Friday 14th June 2013

The AGM will be held at 7.00pm in the seminar room at Stratford Leisure Centre, all club members are welcome. 

Full details here

 

Stratford Sh​arks ASC welcomed the Chairman of Stratford District Council, Councillor Rev. Neville Beamer and his wife in a celebration of 40 years of Learn to Swim by the swimming club in Stratford-upon-Avon. 

The last 40 years have seen in excess of 1200 swimmers participate and graduate through the Stratford Sharks Learn to Swim programme, with many progressing on to competitive swimming and lifesaving.  Mike Wardle who has been a volunteer swim teacher on the programme for nearly 30 years said “Once the children get confidence in the water, without getting technical too early, it’s just about having fun and teaching them to propel themselves through the water as fast as they can!” 

To celebrate this 40 year milestone Councillor & Mrs Beamer watched the swimmers take part in a sponsored swim at the SLVC to raise funds for our preferred charity The Shakespeare Hospice.  Ali Gray Corporate & Events Fundraiser for The Shakespeare Hospice said “Stratford Sharks have supported our fund raising through sponsored swims for a number of years, but to see such young swimmers dedicating their time for our cause is most heart-warming”. 

Jonathan Penny, Chairman of Stratford Sharks said “59 Learn to Swim members aged from 4 to 12 years swam over 39,000 metres and raised £1,000 for The Shakespeare Hospice. Our Learn to Swim section fulfils the clubs holistic approach to our swimmers needs and there is a clear cycle within the club. Learn to swim, Junior Reception, Junior Development, Junior Performance, and Seniors, Lifesaving, Triathlon and teaching/coaching.  This cycle is clearly demonstrated by the number of our senior swimmers volunteering to teach the younger ones on poolside every Friday night". 

We will be running Junior Time Trials on Sunday 2nd June at Warwick School, 1.00-3.00pm.  These are open to all Junior Reception & Development Squad members.  We will run 200m & some 50m events but the priority will be on 200m swims.

This session will tie into the short Club Timekeeper course we’re running soon so we’ll need the help of any existing officials to help mentor the new ones during the session, thank you.   The session will start at 1.00pm prompt with a short warm-up, please be there and ready to start on time.

Are you interested in becoming a swimming official, helping the club and becoming more involved in your swimmer’s sport? The club always needs more officials, especially for Junior events and the first step in becoming an official is Club Timekeeper. We are arranging a Club Timekeeper Theory Seminar ( date TBC) and then there will be a Timekeeper Practical Assessment at the upcoming Time Trials on the 2nd June at Warwick (1.00-3.00pm). The seminar introduces the Timekeeper role and the rules governing the taking and recording of official times, followed by a poolside session to put the theory into practice. On qualification you will be able to help the club at friendly galas and the club championships. You can then move on to Judge level one training and you will find you have already covered a large section of the course!  Anyone interested should contact Karen Walker; e-mail: officials@stratfordsharksasc.co.uk, or phone: (01789) 551781

A big thank you to Kim, Lisa, Julie, Malcolm and all the volunteer teachers and poolside helpers who made last nights "Sponsored Learn to Swim" so successful. With your help 59 Children from 4 to 12 years raised £1,000.00 for The Shakespeare Hospice.

Without doubt our Learn to Swim section fulfils the clubs holistic approach to our swimmers needs and there is a clear cycle within the club. Learn to swim, Junior Reception, Junior Development, Junior Performance, and Seniors, Lifesaving, Triathlon and teaching/coaching.  This cycle is clearly demonstrated by the number of our senior swimmers we see helping teach the younger ones on poolside every Friday night.

Thank you!!!

JP

Training for Junior Performance & Senior Squads will swap from 5.30-7.00am at SLVC to the Banbury LIDO from the 25th May until the end of August.
The first training session will be on the morning of 25th May, from 07:00 to 09:00, there will be no land training.
Land Training will continue Tuesday and Thursday at SLVC before the main session at 6.00pm, please be there at 5.00pm to stretch beforehand.

We are currently seeking to recruit a new Junior Development Squad Coach. 

The full advert can be seen here 

JP

Following the communication sent out by Mike Cole earlier this year, outlining the minimum standards for our Senior Development Squad, we felt it was both important and necessary for this squad to have its own dedicated coach.  This will allow the squad to successfully fulfil its part in our integrated structure allowing a genuine effective swimmer pathway from LTS through to our top Senior Competitive squad.  Kim will continue to lead the Junior Reception and as such will have a dual role within the club.  As Senior Development Coach, Kim is very much looking forward to working hard with our older swimmers providing a strong focus and direction for all Senior Development squad members. 

Phoenix Cards will be at SLVC this FRIDAY 19th APRIL 2013 6-8pm (upstairs by viewing gallery), 10% of sales will go to Stratford Sharks ASC.

You can pick up your FREE Phoenix 2013 Brochure from Julie at the club desk on any Friday evening at SLVC 

www.phoenix-trading.eu/web/barbarajoynergreenwood

Alternatively if you can't make SLVC this Friday to view the Phoenix cards then Barbara can bring a "Fab Bag" along with a great selection of cards & giftwrap any Friday for you to browse through at your leisure...

Just email her with your preferences: Adult/Kids/special occasions etc @ barbaraljg@btopenworld.com 😄

Following the success of last years Grand Raffle, Stratford Sharks are pleased to announce the launch of the 2013 Raffle. Many thanks must go to all the generous parties who have kindly donated prizes to enable the club to raise much needed funds.

Manchester United Football Club, Manager and Players for gifting a 2013 Team Autographed Football Shirt

Best Western Grosvenor Hotel, Stratford on Avon for donating a two night stay with dinner, bed and breakfast

The Lazy Cow, Stratford on Avon for a Three course Sunday Meal for Two

The Macdonald Alveston Manor Hotel for A Full Afternoon Tea for Two

Land Rover for donating an All Terrain Half Day Adventure for Two

Tickets will be on sale by the beginning of next week at the latest at just £2.00 each or £10.00 for a book. Good Luck!

Stratford Sharks kicked off their 2013 Mercian Summer League campaign at the Solihull Leisure Centre. Swimming a combination of team races and individual events, the Sharks won twenty three of the fifty events, took seven seconds places and nine thirds.  Full report here.

A busy weekend for Stratford Sharks with two swimmers taking part in the Scottish Championships and the Junior Team starting their 2013 Nuneaton Junior League campaign.  Full report here.

Thirty five Stratford Sharks swimmers qualified for the Nuneaton and Bedworth Spring Open Meet held at the Pingles Leisure Centre. During the two day event, they set over one hundred and twenty new personal best (PB) performances, eight club records were broken and the swimmers took twenty nine top-three places. More here..PDF

At this time each year, the British Gas Warwickshire County Swimming Championships are held over three consecutive Saturdays at the 50 metre Olympic Pool in Coventry. This premier event attracts hundreds of swimmers from clubs across the county and this year, sixty nine Stratford Sharks swimmers met the qualification standard to swim in over four hundred races.

Read the full report here.

It was another busy weekend for Stratford Sharks junior swimmers with events at Stechford and Nuneaton.

Thirty one Stratford Sharks Juniors travelled to Stechford to join almost four hundred swimmers from eight different clubs to compete in the Boldmere Junior Invitational meet. In the sixteen event programme, the young Sharks achieved more than sixty personal best performances (PB’s), over thirty top three places and were the top visiting club.  Read more here...

Demonstrating the growth of competitive swimming, Stratford Sharks fielded nineteen, four swimmer, teams in the Coventry and District Team Races at the 50 metre Coventry Olympic Pool

Competing against teams from seven other clubs, the recent long course training obviously paid dividends with the teams securing six first, five second and eleven third places.  Read more here...

Twenty swimmers from Stratford Sharks journeyed to Aylesbury to compete in the Maxwell Gala which was reduced to just one day by the appalling weather conditions. They were rewarded with thirty five personal best performances and twenty five top three places.  More here...

Stratford Sharks swimmers Sandy Forysiack and Ailsa Gavan McHarg headed north to Edinburgh's newly revamped Royal Commonwealth Pool after qualifying for the highly competitive Scottish Gas National SC Swimming Championships.
Sandy gained three PBs in his four races picking up a club record in the 100m Individual Medley. Then in the 400m IM, Sandy knocked more than three seconds off his time to record a commendable 12th place out of 51swimmers.
Ailsa gained her PB and new club record in the 800m freestyle being placed 16th in a field of 56. She rounded off her debut performance at these championships with another club record in the 400m IM.

Seventy Nine personal best performances made the long day at the Wyre Forest Christmas County Qualifier worthwhile for the twenty nine Stratford Sharks who travelled to Wolverhampton Central Baths.

Read more...

Stratford Sharks team made a return visit to the new ARC Leisure Centre in Matlock, Derbyshire for the third round of the Arena National League. With all seven teams chasing promotion to Division One of the League, the competition was bound to be fierce.

Seven personal best performances (PB’s) and nineteen top three places contributed to a fourth place in this round which, with wins in the previous two rounds, was enough to secure promotion to Division One of the League.

Full report here.

Twenty three swimmers from Stratford Sharks travelled to the Pingles Pool in Nuneaton to compete in the Nuneaton & Bedworth Short Course 2012 Winter Open Meet. With swimmers drawn from across the country, a string of top three places and sixty personal best (PB) performances made this a successful weekend.   more...

Stratford Sharks Club Championships sponsored by FPS, the Stratford based parts and accessory value-add distribution business, attracted the largest entry in the club’s history.

For the eighth year, Tom Tame, the Club’s Junior Performance coach, with his team of volunteers pulled together a thirty four event programme organised into six sessions resulting in over nine hundred swims.

Whilst every competitor set at least one personal best performance, sixteen swimmers broke a total of sixty age group championship records.
More here...

Stratford Sharks consolidated their position in the Arena National League with an outstanding win in the second round held at Stafford. With the other clubs fielding high class teams, Sharks’ swimmers needed to be on top form to fight off their challenge. After a strong start in the first quarter, the team had slipped to fourth place by the mid-point of the gala. However, four first places in the second half of the individual races and top three places in five out of the last eight team races saw Sharks pull clear to win by 15 points.  Read more..

Well done to the following swimmers who passed their competitive start diving award test on Saturday 10^th November. 

JRS

Lauren Richards, Michael McCarthy, Kiera Kennendy, Holly Wilkins, Edward Crossley, Matthew Merricks, Harriet Wain, Aaron Syme

Junior Development

Jake Ashfield, Owen Taplin, Olivia Steward, Charlotte Ledden, Michael Allen, Tom Watson, Immy Dauncey, Nick Evans

A small band of Stratford Sharks’ swimmers headed north to one of the UK’s most famous venues – Ponds Forge in Sheffield to a Level 1 open meet hosted by performance club Lincoln Vulcans.  It is notorious for having difficult qualification times, and this year was no exception. With the level of competitiveness in the Sharks squad improving week by week, they brought home twenty six Personal Best (PB) performances, sixteen new Club Records, ten Gold and six Silver medals.

Read the full report here.

Stratford Sharks team of twenty eight swimmers travelled to the new ARC Leisure Centre in Matlock, Derbyshire to compete against teams from five other clubs in the first round of the Arena National League. With fiercely competitive racing across a combination of individual swims and relay events, Stratford Sharks’ secured an outstanding win by taking eleven first, fourteen second and thirteen third places.

Full report here..

Almost fifty Stratford Sharks’ swimmers qualified for the Coventry and District Association Championships held at Pingles Leisure Centre in Nuneaton over the last two weekends. The Sharks’ swimmers are reaping the rewards of their dedication to the intensive training programme set by their coach, Mike Cole, at the start of the season. From the three day, five session gala, Sharks’ medal haul was thirteen Gold (up from 5 in 2011), eleven Silver and twenty Bronze medals and over two hundred Personal Best (PB) performance improvements.

Full report here.

Stratford Sharks swimmers travelled to Nuneaton for a friendly gala against five other clubs which is the prelude to the Junior League. With all the swimmers moving up an age group, it is the opportunity for eight year old swimmers to experience the competitive team gala for the first time. Read the full report here.

Well done to all the swimmers who competed at the Midland Age Group Champs over the last two weekends. Results can be viewed here.

Both Will Foster and Kathryn Lythgo achieved National Times during the Championships, Will adding the 200+400m freestyle to his 100+1500m times and Kathryn getting her 800m freestyle, great swimming.

For a list of 2012/2013 test dates please click here

Eight members of Stratford Sharks Triathlon section travelled to Haden Hill to take part in the Oldbury Swimming and Triathlon Club Aquathlon.

The event involved a pool swim in the Haden Hill Leisure Centre followed by a run around the grounds of the Haden Hill House Museum, and, as the name suggests, it was very (very) hilly. Everyone was glad that the weather was somewhat warmer however the “hills” were rather daunting.

First off were Gregor Kelling, Johnathan Furey, Dominic Furey, Harry Coley-Smith, Daniel Wilkinson and Annie Cox in the TriStar 3 Age Group. This involved a 200m swim followed by a 2,500m run. In the first Heat Gregor and Annie completed the swim in a group with the leaders. The run section saw the field begin to thin out. However, Gregor had an excellent run challenging the leaders throughout to finish third in the boys’ race. Annie had a very competitive run with her nearest challenger chasing her hard only a few yards behind throughout. Annie held on to finish second in the girls’ race.

In the next heat, Sharks had four competitors which added to the “competition”.  Johnathan was first out of the water followed by younger brother Dominic, Daniel and closely followed by Harry. Daniel and Harry had a little catching up to do after the swim but one of the fastest run times of the day saw Daniel make easy work of all the hills to over-take his team mates and finish in fifth place. Johnathan paced himself steadily over the 2,500m course and like Daniel appeared to enjoy the hills, coming in seventh. When Dominic and Harry reached the final hill of the first lap they were neck and neck. However, the final hill on the first lap took more out of Dominic (but still smiling!) and Harry (also smiling) pulled away. In the end Harry finished twelfth and Dominic thirteenth.

In TriStar 2 category Sharks only had one representative in Kieran Speechly. After a good swim Kieran led his heat out onto the run. Showing an excellent running technique just one of the boys in his heat passed him and he came in a very creditable seventh in the boys’ race.

The final Sharks competitor of the day was Daniel Cox in the Tristar 1 category. A very close swim saw the first three locked together as they went out on the run. At the end of the first lap with pain etched on their faces all three were sprinting up the hill in a battle for places but with still another half lap to go. In the end it came down to the sprint at the finish with Daniel showing great stamina and power to come in second only three seconds behind the winner (and 6 seconds separating first from third).

Ros Kelling, one of the Sharks Coaches and mother of Gregor took part in the main adults’ race and finished fourth overall.

Overall the Sharks competitors had an very enjoyable and successful event and can now look forward to their home event the Warwickshire Childrens’ Aquathlon on May 11th 2013, with a few less hills!.

Warwickshire Childrens Aquathlon organised by Stratford Sharks Triathlon section takes place on Saturday 11th May. Registration is from 12 noon and more details are available here

All Sharks members are welcome to join us for triathlon training on Saturday mornings. The training plan for April and May is now available and may be downloaded here.

As the Olympic triathlon hopefuls prepare for their big day, Stratford Sharks has already seen a large boost in the numbers of children signing up for their triathlon training sessions and record numbers entering their recent Aquathlon event this year. Triathlon is the fastest growing sport in the UK and with medal hopefuls the Brownlee brothers and Helen Jenkins boosting its profile, Sharks have predicted that their triathlon section will double in numbers this year.

For a full report click here

Following the Lifesaving Sport Awards many more Sharks Lifesavers have taken part in competitive lifesaving both locally, regionally and even nationally: Stratford Sharks had previously been branch and regional cup holders.

So it was with great pride and expectation that our new Junior Novice team, of 12 to 14 year olds, competed in the Birmingham Splash Novice Shield. Competing in their
first competition, they battled hard in stroke relays, aquatic obstacle races, towing races and rope throwing events. In a closely fought event, with only one point between the first and second places, the Stratford Novice team of Reuben Ledger, Dominic Furey, Oliver Edwards, Jack Chidgy, Alice Jennings and Maya Wear surpassed all expectations to win the shield on their very first outing.

The older members of the club were invited to take part in the Worcester winter league for the first time. An honour to be invited, the competition was toughly fought as it visited each of the four hosting clubs. With some competitors from national squads, Stratford Sharks had to raise their game significantly to take a respectable second place in the Mixed Team part of the league.

Sharks Lifesaving’s biggest success was to get a competitor through to the RLSS UK National Speed Championships in Sheffield. Josh Walker competed in a number of events, including manikin carry and tows, rescue medley and obstacle swim. In his first attempt at national level he astounded all by winning Silver medals in the 100 metre obstacle swim and the rescue medley. His other races resulted in places of 4th, 5th and 9th. With an average of 50 male entrants in his age group, this was an impressive debut at the National Level and Josh’s success shows what can be achieved through training and dedication.

This summer, Stratford Sharks Lifesaving will be moving to open water lifesaving with a new site on the River Avon and returning to the Isle of Wight for their summer training and competition.

At Tiddington Home Guard Club, Saturday 15th December 2012