NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2020

NASA COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS 2020

WOW! What an event for DDSC. A final tally of 21 Gold, 35 Silver and 29 Bronze medals saw us finishing Second in the Men's Medal Table, Third in the Women's Medal Table and Third overall.

Swimmers: You did your Club proud!

Each and every one of you fought hard and swam with your hearts - something which I'm exceptionally proud to report was noted by Coaches from other Clubs who came across to our poolside camp specifically to compliment how fantastic they thought our swimmers had done. As a Club, we performed well across all disciplines and across most age groups.

CONGRATULATIONS to all our medallists and especially to our first-time County Medal winners

A special shout-out must go to our 13-15 YEAR OLD BOYS 200M FREESTYLE RELAY TEAM who not only bagged the Gold medal with a time of 1:48:08, some 3 seconds clear of the rest of the field, but they also bagged a County Record for the Club!

Congratulations to (from left to right) Matthew Nattawidjaja, Ruben Snelson, Ryan Coles and Jack Coptcoat.

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..... which may take some time ..... so please bear with me!

To Coaches Paul, Anthony and Tom H - for your poolside support and guidance, not just at the Championships but throughout the season so far.

To Coaches Rupe, Mike, Julie, Rachel, Keely and Tom - for many of our younger swimmers, Counties is the pinnacle of their season, so thank you for working with and preparing your squads.

To Kirstin McCleary - for keeping us all updated with Facebook results as well as your invaluable assistance poolside.

To our Volunteer Officials - without whom there would be no competitions to enter! (We are always looking for more people to train as Officials - more about this later in this Newsletter)

To our Volunteer Helpers - both on and off poolside - too numerous to individually mention but without whom things just wouldn't function as they do in our DDSC family.

To our Swimmers - you're the reason we do this and you were all, quite simply, AWESOME. Your behaviour poolside was impeccable. You were spirited, full of boundless energy in the pool and showed superb support for your teammates poolside as well as respect to your fellow swimmers.

And finally to Rose, our Team Manager. Whether you're helping them into their swim hat, high- fiving them on an awesome PB, comforting them because today just wasn't their day, or doing the "poolside dash" to make sure they don't miss their race, you are undeniably the face, heart and soul of Daventry Dolphins. (By the way, if anyone managed to video her "poolside dash" from the last Sunday's Finals, I hear the going rate for a copy is currently quite high!).

It goes without saying that we haven't had an easy time of it at DDSC this season. There have been a lot of changes and many of us have had to adapt, and are still adapting; embracing new challenges and taking on new roles within the Club. One thing's for sure though, Daventry Dolphins has unlimited team spirit and this has never been more evident than this season. By pulling together, we appear to be emerging stronger than before and if our overall performance at the 2020 County Championships is anything to go by, it proves that we are still a Club to be reckoned with.

So then ... onwards to Regional Championships we go!

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While most of us were at Counties on Saturday 8th February, Allun Betts from our AQUA SQUAD made the journey across to the Isle of Wight to represent the Club in the MARLINS OPEN MEET 2020 MASTERS EVENT. In addition to equalling his 50m Breaststroke time of 40.01s and establishing times for 25m Freestyle (14.42s) and 25m Butterfly (16.56s), Allun won 5 Gold medals and 2 Silver Medals in his age group. Congratulations Allun from us all - a fantastic haul of medals. I gather Storm Ciara rewarded you with a long weekend over there by cancelling your return ferry, but I hope you made it back for Aqua Squad's Monday night session as we both know Coach Anthony would think a cyclone a feeble excuse to miss training for!

SATURDAY 29th FEBRUARY 2020

WINTER LEAGUE ROUND 2 is almost upon us. Saturday 29th February 2020 will see the A Team travelling to Hinckley Leisure Centre, Argents Mead, Hinckley, LE10 1BZ and the B Team venturing just down the road to The Queens Diamond Jubilee Leisure Centre, Rugby CV22 5LJ. Both warm-ups commence at 6.00pm with racing starting at 6.30pm.

Good Luck to both teams and PLEASE don't be late arriving

SUNDAY 1st MARCH 2020

There will be NO regular training for BRONZE, SILVER, GOLD or OLYMPIC on Sunday 1st March. Instead, there will be an AWARDS' PRESENTATION to include CLUB CHAMPS, DISTANCE CHAMPS, CLUB RECORDS, TEAM MANAGER'S AWARDS (male and female) and the PERSONAL CHALLENGE AWARD. All our swimmers train hard, long hours and show exceptional dedication so please, please make an effort to attend this presentation and not just if you know an Award is headed your way but to show support for other swimmers too. It will be greatly appreciated.

AND THEN .... AFTER THE PRESENTATION HAS TAKEN PLACE...... WAIT FOR IT ... WAIT FOR IT ... 3

ALL SWIMMERS ARE INVITED TO TAKE PART IN A FUN "RELAY" SESSION IN THE POOL!!!! Cheering is compulsory so Parents are invited to stay

The Awards' Presentation will take place poolside and commence at 4.30pm. The Fun Session will run until 7.30pm (although if any of the younger ones need to go home earlier, you are of course welcome to take your swimmer out early).

We really hope everyone from Bronze, Silver, Gold and Olympic will join us

FRIDAY 6th - SUNDAY 8th MARCH 2020

By now, you will have all now seen the Accepted Entries List for the RUGBY OPEN MEET due to take place on Friday 6th, Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th March 2020 at The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Centre, Bruce Williams Way, Rugby, CV22 5LJ. Confirmed warm-up times and all other necessary information will be emailed to members and published on Facebook soon.

SATURDAY 7th MARCH 2020

Allun Betts will be competing again on Saturday 7th March, this time in Stafford at the 2020 Staffordshire Masters along with 3 of his AQUA SQUAD teammates - Andy Rourke, Steve Rourke and Jonathan Page. They will not only be competing as individuals but also as a Relay Team. Please join with me in wishing them all the very best of luck. We look forward to hearing how you all get on. If there is anyone else from our AQUA SQUAD who would be interested in entering this event, the closing date for entering is Tuesday 25th February. The link for that event is here https://www.swimming.org/calendar/all/2020-staffordshire-masters/ or Andy Rourke is happy for anyone to contact him direct.

FRIDAY 3rd - SUNDAY 5th APRIL 2020

ENTRIES NOW OPEN: Gold (1), Gold (2), Gold Squad and Olympic Squads swimmers are invited to submit their entries to the Derventio eXcel National Qualifier Level 1 Long Course Open Meet. This is set to take place at International Pool in on Friday 3rd, Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th April 2020. Closing date for entries is next 25th February 2020 at 7.00pm.

4 Have any of you thought about training to become an Official? It's not as daunting as it might look and can be very rewarding. There are no costs involved for you - entry to Meets is free, with food and drink provided, plus you are always guaranteed a poolside view!

Your Growing as a Club means it's becoming necessary to diversify for meets and galas to ensure that the whole Club benefits and swimmers Club compete at the correct levels. Currently, the majority of our Officials are parents of swimmers in our higher level Squads - not that we Needs wouldn't welcome more to step forward from these Squads as well - but You we would especially welcome people with swimmers in our lower and entry level Squads. Ultimately, your swimmers are the Club's future.

If you would like to know more about what's involved and the varied Becoming roles there are, please give Tunde Grindrod your details. She is our Officials Coordinator and can be contacted at [email protected] an It is hoped there will be sufficient interest to enable us to invite an Official Executive Officer from NASA to come to the Club in the near future to give a detailed and informative TALK on what's involved.

Many of you will know that a new Club Committee was elected on 22nd January 2020 and everyone is now busy in their new roles.

There remain some old, familiar faces alongside some new faces which we hope will work well in progressing our Club into the future.

A full contact list for Executive Officers and other Committee members, as well as Non-Committee members can be found further on in this Newsletter. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. If you have something interesting which you think might be relevant to pop in a Newsletter, please get in touch with the Club Secretary at [email protected].

As well as electing a new Committee, there have been a few changes with other Club Personnel too so, it was thought this might be a good opportunity to invite you to get to know a little bit more about the people who work hard behind the scenes running Daventry Dolphins .....

5 JOANNE LAIDLAW - CLUB TREASURER (and currently ACTING CHAIRPERSON)

Hi I'm Jo your treasurer and acting chairman. I moved to Daventry with my husband and three children just over 4 years ago and joined DDSC shortly after.

I am a AAT level 3 qualified book keeper, a level 2 swim teacher and am training towards my coaching qualifications. My background is in retail, entertainment & hospitality management as well as being an in house training manager for one of the largest pub companies in the country.

I enjoy spending time with my children, walking my dogs am I am a huge fan of formula one.

KAREN COPTCOAT - CLUB SECRETARY

I'm Karen, previously the Volunteer Coordinator with DDSC. The majority of my career has been spent in Law - I'm no stranger to the inside of a Courtroom or a prison cell - but obviously always on the right side of the Law. My most recent employment took me from the Legal to the Medical world, first to the Pathology Department at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham before becoming a Manager at King Edward VII Hospital in Windsor, Berkshire. These days I run my own retail business from home selling bearings ... those little round things you find in most things mechanical yet mostly people forget they're even there! Not an overly glamorous field in which to work but it has allowed me to be a hands-on Mum and now a proud Swim Mum!

I live in Brackley with Andy and our son Jack who swims with Olympic. We relocated to Northamptonshire in 2016 from Aberdeenshire, our home for over 12 years and where Jack was born. It was only after we relocated here that Jack developed a real passion for , joining Dolphins in September 2018. Relocating was a tough decision, especially for Jack (still known in his old home town as "Coppers") but with all extended family living hereabouts and after making some super friends, we all now think of Northants as "home". Although I confess, we have kept a second property up in Aberdeen ... just in case!

ROSE BOYD-COATES - TEAM MANAGER & MEMBERSHIP ENQUIRIES

Hi my Name is Rose. I am the DDSC Team Manager and deal with membership enquires.

I live in Daventry with my husband Tony, our two daughters Rachel and Anna and our two lurchers called Fred and George.

I first became involved with Dolphins when Rachel joined in 2009 age eight years old. Anna joined in 2012. I joined the DDSC Committee in 2014. My time spent on the Committee has seen four different secretaries, two chairs and three treasurers. I can be found most days poolside where I am happy to answer any questions from parents.

In my spare time ...away from DDSC I carry out my paid job I work part time as a surgical nurse in Banbury. My hobbies include holidays and judging Afghan hounds.

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STEVE BOND - ENTRIES, RESULTS & RANKINGS OFFICER

I'm Steve and I've been involved with Daventry Dolphins since around 2008 It was because my children, Emma and Jack, were swimming with the Club that I joined the Committee and have remained there since. I have an active role - being responsible for inputting all the swim times from various meets and competitions as well as producing ranking information and setting up the internal galas. Whilst travelling around the country taking my kids to various competitions, sitting in the spectator gallery boiling hot, uncomfortable and bored, I thought it would be a better idea to become a Judge - apart from anything else, it's free entry and free food! Jack and Emma left the club when they went to University, but I remain and am happy to continue with my duties. I have found my time involved with the Club rewarding and would certainly recommend that parents who are able to get involved do so.

KIRSTIN McCLEARY - FIXTURES SECRETARY

Hi I'm Kirstin, and I currently masquerade as the Club's Fixtures Secretary. I'm a relatively new Committee Member compared to some, having just completed my first sentence, I mean year! I've enjoyed my new learning curve, becoming fully conversed in the swim mom universe. I'm also the face behind Facebook, trying to keep you all updated with Club news (when I say all, I of course mean mostly parents as apparently FB isn't 'lit', it's more about Snapchat and Insta if you were born after 2000!)

I've been married for nearly 17 years - I deserve a medal for that I'm sure?! Two fantastic children and not forgetting our four legged child, the asbo pony Twisty! Trinity, my daughter, has been at Dolphins for nearly 5 years now starting in Bronze after being invited for a trial from the Schools' Gala ... and here we remain. In real life, I work with children and young people and have done so for the past 20 years. I also have some experience in training and development, supporting others to work within the Youth Justice Sector. Not that you could tell but I once used to teach Martial Arts - I could probably still knock out a half decent roundhouse!

If you have any questions about Fixtures, Facebook or how to perform a push front kick give me a shout! Just don't ask me to swim!

HELEN MARTINDALE - TROPHIES COORDINATOR

I'm Helen and I've been appointed as the Trophies Coordinator at Daventry Dolphins. I am responsible for the procurement and organisation of all the medals that are given out at Club events, as well as the trophies that are awarded to our swimmers for an array of achievements.

I live in Towcester with my husband, Nick, and our two boys. Ben joined DDSC in 2018 and swims in Olympic squad, while Luke is a keen footballer with Towcester Town FC. We also have one well behaved spaniel and one naughty spaniel!

I work part time as Marketing Manager for a local small business and also do some freelance social media work. Monday evenings are 'Me Time' when I go along to my local ladies' choir, the Songbirds....more for the social than the singing!

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TUNDE GRINDROD - OFFICIALS COORDINATOR

Hi, my name is Tunde Grindrod and I'm the Officials Coordinator at the Club.

I've have two girls. Greta, my eldest, is 16 years old. Greta started swimming at Staverton at the age of 5 as well as attending the normal swimming lessons at the Leisure Centre. She joined the Club when she turned 9. Grace, my younger daughter, is 11. Grace also started swimming at Staverton and joined the Academy Squad when she was 61/2 years old.

Whilst away from the pool, I work as a Teaching Assistant in Northampton. My hobbies are running - I love running with my dog. I also enjoy playing tennis.

LESLEY ELLIOTT - GOVERNANCE OFFICER

I’m Lesley, I’ve been involved with swimming since 2012 when my daughter Jess started swimming competitively and I have been an Official for a good number of those years! We are recent recruits to Daventry with my daughter only having joined last September.

Outside of swimming, I’m a season ticket holder at the Cobblers (Northampton Football Club) and love a good away day, with or without the rest of the family. I have been known to go to Carlisle away on my own, mainly because no one will spend 10 hours in the car with me!

As a family, sport is important to us, we participate or have participated (in my case), in football, cricket, cycling, hockey, tennis, snowboarding/skiing, swimming and running. Even the dog is getting into 5k running, with a few quick stops along the way for some calls of nature!

RUPERT SAVILLE - COACHING REPRESENTATIVE

Rupert “Coach” Saville a.k.a Uncle Rupe, 55 going on 5! – yes, it is true to say, my Wife tells everyone she has three Children not two! At home I am the life and sole of the party! Married to Ange for 23 Years, we have two teenagers Kian and Keely who have been with Daventry Dolphins now for over 10 Years.

I was born in Zambia, I went to School in the UK being a full-time boarder at Warwick School, where I am pleased to say my school days hold some fond memories and where I made lifelong friends. After finishing my education, I joined the Corporate World of Banking but left 19 years ago when our Son was born to pursue my own business in catering. I do have a love of food, as most of you will know and is obvious! This allowed me to spend ‘quality-time’ at home with Ange and the kids and not spending my days’ travelling around the country and working long hours into the evenings (hmmm! not quite sure what’s happened to this now?). As the kids progressed through the squads, I found my time at Daventry Dolphins more frequent and the ‘volunteering’ bug took hold. Most of my family and friends know I am "perfect" and passionate about things I do; I want to pass this on to all the swimmers and help them achieve their true potential. Ange on the other hand has become a Swim Widow as I spend all my free time dedicated to the cause and will continue to do so, because our Swimmers deserve it! Sorry love, we will get our time together one day!

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MELANIE SHARP - SWIMMARK COORDINATOR

My name is Mel; I have lived in Daventry for the last 18 years, but am from Brighton originally. I am a primary school teacher, currently teaching in a small village school between Daventry and Northampton. I have 2 daughters: Izzy, aged 14 (in Olympic Squad) and Molly, aged 16 (not a Dolphin - yes everyone there is life outside of swimming. Instead, she dances 8 hours a week!). I also have 2 dogs who are far easier to look after than my children. If I had time for hobbies I would read, binge watch Netflix (watch ‘Cheer’ it’s very good!), go to West End shows and ‘test’ multiple varieties of gin.

VICKI BERRILL - VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR

My name is Vicki. I've just joined the Committee as Volunteer Coordinator, so this is my first role. I'm always on the hunt for new helpers so if you see me please don't hide!

I have 2 kids in Dolphins - George is in Bronze and Alice is in Gold which means you will see me poolside many times a week!

I work as an Ophthalmic nurse 2 days a week and my hobbies are ... well just sweating it out sitting poolside really! There's not much time for anything else. However, I do like dancing and red wine. My favourite colour is sky blue and favourite music has to be Queen.

KIAN SAVILLE - FUNDRAISING OFFICER & IT/WEBMASTER

I have been with the club since 2010 and have made my way through all stages of Daventry Dolphins. With this I have competed at County, Regional, National and International level and I'm currently part of Team GB's Para Swimming Squad. I feel that I now need to pass on my knowledge of swimming and guide the club into some more inclusive options as I’m also part of Swim ’s Youth Advisory Panel where we discuss how we can make the sport better for all groups.

My main role with the Committee is to run the TeamUnify website and any IT queries which the Club has come to me for an answer. I have also been asked to help promote the Club through Social Media platforms - Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

In addition to the work I undertake at Daventry Dolphins, I am also a Teamwear Manager at our current kit provider Webb Ellis. This means that I am in the best place to help the committee design and produce club kit. I hope that I will be a major asset to the committee and help them on their journey moving forward into the future.

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ANGELA SAVILLE - WELFARE OFFICER

I'm Angela - known as Ange to my friends and family. I was married in Sri Lanka to Rupert 23 Years ago. We have two Children Kian (19) and Keely (18), both have been members of Daventry Dolphins for over 10 years. We first joined the club after Kian was diagnosed with a rare condition known as Neurofibromatosis Type 2 and he was forced to give up his love of football. Since joining the Club, Kian has had two brain tumours removed and his friends and the sense of community at Daventry has been invaluable.

I have worked in the IT Services Industry for over 30 Years and manage clients across most of the UK and into Europe, as well as spreading my time across my teams in Marlow, Birmingham and Southampton Offices.

During my spare time, I like nothing more than being home in our garden and take great pleasure in growing flowers. An avid reader, I read lots of professional work books or novels everyday. Rupert and I have holidayed in Turkey with the children for over 15 years and it’s become our ‘second- home’ we spend at least 3 weeks per year in Fethiye.

to report swimmer absences to [email protected]

And finally, in an attempt to keep the content both relevant and interesting, it has been decided that the Newsletter will no longer be sent out on a weekly basis. Instead, if there is any specific information or deadlines approaching or reminders which we need to put out, this will be done by emailed Bulletins sent via Team Unify as well as Social Media posts.

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LOCAL LOTTO is an exciting weekly lottery that raises money for good causes in the Daventry district. All good causes supported by the lottery will benefit the Daventry district and its residents. Tickets cost just £1 per week and each ticket has a 1 in 50 chance to win a prize each week, with a top prize of £25,000! That’s a better chance of winning than the National Lottery or the Health Lottery! https://www.local-lotto.co.uk/support/daventry-dolphins-swimming-club

It's simple to use and it's free. easyfundraising turns your everyday online shopping into free donations for your favourite cause. How? Just start your online shopping first at easyfundraising, then shop as normal. Our retailers will then make a small donation to say “thank you”.

https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/daventrydsc/?block-header=true

CLUB CONTACTS:

Joanne Laidlaw Chairperson (Acting) [email protected] Joanne Laidlaw Treasurer [email protected] Karen Coptcoat Club Secretary / Press & [email protected] Communications Rose Boyd- Team Manager / Membership [email protected] Coates Enquiries Steve Bond Entries / Results / Rankings [email protected] Kirstin McCleary Fixtures Secretary [email protected] Helen Martindale Trophies Coordinator [email protected] Tunde Grindrod Officials Coordinator [email protected] Lesley Elliott Governance Officer [email protected] Rupert Saville Coaching Representative [email protected] Mel Sharp Swimmark Officer [email protected] Vicki Berrill Volunteer Coordinator [email protected] Kian Saville Fundraising Officer [email protected] Kian Saville IT/Webmaster [email protected] Angela Saville Welfare Officer [email protected]

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