ASA West Midland Region

Annual Report & Accounts 1 April 2017 - 31 March 2018 Regional Achievements

President of Swim

Since becoming a fully-fledged aquatics volunteer in 1990, squad might relocate to the new 50m pool at University; my involvement with our sport had thus far been confined to disappointedly appear to have foundered. mainstream swimming, and as a result I’ve been largely ignorant The early weeks of 2018 were devoted to our County Swimming of other aquatic disciplines. Setting out to plan the year ahead I Championships where all achieved the objective of maximising was determined to fill the gaps, and of equal import; ensure I also participation, provided excellent competition vocally supported supported development initiatives which will shape future success. by full galleries; and were a credit to their respective organising Success on the international stage is, and will continue to be; a very committees. At the National Water Polo Age Group Championships important component in determining how much public money our I was honoured to present medals in the company of the Swim sport receives through various channels. England President Richard Whitehead. At the other end of the As my Presidential year began, 18 (of the 33) English counties competition spectrum, the 2018 Warwickshire County Pathway had signed up for the Swim England County Pathway initiative in development camp was especially satisfying; with 100% acceptance its inaugural year. To their credit both West Midland Counties that by 36 invited swimmers. The Harvey Hadden facility proved to be took part were amongst only 8 nationally that were to fully adopt ideal for the excellent National Synchro Championships. the guidelines. Success at County Championships being seen as On your behalf I then hosted our own Swimming Championships the first step onto the talent conveyor, this programme will annually at Coventry, attended by the Swim England President and his Wife provide development opportunities for up to 36 swimmers 11 years Susan; along with all of our County Presidents. Organisation and old, and 6 level 1 coaches; from each County. The 2018 programme event timing were exemplary, a 5-day all ages competition is clearly will include 3 participants from our Region, is complementary to the the way to go. On the final day I was pleased to facilitate, (along regional programme for those 12 years old introduced by WMR a with others), a surprise presentation to Liz Sykes in recognition of couple of years ago; and to the heavily revised competition structure her service to Midland District & Midland Regions; as Promoter of (A new British System), introduced by British Swimming in 2015. To all National & Regional competitions held at Coventry Sports Centre ensure our athletes and coaches are at the front of the opportunity over the last 20 plus years. Liz will be a hard act to follow, as this queue; our County Associations are encouraged to please support autumn she assumes the richly deserved honour on becoming this programme in the years ahead. Swim England President. The National Inter-County event saw Worcester County once Into the summer months West Midlands Novice Synchro, Midland more the highest placed of our counties; and worthily so. The Masters, British Para-Swimming International (a notable highlight), Midland Para-Swimming Autumn meet was inspiring, Inter-County Midland Open Water Development; and National Age Group Diving Masters, an eye-opener in terms of excellent technical proficiency Championships followed. I was disappointed to have to miss our and competiveness. At the Midland Long Course Winter rescheduled Open Water Championships at Bala Lake due to Championships, the number of empty lanes despite a user friendly existing commitments. My year as your President will conclude with withdrawal process was disappointing. Thence to the National the Shropshire County Pathway development camp, and further Age Group Synchro Championships at Gloucester, commendable visits to Sheffield for British Summer Championships; and finally West Midland representation from Rugby, Walsall and City of the Swim England National Summer Meet. Birmingham. The Girl’s 14/under Inter-Regional Water Polo was extremely well organised by our Region, unfortunate I had to miss A most enjoyable year during which, either side of major knee the Boy’s event the following week due to inclement weather; surgery, Diane has been able to accompany me. I’ve managed especially so since the West Midland team triumphed. The National to don whites on a few occasions, and constantly reminded of Winter Championships were next; an eventful autumn concluding the debt of gratitude owed to our legions of volunteers. I’ve been with visits to Synchro festivals hosted by City of Birmingham & heartened by our Region’s pro-active support of development Walsall. across the aquatic disciplines, and take this opportunity to remind members that the Region has ring fenced funds available for Club Before Christmas we learnt that Stechford Cascades was to Development Grants & Course Grant Aid. close in the early weeks of 2018. Boldmere SC in particular will be adversely affected, now having to vie with others for capacity Next year I will be succeeded by Stuart Highfield, my best wishes to at Wolverhampton, a facility already under strain trying to him, also to his Shropshire colleague, accommodate two County Championships; along with several Louise Barnes, as she assumes open competitions. There are now no pools in the Birmingham responsibility for Events & area configured to hold any level of swimming competition; with Competitions. the promised 25m competition pool within the Icknield Port re- generation area; seemingly still some years away. Elsewhere those pools that can be used for competition usually have restricted weekend availability; and/or are unaffordable under devolved management. On a more positive facilities note, work on the new 50m pool at the Alan Higgs Centre in Coventry is now underway; with completion due mid-2019. should be congratulated on securing the 2022 Commonwealth Games, resulting in the planned 50m pool at Sandwell now scheduled for build to a substantially enhanced specification. In the build-up to David F Corbett BEM 2022, attempts to reach agreement whereby the City of Birmingham President ASA West Midland Region

2 ASA West Midland Region - Report & Accounts April 2017 - March 2018 Regional Achievements Message from the Chair

For the seventh year I have been honoured to chair Swim I would like to thank my board and those in this year who have England West Midlands. The last twelve months, like the retired or are due to as their term of office finishes. We have lost previous six, has seen some change at a regional level but two of our sport specialists from the board this year in Mark mostly at national level with the ASA now formally becoming Thornewell who was our facility expert and Joanna Jones who incorporated. This will be an excellent move for swimming and has supported the development of the talent programme. They will eventually benefit you the members on the pool side. have given significant expert advice over the previous years I have been fortunate to have a committed group of volunteers that has guided our thinking and action. However, I am losing at regional level and this year we have entered a consultation my vice-chair Helga Edstrom after serving nine years on the with counties to identify what we do and how we can work board. Her high-level knowledge and expertise has guided us better with the counties and members. I am delighted to say through some difficult debates and furthermore she has been our regional strategy has taken on board the comments from most supportive of me during year and jointly supported the the counties and now we need to enact it as well as link it to the governance committee. Thank you also to Paul Welsh who has national Swim England strategy. I have taken an active role with represented Warwickshire admirably over the last year. other regional chairs to ensure that clubs and counties have However, I cannot let my report pass by without thanking their views expressed and I am pleased that we as chairs now Jane Campbell, who in September retires after 15 years. I am have a formal route into the new governance structure. sure you as clubs will know the high level of service you have In working closely with our professional staff, we are making received, and her local knowledge and understanding will be sure we maximise our investment back into the sport. Our difficult shoes to fill. Thank you Jane. club support package has been well received and following Thank you to the professional staff who have worked so hard consultation, will change to respond to what you have said you this year. I would also like to thank those that give up their time need support for. to support regional activity, you are invaluable. As I say every The board had to quickly consider different arrangements year, you the volunteers are the sport and thank you from all following the reduction in funding for Swim England from Sport the swimmers for your continued commitment to the sport and England. This led to the region, along with East Midlands, jointly hope you continue to gain great joy from your involvement. employing the regional administrative staff; this was seamless Simon Kirkland and thanks to sound planning, our finances were in good Chair ASA West Midland Region enough shape to support this change without reducing the investment back into the sport. We were of course delighted to see the Commonwealth Games coming to Birmingham in four years’ time along with a new 50 metre pool and diving area in Sandwell. We are supporting any clubs who may be displaced with the building of the new pool and having an input into how it is used following the Games. We also have a significant opportunity to develop the one discipline we have very little of in the region, that of diving. I am leading a group that looks at a different approach to developing diving, seeking to engage different communities and putting a plan together with hopefully external investment that will develop a region wide diving programme. Furthermore, the securing of a new 50 metre pool along with new constructions in Coventry see a significant rise in our large pool provision. I would still like to see greater ownership by clubs of facilities and hopefully a Swim England initiative will bring this to fruition.

ASA West Midland Region - Report & Accounts April 2017 - March 2018 3 Facilities

Bromsgrove Leisure Centre

The £10m Bromsgrove Leisure Centre was officially opened on 1st September 2017 by four-time Olympic medallist Rebecca Adlington. The new centre includes a six lane 25m pool and a learner pool with moveable floor, spa facilities, including a Jacuzzi sauna, steam room and treatment rooms, a climbing centre, fitness suite and exercise studios.

University of Birmingham Sports Centre The University of Birmingham’s new £55million Sport & Fitness club opened on Monday 22 May. University of Birmingham Sport & Fitness presents the city’s first 50m pool, as well as an extensive state-of-the-art gym; five activity studios for classes; a squash court complex; a large multi-sports arena; a climbing wall and much more.

Warwick District Council Newbold Comyn Leisure Centre Following a first phase of refurbishment work at Newbold Comyn Leisure Centre the swimming pool, brand new 100 station gym and fitness studios reopened in August 2017. St Nicholas Park Leisure Centre Following the installation of new pool plant and changing rooms the swimming pool reopened 6 weeks ahead of schedule in September 2017. Commonwealth Games pool – Sandwell Sandwell Council is proposing to build a new state of the art aquatic centre in time for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The centre will feature an Olympic-sized competition swimming pool and a 25m diving pool, plus 5,000 spectator seats. Also planned at the centre, which will be run by Sandwell Leisure Trust, are two activity studios, a 12-court sports hall, a 125 station gym, a ladies only gym, a cycling studio, a sauna/steam room and a café.

CWG pool artist’s impression

4 ASA West Midland Region - Report & Accounts April 2017 - March 2018 Athlete Development Athlete Roll of Honour

Swimming

European Junior Championships Netanya June/ July 2017 Phoebe Griffiths – Ellesmere College Ellinor Southward – Ellesmere College World Championships Budapest July 2017 Freya Anderson – Ellesmere College European Youth Olympic Festival Gyor July 2017 Adam Metcalf – Ellesmere College Alicia Dingle - Royal Wolverhampton School Samuel Osborne – City of Birmingham World Junior Championships Indianapolis August Freya Anderson crowned 100m Freestyle 2017 World Junior Champion Freya Anderson – Ellesmere College Cassie Wild – Ellesmere College European SC Championships Copenhagen December 2017 Freya Anderson – Ellesmere College Para-swimming Commonwealth Games Gold Coast March 2018 Freya Anderson – Ellesmere College (Team England) World Para-Swimming Championships Mexico Cassie Wild – Ellesmere College (Team Scotland) September 2017 (postponed to due earthquake) Megan Richter – Orion Rebecca Redfern - Worcester World Para-Swimming Series Copenhagen March 2018 Open Water Megan Richter - Orion

European Junior Open Water Championships Marseille August 2017 Hector Pardoe - Ellesmere College Synchro Phoebe Griffiths - Ellesmere College Gordon Mason - Ellesmere College GB Age Group squad – Croatia August 2017 Robyn Swatman – Walsall SSC Olivia Baker – Walsall SSC Hector Pardoe, Sporting Excellence Award Programme member of the Pyper Watkins – Walsall SSC bronze medal Sydney Jackson – City of Birmingham team in the 5km Olivia Hall – City of Birmingham mixed relay at the European Junior Open Water Water Polo Championships England U21 – EU Nations November 2017 Matthias Madden – Solihull England U17 - EU Nations March 2018 Matilda Neal – City of Coventry Eda Colliver – City of Coventry Aaliyah Lloyd – Boldmere

ASA West Midland Region - Report & Accounts April 2017 - March 2018 5 Athlete Development Swimming

British Swimming Performance West Midland Championships Squads 2018 The second West Midland Championships took place at Coventry Sports Centre on 29th, 30th April, 1st, 6th and 7th May 2017. British Swimming Performance Squads 2018 With a larger entry than the previous year and a Podium Potential Programme revised schedule the event ran smoothly leading to an Freya Anderson – Ellesmere College increased satisfaction rating from the event survey. Cassie Wild – Ellesmere College A total of 1340 male swims and 1555 female swims and 66 relay entries from 52 clubs which was a 7% “Thank you so much for 2 great weekends of top increase over the previous year. level swimming and for the work the people do behind the scenes without which events do not run smoothly.” “Well done to all the officials who remained Staffordshire club cheerful and professional to the last.” Comment from survey

Regional Development Camps Thirty six swimmers aged 11 and 12 years were selected to attend three regional camps as part of the England Talent Programme at Warwick University and Wrekin College. “I just wanted to say Each camp included pool sessions, land work, swimmer workshops and parent lectures. thank you for the The selected swimmers were: training received at the Scott Pattyson (Biddulph), Jake Daly, James Shevchenko, Joel Hands (Bilston), Daniel Caddick West Midlands camp. (Chase), Bryony Lowe, Erin Hull, Evie Floate, Gracie Comyn, Harvey Higgins, Isabelle Aspinall, I have been to many James Froggatt, Keira Hancock, Ruby Couzens, Sofia Knight (City of Birmingham), Alice Toon talks on nutrition, but (Cannock Phoenix), Jessica Mellor (COSACSS), Harry Grech (Droitwich Dolphins), Archie Neaves, the one we had on the Henrietta D’Ammassa, Katie Hale (Ellesmere College), Harry Lancaster (Leek), Joe Ritson last camp was the best (Northgate Bridgnorth), Aurelio Lencioni (Redditch), Bethany Smith, Chloe Harris, Ryan James, I’ve ever been to. The Thomas Harris (Royal Wolverhampton School), Laila Elfandi (Solihull), Brooke Frost (Stafford children, and parents Apex), Joseph Deavall, William Luke (Team Mercia), Jessie-Leigh Jenns (Warley Wasps), Tymon Strzelecki (Wellington), Oliver Burns (Wolverhampton), Jasmin Yates (Wyre Forest). were really engaged and the talk was relevant The camp staff were: and interesting.” Head Coach – Chris Littler (City of Birmingham), Skills Coaches – Darren Barber (Chase), David Parent Painter (Royal Wolverhampton School), Jon Fletcher (Worcester), Kim Mortimer (Stratford Sharks) and Tim Hastie (Oswestry Otters) with Anita Ryder (City of Coventry) as Team Manager. County Pathway Programme Shropshire and Warwickshire ASAs took part in the pilot England Programmes County Pathway Programme in 2017 for promising 11 year old swimmers. The Shropshire camps took place on 22nd April, 23rd July and 15th Warwickshire ran 3 half day camps at Warwick School on 22nd October 2017 with 29 swimmers in attendance. The swimmers April, 15th July and 30th September 2017 for 34 swimmers received t-shirts, hats and water bottles and particularly enjoyed from 12 clubs. As well as 2 x 1 hour pool sessions, the camps the land training and even asked for more swimming time! included land conditioning work and interactive presentations.

6 ASA West Midland Region - Report & Accounts April 2017 - March 2018 Athlete Development

Fifty regional records broken

Freya Anderson (Ellesmere College Titans) - 7 Senior records Jacob Davies (City of Birmingham) - 2 Junior records Cassie Wild (Ellesmere College Titans) - 5 Senior records Ellinor Southward (Ellesmere College Titans) - 1 Junior record Charlie Hutchison (Ellesmere College Titans) - 2 Senior Kyo Tanner (Ellesmere College Titans) - 1 Junior record and 13 Junior records Lauren Cox (City of Coventry) - 1 Junior record Adam Metcalf (Ellesmere College Titans) - 1 Senior and 11 Junior records Matthew Richards (Royal Wolverhampton School) - 6 David Corbett Junior records Regional Records Officer

Licensed open meets 2017 saw a marked growth in Level 4 licences where club championships, sprint events and time trials are now being licensed. Region and county championships focus more on Level 1 and 2 licences, competitive clubs run licensed meets at Level 3 and 4.

Region/county Clubs Pools used L1 licence L2 licence L3 licence L4 licence Club based licensing L3 swims West Midlands 2 1 Shropshire 9 6 0 2 7 15 5,073 Staffordshire 10 13 0 3 17 11 15,875 Warwickshire 11 9 2 0 18 20 28,812 Worcester County 12 13 0 3 14 32 14,396 Total 42 41 4 8 57 78 64,156

Tony Green Licensing Officer

Coach Development

SE Pathway Coach Development Programme England Talent Phase 1 coach selections 2017 Marc Foster – Ellesmere College Head Coach Chris Littler – City of Birmingham Marc Foster (Ellesmere College) Home Nations Elite Coach Development Programme Coaches Alan Bircher – Ellesmere College Rikki Morris – City of Coventry Coach 2024 Jon Fletcher – Worcester Marc Spackman – Royal Wolverhampton School Dave Painter – Royal Wolverhampton School Performance Foundation Programme Julie Shenton – Stafford Carl Grosvenor – City of Birmingham Tim Hastie – Wombourne James Dyer – Rugby Coach Advisors – Adam Ruckwood (City of Coventry), Alan Bircher (Ellesmere College) and Fred Furniss (England Talent). Coach Advisors provide technical and non-technical coach development support to front line coaches within the talent pathway. The coaches being supported are: Matt Lowe (Bromsgrove), Ian Gates and Simon Ward (Burton), Greg Clarke (COSACSS), Graham Begley (Evesham), Mikey Hire (City of Hereford), Sam Holland (Shrewsbury), Julie Shenton (Stafford Apex) and Mark Stowe (Worcester).

ASA West Midland Region - Report & Accounts April 2017 - March 2018 7 Athlete Development

Overseas Meet

A team of 20 swimmers headed to Amiens, France for the 9th Trophée National Des Hortillons from 18th – 22nd January 2018. All swimmers had an outstanding weekend, considering, for some swimmers it was their first time swimming at an international meet. There were many great swims with every swimmer having multiple second swims in the A, B or junior finals. The team worked well together, hit process goals, overall had a great time and hopefully made many memories. Medal winners were: Gold Silver Bronze Charlotte Rigg 200m Breaststroke Charlotte Rigg 100m Breaststroke Jacob Davies 50m Backstroke Lauren Cox 50m Backstroke Zara Leleux 200m Butterfly Jacob Davies 100m Backstroke Amelia Rodd 200m Freestyle Amelia Rodd 400m Freestyle Jacob Davies 200m Backstroke Jessica McDonough 200m Backstroke The team members were: Leo Karski, Lily Massey (Boldmere), Alexander Hindle, Charloltte Rigg, Jacob Davies, Samuel Osborne (City of Birmingham), Lauren Cox (City of Coventry), Ellinor Southward, Jessica McDonough, William Pettit (Ellesmere College), Laura Griffiths (Leamington Spa), Callum Rushan (Leek), Phoebe Townsend (Oswestry Otters), Amelia Rodd ((Redditch), Ben Cope, Charley Jones, Kane Murcott (Royal Wolverhampton School), Helena Mole (Wolverhampton), Samuel Hall (Worcester) and Samuel Neeld (Wrekin College). The team staff were: Head Coach – Jon Fletcher (Worcester), Assistant Coaches – Tim Hastie (Oswestry Otters) and Jamie Fowler (City of Birmingham) Team Manager – Hayley Colville (Swim England West Midlands)

“I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who organised and looked after the swimmers for this meet. My son really enjoyed his weekend and feels he has learnt a lot from it.”

Masters Warwickshire finished second in the Swim England National Masters Inter-County Team Competition in November 2017, with Staffordshire in 21st place, Shropshire in 22nd place and Worcester County 28th. Edmund Salt Masters co-ordinator The total records broken for the 2017-18 are:

Male Female Mixed Total Individuals 21 59 - 80 Relays 1 2 4 7 Total 22 61 4 87 The swing has reversed this year, as the ladies almost doubled last year’s tally, but the men were down significantly. Coincidentally, the total records broken is exactly the same as last year. Trevor Clark Masters records

8 ASA West Midland Region - Report & Accounts April 2017 - March 2018 Athlete Development Synchro

Key achievements • Successful Novice and Warwickshire competitions • Nationals in Nottingham April 2017: • Four Grade Days in line with new Swim England criteria o Phoebe Bradley-Smith (CoB) Gold in Senior • Walsall Gala Baths hosted Midland Synchro technical solo Championships in October 2017 o City of Birmingham 4th in Combo event • Synchro conference in Loughborough – Hannah Secher o Rugby 5th in Free Team event presenter as Lead for Workforce • Rugby Masters attended the Masters in Budapest in • Level 1 and Level 2 judge courses led by Hannah Secher Augusto 2017 • FINA retraining for Allison Pratt and Hannah Secher • Zoe Reeve won gold in Brussels for Technical and Free • Coaching courses solos in her age group o Swim England Level 1 Synchro Assistant • Inaugural Combo Cup in Manchester in September 2017: (Coaching) course in April 2017 attended by 8 o Rugby Gold Division 2 15-18 years WM candidates o City of Birmingham Gold Division 2 13-18 years o Swim England Level 2 Synchro Coach course in o Walsall Gold Division 1 13-15 years July 2017 attended by 7 WM candidates o Rugby finished in 3rd place overall o Swim England Level 2 Synchro Coach course in Lisa Watkins and Alison Ravenhall March 2018 attended by 10 WM candidates Synchronisedo Swimming co-ordinators Water Polo Key achievements • West Midland Regional Training Centre back to full • Inter-regional championships U18’s January 2018 operation at Walsall on Friday evenings o West Midland Girls’ team 2nd Division 2 • Grade D referee course for 14 candidates in July 2017 • Phil Powell (Solihull) appointed Head Coach for the • Inter-regional championships U16’s July 2017 SE Water Polo Boys’ U17 squad o Midland Boys’ team 2nd in Division 2 • British Water Polo League 2017 o Midland Girls’ team 5th in Division 1 o Solihull 1st in Men’s Division 1 • Inter-regional championships U14’s December 2017 o City of Coventry 4th in Women’s Division 1 o West Midland Boys’ team 1st Nigel Greenwood Chair Midland Water Polo

Solihull Men’s Water Polo Team WM U14’s Water Polo Team

ASA West Midland Region - Report & Accounts April 2017 - March 2018 9 Athlete Development

Para-Swimming British Records

Podium Potential Programme Name Megan Richter Rebecca Redfern Rebecca Redfern – Worcester Club Orion Worcester Megan Richter - Orion Short Course 100m Breaststroke Development Programme 200m Breaststroke James Brown – Bilston Long Course 200m Backstroke Porsha Jones - Shrewsbury Foundation Programme Eva French - Nuneaton Emily-Jane Surgeoner - Orion

Development • The Para-Swimming pathway officer delivered Talent ID events across the year. Swimmers at these events were signposted to their most appropriate local opportunity, with many signposted to clubs Tony Ward attended the World Series event in Berlin, teaching others to become Regional Training competent International Technical Officials, • Training session delivered in October 2017 at Harvey evaluating their performance and approving Hadden, Nottingham including land training and long course their accreditation to the International list. pool session

Competition • Midland Autumn Championships in October – classification for 7 swimmers • Midland Spring Championships in March cancelled due to extreme weather • Regional swimmers competed at the National Para- Swimming Championships in Manchester, International Meet in Sheffield and British Swimming / Swim England Summer Championships Carl Cooper Para-Swimming Talent Coach

The English Schools’ Swimming Association (ESSA) West Midlands took boys and girls teams to the Para-relay championships in London in November 2017. The girls team won gold in both the ESSA WM team members: freestyle and medal relays whilst the boys team managed silver Harmony Scott, Rebecca Redfern, Porsha in both events. Jones, Morgan Holland, Neil Monkhouse Joel Hales-Waller, Reilly Shanahan, Tom ESSA WM Divisional Rep Piggott, Liam Whitehouse

10 ASA West Midland Region - Report & Accounts April 2017 - March 2018 Workforce Workforce Fundamentals & Aquatic Skills of & Aquatic Fundamentals School Swimming ASA L1 Swimming Assistant L1 Swimming ASA (Teaching) Teacher L2 Swimming ASA and L2 Assistant L1 Swimming ASA combined Teacher Swimming (Coaching) Assistant SE Swimming Coach SE Swimming (Coaching) Assistant SE Synchro Coach SE Synchro workshop Helper Aquatic Young CPD*

Number 30 24 2 4 2 1 2 2 11 18 of courses Number 417 241 33 73 22 10 20 33 132 257 of learners *Continuous Professional Development Regional grant aid of £27,053.36 awarded to 43 clubs.

ASA L1 Swimming ASA L2 Swimming Assistant (Teaching) Teacher

SE Swimming Assistant SE Swimming Coach (Coaching)

SE Senior Swimming Coach SE Synchro Assistant (Coaching)

SE Synchro Coach SE Water Polo Assistant (Coaching)

Conferences and Volunteer courses Understanding Emotional Intelligence’, ‘A Head for Talent’, ‘Planning Considerations and Session Construction for Age and Youth Swimmers’, A joint West Midlands and East Midlands Regional Coaching ‘Being a Team Manager (County and Regional Programmes)’, ‘Dealing seminar took place in June 2017 at SportPark, Loughborough with Internal Club Disputes’ and ‘Club Sponsorship’. attended by 17 West Midland coaches. The workshops included ‘Knowing me, knowing you’, ‘What is The Region has also run various courses for club volunteers: Talent’, ‘Coaching Effective Starts’ and ‘Coaching Effective Turns’. 2 Safeguarding and Protecting Children courses for 35 candidates The West Midlands Regional Conference took place in 6 Team Manager Module 1 courses for 76 candidates March 2018 at the RLSS, Worcester and was led by Joanna 1 Team Manager Module 2 course for 14 candidates Jones, Fred Furniss, Helen Weeks and Amanda Swan. 3 Time to Listen courses for 46 candidates A total of 35 attended the conference with 26 coaches and 9 club personnel. Helen Weeks and Amanda Swan The workshops included ‘Managing Difficult Conversations including Club Development Officers

ASA West Midland Region - Report & Accounts April 2017 - March 2018 11 Workforce

Regional Young Volunteer Programme 2017-18

A full young volunteer programme was run across 2 days in the region engaging a total of 30 young people between the ages of 14 and 17. The programme consisted of an Aquatic Helper course, Timekeeper course, Core First Aid course (St Johns Ambulance) and a First Steps into Coaching course (UK Coaching). In addition each young volunteer was required to complete 10 hours of volunteering in their home club and to volunteer at a local county event or development meet. Each young volunteer was appointed a mentor within their club to support them on their volunteering journey. On completion of the course each young volunteer received a t-shirt. The numbers attending from each county were: • Staffordshire – 7 • Warwickshire – 4 • Shropshire – 2 • Worcester County - 17 Shropshire ASA ran their own Young Volunteer Programme with 28 young people attending a Safeguarding and Protecting Children course in November 2017, an Aquatic Helper workshop in February 2018 and a Timekeeper course in March 2018. 10 of these young volunteers have now signed “Can I just say a big thank you for all your help with the Young up to a Judge Level 1 course. Volunteers Programme. Finlay thoroughly enjoyed the course and if you run this course again next year, we will hopefully “What I love most about being a encourage more young swimmers from the club to attend.” volunteer is seeing the swimmers I Burton ASC teach gradually getting better with every session I do and starting to take part in the galas that I take part in too.” Anja

“I decided to take part in this programme to learn more about volunteering in a swimming environment. The most rewarding part Fred wins an award for his volunteering. is seeing the children improve and their confidence increase, and the part I love most is seeing their smiling faces.” Caitlin

“The course has developed my understanding of the diversity of coaching. Not only do we teach people to swim from one side of a pool to the other really fast, we also have to be aware of safeguarding procedures and health and safety issues.” Fred

12 ASA West Midland Region - Report & Accounts April 2017 - March 2018 Clubs Clubs

Club Development The Region has continued to provide support to clubs through the efforts of the Club Officers, Helen Weeks and Amanda Swan. In addition to general club matters and enquiries, more specific support has been provided during the year including questions about SwimMark accreditation, grant aid for educational courses and club/ network development grants. and promotional material. As of 31 March 2018 54 clubs were accredited with Plans are already underway to revise the criteria for grant SwimMark Essential and 5 networks accredited with applications and we look forward to rolling it out later this SwimMark Network. year. The formation of Club Networks has seen those The Club Development Committee was pleased to involved appreciating tangible benefits of shared training recommend club affiliation to the Regional Management courses (CPD’s and officials training), grants and shared Board for two new clubs in the Region – welcome to Black knowledge and experience. A number of clubs were Country n Potteries Masters and Lucton Typhoon SC. successful in receiving a grant towards items ranging from Steve Prosser Safeguarding and Lifesaving courses, aquatic equipment Chair Club Development Committee

Club Development Grants During the year the Club Development Committee approved grants to the value of almost £5,000 to 6 clubs in the region.

Kingsbury £529.50 Pace clocks and Aquarius stopwatches Solihull £1117.50 Mini-polo goals, balls and hats Telford Aqua £1482.30 Pace clocks and Safeguarding course Shrewsbury £1065.00 Essential training of volunteers, marketing collateral and banners, equipment for land training, lockable cage for poolside City of £388.00 Safeguarding course Hereford COSACSS £390.00 Timing equipment configuration

Kingsbury Aquarius SC take delivery of a new pace clock.

ASA West Midland Region - Report & Accounts April 2017 - March 2018 13 Clubs Swimming Officials

County T/K J1 J2 J2S Total During the period April Shropshire 33 27 27 2 69 2017 to March Staffordshire 50 20 7 3 80 2018 we have Warwickshire 35 34 11 9 89 started to Worcester County 20 43 5 4 72 train: Total 138 124 30 18 310

County T/K J1 J2 J2S Total Of these the following have Shropshire 33 7 7 2 49 qualified: Staffordshire 50 8 6 2 66 Warwickshire 11 5 6 4 26 Worcester County 20 4 1 2 27 Total 114 24 20 10 168

County J1 J2 J2S R RS Total Number of licensed Shropshire 24 19 11 5 59 officials: Staffordshire 43 19 21 5 88 Warwickshire 47 24 14 3 17 105 Worcester County 53 22 20 2 15 112 Total 167 84 66 5 42 364

Number of County T/K Timekeepers Shropshire 158 who cannot Staffordshire 151 licence until Warwickshire 116 they become a J1 or above: Worcester County 187 Ian Lamb Total 612 Swimming Officials Co-ordinator

14 ASA West Midland Region - Report & Accounts April 2017 - March 2018 Finance

ASA West Midland Region – Accountants’ Report to the Management Board Year ended 31 March 2018 As described on page 17, you have approved the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2018 set out on pages 16-19. In accordance with your instructions, we have compiled and reviewed these unaudited financial statements from the accounting records and information and explanations supplied to us.

Garratts Wolverhampton Limited Chartered Accountants 29 Waterloo Road Wolverhampton WV1 4DJ

ASA West Midland Region - Finance Manager’s Report Year ended 31 March 2018 The year started with the news that Swim England would no longer be able to fully fund the regional offices and instead would only be able to make a token contribution towards their running costs. However, after a short period of intense discussion with our colleagues in the East Midlands we decided to keep the joint office at Bromsgrove with the same staffing level. To enable us to fund the West Midland share of the cost we decided not to replace one of our club officers who had recently left our employment. This upheaval meant that there was a greater degree of budget nervousness than usual but this proved to be unfounded and I am pleased to report that we have enjoyed another very satisfactory year with a surplus of £28k after allocating £50k to the development of our workforce and athletes. The surplus was boosted by income from membership fees being higher than the previous year and the great success of the West Midland swimming championships which again recorded a large surplus. Net expenditure on developing our sport was less than budget, mainly for timing reasons, but still totalled £45k. So the outcome was that our total reserves increased by £33.2k as follows –

31 March 31 March 2018 2017

Ring-fenced reserves 66.8 61.8 General reserves 206.5 178.3

Total 273.3 240.1

This left the Region in a very strong position at the end of the year. Consequently, your Board has frozen membership fees for Categories 1 and 2 in 2018 and reduced the fee for our Category 3 members. At the same time we have approved a generous budget for the current year for the development of our workforce and athletes in the various disciplines. Mike Beard Finance Manager

15 ASA West Midland Region - Report & Accounts April 2017 - March 2018 Finance

ASA WEST MIDLAND REGION: INCOME & EXPENDITURE 2018 2018 2017 2017 ACCOUNT YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2018 £ £ £ £ INCOME Membership fees 117,832 113,248 Licensing of Open Meets 12,203 13,026 Midland Championships 1,000 2,000 West Midland Championships 7,614 6,164 ASA/RWS Swimming Centre 4,000 4,000 142,649 138,438

Expenditure ASA Call 85 83 President’s expenses 872 890 Printing, postage and stationery 1,705 715 Cost of handbooks 630 630 Annual Report 1,216 1,142 Web-site 418 338 Rooms for meetings 1,850 2,243 Travelling to meetings 3,450 2,536 Accountants’ fee 500 500 Sundry payments 919 218 Investment Plan Note 2 50,000 46,000 Club Officer costs 34,688 62,777 Regional office costs (net of ASA grant) 17,038 - Depreciation: Starting blocks 3,043 3,043

116,414 121,115

NET SURPLUS BEFORE INTEREST AND TAXATION 26,235 17,323

Interest received (gross) 2,372 3,963

NET SURPLUS BEFORE TAXATION 28,607 21,286

Taxation 451 793

NET SURPLUS AFTER TAXATION 28,156 20,493

Finance

ASA WEST MIDLAND REGION : BALANCE SHEET 2018 2018 2017 2017 AS AT 31 MARCH 2018 £ £ £ £

FIXED ASSETS Note 3 3,043 6,086

BANK ACCOUNTS

Current account 92,218 42,386 Fixed term investment Coventry BS 101,944 100,487 Fixed term investment Nationwide BS 77,045 76,129 271,207 219,002

DEBTORS 35,854 48,133

TOTAL ASSETS 310,104 273,221

CURRENT LIABILITIES

Accruals 36,801 33,027 Income received in advance - 80 Ring-fenced income less related costs Note 4 66,803 61,770 103,604 94,877

TOTAL NET ASSETS 206,500 178,344

GENERAL RESERVE FUNDS

At beginning of year 178,344 157,851 Net surplus for year 28,156 20,493

206,500 178,344

206,500 178,344 Approved by the Board 19 May 2018

Note 1: ACCOUNTING POLICIES These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with all other applicable accounting standards

Note 2: INVESTMENT PLAN for the year ending 31 March 2018

Swimming development 2,000 5,000 Club development 10,000 13,000 Workforce development 38,000 28,000

50,000 46,000

Note 3: FIXED ASSETS

Starting blocks Cost to date 12,172 12,172 Deduct Depreciation to date 9,129 6,086 Net balance at end of year 3,043 6,086 ASA West Midland Region Note 4: RING-FENCED INCOME AND RELATED EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2018

Athelete Development Grant AidEducation GrantCoaches Aid Club developmentClubs Other workforceOther Para-swimmimgDisability SynchSynchro ro WWaterater Polo Polo OpenOpen W aterWater MastersSwimming Swimming Governance Club / CoachTOTALS TOTALS Balance atas 1at April 1 April 2012 2017 9,340 (1,275) 17,943 10,735 - 5,074 23,157 8,4568,348 9,9243,515 13,9264,221 (32)811 14,962500 8,802 3,140 71,45261,770 151,229 Budget investment plan 22,000 10,000 4,000 4,000 1,000 2,000 2,000 45,000 ASAInvestment young volunteerPlan grant 37,000 10,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 50,000 1,000 BCCASA regrants Leading the Lanes 1,200 3,000 3,000 1,200 6,000 EnergiseRegional grantconference 180 2,500 180 2,500 ASAYoung re volunteersB'ham Aquatic Strategy 725 20,000 725 20,000 ASAOverseas re B'ham meet Water Polo 7,000 6,423 6,423 7,000 ASASwimming re Talent Assistant Development Coach 4,153 6,000 4,153 6,000 Level One Coaching 10,714 95 2,000 10,809 2,000 Level Two Coaching 10,189 9,163 (3,000) 19,352 - Safeguarding and TTL courses 1,515 1,515 3,715 Novices competitions 2,650 2,650 4,808 Training camps and skills days 7,349 5,335 3,932 16,616 713 Officials courses 1,650 280 1,930 2,116 Sundries - 100 5,000 5,000 377 1,802 1,802

- 1,500 6,510 6,510 310 Total income 62,056 10,000 4,620 - 20,90712,312 11,0005,615 1,000 11,355 - 12,000 2,000 115,553- 116,451 16,521 Course grant aid 16,980 16,980 5,334 Swimming Assistant Coach 2,734 2,734 6,810 Level One Coaching 11,555 220 11,775 1,360 Level Two Coaching 9,781 10,813 20,594 3,976 Safeguarding and TTL courses 2,262 2,262 1,055 Talent coach development 1,625 36 1,625 36 Training camps and skills days 5,934 4,372 5,458 15,764 120 Overseas meet 15,086 12,000 15,086 12,000 Regional conference 1,400 1,400 1,750 Inter-regional competition 5,530 735 5,530 735 Novices competitions 1,8037,847 1,944 1,803 9,791 Officials courses 361 435 796 6,210 Young volunteers 1,801 1,801 4,156 Club development grants 9,009 9,009 75 Officials licence fees 400 50 2,500 400 2,550 TM course 241 1,822 241 1,822 Equipment 424 1,105420 1,049 2,578 420 Sundries 24 93 25 26,565 142 26,565 1,211 433 - 1,297 832 463 26 2,000 7,000 10,000 315 2,565 380 200 - 12 71 25 77 369 Total expenditure 41,050 9,009 6,552 - 20,2368,329 11,4791,893 25- 22,169 - 16,08119,240 77 33,565 110,520 119,377 Balance as at 31 March 2018 19,731 11,726 3,142 8,456 10,5957,498 8,06213,328 1,811 943 4,148500 1,562 5,063 37,887 66,803 148,303-

ASA West Midland Region Unit 7 Basepoint Business Centre Isidore Road Bromsgrove Enterprise Park Bromsgrove B60 3ET Tel: 01527 888929 Email: [email protected] Website: www.westmidlandswimming.org.uk