Q. How do swimmers receive coaching feedback following a gala? For example reasons for DQs or how to sharpen technique. 

A. At a meet the swimmer should always go to the coach straight after their race (you will see older swimmers do this) who will give them feedback. The coach can also find out the reason for a DQ and provide feedback on this.

Q. How do we receive any feedback on our childrens’ progress or performance. What should we expect and when ?

A. One thing to bear in mind is that a key difference between seahorses and the competitive squads is that as the children get older the feedback is direct to them rather than to the parents. During the sessions coaches will pick up on their technique and areas to focus on. We also strongly encourage the swimmers to directly ask the coaches for improvement areas. That's not to say parents cannot speak with the coaches or arrange a meeting, but please bear in mind that each squad has up to 30 swimmers and our coaches often span more than one squad.

Q. Is there an expectation that A2 children swim in competitive events? If so, how many and are any in particular encouraged more than others?
A. A2 swimmers will start to compete in galas - the ones relevant to the appropriate squad are emailed to the parents of swimmers in that squad along with details of how to enter. They will first race 50m events in galas such as at the club champs and Level 4 galas as detailed in the Parent Corner. They will then progress to 100m events and other events and higher level galas. If you are at all unsure just ask your swimmer to talk with the coach who can provide guidance both on galas and suitable events. One item to bear in mind is that for some galas the swimmers require a minimum entry time for each event. Now if you are a new competitive swimmer, initially you will not have an entry time. Hence we always pick some galas which have no minimum entry time to enable swimmers to get a time. Once a year we hold our own gala/club championships. For this we do not set a minimum entry time for events.

Q. How does the club cater for children with additional needs including neurodiversity? While each child will vary, this could simply be the ability for parents to have access to their children during galas in order to provide any additional support

A. At each gala we attend we provide Team Managers to look after our swimmers and support our coaches so that they can focus on their primary task of preparing our swimmers for their races, providing feedback etc. Team Managers are DBS checked, have attended a Safeguarding course and a Team Manager course and so are well qualified to look after all our swimmers. Any parents who are not qualified TMs cannot be poolside. We do expect parents to volunteer to help with the club and one of the ways they can do so is to become a TM. This is something you could do to help support our swimmers including those with additional needs. In fact we are currently very short of TMs in the A2/A1 squads and anyone interested should contact Philippa ([email protected])