WEST NORFOLK
SWIMMING
CLUB
Newsletter:
January 2015
REGIONAL & NATIONAL TRIUMPHS
West Norfolk swimming club are celebrating the achievements of the swimmers from the
2013/2014 season. There were some excellent results at the Youth Regional championships held in Luton with thirteen swimmers competing, Nathan Wells, Ryan Sykes,
Archie Holman, Zack Campbell-Maughan, Elliot Legg, Matthew Addis, Alex Murray,
Abbie Whiting, Natalie Coogans, Sophie Empson, Keely Empson, Elise Sorrell and Sarah
Bowling, with West Norfolk collecting one silver and four bronze medals throughout the
championships. Impressive swims produced some excellent PB’s from the swimmers and
Nathan Wells was in superb form to take 2nd place in the 1500 freestyle and third place in
the 400IM and 400 freestyle. Natalie Coogans swam an excellent 200 breaststroke to
take third place in the final. The last medal came from the mixed relay team of Nathan,
Ryan, Abbie and Elise who took third place.
This event was followed by the BAGCAT Regional championships for the younger
swimmers held at UEA Norwich where Joe Wells, Robert Addis and Roxanne Uys all
qualified to compete. All three swimmers put in excellent performances throughout the
competition, with some strong PB’s and Robert making finals.
The final major event of the 2013/14 season was the British Gas ASA national
Championships held at Ponds Forge. The club had four swimmers who qualified, Nathan
Wells, Abbie Whiting, Natalie Coogans and Keely Empson, the highest number of swimmers from the club to qualify for a number of years. All four swimmers showed great
determination and produced excellent results. Once again Natalie was in great form in the
200 breaststroke and reached the semi-finals, finishing in 17th place in a time of 2.43.71.
Nathan was in excellent form throughout the competition, reaching the semi-finals in the
200 backstroke, 200IM and 400 IM, with his best achievement reaching the final in the
400 freestyle finishing in a well deserved 9th position in a time of 4.06.92.
Abbie also qualified her to compete in the 50 freestyle at the British Gas International
Swimming meet in Manchester. She swam an excellent heat to put her through to the
Womens Under 16’s final where she finished 7th in a time of 28.42 seconds.
2015 SWIM CAMP
The details for the Culford Swim Camp are being finalised. Letters have been handed out
to the swimmers showing the total cost, also giving information about dates, venue,
sports facilities, accommodation and chaperones/coaches attending. Further information
will be issued in the coming weeks with a full itinerary, kit list, medical questionnaire and
code of conduct. If you have any questions before then please see Sarah Vanderloo.
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COMMITTEE
NEW MEMBERS
Lesley Farnsworth
Jennie Clarke
Charlotte Isle
Emma Rumbold
Jo Hubbard
CHANGES
 Treasurer
Lesley Farnsworth
 Membership Secretary
Nikki Warnes
USEFUL COMPETITION INFORMATION
We are often asked questions about competitions by parents of new swimmers. The
information below attempts to provide some guidance to frequently asked questions.
Please let us know if it is helpful or if there are any other matters you feel we should
address.
“Never compare your journey with someone else’s, your journey is your
journey not a competition!”
COMPETITION—COMMON TERMS
Long Course – an event held where the pool length is 50 metres.
Short Course – an event held where the pool length is 25 metres.
PB – personal best time – the best time your child has set in a particular event, measured over both short and long course. Please make a note of the times your child swims
as these will be required when filling in an entry form for a competition. There are several
Apps you can find online if you want to keep them electronically.
Licensed Meet – British Swimming use a licensing method to grade the importance of
the meet, 4 being the lowest and 1 being the highest. The license number also dictates
certain rules such as types and number of officials, pool format and entry time criteria. A
licensed 4 meet can only be awarded for a club championship. A licensed 3 meet is often
aimed at development swimmers – it can often have maximum entry criteria. A licensed
1 meet must be held in a long course format and has a minimum entry criteria. National
qualifying times can only be achieved in licensed 1 meets.
Competition Age – A swimmer cannot enter an open meet until they reach the age of 9.
They can compete in club championships before then.
Team Events (Leagues and Trophy Gala’s) – West Norfolk Swimming Club competes in
the National Arena League, Norfolk County Junior League, Junior and Senior Fenland
Leagues and the Anglian League. Whilst the coaches want swimmers to swim fast and
achieve personal best times, the primary aim is to gain valuable points for the team. Like
in many sports, winners and losers can be promoted and relegated for the following
season. Some of these leagues are specifically for development of the swimmers. This is
achieved by setting ‘no faster than times’. This means that if a swimmer’s PB is faster
than this time they will not be selected to compete in this league. This also means that if a
swimmer swims faster than the ‘no faster than’ time, they will not be able to swim this
event again.
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FUND RAISING
Please help West Norfolk
Swimming Club to raise money
whenever you shop online.
Presentation night November 2014—Pictures taken by Kirsten Venables
“Your child’s success or lack of success in sport
does not indicate what kind of parent you are.
But having an athlete that is coachable, respectful,
a great teammate, mentally tough, resilient and
tries their best is a direct reflection of your
parenting.”
Selection Basis – Coaches select swimmers based on a number of criteria, including
age, PB times and current fitness. Swimmers should be honoured to be selected – it
should be the aim of any swimmer in a competitive club to make it into the club team.
We encourage parents to let the club know as soon as possible whether their child can
swim by marking the team selection sheet on the notice board at either pool, or by
replying to the teamer notification sent out via email / text message.
Open Meets – These are licensed at a level as referred to previously. In an open meet, a
swimmer is usually swimming to improve their PB and to attain qualifying times for
County, Regional or National events. The club enters many open meets throughout the
year and the coach will direct you towards which competitions to enter. We try to make
these meets as local as possible, however, sometimes it is important to go further afield so
we can compete against different swimmers. Also, certain meets, often level 3, work on a
first come first served basis – i.e. the meet can only accommodate a certain number of
swimmers and those applying first get preference over those applying later. This explains
why application dates are way in advance of the meet closing date, giving our swimmers
every chance of being selected. When entering, parents need to remember open meets
can be tiring and draining on swimmers (and parents watching) hence do not necessarily
opt to swim for every event your child has qualified for but follow the coaches guidance.
It's very simple - just visit http://
www.easyfundraising.org.uk/
causes/wnsc/ or click on "Help
us raise finds!", on the WNSC web
site, to register and shop with over
2000 well known retailers like
Amazon, Argos, M&S, eBay and
many more. Whenever you buy
something, the retailer makes a
donation to West Norfolk
Swimming Club.
1. Start at easyfundraising
Let's say you want to buy a pair of
shoes from John Lewis. Instead of
going to johnlewis.com directly, you
first go to easyfundraising.org.uk.
2. Make a purchase
From the easyfundraising website,
click through to John Lewis to make
your purchase. This tells John Lewis you came from easyfundraising.
The price of the shoes is exactly the
same.
3. Get a donation for WNSC
After you buy your shoes, John
Lewis will give you a cash reward
that you can turn into a donation
for WNSC. easyfundraising collect
this and send it on at no extra cost.
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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We are looking for volunteers to support the swimming club activities.
If you have a specific skill/talent or just fancy getting involved, please do not hesitate to
offer your services, either directly to a member of the committee or via email
[email protected] and we will contact you to discuss what help we
need and how you might be able to help.
It is essential ,where possible, that parents or carers participate by becoming a volunteer
at some stage in their child’s progression through the club. All of the tasks for volunteers
are relatively simple and there will always be somebody to show you the ropes.
MEMBERSHIP
DETAILS
Your contact details are very
important.
If your contact details change at
any time, please make sure you
email the change to the
membership secretary
[email protected].
Or use the link on the club website
underneath the login section on
the home page and fill in the
details.
The ‘meets’ (competitions) require large numbers of volunteers, to enable the
competitions to take place. Some of the tasks require in-house training [time keepers and
officials], these courses are run through the year. Look on the notice board and website
for details if you are interested. Other volunteer tasks include: - supplying volunteers with
refreshments on poolside, sitting at the door; taking admission fees; selling raffle tickets;
being a ‘runner’; being a steward or a team manager at the poolside. If you have a flare on
the karaoke or being a DJ, then maybe the announcer’s job would suit you!
Once again the meet is run by volunteers, from the management to the poolside. Without
the volunteers, the events would cease to happen!
GET INVOLVED, HELP THE CLUB TO FUNCTION !!!
Help would be appreciated at any event and this does not have to be a commitment for
every activity.
CLUB WEBSITE
The club has its own website - www.westnorfolksc.co.uk
The website is a font of knowledge, it is recommended that you look at the website at least
once a week. The club uses the website to update members on upcoming competitions,
details or changes to events, as well as the latest notices and news about the club.
Most of your questions can be answered using the information located on the
website:
Squads - kit required, expectations, focus and criteria for moving squad.
Meets/results – results, fixtures, rankings, club records.
Useful Information – pool locations (including post codes and details about parking,
viewing area, local shops). Frequently asked questions, qualifying times and
disqualification codes.
Coaches Corner – competition guidelines, nutrition advice, training videos and how to
become a winning parent.
Contact us – contact details for club personnel
Registration for the clubs web site is checked against the email address recorded on your
membership before being approved. If your email has changed or you are wishing to add
an additional email address for your child please inform the membership secretary [email protected].
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CLUB CODE OF CONDUCT
Please may we remind all members that the Club has a Code of Conduct. The codes are to
help protect swimmers, parents, coaches, volunteers, to help the club function smoothly.
Summary of parent’s code of conduct:
1.
Treat all members of the club with due respect.
2.
Treat all coaches and volunteers with due respect.
3.
Treat all members of other swimming clubs or teaching programmes with due
respect.
4.
The use of inappropriate or abusive language, bullying, harassment,
discrimination or
5.
The use physical violence will not be tolerated and could result in action being
taken through the Club disciplinary or Athlete welfare policy.
6.
Please show respect for the club and its procedures.
7.
Use social media responsibly and professionally.
8.
The club expects that all members act as ambassadors for the club and their
sport.
“When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will
be successful”
RAFFLE PRIZES
Throughout the year the club holds a raffle at our own open meet, club champs and social
events. All money raised from these raffles goes to the club helping with training and
equipment.
We are always in need of prizes, if you have something that can be used for the raffle a
birthday gift or Christmas present that you will not use, a box of chocolates, bottle of
wine, then please speak to a committee member.
We require raffle prizes for our own Open meet and this year we would like to have raffle
prizes well in advance. We intend to source signed pictures of famous swimmers and also
have some larger prizes.
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VALUED
SUPPORTERS OF
WNSC
5 STAR TIMES IT RIGHT
The club would like to say a HUGE
thank you to all our supporters of
the club.
WNSC receives financial support
from a number of sources , local
businesses, members and parents
sponsoring club kit, fund raising
activities and donation of raffle
prizes.
If you know of a company or
individual that would like to
support the club, make a donation,
offer a raffle prize or are
interested in becoming involved
in fund raising we would be delighted to hear from you. Please
email
[email protected]
indicating your interest and contact details, or speak to a committee member.
Local businesses which support
WNSC:
Leading European flightcase manufacturer 5 Star Cases continues its support of local
West Norfolk Swimming Club (WNSC), with the design and supply of some special funky
new flightcases to house its timing equipment, which is usually stored at Kings Lynn
swimming pool.
5 Star’s Keith Sykes co-ordinated the project, saying, “We were approached by WNSC’s
Chair Sam Baxter as they needed to be able to stow and transport their timing kit safely
and easily. It’s one of their biggest capital assets, so we were very happy to offer a custom
solution”.
Two of the cases each take four timing pads, and both feature a split-top design making
the cases as accessible as possible, facilitating extremely quick and easy removal and
deployment of the pads from the large cases.
They are constructed from 5 Star’s Tour grade specification materials with 9 mm ply
utilised to minimise the weight, fitted with tough high quality casters tor good portability.
These cases also have special drainage slots in the base, so the pads can be stowed
immediately they are finished with and removed from the pool, and ventilation slots in
the case lids encourage airflow and prevent damp accumulating.
The third trunk is a general purpose case to hold all the related computer equipment,
control system components, electronic elements and other accessories including cabling,
computer tripod and start / stop buzzer. This is based on 5 Star’s popular Eurotrucker
range of road-trunks, complete with removable top tray.
The cases are all smartly finished in purple high pressure laminate with the distinctive
WNSC griffin logo screen printed prominently in white.
The Club is absolutely delighted.
“These cases are great – they are of the highest quality and will allow us to get maximum
life out of the equipment. It’s important within an aquatic environment to give the
electronics the best possible protection,” states Sam Baxter.
He goes on to say that support from companies like 5 Star is “Essential” for the Club to
continue to grow. It has allowed them to channel more funds and energies into coaching
and developing their roster of young swimmers, who are currently doing extremely well.
The project is the latest in a long line of sporting related projects for which 5 Star has
created custom casing solutions, including for championship water skier Jeremy Harford,
pilots in the Red Bull Air Race and to transport cars for the International Formula 3000/
GP2 Champion
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CLUB BRANDED KIT
PUNCTUALITY
Please make sure that you get your swimmers to the pool on time. It is important for
swimmers to be at the start of the session for the warm-up. If swimmers are not at the
pool on time, the coach may not allow them to take part in the session.
The club has its own web page for
ordering club branded kit. You
can access the online shop from
the club’s main website home
page. The shop accepts PayPal,
credit and debit cards, without
fees.
CHANGING FACILITIES
Changing facilities at both St James and Downham Market are shared with members of
the public at times. The club hires the pool and not the whole facility, therefore as with
all public swimming sessions; members of the public may be present in the changing
rooms.
West Norfolk Swimming Club has high expectations of its swimmers and requires them
to abide by the clubs code of conduct and behave appropriately when using the changing
facilities. Changing rooms are not playrooms and bad behaviour and misuse of facilities
will not be tolerated.
It is a requirement of the pool hire conditions that outdoor shoes be removed on entry
to the changing rooms and areas surrounding the pool. Plastic over-shoes are available.
The club advises that clothes are stored in the changing room lockers which are
provided at both pools. Please try to avoid using family lockers during public sessions.
The lockers are a 20pence piece and should be locked when in use to protect your belongings. Staff at both pools check if lockers are being used without them being locked
and have the right to remove the items.
Conduct of Parents and Carers whilst Swimmers are using Changing facilities at both pools:
It is not encouraged that Parents or Carers supervise swimmers using changing facilities
unless the swimmer is younger than 8 years of age or requires support/assistance. This
is to protect both swimmers and parents. If the club receives a complaint about any
incident that has occurred between a swimmer and any other person, the club will:

Investigate the matter if the other person is a club member

Inform the pool manager should the incident involve a member of the public.
SOCIAL MEDIA
When you place your order you
will be asked a couple of
questions e.g. name of swimmer,
squad and at which pool you
would like the kit delivered to.
The kit will be delivered to the
individual swimmer unless a
comment is added when creating
your order.
PURCHASING TRAINING
ACCESSORIES
For training accessories (mesh
bags, fins, goggles) and
swimming costumes and trunks,
the club recommends
Pro-Swimwear as a place to order
kit from. WNSC is an affiliate,
which gives members a discount if
they use the link from our own
website.
West Norfolk Swimming Club is on twitter.
Follow and interact with us on Twitter to get the latest
information, news and results @westnorfolkswim
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2015 KLFM SPORTS AWARDS
The 2015 KLFM West Norfolk Sports Awards are coming!
Thank you to everyone who nominated online.
The KLFM Sports Awards have been designed to recognise and honour the contributions
made by dedicated sports coaches, officials, clubs, men, women and teams from across
West Norfolk. The awards ceremony is being held at the King’s Lynn Corn Exchange in
January.
We have the pleasure of announcing that Oliver Kenny (Disabled Sports Person), Donald
Macfarlane (Senior Sports Person) and Sarah Vanderloo (Coach of the Year) have all been
shortlisted for an award.
MEETS/FIXTURES
31st Jan - Junior Fenland League - Newmarket
07th March - County Champs - Thetford
01st Feb
08th March - County Champs - Thetford
- Thetford Open Meet – TBC
06th Feb - Committee Meeting – KL
21st March - Norfolk County Junior League – Dereham
07th Feb - Junior Fenland League fixture - Boston
28th March - County Relay Gala – UEA
07nd Feb - UEA Open Meet L1
03rd April - UEA Open Meet L1 TBC
08th Feb - UEA Open Meet L1
04th April - UEA Open Meet L1 TBC
14th Feb - County Champs - 800 & 1500m Events
11th April - Junior Fenland League - Bottisham
21st Feb - County Champs - 400m Events
18th April - Newmarket Open Meet L3
28th Feb - County Champs - Thetford
19th April - Newmarket Open Meet L3
01st March - County Champs -Thetford
25th April - Norfolk County Junior League - Wymondham or
Thetford
West Norfolk Swimming Club
West Norfolk Swimming Club, St James Pool, Blackfriars Street, Kings Lynn, PE30 1NN
Web Site: www.westnorfolksc.co.uk
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