Swim England proposes change to governance structure

On Wednesday 12 April a meeting was held to discuss the governance structure of Swim England.

We have always prided ourselves on ensuring we follow good governance. We have always changed the governance structure over time to ensure that it meets the changing needs of the sport.

It is now felt the time is right to move to an incorporated structure. This, along with the related governance structure changes, has been debated by members in each region and at regional roadshows.

All of the regions were invited to attend the meeting yesterday. 30 people attended in person and a further 15 dialled in to the live stream.

A new governance structure to drive our new strategy

The meeting was extremely positive and many helpful comments and questions were raised and debated. At the end of the meeting there was unanimous agreement that a resolution should be put to the October 2017 Annual Council Meeting to:

• Form an incorporated organisation (Company Limited by Guarantee – with charitable status if possible).
• Establish a Members Forum consisting of three members per region plus one member per 3,500 club members.
• Form a Swim England Board of 12, consisting of one chairman, four member nominated directors, three independent directors, one CEO, one CFO and two specialist directors.

Swim England CEO Jane Nickerson said: “Thank you to everyone who attended the regional meetings and the central meeting. The willingness to debate this thoroughly and change to a structure which meets today’s good governance requirements was evident throughout the meetings.

“These changes will place Swim England in a positive position to drive forward our new strategy, Towards a nation swimming.”

A detailed paper providing a summary of the questions and answers from the meeting and further detail on the above proposal will be circulated to all regions and posted on the website in early May.

• Click here to find out more about the new Swim England strategy, ‘Towards a nation swimming: a strategic plan for swimming in England 2017-21’.