British Disability Swimming’s National Performance Director Tim Reddish has been selected to take part in the final leg of the Beijing Paralympic Games torch relay.

With the opening ceremony taking place tomorrow (5th September), Reddish will run 50m with the torch before it enters the Birds Nest stadium and is used to light the Paralympic flame to announce the beginning of the 13th Paralympic Games.

Reddish will be taking part in relay tomorrow morning and is honoured to be taking part in the prestigious event.

“I am honoured and privileged to be a member of the torch relay representing both Great Britain and in particular the sport of swimming,” said Reddish.

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For further details contact British Swimming Media Officer Gemma Field on 01509 632262, 07917 726431 or email gemma.field@swimming.org

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 (Amateur Swimming Association), 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.

British Swimming today announced that Steve Foley, National Performance Director for Diving has decided to leave his position towards the end of the year.

David Sparkes, Chief Executive, British Swimming said; “Steve has given us 10 years of hard work and commitment, and has significantly raised the level of British Diving during that period. 

“At this year’s Olympics in Beijing we had the biggest diving team ever who experienced the highest level of competition; fantastic preparation for London 2012.

“We now need to build upon Steve’s success with the team and we have already put in place an international recruitment process to find his replacement.”

Steve commented; “Having decided that I was not going to go another four years , I felt it only fair to leave at this stage in order to give British Swimming as much time as possible to find a replacement and  prepare for London 2012.

“I have enjoyed my time at British Swimming and will be sad to leave, but for various reasons I believe the time is right for me to move on.  I wish the team the best of success over the coming years.”

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More people are taking part in swimming and diving then other sport or physical activity according to a government report.

The Taking Part survey – which is commissioned by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in partnership with a number of public bodies, including Sport England –  asked people what sports they had participated in during the past four weeks.

Swimming or diving (indoors) was the most popular activity, with 14.5 per cent having participated. This was higher than those who had taking part in gym activities, cycling, football or   golf. And a further 3.4 per cent took part in swimming/diving outdoors.

More than 24,000 adults took part in the second Taking Part survey which details all public participation in cultural, leisure and sporting activities between 2006-7.

Other figures showed that 40 per cent of adults said they had participated in moderate intensity sport for at least half an hour within the past week.

The survey also revealed that 47 per cent of those who had not participated in active sport for at least a year cited poor health as the reason, while 18 per cent said a lack of time stopped them from participating.
http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/5396.aspx

 

Olympic swimming stars will be teeing off to help raise money for a charity that aims to get more people swimming – and golf fanatics are being asked to join them.

The Swimming Trust – the official charity of the asa, the national governing body for swimming – is holding its first ever Aquatics Golf Challenge on the 15th October 2008. The event will be the Trust’s major fundraising occasion of the year, raising funds to help provide increased opportunities for all to learn, participate and benefit from swimming as a sport, for health, fund and leisure - for life.

For more information on The Swimming Trust click here

Olympic and world championship medallists James Hickman and Andrew Jameson are amongst the athletes who have accepted the invite to come down on the day and play at Ashridge Golf Course in Berkhamstead, which has repeatedly featured the top 100 golf courses in the UK.

The day, which starts at 11am, will conclude with a three course evening dinner followed by guest speaker and Olympic Bronze medallist Steve Parry and a raffle. 

Golfers who want to take part in the day can still do so as individuals or in teams of three (with an athlete) or four (with fiends or business colleagues). Teams are welcome to represent a company or club, or use the event for corporate entertaining – all for a charitable cause.

Susan Jenkins, the Swimming Trust’s fundraiser, said: “The day will be an excellent way for businesses to give a bit back to the community and give everyone an opportunity to gain swimming skills for life, while at the same time having all the perks of a fun packed, entertaining day.”

The day costs for £150 per person, which includes lunch, golf and the three course evening meal. There is also the option of attending just the evening meal for £40, but tickets are going fast, so book your place log onto www.swimmingtrust.com or call Susan Jenkins on 01234 764084.

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For more information contact the asa PR Manager Sharon Rose on 01509 632262, 07876 652318 or email sharon.rose@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.
About Kellogg
The Kellogg Company was founded in 1906 and today produces 40 different cereals including popular brands such as Special K, Cornflakes and Coco Pops, and 56 different snacks including brands such as Nutri-Grain, FruitaBu and Special K snacks.
About Speedo®
Synonymous with swimwear, the iconic brand celebrates 80 years of dominance creating revolutionary new technologies, designs and innovations.  In the 1920s Speedo® made history with the Racerback: the world’s first non-wool suit. In 2008 Speedo® redefines swimwear again with Fastskin® LZR RACER®  - the fastest and most technologically advanced swimsuit ever created; meanwhile designer collaborations with Comme des Garçons put Speedo® at the cutting edge of design. As the world’s leading swimwear brand, Speedo® is passionate about life in and around the water, supporting swimming from beginners through to elite level, including the phenomenal Michael Phelps.  Speedo® is owned by Pentland Brands and distributed in over 170 countries around the world; to find out more visit: www.speedo.com. SPEEDO, the ARROW device, FASTSKIN, LZR PULSE and LZR RACER are registered trademarks of Speedo Holdings B.V. The LZR RACER suit has worldwide design rights and patents pending.

Britain’s men’s junior water polo players, fought hard to claim a Silver medal at the High Tatras Tournament in Bratislava from 28th August – 31st August.

The first game saw Britain lose to Australia 3-10, but British team went on to improve their form and won the following three matches. They won 9-5 against Holland, beat Slovakia 13-7 and easily defeated the French with a score of 15-8.

The final game against Slovenia ended in a 9-9 draw but the British team had already done enough to earn Silver with a total of 7 points.

Australia scored 10 points to secure Gold and Bronze went to Holland with 6 points. The British win over the Dutch is the first in recent memory and these promising results put the British side in a good position for the forthcoming European Junior Championships, which are being held in Istanbul from 7th Sept - 14th Sept.

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For further details contact British Swimming Media Assistant Natalie Hassall on 01509 632236 or natalie.hassall@swimming.org.

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 (Amateur Swimming Association), 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.

About Speedo®
Synonymous with swimwear, the iconic brand celebrates 80 years of dominance creating revolutionary new technologies, designs and innovations.  In the 1920s Speedo® made history with the Racerback: the world’s first non-wool suit. In 2008 Speedo® redefines swimwear again with Fastskin® LZR RACER®  - the fastest and most technologically advanced swimsuit ever created; meanwhile designer collaborations with Comme des Garçons put Speedo® at the cutting edge of design. As the world’s leading swimwear brand, Speedo® is passionate about life in and around the water, supporting swimming from beginners through to elite level, including the phenomenal Michael Phelps.  Speedo® is owned by Pentland Brands and distributed in over 170 countries around the world; to find out more visit: www.speedo.com. SPEEDO, the ARROW device, FASTSKIN, LZR PULSE and LZR RACER are registered trademarks of Speedo Holdings B.V. The LZR RACER suit has worldwide design rights and patents pending. 

Records fell on the second day of the UK School Games (UKSG) at the Millfield Swimming pool, as England Central became the UKSG Team Champions.

England Central took the title from the seven other regions with a points total of 256.5, ahead of England East with 241 and England North with 240 points.

England Central team manager Chris Fox said: “We have never come higher than third before so I am absolutely delighted. The swimmers were absolutely brilliant and we have several youngsters in the team, which bodes well for next year.

“The quality of competition here just shows that the English Schools Championship will be of the highest standard.”

The day had got off to a flying start, with three UKSG records being broken in the first four events.

The England North quartet of Joshua Crowther, 16, Andrew Windspear, 17, Braxton Timm, 16, and Joshua Walsh, 17, took gold in the Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay in a new UKSG record time of 7:49.58.

It was the third Gold medal for Braxton Timm, who added to his double haul from the first day, and well ahead of England East who finished in 8:02.37 and Scotland East and South who clocked 8:05.83.

And the team were very happy with their ‘fantastic’ swim. Walsh said: “We were confident about the swim because we have all done well in our events. And in myself and Josh Crowther we have the Gold and Silver medallists from the asa National Youth Champs.”

There was a UKSG record for Eleni Papadopoulos, 16, England North, in the Women’s MD 200 I/M with a time of 3:02.81. And later in the afternoon she went on to record a UKSG record points total of 533 in the Women’s MD 100m Butterfly with a time of 1:24.93.

Not to be out done Sam Bradley, 14, England East, also took the Gold in the Men’s MD 200 I/M with a UKSG record points total of 576 in a time of 3:15.00. It was Bradley’s third Gold medal of the Games.

Nicholas Quinn, 15, became Ireland’s first and only Gold medallist in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke with a time of 1:10.44. Ahead of Lewis Coleman, 16, England East, 1:10.61 and Joe Parker, 15, England South, 1:10.84.

There was an impressive performance by the youngest competitors in the Women’s 200m Butterfly, with the field’s two 13-year-old swimmers fighting it out to touch first. Fiona Donnelly, England Central, finally took the Gold medal in 2:24.40 with Charlotte Bryan, Wales, taking Silver in 2:24.53 and Libby Mitchell, 15, England South, taking Bronze in 2:24.85.

Georgia Hohmann,14, was another of the highlights for England Central, as she won the Women’s 200m Backstroke in 2:22.37.

Hohmann, who trains at Nova Centurion, had been highlighted as one to watch by club-mate and double Olympic Champion Rebecca Addlington. She did not disappoint, as she narrowly missed the UKSG record to finish ahead of Stephanie King, 15, England East, with 2:24.45 and Stephanie Hanley, 15, Scotland East and South with a time of 2:27.79.

She said: “It’s my favourite event and it was a really exciting race, although the time was about four seconds off my personal best. I couldn’t believe it when Becky said I was one to watch – it gave me a lot of confidence to do well.” 

UK School Games Ambassadors and Olympic 4x100m relay gold medallist Jason Gardener managed to catch some of the action, along with triple Paralympian Champion Giles Long, Commonwealth Games 2002 Champion Adam Whitehead and Gold Olympic medallist Duncan Goodhew.

Goodhew added: “ It is terrific to see competition like this and to see young athletes having focus like this in their lives.”

CLICK HERE for full results.

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For further details contact Sharon Rose, the asa's PR Manager, on 01509 632 262, 07876 652318 or email sharon.rose@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. www.britishswimming.org
About Speedo®
Synonymous with swimwear, the iconic brand celebrates 80 years of dominance creating revolutionary new technologies, designs and innovations.  In the 1920s Speedo® made history with the Racerback: the world’s first non-wool suit.  In 2007 the legacy continues with the launch of Fastskin® FS-PRO - the fastest and most powerful lightweight suit on the market - and with Speedo®’s acclaimed designer collaborations with Comme des Garçons. As the world’s leading swimwear brand, Speedo® is passionate about life in and around the water, supporting swimming from beginners through to elite level.  Speedo® is owned by Pentland Brands and distributed in over 170 countries around the world; to find out more visit: www.speedo.co.uk

 

Chalfont Otters Swimming are delighted to announce that Bruce Snodgrass will take over as Head Coach from September following current coach George Bushell’s relocation to Oxfordshire.
 
Bruce is well known within the local swimming community and comes with a wealth of coaching experience, especially for someone so young. He has been coaching for 14 years in South Africa, USA, and here in UK.

After securing a swimming scholarship to University of Alabama he coached alongside the Director of Science and Technology of the US National Swim Team. Bruce won numerous National medals at both junior and senior levels, and held 5 Junior Age Group Records in his native S Africa. His coaching achievements also include technical work with an Olympic Bronze medal winner.

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A group of young swimmers from the City of Coventry Swimming Club were given the opportunity to meet former Olympic silver medallist Sharron Davies at the official opening of the Direct Gov at Warwick Shire Hall.

The young swimmers were invited to fire questions at Davies and were encouraged when they found out she won her first Age Group title in Coventry’s 50m facility.

Davies completed the interview by signing autographs which included a teddy bear for each of the swimmers and posing for photos.

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Members of the asa are being given the first-class offer of 2 tickets for the price of 1 at cricket matches across England.

the asa has teamed up with the English Cricket Board (ECB) to offer free companion prices to half a dozen LV County Championship matches in July and August.

The counties offering two tickets for the price of one are Derbyshire CCC, Durham CCC, Gloucestershire CCC, Worcestershire CCC and Yorkshire CCC.  If members buy a ticket for a day’s play, they can bring a companion for FREE, which represents as much as a £15 saving on the two tickets (depending on the ground).

All members have to do to redeem the offer (and learn more about the featured matches) is print out this special voucher, fill it in and take it to the participating ground along with their asa membership card.

The ECB is also offering Kids for a Quid at selected Derbyshire, Lancashire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Sussex and Worcestershire matches between Thursday 10 July and Friday 25 July. Children must be accompanied by an adult.  Other terms and conditions apply.

CLICK HERE more information on all this summer’s ECB’s cricket promotions.