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We are delighted to be able to relaunch our Volunteering and Achievement Awards that recognise the extraordinary abilities or our athletes and commitment of our volunteers.

There are nine categories of Award and nominations can be made by club members for members of their club, their teacher or coach and for the club its self in the Club of the Year category. There is also a special category for an individual or group that represent the Spirit of Sport.

To nominate someone special for any of the awards you will need to complete the form and write a brief description – no more than 200 words – telling us why you think that person is special and what they have achieved over the past year to warrant a nomination.

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Alfie Penfold (Crawley SC) set a new English and British record for S13 swimmers in the 800m freestyle with a time of 10:58.45.

The record was set on the first weekend of the County Championships at K2.

The 2023 British Summer Championships will take place at Ponds Forge International Pool in Sheffield from 22–28 July, ending just five days before the start of the National Summer Meet inside the same venue.

Following the successful return of the summer championships and summer meets in 2022, the competitions will provide a valuable opportunity for thousands of swimmers across the country to take part in the end of season events.

The qualification window for the Championships and the respective home nation meets will be open from Friday 10 March to Sunday 21 May.

Selection for the competitions are by invitation only with the top 24 top-ranked swimmers in each event in each age category invited to attend the British Summer Championships, except for the 800m and 1500m Freestyle contests, where the top 18 athletes will be invited.

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Swim England is encouraging its members, clubs, swim schools – and everyone who uses a pool, to get behind our campaign and support our efforts to ensure the Government provides additional support for swimming pools and leisure centres.

These facilities are crucial parts of local communities.

Not only are they the homes of our swimming, para-swimming, diving, water polo and artistic swimming clubs, they help support the health and happiness of the country, saving the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds and they are where millions of people learn how to swim and be safe in the water.

But they are under threat as a result of soaring energy prices.

We are already seeing reduced opening hours and pools closing across the country and without additional support from the government the situation will only get worse.

There are a number of ways you can help us fight for our pools.

Get involved and sign the petition

Following a review, Swim England’s Swimming Leadership Group have voted to change the qualification period for the 2022 Swim England National Winter Championships.

The decision has been taken after feedback from coaches and swimmers noted that the opportunities to reach the qualification times have been severely restricted by the Covid-19 lockdown period.

There was little swimming in England between March 2020 until the start of the following season in September 2021 meaning there have been a limited number of meets for competitors to set a representative time in.

Having considered the situation, the decision has been made to change the initial qualifying date to 1 November 2019.

The times to enter will still have to be achieved at a Level 2 meet between this date and the closing date of 22 November 2022.

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Congratulations to Crawley SC on winning both the Club Points and Relay Trophies at the Sussex Senior Age Group and Masters Championships in Horsham on Sunday 23 May.

Full results

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.

More information

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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Our girls U16yrs team took top spot in the South East Region Inter County Championships held at Whitgift School on 28th November.