Introduction

Reading Swimming Club was formed in 1885 and is a member of Swim England South East Region and in the Berkshire and South Buckinghamshire County ASA.

We offer a structured teaching programme, squad training and competition from within the club up through county and regional level, with a rising number of swimmers competing at national level.

SwimMark accreditation

Reading Swimming Club is SwimMark accredited. SwimMark is Swim England's benchmark for athlete-centred, safe and effective environments, allowing swimmers to achieve their full potential within the principles of long term athlete development.

Club Policies

The Club Handbook, Policies and Procedures of Reading Swimming Club can be found in RSC Club Documents

Learn to Swim

Swimming lessons at Reading Swimming Club follow the Swim England Learn to Swim Framework We offer lessons for children aged three and a half upwards at the following schools - Kendrick, Highdown and Sonning Common. Our Swim England qualified teachers are assisted by enthusiastic helpers some of whom are swimmers in our club squads. As part of our safeguarding strategy, we require everyone working in a teaching/coaching role to be DBS checked and have undergone 'approved' safeguarding training. This is standard practice and is in line with legislation and government guidance.

Competitive Squads

Many swimmers join our club development squads from the teaching programme; others come via GLL's Better Swim School or private swim schools and clubs.

Are you new to the area, swimming locally and want to try your hand at a broader range of events? Our youngest competitors are around nine, and have moved through the squad pathway until leaving the programme and swimming at university.

Progression through the squads is based on careful assessment by the coaching team. Training starts at two hours a week and tops out at just under 20, calling at all points in between. 

Adult swimming

Our Masters section caters for all abilities, from former swimmers returning to the pool to swim socially to national champions. We also offer lessons for adult beginners and improvers. 

Waterpolo

We run the only team in Berkshire and South Buckinghamshire and compete in two leagues. 

Pools we use

We train at several pools in and around Reading including Rivermead, Bradfield College and South Reading Leisure Centre and Crosfields School. Our top squad have a weekly session at the Olympic-length Garrison Pool in Aldershot.

Organisation

The Executive Committee, elected at the AGM every year, manages the organisation and running of the club. The members are: the chair, vice-chair, secretary, assistant secretary, membership secretary, assistant membership secretary, treasure, assistant treasurer, welfare officer, liaison officer, trophies officer, 2 meets coordinators (home and away), Website and communications, medical advisor, sponsorship coordinator, swim21 coordinator. All the committee members are volunteers.

Won't it take over my child's life?

Only if you want it to - don't believe nonsense about club swimming automatically being a pressurised environment! Probably more than most sports, it is true that the more you put in, the more you get out – and if you want to go all the way we can offer you up to 10 sessions a week and competitions at some of the country's top pools – but we understand fully that this isn't for everyone. We take just as much pride in a 10-year-old swimming PBs in his/her first meet as we do in a national champion. Many of our swimmers also take part in another sport, or more than one, and we also have several talented musicians in our ranks. Many older teenagers maintaining other interests scale down their training but stay involved via our County Squad, which concentrates on sprint events at 50 and 100 metres.

How about the social side?

Swimming is an unbeatable sport for making friends, and many lifetime friendships start via the pool. It's much more a team sport than you might think from the sidelines, and our swimmers tend to be well-organized, self-motivating kids. Those attending single-sex schools mix with sensible counterparts. It was probably put best by a Reading parent who said when her teenager held a joint party with a school friend, you could spot straight away which guests were the swimmers!

OK, this sounds good, what should I do now?

See for yourself! Come along to one of our monthly trials to "try out" for our teaching or training programmes. Your child will be assessed as to which level would be most suitable, from absolute beginner to National Squad. Please send us an email to schedule an appointment.

We look forward to seeing you!