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Swim England announces the end of Club and National Development Officers - August 3, 2020
Big changes at Swim England are announced today with the disappearance of Club and National Development Officers, and their replacement by a Development Team, led by Claire Coleman (Head of Development) with managers focusing on the following priority areas of; Governance (Helen Weeks), Volunteering (Sarah Darragh), Club and Operator Relationships (Andy Jack) and Club Growth (Becky Walker). We understand that the new Development Team will work across all the aquatic disciplines.
George Wood, Swim England Sport Development Director
The full text of the letter from Swim England’s Sport Development Director, George Wood to Swim England members, is here:
“As a result of the impact caused by Covid-19, Swim England recently announced that we would look to create a new way of working, resulting in a reduction in team members.
The ongoing development and delivery of our sports remains the focus of the Sport Development Directorate, headed up by myself. This directorate focuses on clubs, competitions, coach development, talent programmes and national events for all of our disciplines.
We work with the Swim England Regions to ensure a collaborative, joined-up approach with the aim of providing excellent service to our clubs as we support their return to water and the further development of the sport. Our focus going forward will be addressing the key national issues and opportunities affecting our participants and clubs, whilst supporting our regions and disciplines with their priorities.
To achieve this, we have introduced a Development Team led by Claire Coleman (Head of Development) with managers focusing on the following priority areas of; Governance (Helen Weeks), Volunteering (Sarah Darragh), Club and Operator Relationships (Andy Jack) and Club Growth (Becky Walker).
The team will work closely with the regions and with our club network. This means that the nationally employed Club Development Officer and National Development Officer roles will no longer exist however, the regions will continue to employ their own staff.
We will adopt a multi-disciplinary approach to ensure we deliver an excellent service to our clubs and we will work closely with our Discipline Leadership Groups to promote and develop each of our great aquatic sports.
We will ensure that we continue to use the online and digital methods that have enabled us to reach many people throughout the coronavirus period and offer exciting opportunities to connect with our clubs, volunteers, coaches and participants in the future.
Talent teams are in place for each of our disciplines and they will work closely with the Development Team to support the re-emergence of our sports into the water as well as our talent athletes who are accessing training in their home environments. We will also be delivering a wealth of talent activity online and through our new Diploma in Sporting Excellence programme.
We would like to thank those team members who are leaving Swim England and who have worked tirelessly for the clubs and our aquatic sports. We will build on the legacy they leave as we continue to support our clubs through the pandemic and beyond.
If your club has any support needs, queries or questions, please contact us as follows:
- Club Development needs (work previously covered by the Club Development Officers or the National Development Officers) – clubdevelopment@swimming.org
- Volunteering – volunteering@swimming.org
- Return to Training Guidance – clubguidance@swimming.org.
We look forward to working with you!
George Wood
Sport Development Director”
2 responses to “Swim England announces the end of Club and National Development Officers”
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Latest News
Swim England announces the end of Club and National Development Officers -
Big changes at Swim England are announced today with the disappearance of Club and National Development Officers, and their replacement by a Development Team, led by Claire Coleman (Head of Development) with managers focusing on the following priority areas of; Governance (Helen Weeks), Volunteering (Sarah Darragh), Club and Operator Relationships (Andy Jack) and Club Growth (Becky Walker). We understand that the new Development Team will work across all the aquatic disciplines.
George Wood, Swim England Sport Development Director
The full text of the letter from Swim England’s Sport Development Director, George Wood to Swim England members, is here:
“As a result of the impact caused by Covid-19, Swim England recently announced that we would look to create a new way of working, resulting in a reduction in team members.
The ongoing development and delivery of our sports remains the focus of the Sport Development Directorate, headed up by myself. This directorate focuses on clubs, competitions, coach development, talent programmes and national events for all of our disciplines.
We work with the Swim England Regions to ensure a collaborative, joined-up approach with the aim of providing excellent service to our clubs as we support their return to water and the further development of the sport. Our focus going forward will be addressing the key national issues and opportunities affecting our participants and clubs, whilst supporting our regions and disciplines with their priorities.
To achieve this, we have introduced a Development Team led by Claire Coleman (Head of Development) with managers focusing on the following priority areas of; Governance (Helen Weeks), Volunteering (Sarah Darragh), Club and Operator Relationships (Andy Jack) and Club Growth (Becky Walker).
The team will work closely with the regions and with our club network. This means that the nationally employed Club Development Officer and National Development Officer roles will no longer exist however, the regions will continue to employ their own staff.
We will adopt a multi-disciplinary approach to ensure we deliver an excellent service to our clubs and we will work closely with our Discipline Leadership Groups to promote and develop each of our great aquatic sports.
We will ensure that we continue to use the online and digital methods that have enabled us to reach many people throughout the coronavirus period and offer exciting opportunities to connect with our clubs, volunteers, coaches and participants in the future.
Talent teams are in place for each of our disciplines and they will work closely with the Development Team to support the re-emergence of our sports into the water as well as our talent athletes who are accessing training in their home environments. We will also be delivering a wealth of talent activity online and through our new Diploma in Sporting Excellence programme.
We would like to thank those team members who are leaving Swim England and who have worked tirelessly for the clubs and our aquatic sports. We will build on the legacy they leave as we continue to support our clubs through the pandemic and beyond.
If your club has any support needs, queries or questions, please contact us as follows:
- Club Development needs (work previously covered by the Club Development Officers or the National Development Officers) – clubdevelopment@swimming.org
- Volunteering – volunteering@swimming.org
- Return to Training Guidance – clubguidance@swimming.org.
We look forward to working with you!
George Wood
Sport Development Director”
2 responses to “Swim England announces the end of Club and National Development Officers”
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Rhys Tamlyn says:
Please can you confirm how many employees in SE are directly involved in Water Polo discipline after this announcement.
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cheerychris says:
Hi Rhys, thanks for your question. We’ve passed your query on to Toby King who has raised the matter with Swim England. We will revert to you as soon as we have an answer for you. Best wishes, Chris.
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Leave a Reply Cancel reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Please can you confirm how many employees in SE are directly involved in Water Polo discipline after this announcement.
Hi Rhys, thanks for your question. We’ve passed your query on to Toby King who has raised the matter with Swim England. We will revert to you as soon as we have an answer for you. Best wishes, Chris.