Swim England Artistic Swimming

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First England Talent Synchro Team Bonding Camp

The England Talent programme for synchro ran the first team bonding residential camp from 19 –21 January at Barton Camp in Somerset.

During the training camp the 36 athletes worked with their coaches and team managers to strengthen the team and their friendships.

On the first day of the camp, the athletes set out to trek to the top of Crooks Peak. This is the highest of the six hills in the Mendips. They were armed with only torches to help the team get to know one another and learn to support each other.

A busy weekend to help strengthen the team

The next morning the squad set out to the Avon Activity Centre taking part in skiing and Combat Archery.

The afternoon consisted of a number of activities. This included building free standing towers from spaghetti and marshmallows. They also created a secure structure to ensure the safe landing of a raw egg that was dropped from eight feet. This helped to develop their ability to work as a team.

To close the evening there was a presentation from double synchro Olympian Katie Clark, who told her story.

This day brought the squad together as a team, having fun while being motivated to strive for excellence.

Head Coach of the Age Group squad Clark said: “It was the first time many of the young athletes will have met their team mates and it gave them an opportunity to work in groups with some of their heroes from the older-aged squads.”

The final day was about developing the athletes understanding of team values and goal. There were educational presentations on psychology and nutrition dovetailed to the athletes.

England Synchronised Swimming Manager Karen Thorpe thought it was a great way to start the season. She said: “We had a super weekend teaching, learning, bonding, motivating and much more.  We want to inspire our athletes and to develop a respectful and united culture. This event played a big part in that.”

Daniella Lloyd, duet gold medallist at the Swim England National Age Group Championships 2017, said: “We all had a great time and loved the activities. We enjoyed spending time out of the pool to share experiences and talk about what we want to achieve together”

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