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The Portland Splash |
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September 2007 NEWS Teaching / Coaching Crisis at Portland Swimming Club. There is a real possibility that without new volunteers coming forward to help the existing coaching team; Portland Swimming Club may cease to exist in it’s current structure. There is a desperate need for new volunteers to teach/coach at the club, with a minimum requirement of a ‘Level 1 Swim Teaching Certificate’. A number of requests for new volunteers have been made by the club committee in the last 12 months and thus far only one parent/carer has offered their support. Already this summer we have lost Ben Danvers (moved from the Nottingham area) and Sarah Danvers (returned to University after illness). Several of the current coaching team have children that have now either reached a senior swimming level within the club or no longer swim for Portland at all. Whilst Mick Burke (Head Coach), Jeff Shields and Mary O’Reilly have soldiered on, their kids are attending fewer and fewer training sessions and after many years of service to the club, they are quite rightly wanting to reduce their direct day to day involvement in the club in the immediate future. Jenny Willetts’ circumstances have changed in the last year meaning her coaching is currently limited to Tuesday sessions. This situation is likely to remain for the foreseeable future. Whilst David Britton gained his ‘Level 1 Swim Teaching Certificate’ in 2006 and Ewan Barr has been lending his support to Portland, without new blood (2/3 new volunteers on the coaching side), there will be little alternative but to consider reducing the size of the membership and limiting the training sessions per week. Also, closing certain sessions to the entire membership (2 swimming teachers simply can’t cope with sessions for 30-40 children – the swimmers gain nothing and the stress levels for the coaching team become heightened to a level that is unacceptable for unpaid volunteers!) Undoubtedly the knock-on affect of such changes would mean withdrawing from some of our external gala competition. Without new input from parents / carers of our swimmers, we are fast approaching a time when the committee will need to act. Can you help? Please think seriously about what the club has done for your children and what you can do to help ensure the ongoing survival of your swimming club for the benefit of your kids and those of others. Rather than questioning in your own mind what’s not getting done to your satisfaction at Portland, please be proactive and consider getting involved to help make some of those things happen! We need to hear from you now! Please feel free to speak to Jeff, Dave Britton, Tim or any other committee member if you think that you can help. The next Level 1 Teachers course begins at South Notts College on 19th Sept for 13 weeks; every Wed 6pm – 8.45pm. Club funding is available for any volunteers and there will be other courses available in the coming months if this one is not suitable. Badge Awards Night. The next badge night / Time trial will take place Sunday 16 September at the University Pool, 8p.m. All swimmers will have the opportunity to try to attain a variety of ASA badges for 25 metres, 50 metres and longer swims. A presentation of certificates and badges will take place after the session. MINI GALA After the success of the mini gala in July, our next one is scheduled to take place on Friday 21 Sept at Portland Leisure Centre - 8p.m. This mini gala was originally scheduled for 07 Sept, but has been postponed because there are not enough helpers available for it to proceed on that night. If you took part in July’s Mini Gala, then this is your chance to see if you can improve on your time. If you didn’t, then give it a go to get a time for each stroke. Mini galas are an ideal opportunity for swimmers that are new to competitive swimming and provide valuable experience in a race environment. We try our best to group swimmers of similar ability together in races. However, it is important to note that the awards are based upon improvement in times across the 4 main strokes from one mini gala to the next rather than on places achieved in individual races SWIMMERS OF THE MONTH. June Caroline Cotton and Daniel Waldram. July Hannah Mackay and Daniel Blackburn. Well done all of you. NEW MEMBERS Welcome to Olivia and Harvey Muirhowe who have joined us since the last newsletter. INTER CLUB GALA NEWS JC Dobb Spring Competition 30th June 2007. This was the final gala of the JC Dobb Spring Competition. It saw Portland finishing 3rd with 111 points. There were several notable performances including 6 first places and 6 personal bests. The pb’s were from Sarah Britton, Sarah Steele, Daniel Waldram, Daniel Burke, Sam Brook and Jenny Dobson. Well done all of you, to Harvey Kay who swam in 7 events and to both Open relay teams who maintained their brilliant standard of winning both the boys and girls open freestyle relays. The final League table for the 3 Spring JC Dobb galas was as follows:-
Next three interclub galas are as follows. Sat 8 Sept- Jubilee Gala - Arnold Sat 15 Sept – J.C. Dobb Autumn - Sutton Sat 13th Oct – Notts and District League – TBC Portland Club Championships Don’t forget these are being held on the 20th and 21st October at the University Pool.
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