On behalf of both the Club Development Team and England Talent Programme; I wanted to inform you that as of a few weeks ago we’ve been successful in creating a New Swimming Beacon programme hosted by Nova Centurion Swimming Club/Nottingham City Council at the 50m pool in Nottingham (Harvey Hadden).
The Beacon Programme will commence on 23rd January 2016. On this 1st session we’re expecting 18 athletes to be in attendance, but this will grow to 30 athletes over the coming months.
The programme will run for an agreed period of 2 years; January 16 – January 18. During this time we will work closely with Nova and Nottingham City Council to build a plan for sustainability beyond this 2 year period.
I’m really pleased to be making this announcement that recognises the commitment to high performance swimming from Nottingham City Council through the development of the impressive Harvey Hadden Sports Centre, and the rich history of Nova for producing talented athletes, whilst addressing the disparity of having no Beacon within the East Midlands region until now.
Over the next 2 years we envisage that many Regional talented athletes will benefit from this scheme; in addition to the value this programme will offer to parents and coaches as part of the wider development of the Beacon network.
Specific Beacon Objectives:
- Number of Athletes Engaged in the Programme – Regional and Daily
- England Talent Programme Athletes
- Growth of Category 2 Members across the Network
- Number of Clubs as part of the Beacon (Growth of the Network)
- Junior International Athletes
In brief the Saturday morning sessions will include – long course training, land training, an education programme, plus sports science and physio support to the selected athletes. From April there will also be an additional long course training opportunity every Tuesday morning.
Holly is due to attend your next Regional Board Meeting and is happy to give more details of the scheme during this board meeting; and likewise I am due to attend a future East Midlands board meeting on 2nd April 2016. Where I will be happy to share further details and a progress of the programme to date.
I look forward to watching this programme thrive, and trust you will join me in wishing every success to this scheme in the East Midlands region.