Nominations are now open for the asa’s annual Swimtastic Awards, sponsored by Kellogg’s, which celebrate some of the country’s most outstanding achievers in the pool.

The awards are divided into ten clear categories, which recognise achievement through the Kellogg’s asa Awards Scheme.  Aimed at amateur swimmers, the awards recognise people of all ages and abilities as well as those responsible for providing learn to swim lessons.  

National winners will be invited to a special awards ceremony at the Stratford-upon-Avon Holiday Inn on 17th October 2008 where they will be able to join Britain’s top swimmers in the pool before receiving their awards at a celebration dinner and disco in the evening.

Olympic bronze medallist Steve Parry has been involved with Swimtastic for more than four years and will be hosting the awards event this year.

“Swimtastic is a brilliant way of recognising people that have achieved their personal goals in the pool, he said.  “Swimming has given me so much in my life and Swimtastic is a celebration of what the sport has done for different people at different levels.

“Learning to swim is an important life skill and with so many people achieving Kellogg’s asa Awards every year, Swimtastic highlights some of the heart-warming, courageous and motivational stories of the people involved.”

Gary Taylor, the asa’s General Manager for Awards and Merchandising, said: “As well as rewarding those amazing individuals who have achieved personal success, these awards recognise swim programmes and projects that have excelled in their delivery this year.  There are so many individuals and organisations that are worthy of this kind of recognition so we are looking forward to receiving lots of nominations!”

Bruce Learner, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Kellogg’s said: “Kellogg’s have been enthusiastic sponsors and supporters of swimming for over 10 years. Swimming is a great way for the whole family to stay active and spend quality time together. These swimming Awards recognise those special people who have achieved a little more than the rest of us.”

The ten categories for Swimtastic 2008 are…

Young Swimmer of the Year
Disability Swimmer of the Year
Family Swim Award
Senior Swimmer Award
Fundraising Award
RLSS Life Saver of the Year
Facility Operator Award
Community Project Award
Swim School Award
Top Teacher Award

To find out more about each award and to nominate someone who deserves recognition for their achievements, CLICK HERE to download the official Nomination Form.  Copies can also be requested by calling 0800 220 292 or via email at swimtastic@swimming.org. 

Nominations close on 29th August 2008.

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For more information contact Claire Freeman, the asa PR Assistant on 01509 632238 or email claire.freeman@swimming.org

The asa is the English National Governing Body for Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, Open Water, and Synchronised Swimming. It organises competition throughout England, establishes the Laws of the Sport and operates comprehensive certification and education programmes for Teachers, Coaches and Officials as well as its renowned Learn To Swim Awards scheme. The asa supports 1,220 affiliated swimming clubs through a National/Regional/County structure. The asa aims to ensure everybody has an opportunity to learn to swim.

The asa Kellogg’s Awards Scheme is the most successful awards scheme in British sport and issues around two million awards every year to swimmers all around the world.

For more information about the asa Awards please see www.swimming.org

A bursary fund of £90,000 has been made available through the Kellogg’s Swim Active programme to support the education and training of swimming teachers and coaches through the Institute of Swimming (IoS). The bursary fund has been created to address the shortage of qualified coaches in the UK.

The Swim Active Bursary Fund is designed to provide financial assistance to those training in the area of swimming teaching and coaching, with specific allocations available for pool operators and club volunteers. Candidates can apply for up to 50% off the course price.

Delivered in conjunction with the asa, along with Scottish Swimming and Swim Wales, the programme represents part of a £3 million investment over three years from the cereal giant to support swimming and its aquatic disciplines from grass roots to the Olympic podium.

Today's announcement will help to address the current country-wide skills gap in swimming teaching and coaching and assist in delivering the combined aim of the asa and the IoS to create a first class team of highly qualified education professionals with the expertise to support potential gold medal winners in the lead up to the 2012 Games.

Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe said:  “Good coaches are at the heart of our ambition to become a world class sporting nation by 2012. They are vital to talent development and can help increase participation in every sport, not least swimming. Top British swimmers Rebecca Adlington and Paralympian Dervis Konuralp may not have made it to Beijing without the support of their dedicated coaches. I applaud the asa and Kellogg's for their work in encouraging people of all ages and backgrounds to take the plunge.”

Bruce Learner, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Kellogg’s, said: “The Kellogg’s Swim Active programme aims to break down the barriers that prevent people participating in swimming. We’re hoping to train around 200 people UK wide as part of this programme which should go some way to ensure that more young people and their families have the opportunity to enjoy swimming as part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle.”

Melissa Barlow, Workforce Development Manager at the asa, said: “Training and education for teachers and coaches is so important so they have the knowledge and skills to provide a positive experience of the sport that in turn will encourage more people to swim regularly. I hope that pool operators and club volunteers take full advantage of this great opportunity which means that we are effectively able to offer them some of our most popular courses and seminars at half price.”

The funding is linked to the hugely popular back of pack Free Swim promotion run by Kellogg’s, which to date has seen over 350,000 redemptions by members of the public.  To apply for the bursary, candidates must work at one of the 650 pools that signed up to participate in the Kellogg’s Free Swim promotion.

For full details of how to claim a Kellogg’s Swim Active bursary click here.  For courses, dates and venues visit the Teachers & Coaches section of the British Swimming website here.  Course queries can also be made by email via customerservices@swimming.org or by phone on 0871 200 0928.  

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For more information contact the asa PR Assistant Claire Freeman on 01509 632238 or email claire.freeman@swimming.org

The Kellogg’s Swim Active Bursary
Pool Operators
To take advantage of up to 50% off the recommended retail price of the asa National Plan for Teaching Swimming continuing professional development seminars, Aquatic Fitness training modules and asa accredited Level 2 teaching and coaching qualifications, candidates must work at a pool that signed up to participate in the Kellogg’s Free Swim promotion.

Club Volunteers
Volunteers working in a Swim 21 accredited club (or a club who are working towards assessment) can apply for funding to receive up to 50% off the recommended retail price of an asa accredited Level 2 or Level 3 teaching or coaching qualification.  Applications for funding for Level 1 courses for disciplines other than swimming will also be considered.

The asa
The asa is the English National Governing Body for Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, Open Water, and Synchronised Swimming. It organises competition throughout England, establishes the Laws of the Sport and operates comprehensive certification and education programmes for Teachers, Coaches and Officials as well as its renowned Learn To Swim Awards scheme. The asa supports 1,220 affiliated swimming clubs through a National/Regional/County structure. The asa aims to ensure everybody has an opportunity to learn to swim.

The asa Kellogg’s Awards Scheme is the most successful awards scheme in British sport and issues around two million awards every year to swimmers all around the world.

For more information about the asa Awards please see www.swimming.org

In order to comply with national education and training standards it has developed two separate and independent arms – the asa Awarding Body and the Institute of Swimming (IoS) - which represent the awarding and delivery channels for all asa qualifications.

The asa Awarding Body
The asa Awarding Body develops, assesses, awards and quality assures all asa qualifications. It is the equivalent of other awarding bodies such as City & Guilds and OCR (Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations). The asa Awarding Body is licensed by British Swimming to award qualifications in England and Wales. It also has the remit for quality assurance of all areas of UKCC standards.

Institute of Swimming (IoS)
The IoS is a licensed training provider, like a school or college. It is one of many asa Awarding Body Approved Centres.  The IoS is also a membership body for qualified swimming teachers and coaches, providing insurance, advice and learning opportunities to its members.

British Swimming
British Swimming is the National Governing Body for Swimming, Diving, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo and Open Water in Great Britain.  It is responsible internationally for the high performance representation of the sport. The members of British Swimming are the three Home Countries national governing bodies of England (the asa), Scotland (Scottish Amateur Swimming Association) and Wales (Welsh Amateur Swimming Association).  British Swimming seeks to enable its athletes to achieve gold medal success at the Olympics, Paralympics, World Championships and Commonwealth Games.

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