Emma Winter

The next round of the Allianz Sports Fund for clubs is now open. This time the funding will focus on clubs looking to support and inspire their members to keep playing throughout 2023. Grants of £500, £1,000, £2,000 and £3,000 are available.

Awards are to help sports clubs continue to provide opportunities within their local community.

Applications will only be accepted from clubs who have been nominated by one of our Broker Partners. To be eligible sports clubs must take part in an Olympic or Paralympic sport.

As part of the application, Allianz require some information in regards to the broker who is nominating them;

First Name: Amanda

Last Name: Wynne-Jones

Email: [email protected]

Broker Company Name: Howden Insurance Brokers

Association between broker and club: National Governing Bodies appointed insurance broker

Your local Allianz branch: Birmingham

The details of the application process, who can apply, and the link clubs can apply to is here – https://www.allianz.co.uk/broker/support/sport-fund-club-hub.html 

The East Regional would like to welcome Josh Devine as our new Regional Manager.

Josh will be supporting the operation of the region and will be working closely with all aquatic disciplines and supporting our family of volunteers.

Having started his aquatics journey as a competitive swimmer in Kent, Josh continued on to qualify and work as a Level 2 swimming teacher, Level 1 Assistant Swimming Coach and Level 1 & 2 Diving Coach. He is a keen volunteer working numerous British and Swim England Diving events over the years including the 2019 FINA Diving World Series.

As well as being the regions new manager, Josh will retain his position as Competition Planning Lead on the Swim England Diving Leadership Group, Chair of Pride in Water UK and as a member of the Commonwealth Sports Pride Network.

On his appointment Josh said:

“I am excited to join the Swim England East Region and help support the continued growth and success of the regions athletes, volunteers and coaches. Having spent the last twenty years of my life involved in aquatics, I am passionate about being able to give to the wider community and truly believe in the power of sport and specifically aquatics.

I would like to thank the Directors for this opportunity and my friends and colleagues in the London Region, the London Aquatic Centre, British Swimming and Swim England for their support and guidance. A special thanks goes to David Jenkins, who provided the mentoring, guidance and encouragement that has helped me recognise and strive to always push further and be better!”

Josh joins us from the Swim England London Region, where he has spent the last two years as a Director and Board member, as well as Chair of their Diving Committee. 2022 was one of Josh’s most memorable years spending the summer as the Sport Services Manager for Aquatics at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and working for British Swimming as an Executive Officer in their Corporate Strategy and Planning Team.

The Swim England 2023 Coaching courses are now available to book on the IOS website. The coaching courses that are being held in the East Region are for Swimming and Water polo and can be found here.

Swimming coaching course are being held in Hoddesdon, Luton, Downham Market, Enfield and Leighton Buzzard.

Water Polo coaching courses are being held at Chelmsford.

There are other available courses being held across the country if these are not suitable for the learner and they can search for other courses via the IOS website.

On Saturday 26th November the Swim England National Awards took place at Birmingham. Congratulations to the awardees from the East Regional who received a Swim England National Award and Congratulations to all of the other East Region finalist.

Coach of the Year – Kirsteen Mitchell – Gold

Youth Volunteer of the Year – Catherine Banham – Gold

Volunteer of the Year – Jemma Gary – Silver

Spirit of Aquatics – Kerri Clewlow – Bronze

The Awards recognise and celebrate the incredible spirit of our aquatic community especially evident during these challenging times. These Awards showcase individuals and groups who create and foster the community spirit of aquatics.

The winners of the 2022 awards are:

Club of the Year – Swimming – Newmarket Swimming Club

Club of the Year – Diving – Luton Diving Club

Coach of the Year – Kirsteen Mitchell

Spirit of Aquatics – Kerry Clewlow

Volunteer of the Year – Jemma Garry

Youth Volunteer of the Year – Catherine Banham

Congratulations to the winners and to all who were nominated. The winners will be put forward for the National Swim England Awards 2022 being held in November.

During the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Emily Saunders pictured here from Beaumont Diving Academy, had the opportunity to volunteer at the Games as a field of play member for the diving events. Emily explains on why she wanted to get involved in volunteering and what she got from it.

“During the commonwealth games in Birmingham I was fortunate to have the opportunity to volunteer as a field of play member for diving events. I first decided to volunteer during the games to be part of a world class sporting event so close to home which may only come around once in a lifetime. Through volunteering you always make lots of friends and meet new people who you often see at other sporting events too. It was amazing to see how well the divers performed but also very exciting to see the behind the scenes by making sure the pool was ready for broadcasting and competition”.

Volunteers form the backbone and heart of our Swim England family. They support our clubs, events and programmes across the Region and country, they help ensure our aquatic sports grow and thrive.

Our volunteers are our biggest asset and their contribution is invaluable.

If you’re feeling inspired to get involved in volunteering, click here to find out more or find a club near you to see if there are any volunteering opportunities available.