Second online engagement camp aiming to develop talented young swimmers

Hundreds of promising young swimmers will be given expert advice on a wide range of topics to help improve their performances in the pool at a Swim England National Development Camp.

More than 900 13-14 year olds will be taking part in the online engagement days on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 March as part of phase one of the National Development Programme.

The group took part in their first workshops back in October and topics such as nutrition, mental wellbeing, turns and stroke efficiency  were covered.

This will focus on work capacity land training, event knowledge, taking ownership plus freestyle and backstroke efficiency as well as turn skill development.

Following the workshops, a number of athletes will be selected for phase two of the National Development Programme which will see them take part in face-to-face poolside development.

One session has been planned to take place at the new Sandwell Aquatics Centre, the venue for the swimming and diving competitions at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

They will be among the first swimmers to access the facility and will be training in the 10-lane 50m competition pool and the six-lane training pool.

Opportunity to inspire

Mike Parker, Swim England national talent officer, said: “The National Development Programme provides an opportunity to support, inspire and connect with a focused cohort of young swimmers, in their quest to achieve senior international podium success.

“Phase one has already seen an extended group of swimmers take part in one successful online workshop and it’s going to be great working with them all again this weekend.

“Those selected for phase two will have a fantastic opportunity to attend a face-to-face poolside development day at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre.

“We’re delighted to have the opportunity to access Sandwell and give the group the chance to experience swimming in a major international facility.

“The day will consist of an elite athlete Q&A, two pool process driven skill sessions and the continued development of our work capacity land training session.

“We’ll be selecting the swimmers for phase two following the online engagement days.

“Everyone on the Swim England talent team is looking forward to continuing our engagement through online and face-to-face learning with these talented youngsters and providing them the tools to progress through our great sport.”