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Welcome to Sheffield City Swimming Club. We are a competitive swimming club, formed in 1962. Our members range from 6 year olds to Masters swimmers and number around 160. The club is affiliated to the Amateur Swimming Association and was awarded Swim21 and Sport England Clubmark status in 2003, which was re-validated in 2007. These kitemarks indicate that the club follows best practice in terms in club administration and coach/swimmer development.

How are we structured?

The club has four squads:

The C squad is a development level aimed at swimmers under 13 who are starting out in competitive swimming and aims to provide five sessions per week to swimmers.
The Club Masters squad is for swimmers whose primary aim is health and fitness training (rather than swimming competitively), or for swimmers who are still developing the capacity for intensive training.
The B squad is for competitive swimmers who are heading towards the A squad.
The A squad are swimmers who have reached county standard, competing regularly and who can cope with training in the county squad sessions (as deemed by the Head Coach).

The squad system is continually under review. Parents and swimmers will be informed of any changes as and when they happen. When the Head Coach feels that a move between squads is appropriate, he will discuss the situation with the swimmer and parents. However, if at any time you feel you want to talk to the Head Coach about the squad you/your child is in please do so.

When and where do we train?

Our two main training bases are at Heeley Swimming Pool and Ponds Forge, but we also train at Graves Leisure Centre, and Springs Leisure Centre. The current pool time and squad training sessions are available on the Website.

The sessions you attend will depend on the squad you are in – please speak to a Coach if you are unsure which sessions to attend. We will review pool time throughout the year and changes to this timetable will be posted on our Website.

Some of our sessions are preceded with or followed by land training sessions – again please check the Website for details.

What are the fees?

For 2010, the swim fees have been set at:

Club membership (includes base ASA membership fee):

£25 - For swimmers aged under 9 and swimmers not competing in 'Open' galas.
£40.60 - For competing swimmers aged 9 and over (includes additional ASA fee).
£10 associate membership. This applies to all non-swimming members who wish to be able to vote at club meetings

ASA membership:

£15.25 in addition to the above annual club membership those swimmers wishing to compete in open competitions are required to pay an extra membership fee to the ASA. This must be paid through the club with your annual membership.

Monthly Swim Fees:

£31 for first child in C squad
£34 for first child in A squad
£31 for first child in Club Masters or B squad
(£4 reduction for subsequent child(ren) in all squads)
£4 per swim for Masters/16 yrs+students electing to pay per swim.

A reduction in monthly fees is given to SLICE Card holders. Details are available on request. We strongly encourage monthly fees to be paid by standing order & we reserve the right to review swim fees through the year.

Dual Registration

To work towards one of our aims of providing a seamless progression path for our swimmers, we would like all of our swimmers to be registered with both Sheffield City SC and City of Sheffield Swim Squad. This will not only enable a seamless progression, but will also offer opportunities for Sheffield City swimmers to represent Sheffield in prestigious competitions such as the Speedo League. It should be emphasised that there will be no financial cost to dual registration. Although we hope that all eligible swimmers will be dual registered, swimmers will be able to ‘opt-out’ of dual registration by indicating this on the Membership form.

Club Rules

The Club Rules are adopted from Amateur Swimming Association recommended constitution, and we also have in place Codes of Conduct for swimmers, coaches, and parents. Copies of both are available on the club website. You must agree to abide by the Club Rules and Code of Conduct when you join the Club.

Child Protection and Anti-Bullying

Sheffield City strongly believes in child protection and has a Child Protection Policy and a Child Protection Officer in place. All of our coaches, and other volunteers who have contact with children have attended approved Child Protection training and have in place an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check. The policy, together with the Club’s Anti-Bullying Policy, can be viewed on our Website. If you wish to see a hard copy, or have any other questions, please speak to our Welfare Officer, Joanne Markham.

Swimline - a confidential service for anyone involved in swimming - is available - 0808 100 4001

Equity Policy

Sheffield City embrace the equity policy of Sport England. The Club is committed to treat everyone equally within the context of their activity, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, religious belief, disability, sexuality or social/economic status. A full copy of the Club’s Equity Policy and Disability Policy statement can be viewed on the Website.

Where and when do we compete?

As a competitive swimming club all our members are encouraged to compete at the appropriate level. The club enters two basic types of gala - team galas and Open Meets.

Team Galas

Throughout the year we enter team galas where we compete against other swimming clubs as a team. These galas usually consist of some individual races & some relays, all of which are competed in age groups. These age groups vary according to the gala & teams are selected accordingly. This year we are competing in the Barnsley Minors League (BML), where we will compete against four others clubs in four galas throughout the year (the age groups for BML are 10, 12, 14, Open).

Open Galas

At Open Meets you swim individually against many other swimmers, although you will still be representing Sheffield City SC. Again, these Meets are divided into age groups which are usually determined by the age on the date of the Meet.

We also organise our own Open Meets which take place at Ponds Forge on Saturday 28th August and Saturday 27th November, for further details see our Open Meets page.

Swimmers should note that they are only able to swim in open meets if they have registered to do so with the ASA & paid the additional fee.

In addition, the club sends swimmers to the Yorkshire and North East Championships and holds local or internal Development Galas and a Club Gala (which are restricted to Sheffield City swimmers).

What is the standard of these galas?

The BML is probably the highest standard of team gala we enter. Anyone can swim in this provided they have not reached a top 8 finish in a County, Regional or National final in the stroke they are swimming.

For Open Meets, the club targets 'A', 'B', and ‘C’ grade galas. These galas are designed for swimmers of varying standards and will have 'cut-off' times in most cases. Swims faster than the 'cut-off' time don’t receive a trophy or medal but instead receive a 'speeding ticket' as a record of achievement. Swimmers of the appropriate level will also be encouraged to enter Level 1 Open Meets & the Yorkshire and North East Championships. In order to swim at the Yorkshire and North East Championships you need to have achieved the qualifying time for your age, stroke & distance.

How do you enter galas and what does it cost?

A competition calendar is drawn up at the start of each year, and is available to view within the Bulletin Board (click on ‘News and Calendar’ from the Homepage) section of the Website. It will be updated throughout the year & should be checked regularly. For team galas, the team selection will be posted by the Coach in the ‘Gala Team Notices / Selections’ forum of the Bulletin Board. Alternatively, you may be asked in person by a Coach. If selected please make every effort to attend. If you are unavailable for any reason please inform the Head Coach at once. There is no entry fee for team galas. A coach or minibus may be provided for travel to ‘away’ galas. You will be asked to make a contribution towards this cost.

Details of Open Meets are posted in the ‘Meet Entry Details’ forum of the Bulletin Board and are also available from the Gala Secretary and it is up to the individual to make their wish to enter known to the Gala Secretary. There is a charge for entry to Open Meets which averages about £4.00 per swim (this does vary). Once your entry has been accepted, your fee cannot be refunded. Please be aware the Open Meets we tend to enter become ‘full’ very quickly, often well before the advertised closing date – so please make sure you check when completed entry forms need to be returned to the Gala Secretary. Swimmers and parents usually make their own way to Open Meets.

Club Uniform

It is compulsory for all team galas that swimmers wear the correct costumes, caps and shirts. The club costume at present is plain black. These can be obtained from the club swimshop or purchased elsewhere.

We also have specifically designed club swimcaps, tracksuit tops and shirts which are only available from the club swimshop.

Swimshop

The club swimshop should be your first stop for your swimming equipment needs. As well as stocking club uniform items, many other swim aids are kept in stock or available to order (kickboards, goggles etc.). All prices are competitive, with profits going straight back to the club. Please check out the Club Shop forum on the Bulletin Board for details.

Progress Assessment

All individual times swum in galas will be recorded in a database. This serves two purposes: i) to help in the selection of teams by providing an up to date record of all swimmers PB's and, (ii) to produce 'rankings' of all swimmers in the club.

For new swimmers to the club, or swimmers who have not had a time for a particular stroke/distance for a while, the club arranges time trials/development galas.

Communication with swimmers and parents

The club believes communication with swimmers and parents is important. We regularly publish a newsletter, have a club website (www.sheffieldswimming.org.uk) and place notices on our NoticeBoards at Heeley and Graves. The first port of call should be the Website and this should be referred to regularly for details of changes to training, upcoming galas etc. Parents are encouraged to talk to any member of the Management Committee if they have any concerns or questions.

Outside Swimming

The club organises social events through the year. Presentation evenings with discos are held following internal galas. Discos and day trips are also organised. Look out for details of events and if you have any ideas please see a committee member.

Parental involvement

Why do we need volunteers?

We rely on volunteers to meet the Club’s aim. We work to ensure that we always have a sufficient number of qualified volunteers working within the Club.

What do we do?

There are many different roles within the Club:

Committee posts (for example, Gala Secretary, Newsletter Editor, etc).
Coaching, poolside assistants
Team managing at galas and swim camps
Officials – timekeepers, judges, referees, stewards
Helping run our Galas – on the door, raffle/tombola, announcing, etc.

If you would like to know more about the jobs then you can contact our Workforce Co-ordinator, or any other member of the Committee, who will ensure you receive a copy of the job descriptions and arrange for a member of the Committee to discuss the post or volunteering opportunity with you in detail.

The Club’s full Volunteer Recruitment Policy can be viewed on the website. We encourage all parents to become Associate members of the Club - associate membership entitles you to serve on the Management Committee, vote at the AGM, or on any other matters brought to an EGM through the year. Swimming members aged 16 and over already have this entitlement but it should be noted that swimmers under 16 do not. Please use the section on the annual Membership form to join as an Associate Member.

The Management Committee

The Management Committee are elected volunteers who manage the club on a day to day basis. New members and officers are elected at the club AGM. Details of the 2010 Management Committee and full ‘job’ descriptions can be viewed on our website.

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