| Don't forget to use the discount code when ordering anything from Allens or visiting their shop. The code is valid until 15th October.
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| During the past six months we have suffered from a reduction in pool time. We have seen the loss of GSA as a venue and more recently we have suffered the temporary loss of Archbishop Ilsley due to pool maintenance. As a result we have seen busier sessions as more swimmers are moving into fewer sessions.
By far the single biggest challenge facing amateur swimming clubs today is the resourcing of pool time. I have met with many other clubs in the region and understand that they have the same issues. I am also lobbying Solihull Council to understand what they can do to help but do not expect a quick fix – this will be slow attrition.
So how are we addressing the issues?
- Over the course of the summer we have increased ‘quality’ 25m pool time at Tudor Grange Leisure Centre, not only adding in additional time in the water with existing sessions, but adding an entirely new session on Sunday mornings
- We expect ‘Archies’ to come back on stream during November
- ‘Great news’ – we have agreed additional pool time with Fox Hollies Leisure Centre. FHLC is a 4 lane 25m pool. We are building a relationship here with a new supplier and have agreed two sessions in the week to start with. Tuesday evening – 7.40pm to 9.10pm and Sunday evening 6pm to 8pm We expect to start on Tuesday 8th October - TBC
The next phase is for our Head Coach, Mark Mooney, to look at future session planning. We will ensure that all squads get an equal and fair share of the additional pool time. This does not necessarily mean that all squads will swim at the new venue but as a result all squads will get better quality time in the pool wherever they may swim. There may be some session changes so that we can use the resources available to us more efficiently but we will make every effort to keep this to a minimum.
For a flat monthly fee our members are free to attend as many sessions as they wish during the week; which is different to many other clubs in the region. We try to offer great value for money and will continue to search for that scarcest of resource - quality pool time in the months to come.
Blythe Barracudas SC is in great shape. We have a strong team of athletes, parents and volunteers working together. We are a thriving club which is well managed and growing in numbers. We have seen a good start to the season, 22nd September we were the top visiting club at the Coventry Sprints with our juniors winning the Harvey Novice Gala by some distance at Pingles that same evening.
Reminder: the Club Champs – 19th October 2019 – Tudor Grange Leisure Centre – more info to follow
Together we have a lot to be proud of. Please feel free to message me should you have any questions @ chair@blythebarracudas.com
Mark
Mark Dempsey
07551 880013
chair@blythebarracudas.com
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| Don’t Delay – Enter The Club Champs
Today!
The link below takes you to the entry
form for this year’s Club Champs. After a fantastic start to the season by
swimmers it promises to be a great evening with lots of competition, a raffle
and some special guests as we’ll be joined by the Mayor & Mayoress of
Solihull, Ken Hawkins the Councillor for Blythe District and Zoe Curnow from our
new club sponsor Taylor Wimpey. If that’s not enough, we’ll also welcome our
very own Charlotte Rigg!
For anyone who doesn’t know Charlotte
started in Blythe’s Learn to Swim programme, progressed through the squads and is
now a GB Junior. This is a fantastic opportunity for our young swimmers to
hear from Charlotte and to be inspired!
Entries must be handed to a coach or
committee member by Friday 11 October with payment either in cash or by BACS. Swum
over 25m or 50m all swimmers can enter up to 4 races covering the different strokes with
the 8 fastest aggregate male and female swimmers in each age group competing
against each other in a 100m IM final.
There’s also an opportunity for
parents to show how it should be done!!!
Club Champs Entry Form 2019 v2.docx
Any questions please speak to Lisa
Pritchard, one of the coaches or committee members. | |
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| Blythe Barracudas is a continually growing swimming club always looking to attract swimmers and coaches at all levels. If you would like more information please contact:
membership@blythebarracudas.com | |
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| Our Club Championships will take place on Saturday 19th October at Tudor Grange Leisure Centre.
We are sure the evening is going to be a great success but we need your help!
Please can we ​have volunteers to help with the door, raffle, recording the results, manning the medals table, taking drinks round to the officials, taking results to the recorders etc.
Also, please could all of our judges, time keepers and team managers confirm their availability for the night?
Please email me on secretary@blythebarracudas.com
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sue
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| SwimClub Manager, SCM, is the membership tool that BBSC will begin to adopt increasingly over the coming months. Many of you will have already had some exposure to this new tool as we have already begun to migrate over much of the club information.
SCM will be the system we use for almost all club activities. It is a secure, cloud based tool. In time, SCM will host our new website, it will be the clubs finance platform, our messaging system and the main repository for all of the club’s important documentation. It will also be the central information point for swimmers and parents to access details about sessions, galas, swimmer’s performance, attendance tracking and much more.
You will have seen in some of the WhatsApp communication that this migration has started and will continue over the coming months with many new features. Paul Fryer has led this initiative and together we will host a series of clinics in which we will start to show you some of the basic functionality and will include initial logon/password access, navigation of the tool directing you to your membership and payment details, introducing you to key areas such as where to put relevant medical information etc.
We plan to host two initial clinics. One for the Senior groups and one at the Junior groups. We will attempt to get you connected and give you an initial tour of the system. This should take no more than about 10 to 15 minutes each. The two dates are below:
- Eversfield School
- Wednesday 4th September 2019 (Seniors)
- Thursday 12th September 2019 (Juniors)
Please try to join one of these initial sessions and allow us to give you a short introduction to this exciting new tool. Paul and I hope to see you there.
Mark Dempsey
chair@blythebarracudas.com | |
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| The club is launching an exciting new kit design for both competitions and training.
We are also launching a new way to order. A collaboration with Swimzi means that you can now order on-line via our new Club Kit Shop making it much more convenient.
Full details of the new kit and how to place an order are attached here:
BBSC Swimzi Club Shop Launch.pdf
The new shop can be accessed here:
https://www.swimzi.com/club/blythe-barracudas-sc
We hope you like the new designs and extended range of club sportswear. If you have any questions, please see a committee member poolside.
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| The Competition Planner has now been updated on the website
with dates and locations of Open Meets up to the end of this year. These meets
will be emailed out as and when the full entry information is provided to us by
the hosting clubs. Some of the information is subject to change so it is important
that the planner is checked regularly. All information regarding Open Meets is
detailed in each email with attachments showing general meet information, terms
and conditions, withdrawal email, qualifying times and location.
When entering an Open Meet please be aware that there are
tight deadlines that must be met in order for us, as a club, to have the best
chance of getting our entries in and accepted. It is vital that ALL entry fees
are paid in full when submitted. Failure to make payment straight away results
in the whole club entries being delayed.
There will be a number of emails being sent out over the
next day or so. It is important that they are all read as they will contain important
information. These emails will be available to view on the website. | |
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| City of Birmingham Swimming Club are hosting their Level 2 Winter
Open Meet at Ladywood Leisure Centre on 26th & 27th
October 2019. We are not targeting this
as a Club and therefore will not have a Coach present. Any individuals who wish
to enter will need to contact City of Birmingham directly via the contacts on
their website ww.cityofbirminghamswimming.club | |
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| Blythe will be hosting their own Club Championships on 19th October 2019 at Tudor Grange Leisure Centre. This is a fantastic opportunity for swimmers in all squads from Development upwards to get together and race so please save the date in your diaries. Full details and entey forms will be sent out at the beginning of October. | |
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| Following the closure of Newtown pool, all Learn to Swim sessions will now be held at Saint Martins pool on a Saturday afternoon.
Our Learn to Swim programme will be closed for the summer break on Saturday 24 and Saturday 31 August returning on Saturday 7 September.
For next term, Learn to Swim will be closed for Christmas on Saturday 21 and Saturday 28 December returning on Saturday 4 January.
Saturday 14 December will be a fun day.
A reminder that the Learn to Swim Mini Gala will be held on Saturday 28 March 2020.
Wishing all our swimmers a fabulous summer. | |
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| The Blythe AGM took place last night and we are pleased to announce that Mark Dempsey is our new Chair.
We are urgently looking for a parent/grandparent/carer to take on the role of Club Treasurer. Paul Fryer has done an excellent job looking after the Club finances for the last 12 months as well as introducing the Direct Debit payment scheme and setting up a new back office system to manage the finances. Paul has had to stand down due to work commitments and we now need someone to step in and carry on the great work Paul has been doing. This really is an urgent request so please email secretary@blythebarracudas.com for more information.
Committee Members:
Sue Lindsay - Club Secretary
Joanne Franklin - Membership Secretary
Sarah Maloney - Welfare Officer
Lisa Pritchard - Open Meet Coordinator
Wayne Hayes - SwimMark Coordinator
Deshan Darrell - Assistant Treasurer
Christine Austin - Gala Treasurer
​We still need to urgently fill the following roles:
Team Manager/Gala Secretary
Workforce Coordinator
Fundraising Secretary
Marketing & Communications
Webmaster
This is your swimming club and in order for it to continue to run smoothly we need your help. Please email secretary@blythebarracudas.com for further information or a chat. | |
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| Dear Members,
The health and safety of all our members is important, which is why we have a new policy covering Allergy Awareness - see attached.
Please ensure you make yourself familiar with the Policy.
If you have any questions please contact a committee member.
Committee
Blythe Barracudas Swimming Club
190531 BBSC Allergy Awareness .pdf | |
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Good evening
To anyone swimming at Sparkhill please be aware of a recent incident where a car was vandalised in the car park behind the centre last Friday.
It is important you don’t leave valuables on display, please be vigilant when parking.
If you see anything suspicious please report it to the centre.
Many thanks
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| Please can you remind your swimmers that the use of mobile phones in the changing rooms is strictly forbidden. This includes taking photos, Face Timing and the use of any App that may take photos. Also, photos of swimmers in their costumes should not be posted on social media.
Your cooperation with this is much appreciated.
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| Happy New Year to all our members.
If you are still paying monthly fees by Standing Order please take time to ensure you are paying the correct amount. The fees since April 2018 are:
Learn to Swim £30 per month
Development £35 per month
Juniors £40 per month
Seniors £40 per month
Junior Performance £48 per month
Senior Performance £52 per month
We are currently checking all payments and remind you that with a standing order it is your responsibility to amend the amount you pay with your bank.
Several groups are now on Direct Debit and we aim to have all groups paying by this method as quickly as possible to ensure the correct payments are being made.
If you are unsure which group your child swims in, please check with your coach.
We appreciate your assistance with this. | |
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| The Nuneaton and District Junior Swimming League is a fantastic swimming competition targeting swimmers aged 9 to 12 in the early years of their competitive swimming. The League offers swimmers and clubs the chance to demonstrate the ability and talent of their swimmers and coaches. The preparation for 2019 starts now as the NJL is very competitive and the swimmers are of the highest calibre, many of them already achieving regional qualification times. Some of these swimmers go on to swim at a national level.
Blythe competes in the NJL running two teams (Blythe A and Blythe B). By running two teams it gives us an opportunity to compete at the highest level. Blythe A swim in Division 1 and Blythe B swim in Division 3. Running a B team gives many of our other swimmers an opportunity to compete and challenge for a place in the A team.
Unfortunately, it is sometimes very difficult to swim two teams as despite having more than enough club swimmers we find ourselves in a position where people do not accept the opportunity to swim. This makes it very difficult, especially for the B team, as we have not had a full and complete team on many occasions in the past making it difficult to get the results that we expect and desire.
After careful consideration we have decided that we still want to give as many swimmers as possible an opportunity to compete, therefore, we will be running with two teams again in 2019. This will require a significantly increased commitment in comparison to last year (one gala nearly had to be cancelled!)
Whilst we appreciate that there may be clashes in your diary it is vital for us as a competitive club that swimmers generally swim when asked to. We kindly ask that you please prioritise the NJL dates as far as possible so that we can swim two strong teams.
Initially the three key dates are as below:-
- Saturday 6 April 2019
- Saturday 11tMay 2019
- Saturday 15 June 2019
The galas usually start at 6.00 pm (warm-up) and finish around 8.30 pm and the venues are usually less than an hour’s drive away, although sometimes it may take a little longer.
Depending on how well the season goes there might be an opportunity, if we finish in the top six of each Division, to compete in the final qualifying round gala in September to determine the League winners and promotion.
If we do not see an improved commitment from swimmers this year, then we will be forced to commence the 2020 NJL with only one team which, unfortunately, means that many young swimmers will miss out on the opportunity to swim. We really do not want this to be the case so your full co-operation and support will be appreciated and needed to avoid this happening.
Please put these dates in your diary and keep them free if you can. If you have any questions or concerns, then please let me know and I will help as far as possible.
Mark Mooney
Junior Performance Coach | |
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