Getting Started

Young swimmers who are 8 years old and over AND can confidently demonstrate all of the skills required for Stage 7 of the Swim England Learn to Swim framework, may be ready to join a competitive club.

As an example, the swimmer should be able to push and glide and swim confidently 25 metres in all 4 strokes, & 100 metres using 3 strokes (all performed to Swim England expected standards), as well as proficiency in diving, skulling, treading water etc.

More details of the specifics for the stage can be found on the Swim England Website. https://www.swimming.org/learntoswim/swim-england-learn-to-swim-awards-1-7/

In our pre-competition groups, we coach swimmers in the techniques, skills and processes that they will eventually use in competition swimming.

As the they graduate to the more competitive squads, children as young as 8 can swim in local galas and enjoy the camaraderie of being part of a club team as well as the exciting atmosphere of a swimming competition.

Get in touch with us and we’ll guide you through how to get started in club swimming.

Our membership secretary will arrange a free trial for your child at one of our training sessions. One of our coaches will assess their swimming level. They will tell you which group your child belongs in and what this means for you. If you’re happy, we’ll let you know when and where to go for the first session and everything that you’ll need to be ready.

Our Approach

Although we do not offer lessons for beginner swimmers, we have based our criteria for pre-competition groups on the Swim England Learn to Swim Framework and the Swim England Competitive Skills Framework. This ensures a secure grounding in core skills alongside a strong emphasis on confidence in the aquatic environment, feel for the water, balance and efficiency.

Young people progress through our development squad structure (see Squad Structure on the club documents page) on successful completion of criteria laid down for each group (see Squad Specifications on the club documents page). We do not directly follow the Swim England stages approach as there is little difference between some of the stages, and, due to the fact that we offer more pool time than an average Learn to Swim programme, the young people progress faster. It is also good to work on different elements from different stages in a single session, as well as revisit elements from prior stages and this flexibility is part of our holistic and child-centred approach.

Swimming in Competitions

At BSC we develop the skills of the swimmer according to their own goals. No one is required to compete, but we find that many of our young swimmers can’t wait to get to their first gala! For more information about competitive swimming, visit our Compete page.

Interested?

Go to our Join Us page for more about what we do and how to join the club.