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Dorset County ASA

E.

England Programmes Regional Pathway published

By In FEATURED, Swimming0 Comments20 Views

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Plans for the England Programmes Pathway for regions have now been published and will focus on the development of the 12 years age group (age as at 31 December 2017) and development of Level 2 coaches. Like the County initiative there will be three one-day camps which, in the ASA South West, will be held on 16 July, 22 October and 3 December at Oxley Leisure Centre in Sherborne, Dorset.

A total of 36 swimmers will be selected using long-course ASA Rankings from 1 January 2017 to the day following the final ASASW Age Groups Championships. For further information on the selection process click Pathway Swimmer Selection Policy (002).

A meeting to provide further information on the programme is to be held for parents of 12 year old swimmers, as well as those competing for the first time at regional championships, on 21 May at Millfield. The meeting is free of charge and no booking is necessary.

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New Year’s Honours

By In County News, FEATURED, Uncategorized0 Comments14 Views

Jean Holland

Jean Holland, life member of Poole SC, has been awarded the British Empire Medal in the New Year’s Honours List for services to swimming following 70 years commitment to the sport. Joining Poole SC in 1947 aged 13 years, Jean gained her first ASA Teaching Award in 1955 and has since taught thousands of young swimmers at both Poole SC and Hamworthy Junior School. As a qualified official Jean has officiated at club, county, regional and national level, culminating in an invitation to officiate at the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. A former county junior champion, and having established a Masters section at Poole SC in 1981, Jean continued to compete until well into her seventies and was a National Masters and World Masters medallist. Out of the pool, Jean has undertaken two separate terms as President ofimgID91401105.jpg.gallery Poole SC, as well as President of Western Counties ASA (now ASA South West) in 1967 and President of Dorset County ASA in 1969. Bournemouth Collegiate’s Alice Tai has also been awarded an MBE for services to swimming in the New Year’s Honours List. Alice who turned 18 at the end of January competed for Team GB at the Paralympic games in Rio 2016 and brought home a relay gold in the Women’s 4 x 100m Medley relay and an individual bronze in the Women’s S10 100m Backstroke. Alice, who currently trains in Manchester, competes in the SB9 and S10 classifications.
E.

England Programmes initiative replaces Talent ID

By In FEATURED, Swimming, Talent ID Programme0 Comments19 Views
England Programmes Dorset County ASA has signed up to the pilot scheme of the England Programmes Pathway initiative which aims to provide a consistent nation-wide programme for the development of swimmers, coaches and team managers together with education opportunities for parents. The County Pathway project replaces the County’s current Talent ID scheme, which has been in place for seven years, and will focus on the development of the 11 years age group and club-level skills coaching. The programme will include three one-day camps held in-County, co-ordinated by a County Lead and supported by a Lead Coach, four to six skills coaches, and a Lead and Assistant Team Manager. England Programmes will appoint coaches and team managers in conjunction with County Associations. For the 2017 Dorset Programme, County Lead is Di Gibbs and Barry Alldrick has been appointed Lead Coach. Application forms requesting expressions of interest in Skills Coach and Team Manager posts have been circulated to all clubs via Club Secretaries and Head Coaches. Closing date for applications are 6 January for Lead Team Manager and 10 February for Skills Coaches and Assistant Team Manager. A total of 24-36 swimmers will be selected using short-course ASA Rankings from 1 September 2016 to 26 February 2017 inclusive for each County Championship event for the 11 years age group (age as at 31 December). Swimmers will be selected for the programme in the week immediately following the end of 2017 County Championships and notified by 10 March 2017. Proposed camp dates in 2017 are Sunday 2 April, Sunday 25 June and Sunday 1 October. A meeting to provide further information on the programme is to be held for parents of 11 years olds at this year’s County Championships during the second warm-up of the day on Sunday 19 February in the cricket pavilion at Littledown.    
D.

Dorset Seniors bring home Jack Jones trophy

By In FEATURED, Water Polo0 Comments15 Views
img_4722 Hopes were not riding high for Dorset’s Senior Men’s team at this year’s ASA South West Water Polo Championships. With none of the usual players from Weymouth & Portland available it was left to players mostly from the opposite side of the County to field a team to face the might of Devon and Gloucestershire – however! All six counties in the region had entered a Senior Men’s team so, for each team, the event would be a five game tournament. In the opening game against Somerset the Dorset team got off to a flying start winning 11-2 and with Jackson Mullins scoring seven of the goals. The second match against Gloucestershire was a much closer encounter but, due to a goal in the last minute scored by Matt Lands, resulted in an 8-7 win. The team then faced tournament favourites Cornwall but nevertheless ended with a comfortable 7-4 win, with goals scored by Nathan Perren, Matt Helps and Harrison Mullins. The penultimate match was against Devon and, despite losing with a creditable 6-7, knowing that a last-match win against the 2015 winners Wiltshire would hand Dorset the Championship – and the “Jack Jones” trophy – made for a nail-biting end to the tournament. The final game against Wiltshire started off tight and tense with the first half ending in a 3-3 draw, but the Dorset team used its youth and fitness to power through and pull away in the second half to end with an emphatic 8-3 win. “It’s a great result, one better than our second position last year. What is even more rewarding is that the majority of the teams came up through the age group ranks of Dorset Water Polo,” said David Bradley, Dorset County ASA Water Polo Secretary and long-serving player/coach for Bournemouth Water Polo Club. Water Polo has a long and distinguished history in Dorset and is arguably the location for the world’s first ever structured Water Polo match held in 1876 off Bournemouth Pier. So, 140 years later, it’s an anniversary worth celebrating.
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Photo: Back row (l-r) Matt Helps, Harrison Mullins, Kester Sheppard, Dan Redrupp, Ed Stevens, Matt Lands. Front row (l-r) Stefan Mikaelsson, Jackson Mullins, Nathan Perren, Alex Marsengo, Tim Barnes. Centre stage – the highly prized Jack Jones trophy.
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ASA National Winter Championships 2016

By In FEATURED, Swimming0 Comments16 Views

This year’s ASA National Winter Nationals has resulted in two historic Dorset County short-course records being broken, together with a further four new records set and two Junior medals won.

Poole’s Fiona Hardie and Jasmine McCrea rewrote Dorset history for both the Senior and Junior Female 100m Butterfly with Fiona setting a time of 1:00.74 in the B final (chipping just 0.01 sec from the heat time) and erasing a record of 1:01.33 set by Alex Savage (Ferndown) in 2003, while Jasmine’s heat time of 1:01.31 surpassed 1:02.27 set 22 years ago by Sam Greenep (Ferndown) in 1994.

Jasmine’s 100m Butterfly time was enough to move from being ranked ninth to the silver medal position in the Juniors, having already achieved a well-earned Junior gold in the 50m Butterfly. Ranked fourth in the Juniors, Jasmine turned into the second length of the heats in that event in an impressive 12.6 seconds, and touched in 27.68. Enough to crown her National Junior Champion, be the only Junior to reach the Finals and lower her own Dorset County Junior Record in both heats and final.

Jacob Peters also successfully lowered his own 50m Butterfly County Record in both heats and finals with times of 24.58 and 24.53 respectively, finishing in fifth place in the B Final of that event and achieving National eighth in the final of the 200m Butterfly and first place in the B Final of 100m Butterfly.

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Photo: (l-r) Fiona Hardie, Jacob Peters, Jasmine McCrea.
 
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Gold for West Dorset water polo girls

By In FEATURED, Water Polo0 Comments22 Views
Two Dorset water polo players from West Dorset SC helped the ASA SouthWest team to victory at the weekend at the 2016 U14 Inter Regional Water Polo Championships held in Walsall. The ASASW team played and won all five of their matches to become 2016 Champions by beating the Midlands team in the final 13-7. Training with West Dorset WP at Dorchester and at Osprey LC with Weymouth and Portland WPC, thirteen year old Phoebe Jones and eleven year old Amelia Jones were both selected during trials held earlier in the year in Exeter. This was Phoebe’s first major competition although she has represented both Dorset and West Dorset in water polo previously, and regularly swims for Weymouth Swimming club. Being a year younger than the rest of the team, Amelia was a surprise selection and the event her first taste of competing. Both girls have now been nominated to attend for training selection trials at the ASASW Regional Water Polo Academy. img_0634 Caption: (l-r) Phoebe Jones and Amelia Jones.
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National Inter-County Masters Championships 2016

By In FEATURED, Masters, Swimming0 Comments14 Views
img_0050-2 The Dorset team finished in a comfortable second place behind a supremely strong Devon team at the ASASW Inter-County Masters Championships which was held this year in Dorchester and attended by Dorset County ASA President Mark Hoskins and his wife Margaret. Despite a large number of withdrawals from the team of mostly first choice selections, Dorset also managed a 50 points margin, the most ever achieved in this competition, ahead of the rest of the field. Overall, Dorset clocked up 16 wins and 17 second places finishing first or second in almost half of the 68 events and, for the first time for some years, no costly DQs. Dorset’s younger Ladies were phenomenal, dropping only four points out of a possible 72 in the youngest two age groups and none at all in the youngest. Fiona Hardie won the 18+ Freestyle, Backstroke and Butterfly, while Hannah Wiltshire won both the 18+ and 25+ Breaststroke (the latter by five seconds) and Kirsty Heard the 25+ Freestyle. With Lucy Pearce, they also won all four 72yrs and 100yrs relays, two of those events with a margin of five seconds. Our other winners were: Mark Sidorenko (18+ Freestyle with a time of 24.40), Nigel Foster (65+ Backstroke), Nick Vaughan (45+ Butterfly), Andy Small (45+ Backstroke), Tony Flattery and Karen Yendole ( 35+ Breaststroke) and the Men’s 140yrs Freestyle team of Dan Monk, Jack Wiltshire, Andy Mason and Nick Vaughan. In the 20 relay events, Dorset took five first places and nine second places. Some people were especially busy. In the absence of Julia Kemp and Jean Howard-Jones, Linda Ashmore (a sprightly 70) swam all four individuals and two relays, not quite matching the nine she swam two years ago. Mark Sidorenko and Fiona Hardie both swam seven events with Fiona winning the lot. Hannah Wiltshire swam six, and also won six, events. Kirsty Heard, Tony Flattery and Helen Dickins also swam six times. The Dorset team was made up of swimmers from nine Dorset clubs – Poole, Swim Bournemouth, Littledown Masters, Seagulls, Bournemouth SC, East Dorset Open Water, Wareham, Weymouth SC and Weyport Masters. The final points total was as follows: Devon 346.5, Dorset 294.5, Gloucestershire 245, Cornwall 211, Wiltshire 196.5, Somerset 131.5. Next year’s event is scheduled for Sunday 12 November 2017 at Millfield and will be joined for the first time by a South Wales team.  
A.

ASASW Club Development Officer post

By In FEATURED0 Comments14 Views
The Amateur Swimming Association South West is looking for a Club Development support officer to join its team on a permanent part-time basis. This is an exciting opportunity to work in a busy environment, providing efficient support to the Regional Club Development team. Reporting to the regional Chairman and Club Development Officer, the Club Development support officer will be responsible for promoting and implementing the ASA South West Strategies. Other responsibilities will include coordinating and promoting a regional newsletter and coach education programme, as well as developing a range of working relationships with key stakeholders. The Club Development support officer will work with the regional club development team to provide day-to-day support to clubs and volunteers across the South West region. For more information please go to http://bit.ly/2fuhHZJ.
D.

Dorset promoted to Inter-County Division One

By In National Inter-County Competition, Swimming0 Comments18 Views
Once again swimmers from Dorset clubs have joined together to represent the County at the annual ASA National Inter-County Championships in Sheffield, a competition which involves a total of 36 counties. In recent years, Dorset has been known as the “yo-yo” team, moving between Division One and Division Two each season so how would they fare in 2016? Following relegation from the top division in 2015, the team staff consisting of Team Managers Andy and Sue Smart, Head Coach Barry Alldrick (Poole) and Assistant Coach Sam Woodward (Swim Bournemouth) felt the County team could once more push for promotion. Full support was given by Dorset County ASA President Mark Hoskins (Bridport Barracudas) and his wife Margaret, and Dorset Team Official Madeline Tysoe (Swim Bournemouth). With a leisurely travelling day on Saturday, the team was picked up by coach at the two meeting points of Dorchester and Bournemouth before making its way to the City of Steel. On arrival the athletes checked into their rooms and an hour later were enjoying a meal, followed by a team meeting to discuss logistics and expectations, announce Team Captains and present awards as follows. Team Captains: Luke Roxburgh and Jasmine Holmes. Vice Captains: Henry Stanbrook and Jessica Richens. First Selection awards: BCS – Josh Wickens; Bridport Barracudas – Nathan Moorey; Swim Bournemouth – Ella Bowman, Amy Brown; Tornadoes of South Dorset – Josh Frampton; West Dorset – Finley Jarvis, Daniel Kingman (West Dorset). Third Selection awards: BCS – Izzy Pryce, Ben Samuel, Christian Tai, Finnian Trehane; Poole – Matthew Collins, Luke Roxburgh; Henry Stanbrook (Swim Bournemouth). The team was made up by the following athletes competing in their second National Inter-Counties: BCS – Ella Chown, Honor Davies, Lottie James, Kayla van der Merwe; Poole – Jessica Kelleway, Jasmine McCrea; Swim Bournemouth – Jessica Richens. The Dorset team was completed by seasoned competitors Jasmine Holmes (Poole), Harriet Perfect (BCS) and Jacob Peters (Poole). fullsizerender-9 Photo: Dorset boys Competition Day  The team arrived in bright green hats and war paint in the traditional green and white colours of Dorset, readied for battle by the Captains. Luke and Jessica R carried the banner for Dorset in the opening parade while Jasmine prepared for Event 1. As a Captain should, Jasmine stepped up to the mark from being ranked fifth to touch in first place and dipping under 57 seconds for the first time to win the 16/17 years 100m Freestyle in 56.99. With some great step-ups by the swimmers, a further win was delivered by Harriet who led from start to finish in the 16/17 years 100m Backstroke in 1:04.32. Jacob repeated the performance in  the 16/17 years 100m Butterfly touching first in 55.56, as did Ella in the 12/13 years 100m Butterfly in 1:04.18 while the girls team of Honor, Kayla, Jasmine and Izzy went on to win the 14/15 years 4x50m Medley Relay. fullsizerender-5 Photo: Dorset girls Dorset held the lead in Division 2 until the half way point but were eventually worn down by Scotland West winning with 554 points and Dorset with 527 points, finishing in second place ahead of county neighbours Devon with 490 points. Sussex placed fourth with 455 points to complete the quartet of teams to gain promotion. Reflecting on the day, Head Coach Barry said, “This was such a great team performance, that it is hard to pick anyone out as we had some amazing step-ups with personal best times along with 13 top three finishes. It was great to see athletes from six Dorset clubs working together and they delivered such a strong performance.” Top three finishers from Dorset were: 100m Breaststroke – Finley Jarvis and Kayla van der Merwe (2nd places), 4x50m Medley Relay – Henry Stanbrook, Luke Roxburgh, Jacob Peters and  Matthew Collins,  Ella Bowman, Amy Brown, Ella Chown and Jessica Kelleway (2nd places); 100m Breaststroke – Amy Brown, 100m Butterfly – Jasmine McCrea, 100m Freestyle – Jacob Peters, 100m Breaststroke – Luke Roxburgh (3rd places). Full Results can be seen at www.swimming.org/countyteamchamps/division-two-live-stream