Clissold took part in the first round of the North London Graded League this evening at Park Road, competing against: Anaconda, Leyton, Haringey and Ruislip and Northwood. All swimmers swam out of their skins to finish 2nd overall. A fantastic first round and first gala result for 2010. Thank you to: Chelsea, Ella, Chock, Alex, Christophe and Rachael for their help during the gala. Full results and report to follow. —Sarah Kelley

6 girls from Clissold SC decided to raise money for the Haiti earthquake appeal by swimming in pajamas for one hour. To make the swim more of challenge they were given a target number of lengths to swim between them, 400 lengths in the hour, averaging at 66/67 each. Milena, Grace, Bridie, Lotte, Alex and Ailish swam fantastically, swimming non-stop for the hour (except for the occasional drink) and managed to swim 454 lengths in the hour and have so far raised over £150 for the appeal.

They are still collecting so if you would like to contribute towards the girls efforts then please bring your money to the registration desk on Monday or Friday evening and mention the sponsored swim. —Sarah Kelley

As many of you will already be aware, Clissold is ringing in 2010 with a restructuring of the club’s swimming groups that is designed to better suit the wide range of abilities and paths that lie between first learning to swim and competing at county level and beyond. The aims and objectives of the changes are laid out in a letter  from Head Coach Sarah Kelley that is being sent by email to all parents, guardians and carers. The full text of that letter may also be downloaded HERE and contains the breakdown below of the new group structure. A list of which swimmers are in which groups will be available at the club desk at Clissold from Friday the 15th January and will become effective as of Monday 18th 2010. A new timetable encompassing these changes also comes into force on that day. A printable copy of the timetable can be found by clicking HERE and is always available through the link in the sidebar to the left of this page.

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New group structure

Foundation 1: This group aims to improve swimmers technique in both F/C and B/K. Each swimmer should be able to maintain efficient technique over 4 lengths. BR and Fly kick are introduced here and should be legal (50m) before moving to Foundation 2.

Foundation 2: The aim is to further improve F/C and B/K technique, maintaining this over 8 lengths. BR and Fly full stroke are developed and 50m legal BR is completed with 10m legal fly, before moving to Advanced 1. Correct touch turns are required in all strokes.

Advanced 1: Swimmers are introduced to the bent arm pull in B/K and improvements in both BR and Fly technique. F/C tumble turns are introduced here and 100m legal BR and 25m legal Fly achieved before progressing to Advanced 2. Target times are also introduced for 100m and 200m.

Advanced 2: B/K tumble turns are introduced with further improvements to the F/C tumble made. All strokes techniques are improved. Efficient F/C, B/K and BR are required over 200m and 50m legal fly before progressing to Pre-Comp. Target times are also required for 100m and 200m.

Pre-Comp: This group is for swimmers who can legally compete in all 4 strokes (minimum 50m fly). The aim is to introduce swimmers to competitive swimming training, they will complete sets on various times, over various distances. Improve their swimming technique, turns, starts and Individual Medley. From this group they will either join the Junior or Senior side of the club.

Junior Competition: This is for girls aged 8-11 and boys 9-12 who enjoy swimming and still want to swim for various reasons and who can’t commit to the amount of training required for development/county level. There is no minimum attendance requirement for this group; however swimmers will be expected to work hard when attending.

Junior Development: This is for girls aged 8-11 and boys 9-12 who hold development meet times and who want to swim at county level. This group requires a minimum attendance; however some exceptions will be made according to extra curricular activities and school/home locations. (Sessions to be agreed with head coach)

Junior County: This is for girls aged 8-11 and boys 9-12 who are within 5% of achieving or already hold county times and who wish to go on towards swimming at both regional and national level. This group requires a minimum attendance; however some exceptions will be made according to extra curricular activities and school/home locations. (Sessions to be agreed with Head Coach)

Senior Competition: This is for girls aged 12+ and boys 13+ who enjoy swimming and still want to swim for various reasons and who can’t commit to the amount of training required for development/county level. There is no minimum attendance requirement for this group; however swimmers will be expected to work hard when attending.

Senior Development: This is for girls aged 12+ and boys 13+ who hold development times and who want to swim at county level. This group requires a minimum attendance; however some exceptions will be made according to extra curricular activities, school/home locations and year at school. (Sessions to be agreed with head coach)

Senior County: This is for girls aged 12+ and boys 13+ who are within 5% of achieving or already hold county times and who wish to go on towards swimming at both regional and national level. This group requires a minimum attendance; however some exceptions will be made according to extra curricular activities, school/home locations and year at school. (Sessions to be agreed with head coach)

The Hackney Gazette ran a splendid article this Christmas about the many achievements of the club in 2009. The text appears below but you can also download a pdf of the article, complete with a picture of three of our swimmers by clicking here.

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CLISSOLD SUCCESS
Borough swimming club make big strides and earn accreditation
(Hackney Gazette, 24 December 2009)

IT HAS been a hugely successful year for Clissold Swimming club, who, have earned the Swim 21 Accreditation, won the national Arena Gala for Hackney and dou· bled their membership in 2009.

The seven-to-17-year-old swimmers have achieved success, finishing fifth in the North London Graded League and third in the East London Mini League. The masters swimmers have also done well. representing the club in Galas with an ‘Open’ section.

The highlight of the year was to swim in the Arena League, a national competitive swim league. Best of all, they won the final gala in lhe Arena series. at home, at Clissold Leisure Centre on Saturday, December, 12 .

As the intermediate scores were announced. no more than five points separated the top three clubs, in a nail-biting final.

In the end. all of the swimmers, both age group and masters, swam out of their skins to finish 20 points clear of Clissold’s nearest rival, with many of them achieving personal bests along the way.

This year also saw the club achieve Swim 21 status, representing formal ASA swimming club accreditation.

The next 12 months promises to be another exciting year as more of the younger swimmers come to an age where they too can begin to compete, and there are some really talented youngsters coming through.

Rob Kinch, chair of Clissold Swimming Club was delighted with what the club have achieved this year.

“Clissold Swimming Club is managed by volunteers, we use five pools and run swimming, diving, water polo and masters swimming programmes. This last year has seen an amazing upturn in the club’s activities and positions earned in galas,” he said, before turning his eye to the Games which take place in London in 2012.

“The future for our swimmers leading up to the Olympics looks good.”

Ciissold Swimming Club is still looking for new members in both age group and masters sections. If you’re interested in getting involved in swimming, diving or water polo give the club call on 07891 880781 or check out the website at www.clissoldswimmingclub.org