying times. Congratulations to everyone who swam.

A full set of results is available on the results section of this site.

Doors open at 5.00pm for Sunday's Rising Stars Gala at Shipley pool. Warm-up begins shortly after with racing to commence at 5.45pm. We have a somewhat smaller than usual squad of 26 swimmers competing, However, there are likely to be some highly competitive races with everyone having the opportunity to gauge their progress over the last few months.

The coaches have requested that our swimmers stay poolside at all times until they have swum their last race. This will allow the coaching team to better control the flow of swimmers to the marshaling area and also ensures that we have plenty of support for our   fellow   squad members   whilst they are racing.

Result sheets will be posted, as they are issued, on the wall  adjacent to  our squad to prevent the congestion around the medal table that occurred at the last gala.

Good luck to everyone!

Please be aware that the training session scheduled for Sunday 20th June at the John Charles Centre has been cancelled due to the clubs participation in the Rising Stars Gala at Shipley.

For those that are involved in the Summer Medley Series, please note that the final has been changed to the 17th July starting at 5pm at Shipley pool.  If we get any further information, we'll keep you posted on our website!

Once again, it has been agreed by the Coaching Staff that we will submit a team to this event which is held at Ponds Forge, Sheffield.  Details will be handed out in the next week.

We took 12 swmmers last year, some of whom had never swum at such a prestegious pool and to say it was their first time on such a big stage, they all perfomed really well.  This year, we would look to take around 20 swimmers although numbers are not limited.

It does fall on the same day as a B&D meet, you would be expected to race there if you are not at Sheffield.

You will need ASA Level 2 membership to race this meet, please speak to one of the coaching staff if you are unsure about this.

Just a reminder that training will take place this Sunday at John Charles.  Normal swimming times apply - 6.45pm until 8.15pm.

Currently, this is very poorly attended, so it's an ideal session to get plenty of high quality training in, as the coaches don't have to contend with 30+ swimmers! However, we would love to get more swimmers down there so if you're free do attend... It is a bank holiday weekend,  it's bound to rain, so what else is there to do!?

See you there!

At the last committee meeting we discussed how best to communicate important informaition to our members.  One option was to send an SMS text message to each member.

I have set up a user poll on this page, asking whether you would like to receive information this way - this isn't an opt in/opt out option, just trying to gauge user support of this idea.  I'll leave the poll up until the next committee meeting (June 17th) where will discuss the idea again.

The coaching staff have noticed that swimmers are yet again arriving late and finishing early.   Please can you make sure you arrive at the pool in good time, so the session can be started as punctually as possible without distruption to the lane.   Any swimmer arriving late needs to speak to the head coach prior to entering the pool.

If you know you have to leave early, please inform your lane coach prior to the start of the session.   If you do not speak to the coach, you will be expected to swim the complete session.

Regular late-comers/early leavers could face disciplinary action.

It has been noted that some parents do not know who to contact should they have an issue with swimming or club matters.   For ANY coaching or swimming matters, the point of contact is Head Coach Lynda Devanny.   Lynda is available at most sessions during a week and is always willing to discuss any matter relating to the role of her team.   If she is unable to deal with your grievance immeadiatley, she will make a further followup appointment.  

If you approach any other member of the committee or coaching staff with regards a swimming or coaching issue, you will only be refered to Lynda.

If you have a matter of concern with regards the Club as a whole, then please put it in writing and pass to one of the committee members who will then bring the matter up at the next committee meeting.

Congratulations to Maria Campean who is the deserved recipient of the Jim Littlefair Trophy, for her efforts over the last three months.

The last training session at Shipley Pool on a Thursday will be the 27th May.  The session will then move to a WEDNESDAY, commencing 9th June 2010.  The times of this session will be 8.15 until 9.15pm.  We appreciate this is quite a late session but the committee took the decision that any session is better than no session at all. 

The decision to move was forced upon Bradford Swimming Club and it should be noted that the Club did all it could to try and retain the Thursday session for its swimmers.  Without the efforts of some club members organising petitions and letters, the Club could have lost the Shipley session completely.

Just a reminder that all completed enteries need to be returned to Rick Davies by Friday 21st May.  If you are wanting to swim this gala, you must have ASA Category 2 membership - the subs for this can be paid at the same time as the entry fee for the gala.

Dependant upon numbers, the club are thinking of taking the squad down in a mini bus - a contribution from the parents/swimmers may be required. 

Feedback/thoughts would be appreciated.  At the moment, this is just an idea but the club think it will be good for team bonding.

Having recently undertaken an appraisal of the six squads within the club, the coaching team, led by Head Coach Lynda Devanny, have taken the decision to close all the female squads to new members. All age groups are now fully represented and the club is struggling to ensure regular participation in team based races for all its members.

There are still a limited number of vacancies available in some of the male squads, dependent upon age and ability.

We have   today received confirmation that the next Rising Stars Gala will take place on Sunday 20th June at Shipley Pool. Precise timings are currently unknown but typically the event starts at about 5.30pm with a finish time of about 8.30pm. Entry forms and further details should be   published in the next few days and we hope to make them   available to all our swimmers from Tuesday 25th onwards.

We have consistently taken a large number of swimmers to these galas, with 42 entering the last event in March.

Completed entry forms should be returned to either Jim Littlefair or Andy Mitchell. If known, can we please ask that the swimmers current pb's are   stated on the entry forms. Should these be unknown please leave blank and the club will work to provide a time that is a fair reflection of the swimmers capabilities.

Entry fees can be paid in either cash or cheques made payable to Bradford Swimming Club.

Listed below are the latest coaching rotations and training emphasis foe each squad. To take place with immediate effect.

ROTATION FOR MAY

A SQUAD                       IAN & DANIEL

B & C SQUAD               HELEN & MINA

D SQUAD                       RICK & JOHN

E & WHITE SQUAD      LYNDA & NEIL

A SQUAD

FOCUS ON STAMINA, SPRINTS & SCULLING

Incorporating starts and turns when possible, i.e. Shipley/ J.C.

B SQUAD

BUILD ON STAMINA, SPRINTS & SCULLING (Summer Medley)

Sets ideally should be 50mtrs/75 mtrs/100mtrs/125 meters

Sculling should be done in each session. Streamlining should be automatic for B Squad. Starts & turns to be addressed when possible.

C SQUAD

BUILD TECHNIQUE, STREAMLINING & SCULLING (Summer Medley)

Sets ideally should be 25 – 50mtrs, eventually building to 75mtrs sculling, Drills, tech to be addressed in all sessions. Starts & turns to be addressed when possible.

D SQUAD

TECHINIQUE, STREAMLINING, AQUATIC BREATHING, STARTS & TURNS

Sets ideally should be 25mtrs with the aim of 50mtrs once main points have been mastered. Drills and sculling to be used in all sessions, focus on streamlining upon water entry.

E SQUAD

ALL BASICS TO BE COVERED (DRILLS, STREAMLINING, STARTS, TURNS,

SCULLING, AQUATIC BREATHING)

Sets should be done as 25mtrs/33mtrs only, in order to ensure that swimmers understand & execute the sets correctly therefore helping them to progress through the squads at a later stage.

WHITE SQUAD

Beginners, basic swimming techniques including breathing, streamlining, sculling & forward rolls. Working on half lengths, building to 1 & 2 lengths once technique is up to standard.

Lynda Devanny

Head Coach

All swimmers in C & D squad attending the training session at Eccleshill on Tuesday 27th are requested to bring their club teabag tops in order that the squads can be photographed for inclusion on the website and display on the notice board.

To ensure that this doesn't intrude into swimming time can everyone be changed and ready for 6.50pm.

Due to unforseen circumstances, the training session scheduled for Sunday 11th April at the John Charles Centre has been cancelled. Can everyone please spread the word to those without internet access.

Just a quick reminder that our Social Secretary, Helen Whiteoak, has organised an Ice Skating session at Bradford Ice Skating Rink.  Please can you confirm with Helen if you intend to go - the details are ....

Meet at 12pm outside the rink.  The session runs till 15:45 and the cost is £4 plus £2.50 skate hire.  Helen needs firm numbers so she can inform the ice rink.

So the coach left on time and they arrived on to the ferry about 2.30am (I know this, I got a text!) - not sure where they are right now though!

What we need now are comments, stories and pictures whilst the swimmers are out there, from both our club and our hosts!

Get your stories mailed to mail@bradfordswimmingclub.org.uk or add your comments at the end of this blog - the best will be posted on the Germany Visit 2010 page from the main menu - the best story as voted for by the committee will win a book voucher (all enteries in by Sunday 11th April, please!).

Also, if you have photos, get them to me and we'll publish a selection of them!

Good luck in the gala!

As a result of the exchange visit to Germany over the Easter weekend there will be no training from Thursday 1st April to Tuesday 6th inclusive. The first training after the break will therefore be Thursday 8th at Shipley.  

Another quick date for your calendars.  The 2nd Rising Stars of the series is scheduled for the 20th June 2010.  The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice this clashes with the team event of the Kirklees & District gala.  The club will advise nearer the time which events it would like you to swim.

Good luck to those entering the Rising Stars Gala on the 14th March.

Rising Stars Gala

Sunday 14^th March

5.00pm – 8.30pm at Shipley Pool

All our 7 to 13 year old swimmers are invited to swim the latest Rising Stars Gala at Shipley pool on Sunday 14^th March. This event is aimed at novice to intermediate standard swimmers and is therefore suitable for a large number of our members.

In order to ensure the correct standard of swimmer participates, anyone with a 2010 Yorkshire Championship qualifying time on the day of the Gala will not be able to race in the relevant stroke.

At the last Rising Stars Gala in November we entered 35 swimmers and were the top scoring team. This time around we are looking to take 40 swimmers. All our eligible swimmers are expected to compete in all the strokes for which the coaches deem them to be competent. Any swimmers with dual membership with City of Bradford are expected to swim for Bradford Swimming Club.

All entries are based upon age on the day. Entry forms will be available when paying training fees or from Andy Mitchell. Please return completed entry forms to Andy together with the correct entry fee, either cash or cheques made payable to Bradford Swimming Club. Closing date for entries is Tuesday 2^nd March.

Lucy Rhodes - 7th February

Happy 13th Birthday!

Chloe Whitlock - Wednesday 27th January - 12 years old.

Mathew Hayes - Friday 29th January - 11 years old.

Happy Birthday to both of you!

Two advance diary date notices - Saturday October 2nd is the date of the Club Championships.  Please be aware that the venue this year is Shipley Pool.  The Club Presentation Night will be held on Friday 26th November, with the venue to be confirmed.

Further information will appear nearer these events.

Chris Lund from the City Of Bradford Swimming Club is looking to arrange another time keepers course - Bradford Swimming Club already have two qualified time keepers.  The course consists of an hour or so theory and discussion followed by a practical, hands-on, live session at one of the meets with electronic timing.

If you would like to be considered for the course, please speak to Richard Poole or Andy Mitchell who will put your name forward. 

Abigail Devanny - Wednesday 20th January

Happy 12th Birthday

Photo's from the Barnsley Xmas Sprint have now been added. Keep an eye out for further additions to the gallery over the next few days including Rising Stars, COBSC Xmas meet and the presentation evening.

Not particularly an official swimming club social, but it would be good if you, family and friends could join us for a night of beer, food and music.

I am organising tickets for this ever-popular event, which is held at Victoria Hall, Saltaire, over the last weekend of February - our tickets will be for the Friday night session (26th) at a cost of £5.00 per head.

Please give your ticket money to either myself (Richard) or Andy Mictchell over the next week or so - tickets tend to move quite quickly so I want to get them sooner rather than later.

More information can be found here - Bradford Beer Festival.

Can anyone wanting to train at The John Charles Centre tonight please phone Neil (Bfd 636320) before setting off. As a result of the weather forecast we are expecting a low turnout and may need to cancel if insufficient swimmers are attending.

Just confirmed by the coaches - swimming at Shipley is ON tonight. We'll see you there!

Please be aware that swimming at Eccleshill has been cancelled tonight due to the weather conditions.

Please be aware that there is NO SWIMMING on Friday 18th or Sunday 20th of December for Bradford Swimming Club members.

The results are now available to view for the two events held recently under the "Results" section of the website.  Hopefully, some reports will appear here soon....!!

Natasha Wilson - Tuesday 15th December - 10 today.

Fina, the governing body, issued new guidelines for competitve swimsuits during 2009.  As some of you may be looking to purchase new swimsuits for Christmas, we have decided to reproduce these guidelines below.

1. Swimsuits for men may not extend above the navel or below the knee and for women may not cover the neck or extend past the shoulders or below the knee.

2. A limited religious/medical condition exception exists but requires pre approval at the national level.

All swimmers are expected to be ready to swim for the appropriate start time. It is not acceptable for a swimmer to turn up late as this interferes with the training schedule for that squad.

If a swimmer does turn up late they must wait on poolside until the head coach has spoken to them before they enter the water (if allowed).

Swimmers must turn up with the correct equipment, hats, goggles, fins, floats and a drink. You are expected to be considerate towards other swimmers and listen to what your coach says. All swimmers that adhere to these rules will have the full support and encouragement of the coaches. Swimmers that do not will be dealt with as seen appropriate by the committee.

Further information on discipline can be found under "Lane Etiquette", which can be located under "Training Schedules".

Just a reminder that we will be shortly organising our trip to Germany for those swimmers that wish to attend. It will be over the Easer period and numbers will be limited to one coach full. We will departing on 1st April 2010 and returning 5th April 2010.

Members will be staying at the homes of German swimmers, as they did with us this Easter.  Priority will be given to those swimmers that hosted our guests this year, followed by those that offered but weren't required to host..  If numbers then allow, the invite will then  be opened up to all other members.

Costs will be advised in the near future when an information sheet is sent out along with a reply slip.  To give some indication, our previous trip to Germany cost in the region of £80.00 per swimmer plus spending money.

The last training sessions will be:

Shipley - Thursday 17th December

Bradford University - Friday 18th December

John Charles - Sunday 20th December (tbc - please check back).

Eccleshill - Tuesday 22nd December

Training will restart on Tuesday 5th January 2010 at Eccleshill pool.

City of Bradford Swimming Club members will be training as normal with COBSC up until and including the 23rd December.  The full COBSC Christmas Schedule is now published on their website - www.cobsc.co.uk.

The coaches and committee would like to wish all members a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year and to thank you for all your commitment over the past year.

Happy 16th birthday Crysta Rhodes - Friday 4th December.

Happy 17th birthday Hannah Whitworth - Monday 7th December.

Conratulations to Bradford Swimming Clubs' Azura Cairns-Poole who swam in the 200IM in the BAGCATS North East Championships which were held at the new Sunderland Aquatics Centre this weekend.  Finishing 22nd from 26 starters, she swam a personal best time of 3.06:16, knocking 4.74 seconds off her previous best time.

Happy 13th birthday Claire Woodhead - Friday 27th November.

It was agreed at the AGM that as of the new membership year (1st December 2009), that there would be a rise in membership fees and training costs.  Fees will be £30.00 for the first swimming member of a family, with a sliding scale for subsequent swimmers within the same family - this will be announced in the near future.  This increase has been brought in to cover the various increases in insurance and ASA memberships.

Training fees will raise to £2.50 per session per swimmer or £3.50 if you are swimming in the "Learn to Swim" lane.

Just a quick reminder that it is the Clubs Annual General Meeting this Wednesday.  The meeting is open to all members of the club and we look forward to welcoming as many of you as possible.  Remember, this is YOUR club - if you want a say on how it is run, then this is the ideal meeting to come to.  It is held at Idle Cricket Club on Cavendish Road, Idle, commencing at 7.30pm.

Many congratulations go out to the 30+ squad of swimmers from Bradford Swimming Club.  We had a very successful evening, winning 45 medals and gaining 13 Grade A/Yorkshire times.  Some very tight races involving our 10 years old and 11 year old girls and our younger boys.  The full results can be found on the Results pages.

Remember, as this event was not electronically timed, any PB's will not be listed on the Yorkshire ASA website - keep track of your own personal best times on the form that can be downloaded on the club records page and inform your coaches so we can maintain our database of times.

Again, a very big WELL DONE!!