Welcome to Newbury District Swimming Club. Newbury Swimming Club is one of the oldest clubs in Newbury, dating back to 1948 when members swam in Northcroft open air pool. The club moved to St Bartholomew's School pool and then back to Northcroft in the mid seventies with the building of the recreation centre and the indoor pool. With the refurbishment of Northcroft in 1994 and the addition of poolside seating, Newbury has gone from strength to strength. We now have a swimming membership in excess of 200 competing at local, county, District and national level. In addition to Northcroft, we now run training sessions at Hungerford, the Kennet Centre (Thatcham), Brockhurst school and Downe House school (Cold Ash). As a result of our expansion into the locality, Newbury SC changed it's name to Newbury District SC, or, as it is frequently known NDSC.
The club is run under the squad system which basically means that it is divided into groups or squads where swimmers train with other swimmers of similar age and ability. Swimmers progress through a squad structure which is based upon a number of factors including technical skill, age, strength and the ability of the swimmer to cope with the training up at the next level. Squad moves are decided at coaches meetings which are held at 1 - 2 monthly intervals but the main changes tend to be over the summer break and at Christmas. Each squad has a representative (squad rep) who, for practical reasons, is very often the parent of one of the swimmers in that squad. The squad reps help the coach to keep a register of swimmers and assist the treasurer in collecting squad fees. If you have any queries questions or problems this is probably the best person to ask first. Squad reps tend to change as their children move through the squads so check the web site contacts page for latest list. Training times and squad< fees vary according to squad so please check the current training timetable.
NDSC swimming is organised into the following squads: Cruisers, Sprinters, Challengers B2, B1 A, Youth and Masters. Further details on how these squads are organised and the entry criteria for each squad can be found in the squads section
Equipment
Most of the items that will be needed for training and competitions may be obtained from the club shop, which will be open on Sunday evening at Northcroft between 7 and 8pm.
Although not essential, most swimmers prefer to wear goggles in training. Goggles prevent the eyes becoming sore after long exposure to chlorinated water as well as enabling clear vision particularly important when swimming in galas. Goggles are frequently a problem to novice swimmers. They may come off when diving in, they may leak or they may simply be uncomfortable. Goggles tend to be an individual thing; what suites one person may not suite another and (beware!) the most expensive is not always the best. The trick is to persevere, find the make and style of goggles that you are happy with and stick with them!
All swimmers need a kickboard and flippers. As swimmers progress from Cruisers up through the squads pull buoys are also used increasingly as a training aid for concentrating on pulling technique and strengthening the arms. Hand paddles and finger paddles tend to be used by older swimmers in A/B/Youth/Masters squads to develop power, although swimmers in Challengers are allowed small hand size paddles as an introduction to their use and to help with some aspects of technique.
Training
The current training programme makes use of Brockhurst school, Kennet at Thatcham, Hungerford, Downe House at Cold Ash and our main competition pool, Northcroft. Cruisers and Sprinters sessions are for a maximum of an hour, and Challengers sessions are between 1 and 11/2 hours. B squad sessions are between 11/2 to 2 hours as are A squad sessions - although we are actively seeking to increase all of the A squad sessions to 2 hours.
Competitions
Whilst a few of the older members swim for pleasure or to keep fit (nothing wrong with that!) the training squads are geared towards competitive swimming and we enter or hold a number of competitions throughout the year. One thing that often confuses the parents of young new members is the minimum age rule. This means that swimmers must have reached the age of 9 on the date of the competition in order to enter an individual event in an externally run event. This is an ASA (Amateur Swimming Association) rule NOT just a club rule. Swimmers of ANY age may enter internally run competitions and we run a number of these throughout the year. Please refer to the ASA web site for more information.
These are the main types of competition:
Age group Championships: There are three basic levels namely: County, Regional (South East Region), National. Qualifying times are required to enter each of these events. County championships are usually held in the spring and qualifying times can be downloaded from the Berks and South Bucks web site. All of A squad plus a number from B squad and Challengers reach the level to enter the county championships each year. Times achieved at county championships can be used as entry times for Regional and National Championships.
Newbury are in the South East Region and these Regional Championships are usually held over May/June. Qualifying times (which are regularly reviewed) are somewhere between County and National qualifying times. The majority of swimmers in A squad have reached Regional standard plus a few from B1 squad. Times achieved at these championships can be used as a qualifying time for the National Championships.
The National age group and Youth championships are held in the summer, usually at end of July to the beginning of August. If you achieve the qualifying time to enter the Nationals you are probably in the top 30 or 40 in the country - or at least very close. Over the last few years Newbury has sent between 1 and 6 swimmers up to the Nationals each year. During that time we have had a national champion, two bronze medallists and a number of final placings.
Open meets: These are similar to championships but individual clubs hold them and they are often graded. Level 1 (L1) is the highest grade followed by level 2. and level 3. There is also a level 4 but these tend to be rare. In L3 meets there will probably be a maximum ('not faster than') entry time for each event. In L1 and L2 meets there is more likely to be a minimum entry time. Times achieved at L1 and L2 meets can be used as an entry time for the National championships
The Newbury Open Meet is usually held in June at Northcroft Leisure centre. There are maximum (not faster than) times for this event which correspond approximately to Regional qualifying times
Leagues - We are currently entered in:
The Thames Valley Junior League (12/under)
The Arena National league (Everyone) - the youngest age group being 11/U
In league galas the emphasis is on team rather than individual performance although there is obviously a link between the two. Teams are picked by the coaches and for both the National and The Thames Valley league the basic aim is to pick the best team possible. Swimmers are informed well in advance of the event and the dates for these events are published in Diary of Events. So if you are picked please make every effort to attend.
Internal Competitions: The main Club Championships are usually held in the autumn over three evenings and all club members are encouraged to take part. In addition two further rounds are held for the 400m and the 800m/1500m which is mainly for Challengers and above. For swimmers nine and over this is an ideal opportunity to gain county qualifying times for the County Championships which take place early in the following year. In addition we hold a 50m sprint and novice gala which is usually held in July.
ASA/Competitive Start Awards - This award is given to swimmers who have demonstrated that they are capable of safely executing a racing dive from starting blocks at the shallow end of the pool. All swimmers are expected to have achieved this level by the time they enter the Challengers squad.
Internal Competitions and Monthly Time Trials and testing are important, particularly if you have not swum in galas before. It enables you (and us) to see the effect of all that training and above all we need your time. We choose teams on the basis of recorded times so if we don't have your up to-date time you are unlikely to be chosen for league galas - NO TIME...NO SWIM!
All current times (rankings ) are published on the NDSC web site and updated approximately every 1 -2 months.
Social Events
Our main social events of the year are the River Carnival which is usually held sometime in July and the Presentation Evening and Disco held usually in January. In spite of its name the River Carnival has nothing to do with rivers (at least not now!) although the evening does begin with a swimming competition in Northcroft open air pool. To aid recovery (for those brave enough to swim!) the rest of the evening is devoted to a barbecue and liquid refreshment on the pool side. This is a great fun event for swimmers parents and friends. - NOT TO BE MISSED! The Presentation Evening, usually held in January, as its name suggests is the evening upon which all the cups and trophies (over 60 in all) are presented in recognition of the achievements of all members throughout the previous year.
Getting Information
The annual calendar is published in Diary of Events on the web site. This includes such things as forthcoming competitions but it is also where announcements will be made of sudden pool closures or a cancellation of a training sessions etc. Please look at Diary of Events regularly and use it as your first port of call if you are looking for the latest information. The web site also provides useful contact numbers, a news/competition report sections and two download pages containing results and club information documents.
Please also look at the ASA web site . There is a wealth of inform ASA web site ation here - although not always easy to find. Happy navigating!!
Watertime news, is the club newsletter. We endeavour to publish this at regular intervals but the success of this does very much depend on input from members. So if you would like to help please don't be shy in coming forward. When available it is distributed electronically to squad members by the squad reps but if you clicked on the 'Subscribe to newsletter' box website you will receive a copy anyway.
In this age of the internet please don't forget the club notice boards. The main notice board at Northcroft is in the corridor on the left just past the changing room entrance. In addition we have a notice board at Thatcham and there is also a board at Hungerford (kindly donated by the Trustees of the Town and Mayor of Hungerford).
Membership
The first month's membership is free. Thereafter squad fees are payable half yearly together with an annual membership fee. A family membership scheme is in operation which enables brothers and sisters to swim at a reducing rate details of which can be obtained from our Club Treasurer.
Finally, if you have any questions regarding swimming not covered here or would like to arrange for a trial swim please Sarah Porter through our enquiries facility. For other issues (fees etc) please contact the appropriate person
We sincerely hope that you will come and join us at Newbury District Swimming Club where we hope your stay will be a long, happy and above all - a successful one!
