Swim England Club Awards – Information Sheet

As from the start of the 2019/20 season, we will be introducing the new Swim England Club Awards. The concept behind these awards is to encourage correct stroke and technical skill development, giving our younger swimmers the tools they need to be an efficient and competent competitive swimmer as they move through the athlete pathway. We feel these will encourage the swimmers to focus more on the processes required and also be a good motivator to those who enjoy training, but not necessarily the competitive side as much. Swim England estimate the time taken to complete all 6 awards to be 3-4 years.

The awards have been assigned to specific squads and the specific criteria for each award can be found in the Swim England document and they have also been included in our squad criteria sheets. By allocating certain awards to squads, this will aid coaches in monitoring progress and add a transparent dimension to squad move considerations, along with attendance, attitude, competition experience, physical and emotional maturity.

To summarise:

Award 1 – Criteria split between Academy 1 & 2

Award 2 – Academy 3

Award 3 – Development 1

Award 4 – Development 2

Award 5 – Criteria split between Development 2 & 3

Award 6 – Development 3

Swimmers will be assessed on aspects of their award level at around 6 weekly intervals. Not all criteria will be assessed every time. This would be very difficult to achieve with a squad of 20+ swimmers. On successful completion of an award, swimmers and parents will be notified and there is opportunity to purchase a certificate and pin badge.

The majority of our swimmers will not be starting the programme on Award 1, but care will be taken to check that the basic skills which are being built on by the later awards are not compromised, before building upon. The early part of the new season will be used to reinforce the basics and identify any specifics which need further focus on an individual basis.  

The requirements of each award have been written into the annual training plans for Academy and Development Squads, with specific aspects being addressed every session. Each progressive award builds on skills and techniques from the previous level, with a layered approach, ensuring well rounded development and progression. It is very important to remember a good competitive swimmer takes years to develop correctly, and each swimmer will progress at their own rate.

If you have any questions regarding these new awards, please do not hesitate to contact Julie.  For more information please click here