Announcement: John Adye to leave role as Director of Swimming at Derby Excel from January

Announcement

We regret to inform you that John Adye has decided to step down from his role as Derby Excel Director of Swimming, from Friday 9th January 2026.

John will be taking up a position still within swimming, but working from home, allowing him to spend more time with his young family. He will still be coaching a few sessions per week with Derby Excel until the end of the 2025-26 season.

John has asked us to pass on this message from him: “The decision to step down from my role as Director of Swimming has been a really difficult one. My passion for coaching and for the club is as strong as ever but I have made a decision that will allow for more time with my family. With my children at the ages they are, I especially want to be as present as possible at home. I am looking forward to continuing to contribute within the club and to support the new Director of Swimming, during the club's next chapter. I’d like to thank the trustees for their support over the past 3 years both professionally and personally including the past few weeks during the making of this decision. I’d also like to thank coaching team for all their contributions over the last 3 years. Together we have all achieved a lot on our collective journey thus far and created an excellent foundation, to be developed further, over future seasons.”

The Trustees would like to place on record our grateful thanks to John for his huge contribution to the club during his time with us. Derby Excel has grown since its creation, and made great progress in and out of the pool during his time as Director of Swimming. We are sorry to see him leave, and wish him all the best for the future.

The Trustees will now start the process of looking for a replacement Director of Swimming.

Babs Ingram Chair Derby Excel