Thirty six of the county’s top 9 to 14 year old swimmers will gather in Calne in July for a training camp led by Mark Skimming, Head Coach at the University of Bath. Skimming, who recently coached former Swindon Dolphin Tilly Gray to Commonwealth Games selection, will put the youngsters through their paces in a programme that includes not only pool training but also land conditioning and classroom lectures.
The group consists of the overall top three in each of the six age groups at the Wiltshire County Age Group Championships in March and brings together youngsters from seven of Wiltshire’s top performing swimming clubs including Swindon Dolphin and Tigersharks. Swindon swimmers receiving invites are Benjamin Walker, Charlotte Purvis, Dina Nejkic, Erin Henly, Harrison Crook, Henry Pearce, Jake Lewis, James Watson, Joshua Fox, Juliet Durrant, Leia Griffiths, Megan Adamson, Miles Farrington, Olivia Flack, Oscar Pearcey, Rebecca Maddocks and Sophie Bartlett. The camp takes place just two weeks before the National Age Group Championships at which Dolphin’s Sophie Bartlett and Olivia Flack have already booked places and hopefully by which time more will follow.
This month also sees the launch of a new initiative by clubs in neighbouring south west counties to bring together groups of swimmers of similar ability from county standard through to national qualifiers. The programme also enables coaches from the clubs to work together with the aim of enhancing swimmer’s training schedules and ultimately achieving ASA Beacon Programme status and associated funding. Almost 300 swimmers are set to attend an inaugural one day camp at Millfield’s long course pool with more than 30 aged 9 to 18 travelling from Swindon.
