Amateur Swimming Association, Harold Fern House Derby Square, Loughborough LE11 5AL Telephone 01509 618700 www.britishswimming.org Designed and produced by www.labanbrowndesign.co.uk AMATEUR SWIMMING ASSOCIATION Annual Report and Accounts 2004 CONTENTS CONTENTS 2 President’s Report 4 Corporate Review 6 Child Protection and Racial Equity 7 Commercial and Communications 8 Membership Services and ISTC 10 Facilities 12 Education 14 Awards 16 Swimming Development and Partnerships 18 Swimming World Class Start and Potential 20 Technical Swimming Committee 22 Disability Swimming 24 Diving 28 Water Polo 30 Masters 32 Synchronised Swimming 34 Open Water 36 Alfred Turner & Harold Fern Awards 38 ASA Junior Achiever - Stephanie Proud 39 Amateur Swimming Association: Report and Financial Statements 48 Sponsors and Acknowledgements AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The Amateur Swimming Association is the governing body of swimming in England. It comprises five Districts through which we affiliate 1,570 clubs, who in turn have 45,000 registered swimmers, and more than 190,000 members. SWIMMING’S MISSION Swimming is a sport for life G To ensure everyone has an opportunity to learn to swim G To ensure everyone can achieve his or her personal goals G To ensure everyone has the opportunity to enjoy swimming as part of a healthy lifestyle LEON TAYLOR (left) and G PETE WATERFIELD won To ensure that we achieve gold medal success Britain’s first Olympic diving medal for 44 years in the platform synchro 1 PRESIDENT’ S REPORT FOUNDATIONS LAID FOR FUTURE SUCCESS I began my year on an extremely sad large number of enthusiastic volunteers MIKE GLOVER note. Jeff Cook, my predecessor as ASA who are, without doubt, the lifeblood President President and a tireless worker for our of our sport. I can only admire their sport, died suddenly soon after leaving dedication and enthusiasm, giving office. Jeff will be greatly missed by freely of their time and seeking no everyone in the sport both at national reward other than the satisfaction and international level. However, the of a job well done. legacy of his work will provide a lasting tribute to his memory. I have visited every district and seen something of every discipline in our I am now two-thirds of the way sport. I have some very happy memories through my term of office and am of age group diving at Southampton, looking forward to an extremely busy inter-district synchro at Knottingley, time ahead with many events still to open water at Holme Pierrepont, attend. swimming, diving and masters at Ponds Forge and Manchester, and When I accepted the honour of water polo at Grantham and Walsall President of the Amateur Swimming to name but a few. Association, it was with some trepidation when I thought of the many duties it I thoroughly enjoyed the excellent would entail, especially coming, as I Olympic Trials and could only marvel do, from the cloistered environment at the sheer dedication of our fine of water polo. I recognised that I did Paralympic swimmers who competed not have a deep and comprehensive with distinction at the Paralympic knowledge of the other disciplines Games and came home with a and so anticipated having to follow fantastic number of medals. an extremely steep learning curve. I was extremely fortunate to be My fears were, however, completely able to attend the Olympic Games unfounded as I have been exceptionally in Athens. This was a tremendous well received everywhere I have been. experience and one that I will treasure I have had the opportunity to meet a for many years to come. Although we 2 PRESIDENT’ S REPORT would have liked to have won more Our sport is thriving, it is in good hands, aquatic medals, we knew it was never well-taught, coached and administered. going to be easy to turn the results I am sure that by pulling together we around in such a short time. I am sure will be able to rise to the challenges that the foundations have been well ahead to ensure a positive and successful and truly laid for future success and future for our sport. I would like to thank all our athletes and staff who represented their country with pride and ability during this event. I am looking forward to the next few months with further visits to Ponds Forge for the Inter Counties and Masters swimming, Harrogate for North Eastern Counties Bagcats and to Atherton SC annual club gala just to mention a few. I am sure I will meet some old friends and hopefully have a chance to make some new ones. 3 CORPORATE REFLECTING ON SUCCESS IN ATHENS This report in Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the Regionalisation year must reflect on the success we Project Board. This report will again have achieved for English athletes at enable the sport to seize the initiative both the Olympics and Paralympics. and restructure its membership to We saw our fortunes change in the meet the challenges of the future – swimming pool, perhaps not to the in particular, to build on the work degree that some of us had hoped. of engaging with the increasingly However, perhaps this itself was a important private sector and private reality check. The Olympic Games is swim schools, which will become the ultimate achievement in our sport increasingly important as we move and to see an English swimmer achieve forward. medal success, an English swimmer who has also worked for the Association, Alongside the membership review must bring a tinge of pride to us all. has been the review of the work of the Institute of Swimming Teachers We also saw our divers achieve and Coaches. It was inevitable that medal success after many years this too would prove to be thought- of under-performing and, despite provoking, and as we move forward our reservations, we saw English with the concept of the Institute of Swimming, the opportunities which Paralympic swimmers rising to the a rejuvenated Institute has for the challenge of the ever-increasing sport are extremely exciting. standards in the Paralympic arena and achieving success. Without doubt, modernisation is at the heart of all our work, as is While strictly matters for British the recognition that we all have Swimming, it is with some pride to modernise to take on board the S1 swimmer DANIELLE WATTS that the ASA must reflect that it challenges. Modernisation itself, won four Paralympic medals has provided the pathway for despite having to swim however, has to be underpinned these athletes to achieve success. against S2s by clear strategic planning and our work on the Whole Sport Plan and It has been a busy year, a year of change. the development of an ASA Strategic Change is something that is almost Plan with its roots firmly in our inevitable now in sport as we are agreed Vision will provide a really challenged more and more by our strong framework for delivery against funding partners to deliver clear clear objectives as we move forward, outcomes against their ever-increasing not only for the ASA, but also for investment in our sport. Swimming our Regions, Counties and Clubs. however has not been slow to take on the challenge of change and as We were sad to lose the services the Regionalisation implementation during the year of Diana Bishop, moves forward with the establishment who has done so much for the sport of some regional professionalisation as our Director of Development. projects and the development of the However the opportunity has been regional structure, we look forward taken to review the role of the to the formal launch of the new Director of Development and to regions next year. establish a new post, the Director of English Programmes, to link together The regionalisation debate has been all the work of the ASA. Anne underpinned by an in-depth review Adams-King has taken up this post of our own membership structure and and is already beginning to influence Council will have to consider the very the direction of English sport as the challenging report that has been put policy emerges from our strategic forward supported by both the ASA planning initiative. 4 CORPORATE In some ways however the greatest Charter, a commitment to more An exciting year, a year of change, challenge that we have faced this year money in future years to assist schools’ a year of achievement and one that is to engage in the Health Agenda. swimming to be delivered, particularly will be followed with more success The reason it is our greatest challenge in inner city and country areas. It has as English swimming strives for success is that it is uncharted territory. It is taken a long time and hard work to and the ASA continues to establish emerging as a new work programme convince the Department for Education itself as a significant governing body for swimming. What is the role of the and Skills that the ASA is an effective of sport engaging in all aspects of ASA, how can we influence policy in partner in delivering schools’ swimming. swimming and at all levels. this area? Inevitably the ASA has a We will however continue to develop role and it is important that we play this relationship. There is no question a part. How much money will be that there is more optimism about available? What will it mean to our schools’ swimming but there is not clubs? There are many questions to complacency. answer but the ASA Committee is committed to continuing to work In concluding this report, we in this area with new partners and should not forget the tremendous to establish a clear role, not for the contribution made to our sport by delivery of the Health Agenda but volunteers without whom the sport in the strategic planning and policy would not achieve what it does.