Swim Nofio Cymru Annual Report 2015 - 2016 Contents

Enjoy Board Report ...... 2 Swim Wales Vision Compete Participate Learn CEO Report ...... 4 “A world leading NGB delivering Learn Compete Enjoy Membership ...... 6 excellence, inspiring our nation Inspire Participate Learn Participate Para- ...... 8 to enjoy, participate, learn, and Enjoy compete in Welsh Aquatics”. Compete Report ...... 10 Enjoy May 2016 LearnInspire Education and Training ...... 12 Enjoy Inspire Events & Volunteering ...... 13 LearnCompete Learn Learn Compete Participate Masters ...... 14 Swim Wales Enjoy Performance ...... 16 Wales National Pool, Sketty Lane, Compete Water Polo ...... 20 Swansea, SA2 8QG Participate Synchro ...... 21 Learn Email: [email protected] Safeguarding Standards ...... 22 Tel: 01792 513636 Fax: 01792 513637 Participate Learn Accounts ...... 24

Enjoy Enjoy Inspire Learn Compete Participate Learn Enjoy Inspire Participate EnjoyParticipateCompete EnjoyLearn Enjoy Participate Learn Inspire Compete Enjoy Enjoy Inspire Compete Learn Learn Enjoy Photograph courtesy of SWPix/

Board Report

Just in case anyone doesn’t know, or maybe you have yet to discover the precise details Our focus in the past has been driven very much by our mind set towards the “big four” aquatic anywhere, Swim Wales has a vision! To be precise, our vision states very simply that Swim Wales disciplines – swimming, diving, synchro and water polo, however believe it or not there are another is: “A world leading NGB delivering excellence; inspiring our nation to enjoy, participate, learn, and 62 sports that happen either in the water, under the water, on the water and / or over the water compete in Welsh Aquatics!” Now it probably won’t come as a very big surprise to learn that our – the challenge is to recognise the potential, to target inequalities in participation, to increase the particular vision is not a million miles away from the overall mission of our principle partner Sport frequency of participation and to dismantle all obstacles, actual or imaginary, to participation. Wales, which confirms, “Unite a Proud Sporting Nation,” as their prime objective. Of course as everyone knows 2016 is Rio’s Olympic year, however what everyone perhaps doesn’t know is that To achieve this requires a complete strategical re-think, the opening of minds, not to mention Wales with just 3% of the UK’s population actually embodies 15% of the British Swimming team in the opening of doors at every level from poolside to podium, and to all 66 aquatic disciplines, Rio! Now that’s very definitely punching above our weight! not just the “big four,” within the sport of swimming. Close co-operation with other sports such as triathlon and pentathlon will have profound, significant, far reaching and very positive For a nation where rugby union has traditionally dominated the sporting agenda, Wales’ consequences for aquatics and for sport everywhere. achievement in reaching the football semi-finals at Euro 2016 means that the sporting landscape in Wales is already profoundly changing, perhaps forever. However, it’s not just about focussing Successful competitors on the world stage become commanding role models, medal winning on Wales as a nation of champions, or the development of talent, or the enabling of true Paralympian champions clearly demonstrate inclusiveness and equality. Sporting success at every potential, or competing for Wales, or the success and delivery of medals, or just making sure that level, means not just personal and national pride but a whole sense of achievement, triumph, well- those who wish to excel, can excel! being, joy and pleasure.

It’s also about every child in Wales being “hooked” on sport, which in our case is aquatics, not It’s a simple fact, active people remain healthier for longer; are more energetic; spend less time just aquatics for a select, or a privileged few, or every now and again, or when their personal throwing “sickies;” stay out of hospital and are far less stressful on NHS and / or Social Services budgets allow them to, but everyone – what’s more we want them “hooked” for life. In addition, budgets! What’s more, it’s no secret and no coincidence, that the safest and healthiest of all the vital part that parents, teachers, coaches, volunteers, technical officials, clubs, schools and sports is our sport – swimming! Your job, my job, our job, is to identify and seize the opportunities communities play whether that role is educational, recreational or high performance, cannot and that are staring us right in the face. Are you ready to take the challenge? must not be overlooked or set aside. Board Report Allen Bewley – Chairman

2 Swim Wales Nofio Cymru Annual Report 2015 - 2016 3 CEO Report

‘Inspiring our nation’ is at the heart of the Swim Wales 2021 Vision.

This drives our approach to growing Aquatic Sports in Wales, through member/ I am delighted to say that our Performance Club structure is being launched across Wales, with 10 customer focussed initiatives, building partnerships and promoting good clubs now established to support the high performance pathway and entry into Elite and British governance throughout our organisation. Swimming podium potential. With 3 strong clubs in North Wales and 7 across the West and South East I am very confident that our focus on the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast 2018 and I am very proud to present this, my first annual report as Chief Executive of Swim Wales. the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020 is full of promise.

Since my appointment in April 2016 I have spent a lot of time speaking and listening to people I am delighted to say that the number of Swim Wales affiliated clubs continues to grow, and at the length and breadth of our sport. One theme that comes across in every conversation I have is the time of writing we have 100+ registered clubs supporting our membership across the country. ‘Commitment’. The people I have met be they full time employees or volunteers are committed Our total membership has reached 40,000 people in Wales, which is a fantastic achievement and day in and day out to creating an environment that has the interest of Aquatic sport at heart. with a growth mind-set across the board this will only continue to grow.

I am encouraged and delighted at the welcome I have received from clubs that I have met, I An extraordinary 35,000 people participated in a total of 90 competitions last year and our Events want to meet every club to hear about your challenges and to talk to you about the plans for Strategy aims to build on this to bring quality competition to national, regional and local levels. Swim Wales and how we get to be united and work together all for the good of Welsh Aquatics. Understanding more about affiliated clubs will bring us closer together and strong partnerships The National Governing Body continues to operate in a very challenging commercial will flourish. My revised leadership team are fully engaged and I am confident myself and the environment. Traditional revenue streams such as funding (lottery and team have a wealth of knowledge that can support all of this. My pledge to you is to improve year exchequer), British Swimming funding, club membership fees, and funding previously upon year how we interact with you. seen as guaranteed ‘income’ in the past are now less reliable and are threatened by outside influences. All of these factors contribute to an environment that requires more commercial I would also like to say thank you to our ancillary and supporting partners such as funding autonomy and self-determination, something we all need to embrace. partners, other NGB’s, local authorities, schools, leisure trusts and key suppliers. I can’t help but take from our colleagues in sport, Welsh Football - The ‘Stronger Together’ ethos Our 2021 vision, which was created by the Swim Wales staff and Board in May 2016 outlines our resonates with us too. Swim Wales needs to build trust and maintain effective partnerships with aspirations for the next 5 years: all of our stakeholders both inside and outside of the sport if it is to find answers to the difficult questions that we face. ‘A World leading National Governing Body delivering excellence, inspiring our It is only together that we will ensure that ‘the business’ of Aquatics survives well into its nation to enjoy, participate, learn and compete in Welsh Aquatics’ second centenary. Inspiring our nation means that Wales will not only be recognised for its strong Aquatic pedigree, Fergus Feeney but also for creating an environment where people of all ages, disability, gender, race, religion or CEO of Swim Wales, and British Swimming Board Member. belief; sexual orientation; socio-economic background can enjoy, participate, learn and compete in Aquatic sport.

It is difficult to summarise a great year in a few paragraphs, in summary Welsh Aquatics is in a healthy state.

At Elite level we continue to deliver success far beyond expectation. Our talented Welsh swimmers at the British Championships in Glasgow last April produced qualifying times that resulted in Wales sending 5 World class Swimmers to both Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio 2016.

This contribution was 15% of the overall GB Team and has resulted in big accolades from UK Sport, British Swimming, Sport Wales and Welsh Government alike. I’m sure they will do our nation proud as they step out onto those starting blocks 6,000 miles away this summer!

Photograph courtesy of SWPix/British Swimming

4 Swim Wales Nofio Cymru Annual Report 2015 - 2016 5 Membership

Our overall membership at Swim Wales continues to grow with record numbers in 2015:

2011: 14,248 2012: 21,950 2013: 25,040 2014: 30,115 2015: 39,261

Development The Swim Wales team have been very active in 2015 in setting up and developing the programmes that will strengthen the swimming framework in Wales for years to come:

School Swimming: With Nofio Ysgol now in place and being delivered in several parts of Wales, Clubs: The total number of affiliated clubs with the National Governing Body is now over 100. school swimming now has a framework that schools and partners can clearly follow. We have I am pleased to say that this number is an increase on last year and we look forward to seeing this designed an approach to school swimming which is unique in the world, and if Welsh Education number grow year on year with the full support of the Swim Wales. ensures that every school in Wales delivers school swimming, we have the system in place to get It has been a difficult year in terms of engagement with our clubs in all regions. The revised club the children of Wales in a position to learn to swim and enjoy aquatics throughout their life. constitution communicated to clubs earlier this year caused a degree of uncertainty within the Learn to Swim: Learn to Swim Wales and AquaPassport have gone from strength to strength club structure, however every effort has been made to work with the clubs and open up lines of in 2015. With a new look AquaPassport, we now have over 90,000 children learning to swim communication and this will continue to be a priority for us. Our Regional Business Managers have through our software products. This is giving children across the UK an engaging system, delivered played an exceptional role in keeping our relationships with the clubs as strong as possible and in a fun and interactive way, to learn, enjoy and participate in our sport. this will be an area for greater focus in the twelve months ahead. Education: I am pleased to say again that the team have ensured that our portfolio of swimming and teaching courses were delivered successfully in 2015. There are many changes coming in 2016/17 to the UKCC coaching and teaching structure and we at Swim Wales are in a good position to take advantage of these changes and deliver an even more successful educational portfolio to our customers in the year ahead.

6 Swim Wales Nofio Cymru Annual Report 2015 - 2016 7 Para-Swimming

Legendary basketball coach John Wooden once said “it takes time to create excellence. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it”. This past 12 months that quote has resonated more for Para-Swimming in Wales than in the previous 7 ½ years. For the past 2 years, the key focus of developing a sustainable and successful programme has come down to developing a culture of excellence across each level. Not just at the Elite end, but at club level, skills level and every step through the Performance pathway. This past year has started to see the benefits of that.

The pinnacle performance of the year has to go to Aaron Moores. Not only did he qualify for the ParalympicsGB Team for Rio 2016, he did it by breaking the World Record... twice. But it is what is For Para-Swimmers with potential happening on the levels below that is giving cause for excitement. Not taking away from Aaron’s achievement, but the future for the programme is ensuring that the Aaron Moores of the future have the opportunity to come through.

The pathway for a potential Para-Swimmer is now well established. Inclusion with the mainstream environment for swimmers is growing, with more swimmers in more clubs than before, and the Para-Swimming academies continue to grow in supporting swimmers with highly moderate to severe physical and visual impairments.

Swimmers being identified through learn to swim or clubs is steadily growing. This needs to continue. The earlier we are able to identify a swimmer who is eligible as a Para-Swimmer, the more we can do to monitor and support their progression. The path for that swimmer follows the same route and requirements as any athlete and examples of what can be achieved have been clear this year more than most. In Glasgow at the Paralympic Trials, at the same time Aaron Moores was breaking the World Record, three young girls from Wales were setting consideration times for British Para-Swimming’s World Class programmes. All three were under the age of 13yrs old. All three were training within established mainstream clubs. All three started off within local learn to swim programmes. There were an additional 3 swimmers who were within 2 seconds of making consideration times, all of whom followed the same path. What is going to be essential to keep moving forward, is acknowledgement of the vital roles Wanted: Ordinary people with people will play, that everyone has a part to play in an athlete’s development whether at the start, middle or end. Most importantly, that we set the same level of expectations and standards.

To finish with another John Wooden quote and a reinforcement of a message given to every extraordinary potential. swimmer “don’t let what you can’t do, interfere with what you can” If you’ve got the dedication, we’ll develop your talent.

www.operationtokyo2020.co.uk

8 Swim Wales Nofio Cymru Annual Report 2015 - 2016 9 Diving Report

Development: Education: Gwynedd Council’s Bangor Diving Program has had a slow re-start to its program after the 2015 saw five new level one coaches were up-skilled in the RCT region with three coming through closure for facility redevelopment; however exciting projects such as Talent Identification and the RCT diving development scheme as club competitive divers. testing in Primary Schools within the region in early 2016 are working to energise participation and look set to introduce a new generation of competitive athletes. Ongoing projects to up-skill club volunteers has seen an increase in team managers, members with registered safeguarding courses and event volunteer staff continue to attract new members Carmarthenshire Council’s Llanelli Diving Program participation figures are remaining to our small but committed diving community. consistent. A club constitution has been agreed by Swim Wales to establish a new club to support its developing talent and facilitate competitive diving in the region. Performance: RCT Diving development scheme’s grass roots participation increased by 40% this year under the Performance participation for Welsh diving has progressed during the 2015 to 2016 season leadership of Swim Wales diving consultant Ricky Thomas. Aberdare based diving club, Aberdare seeing Swim Wales partner British Diving to offer funding support to home nation’s participation Comets, are again active in National level skills events as well as open club events after a year at Junior International events. away from the competitive circuit. Welsh diver Aidan Heslop, after an excellent performance at the Armada cup and a clean sweep November 2015 saw Ben Fox appointed as Swim Wales National Diving Manager. This role aims on all boards at the British Gas Junior Elite Diving Championships, received wild card status for to re-energise club and competitive diving in Wales, increase grass roots participation and re- selection to the GB Junior National Team. Aidan, training out of will be develop a National Diving Strategy to support the sports development and performance to meet competing at the Dresden Youth International, Dresden, Germany and the Junior European the needs of Swim Wales strategic vision. championships, Rejika Croatia 2016 as part of the GB team.

Detailed results for these events can be found at www.diverecorder.co.uk, www.diving-dresden.net and www.len.eu.

Future: Looking forward, diving looks set to continue to grow in strength as a key part of Swim Wales identity as an aquatics leader. With positive continued commitment from Swim Wales’ local authority partners, the valuable support of Sports Wales towards performance development and the investment of time, enthusiasm and passion from divers and volunteers alike from the diving community the key components are in place to see the sport flourish. With the development of a new national diving strategy over 2016 we will be looking to develop some key areas:

• Establish a clear national pathway to provide clear understanding of access routes for divers, potential participants from other aquatic disciplines and talent transfer.

• Up-skilling and developing more coaches from within Wales’s programs and educating the wider aquatics community to the links between disciplines aiming to ensure long term sustainable delivery within our programs.

• National Talent Identification in Schools Projects linking to British Diving’s ‘Little Rippers’ program with the aim of energising grass roots participation and proactively seeking out participants with the potential for podium success in the sport.

10 Swim Wales Nofio Cymru Annual Report 2015 - 2016 11 Education & Training Events & Volunteering

We have had a busy twelve months within which we delivered 46 courses, a modest increase of As the 2016 Rio Olympics draws ever closer, we look back at a successful year of aquatics event in Wales. one on the previous year. The courses broke down as follows: As the world of competition develops and grows, Swim Wales continues to support and nurture our • 31 courses @ Level 1 (29 courses 2014 – 15) swimmers and athletes. 2015-2016 was a full calendar year of aquatics events including the usual • 15 courses @ Level 2 (16 courses 2014 – 15) Swim Wales Summer Open, Legends, Short Course, Pentathlon, Long Course and Masters Meets. 579 learners attended our courses – an increase of 33 learners on the previous year. This year also saw the addition of the Swim Wales National Open Water Championships With 147 learners attending Level 2 courses and 432 attending Level 1 courses. incorporating the regional qualifiers. The event was well attended and received by all, with hopes All regions of Wales hosted courses with a breakdown as follows: to develop the event further for 2016-this is definitely one to watch!

• South East 21 The support and enthusiasm of the volunteers in Welsh aquatics is truly remarkable. The Volunteer • South West 13 HourBank logged over 40,000 hours of volunteer commitment across Wales, a phenomenal total • North region 10 demonstrating the tireless efforts of our volunteers. Without these individuals, as with many sports in the UK, swimming and related disciplines would cease to exist. Most Local Authorities hosted at least one course during the past year – only 4 LA’s did not host a Our events could not run as successfully as they do without the hard work and passion of our course at all in the past twelve months. officiating work force who provide time, support and inspiration across all of our events. Once again we can confirm changes to our current suite of qualifications. The coaching With the appointment of a new events team with high aspirations for the forthcoming qualifications are to be removed from the regulated qualification framework with the intention calendar year, it is going to be an exciting year for Welsh Aquatics. of them becoming certificated courses. There is no further news concerning the replacement courses as yet. It seems that we report upon qualification changes annually and this reflects the ever-changing education environment within which we work.

Our trainee tutors are making steady progress through the training programme and last week took another step towards gaining their full tutor licenses by completing the Tutor standardisation training and test. All passed with a grading of ‘excellent’ which bodes well for their future practices.

Once again we have collected learner data and have some interesting facts regarding our learners

1. 34% of our learners were aged between 16 – 18 years compared to 33% last year

2. 30% of our learners were aged 19 – 24 years compared to 29% last year

3. 36% of our learners were aged 25+ years compared to 38% last year

4. 64% of our learners are under the age of 25 years compared to 62% last year

5. 66% of our learners are over the age of 19

We have delivered a small number of Swim Wales Leaders courses over the past twelve months – these courses are useful for anyone aged 14 years and over. This course is particularly helpful as a ‘taster’ to new parents or senior swimmers who may be willing to help out on poolside but do not wish to commit to anything more formal. If your club would like to host one of these courses please get in touch – we will be happy to help with the arrangements for your course.

We have delivered a number of CPD’s – short workshops which act to enhance and extend knowledge and understanding of a range of topics – for example the technical aspects of the four competitive swimming strokes; safeguarding and protecting children and vulnerable adults; disability swimming. If your club is interested in hosting a CPD please do contact us to make arrangements.

12 Swim Wales Nofio Cymru Annual Report 2015 - 2016 13 The World Masters were held in Kazan, Russia in August with sadly no Welsh involvement.

The ASA Masters Championships were held in Sheffield in October. This meet is the highlight of the Masters calendar and was attended by more than 1,000 Senior Age Group and Masters Swimmers. These were predominantly from English and Scottish masters clubs, although many over 18’s from Age Group clubs also participated. Welsh participation was at a good level:

Arfon Stel Farrar (5 swims – 2 Gold, 1 Silver)

Caldicot Lorraine Crook (6 swims – 1 Silver and 1 Bronze)

Cardiff Masters Allie Price (6 swims – 3 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze) Gareth Cocks (5 swims – 2 Gold and 1 Silver) Grace Pettit (3 swims – 1 Gold) Jackie Pacey (2 swims) Jenny Jones (5 swims) Jon Hopkins (8 swims – 1 Gold, 1 Silver and 4 Bronze) Kevin Pacey (2 swims) Rhian Andrews (2 swims) Stuart Sherman (3 swims – 1 Silver)

Carmarthen Masters Zoricka Adams (4 swims)

City of Newport Masters Denise Cuer (5 swims) City of Swansea Masters swimming in Wales continues to grow and attract new members, and participation in Andrew Beveridge (5 swims) major competitions seems to be growing. Andrew Luxton (2 swims)

The GB Masters were held in Manchester in June 2015 and the following Welsh clubs were Individual represented: Neil Powell (1 swim)

Arfon Welsh swimmer Michelle Ware (swimming for Guildford City) had Alison Donnelly (5 swims with 1 Bronze) 7 swims with 6 Gold and 1 Silver medal. Iwan Morgan (4 swims) Oggy East (10 swims) Only 1 club meet was organised in Wales for Masters. The annual Arfon Masters which took place on 3rd October continuing its long successful run by attracting swimmers from 23 different clubs. Cardiff Masters Allie Price (6 swims – 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 3 Bronze) The Carmarthen Masters Charity Postal Swim also took place for those wishing to set a Gareth Cocks 4 swims – 1 Gold and 2 Silver) benchmark 800m and 1500m times.

Carmarthen Masters The Swim Wales Open meet was held in March 2016 and was well attended by 52 swimmers from Richard Skerrett (10 swims – 2 Gold, 3 Silver and 3 Bronze) 11 Welsh clubs – seeing 9 from Carmarthen Masters, 13 from Swansea Aquatics and 18 from Cardiff Masters. City of Newport Denise Cuer (4 swims) 2016/17 sees the GB Masters being moved from its usual June spot to an early April date. This is to allow the European Masters to take place at the end of May at the Olympic pool in London. Wrexham Many Welsh swimmers are building up for this prestigious event – albeit a little apprehensively Andrew Reay (5 swims) given the large numbers being allowed to swim (some 9,000 swimmers in nearly 30,000 swims). Individual Ian Powell (1 swim)

Welsh swimmer Michelle Ware (swimming for Guildford City) had 6 swims with 6 Gold medals.

14 Swim Wales Nofio Cymru Annual Report 2015 - 2016 15 Performance

The performance level of Welsh swimmers reached new heights in the summer of 2015 when Calum Jarvis became the first ever Welsh swimmer to win a World Championships Gold medal (4 x 200 freestyle relay) at the FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia. At the same event Jazmin Carlin continued her impressive form to win her first ever global medal, taking Bronze in the 800m freestyle. In total five Welsh swimmers were selected to represent Great Britain at the Kazan World Championships (Jazmin Carlin, Calum Jarvis, Tom Laxton, Jemma Lowe and Tom Allen), and their results are displayed below.

• Jazmin Carlin: 3rd 800m Freestyle (8.18.15), 4th 400m Freestyle (4.03.74), 5th 4 x 200m freestyle relay. • Calum Jarvis: 1st 4 x 200m Freestyle relay, 14th 200m Freestyle (Semi-final 1.47.64, heats 1.46.61) • Tom Laxton: 19th 100m Butterfly (52.37) • Jemma Lowe: 19th 100m Butterfly (58.74) • Tom Allen: 23rd 5KM Open Water (55:32.00)

In the younger age groups of international competition, 14 year old Rebecca Sutton represented Great Britain at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Tbilisi, Georgia. She was joined at the event by Welsh coach Phil Melhuish who was selected as part of the team staff, and Rebecca excelled in the tough conditions winning two silver medals (400m IM and 4 x 100m Medley relay) to cap off an outstanding year for the young swimmer. Further Great Britain representation came from Sophie Evans and Cameron Croot, who competed at the European Junior Open Water Championships in Tenero, Switzerland. Sophie narrowly missed a medal finishing in 4th position and Cameron finished a respectable 23rd in his first international experience.

September 2015 saw a team of 7 young Welsh Swimmers undertake the long journey to Samoa in the South Pacific to compete at the Commonwealth Youth Games. The swimmers handled both the journey and conditions extremely well to produce an impressive set of results including a 72% personal best rate, individual silver medals for Kathryn Greenslade (200 freestyle) and Rebecca Sutton (400 Individual medley), a team silver for the girls 4 x 100 freestyle relay and a team bronze for the girls 4 x 200 freestyle relay. The Commonwealth Youth Games has traditionally proved to be a launch pad for Welsh swimmers to gain success at the Commonwealth Games, with names such as Georgia Davies and Jemma Lowe experiencing medal success at both levels. It is hoped that the tradition continues with the group that competed in Samoa.

16 Swim Wales Nofio Cymru Annual Report 2015 - 2016 17 Swim Conwy Nofio Clwyd September also saw the launch of the new Swim Wales National Squad Pathway, which creates a Swim Gwynedd four tier programme designed to provide a seamless pathway from skill development through to elite performance. The programme is fully inclusive of both able bodied and para-swimmers and provides appropriate and challenging training and competition experiences for each tier coupled with relevant and innovative sports science education and support. The new programme has proved a great success in its first season of operation, with clear improvements being made in technical skill across the squads, along with a better understanding of the importance of strength and conditioning, performance nutrition and the use of process goals in both the training and competition environments.

2015 ended on a high note for Welsh swimming with Jazmin Carlin back in international action in December, representing Great Britain at the European Short Course Championships in Netanya, Israel. Once again her performance level was outstanding taking gold medals in both the 400m and 800m freestyle against extremely strong fields, setting new Welsh short course records in the process.

In fact the last 12 months has been an incredible time for record breaking from Welsh Swimmers with no less than 20 new Welsh records recorded. Additionally S14 Para-swimmer Chloe Davies has set World Para records in the 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle and 200m backstroke and S14 swimmers Aaron Moores and Jack Thomas added British Para records to their list of achievements.

With 2016 being an Olympic year, considerable effort was made to provide the best possible preparations for Welsh swimmers in the lead up to the British Swimming Championships 2016 and the 2016 British Para-Swimming International (which served as the Team GB Olympic and Paralympic trial events). The first quarter of 2016 included Swim Wales National Squad training and competition opportunities in Australia (Gold Coast and Melbourne) and Marseille for the Senior Elite and Elite Development squads along with a series of domestic camps for the Youth Development Squad and National Skills Academy. Progression and improvement levels through this period of National Squad activity have been extremely encouraging and the camps have been deemed hugely successful in relation to the objectives set. Nofio The months ahead promise to be an exciting time for Swim Wales, following a highly successful Pembrokeshire County Sir Gar British Championships in April, where Chloe Tutton, Georgia Davies, Jazmin Carlin and Ieuan Lloyd secured selection to Team GB for the Rio Olympic Games. This gives Wales their highest Torfaen proportional representation on the Olympic team ever, with a total of 15% of the total team, an Swansea Dolphins increase of 6% from 2012 and 9% from 2008. In addition, Aaron Moores secured selection to Aquatics the Team GB Paralympic team by breaking the World S14 100m Breaststroke World Record at the British Para-Swimming International. Bridgend County City of May I take this opportunity to wish our Olympians, Paralympians and all of the competitive Newport swimmers around Wales the very best for the challenges that lie ahead and to say a huge thankyou to all of the coaches, sports scientists, team managers and administrators who have City of helped to make the past year such a great success. Cardiff

18 Swim Wales Nofio Cymru Annual Report 2015 - 2016 19 Water Polo

Waterpolo has continued to develop over the year, new head coaches are now in place for Wales’ Men’s and Ladies teams. The Welsh League is up and running with Senior Men’s and Ladies, u18s & u15s level.

4 Nations tournament The Junior u18s North Sea Cup (4 Nations) took place in Copenhagen, Denmark. Wales entered both a Boys and Girls team with the boys ending up as silver medallists. The Men’s and Ladies team were unable to take part due to event issues.

EU Nations The Wales Men’s and Ladies teams were unable to take part due to the timing of the Senior tournaments. The Junior Ladies team had their competition in Prague in September 2015. The Junior Men’s team had a successful event in Vienna, Austria in March 2016, narrowly losing to the hosts and beating the Czech Republic. A win in the quarter-finals against England put the team into a 3rd/4th place final against Poland, unfortunately Poland were too strong. Moving forward in 2016 the following competitions have been announced:

Junior Ladies Denmark Senior Men Malta Synchro Senior Ladies Czech Republic The past 12 months have been incredibly busy for Swansea Synchro, they have not only doubled Inter Regions their numbers and sessions, they have also appeared on TV with the one and only Wynne Evans, Mr Go Compare himself. Wales competed at all age groups Boys and Girls except the u14s Boys at tournaments hosted in The club is now sustainable on its own merit with 35 swimmers, 1 Paid Level 2 coach and Manchester & Walsall during the year. 3 volunteer coaches, 2 judges and 1 assessor and thanks to Community Chest funding the volunteers will attend their Level 1 instructor’s course in September. BWPL & Leagues The swimmers have also obtained their Grades this year with children passing Grade 1 & Grade 2. Welsh Wanderers competed in the BWPL both Men’s and Ladies Leagues. Welsh Wanderers, Medals have also been achieved in group competitions - our first gold medal was in the duets and Newport & Cwm Draig competed in the Bristol & West League, whilst these three teams along then we achieved both silvers and bronze in the groups. with Carmarthen and Swansea have competed in the Welsh League in Junior and Senior The club attended their first figure competition where the swimmers competed as individuals, Competitions. the results were outstanding and although medals weren’t achieved 3 swimmers were in the top 20 out of 100 swimmers. Officials After a successful referee course last year the new officials have been developing in the Welsh League, some have moved on and taken up officiating at National Events. Table officials appear to be in short supply and volunteers will be required for this role going forward.

Future After some teething problems in the new restructured Welsh leagues we can develop and learn from the issues we struggled with in the 2015/16 season to make the leagues better for the coming year. The National teams are now developing with coaches in place for all levels. However, volunteers are needed for various roles especially team managers to help the teams attend events in UK and overseas.

20 Swim Wales Nofio Cymru Annual Report 2015 - 2016 21 Safeguarding Swim Wales are now approaching their third year after achieving Level 3 in Safeguarding and Protecting children. Annual assessments in conjunction with Sport Wales and the CPSU evidence our commitment to ensure everyone involved with Welsh Aquatics has a responsibility for the safeguarding of our members.

Our child protection protocols are regularly reviewed and revised accordingly and we work tirelessly to maintain high standards for ourselves and our affiliated clubs. All Swim Wales staff are encouraged to understand the basics of Safeguarding and all staff inductions include a section about the Y Plant and their responsibilities. Equality A revised Y Plant will be communicated in early 2017 – Y Plant is our current Safeguarding Policy and contains important Child Protection procedures. It is important to share the Y Plant with Swim Wales are committed to the principles of equality of opportunity and aims to ensure that your members. This will support their understanding of how any concerns they may raise will be anyone participating or wishing to participate in swimming is able to do so in a discrimination free managed and clubs have clear procedures to follow. The Y Plant can be found on the Swim Wales environment website. An index is provided for easy reference. The Equality Policy is based on the following fundamental principles, which Swim Wales aims We have been encouraged by the communication from clubs regarding new welfare officers to to uphold: post and the skills from previous and current employment they bring. Every club is required to have a welfare officer in post and all members must know how to contact them. The purpose of our Equality policy is to ensure that no job applicant, employee, volunteer, participant or member is unlawfully discriminated against or receives less favourable treatment It is everyone’s responsibility to act if they see or know of a concern. No action is unacceptable. on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation (together these are known as the A Safeguarding and Protecting Children course is a requirement for every member who is involved ‘Protected Characteristics’ under the Equality Act 2010) with children. This is a 3 hour face to face workshop then a refresher is required every three years, the refresher is now available online, please contact Swim Wales for details. We are delighted at Swim Wales achieved Preliminary level last year and is committed to moving up the scale. the number of courses organised for one club at a time. It is important for a club to consider who needs to attend training. It is everyone’s responsibility to promote inclusion and diversity, we have an action plan in place and all staff are signed up to the plan. Travel permits now state team staff must have an up to date Safeguarding qualification and this will be checked before approval is given. Travel permits are downloadable on our website. Swim Wales are working tirelessly to understand more about our members and customers so we can ensure we are treating everyone in a fair and equal manner. By having more information and Again this year I must stress the importance of clubs adhering to ‘Safe Recruitment’ which is asking appropriate questions, which have been designed to gather data about our service users in detailed in the Y Plant. It is well known in some regions that volunteers are few and far between relation to the characteristics protected by the law under the Equality Act 2010, we can continue but this does not allow anyone’s standards to drop when considering who will help in your club to develop Aquatic opportunities for everyone regardless of their background .We need your either as a volunteer or a paid employee. High safeguarding standards are key to ensuring your support to gather this data and request you encourage your members to complete the Equality members are provided with a safe and fun environment to enjoy their chosen sport in. questions when they appear. However it is not compulsory.

I cannot close without saying thank you to club Welfare Officers for their commitment. The role Tell us your stories of how you are supporting Equality in your area which we may be able to support at times can be quite isolated and challenging however remember there are success stories about some serious concerns that have reached an outcome that has saved a child from harm, this is Thank you. what keeps us all going!

22 Swim Wales Nofio Cymru Annual Report 2015 - 2016 23 Accounts as at 31st March 2016

Income Expenditure 31.03.16 31.03.15 31.03.16 31.03.15 Membership Income Salaries and Office Expenditure Club affiliation - 6,770 Staff costs 800,840 775,819 Club members 264,491 262,018 Stationery and merchandising purchases 1,725 2,223 Individual membership 962 2,816 Overheads 202,989 123,069 265,453 271,604 1,005,554 901,111

Grants Committees and Expense Expenditure 17,493 18,058 Sports Council 260,018 304,755 Membership Expenditure - Aquatic Passport 430,085 111,412 Sports Council - other - 4,251 Free Swim Initiative 60,000 70,000 Sponsorship and Fundraising Expenditure Coach Education 75,400 75,000 Aquatic Passport awards and badges 7,365 2,661 Coach Cymru 367,747 239,000 British Gas club support - 2,000 Elite Cymru 200,000 180,000 7,365 4,661 Talent Support 105,100 90,000 Competition and Training Expenditure 1,068,265 963,006 Championship costs 131,623 120,872 Sponsorship and Fundraising Youth and Age camps and training 10,349 29,658 Speedo, etc. 15,000 15,000 National Squad and training costs 513,708 562,266 Kelloggs - 38,500 Regional Performance - 735 British Gas 46,875 52,000 Regional support - 15,149 Aquatic Passport awards and badges 40,629 35,141 Tri-Nations costs - 20 Other sponsorship 10,000 10,000 655,680 728,700 112,504 150,641 Regional Costs 69,489 70,109 Other Income Free Swim Initiative 455 10,295 Merchandise sales 7 3,243 Diving - 239 Salary recharges and funding 61,873 - Water Polo 73,335 46,308 Deposit account interest 259 412 GB Fees 53,933 48,379 62,139 3,655 Schools 12,411 18,350 Schools 3,196 3,516 Education Costs 158,222 139,253 Education Income 201,506 181,060 2,484,022 2,096,875 Membership Income - Aquatic Passport 15,462 31,293 Net Surplus/(Deficit) for the Year Before Taxation (89,007) 23,437 Competition and Training Income Tax on Net Surplus/(Deficit) (52) (82) Championship income 220,693 132,946 Transfers from Other Reserves 255,000 20,000 Youth and Age camps and training 900 42,851 Retained Surplus/(Deficit) for the Year 165,941 43,355 National Squad 176,115 83,883 Regional Performance 74,959 93,722 Regional Support - 7,749 472,667 361,151

Regional Income 127,673 94,222 Diving 19,284 28,104 Water Polo 46,866 32,060 2,395,015 2,120,312

24 Swim Wales Nofio Cymru Annual Report 2015 - 2016 25 26 Swim Wales Nofio Cymru Annual Report 2015 - 2016 27