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Jo Stalley

David Robinson is humbled to be honoured with the Alfred H Turner Award

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Humble David Robinson said he was greatly honoured to be named the recipient of the Swim England Alfred H Turner Award – but believed there were more worthy winners.

“I do not think I do any more than hundreds and hundreds of other people,” said the surprised 74-year-old. “It seems unbelievable that it’s for me.”  Yet David is certainly playing down the commitment he has made to swimming. Having joined Mildenhall and District Swimming Club in 1979 when his two children started lessons there, David has since dedicated a large proportion of the last 41 years to the sport. Despite never being a competitive swimmer himself, he has held various voluntary roles at club, county and regional level – and, prior to lockdown, was still regularly officiating at events across the country.

“When looking at the list of previous winners and reading their stories I feel greatly honoured to receive this award and thank whoever it was from the East Region that nominated me,” he said. “There are plenty of others who are more worthy I think. When I have attended the President’s dinner after the Swim England AGM, I see people go up and they all seem to have done so much more. I think I just plod along.”

David’s record suggested that’s far from the case. He has been a member of the Suffolk County ASA for 35 years and a member of the East Region’s board since it was formed in 2005. Roles he has held at club and county level include team manager, secretary, chairman and president. He says being appointed East Region President in 2011 is one of the highlights of his time in the sport. David has also been masters manager and records officer for the East Region, secretary and treasurer of the Fenland Swimming League and he is currently a vice-president of Mildenhall and District Swimming Club. And when you add to that his work as a national referee and also trainer of officials, it’s clear why he was selected to receive the accolade.

“I did not envisage being part of the club for so many years,” he said. “But I love the sport and I’m missing it – I’ve made a lot of friends in the swimming fraternity. Pre-lockdown, I was officiating most weekends of the year and if I wasn’t at a swimming gala, I’d be at a swimming meeting somewhere. During this period, I’ve been doing a bit of research and updated some masters relay records from the last 10 years. That’s kept me going for a little while. I’ve kept myself busy but I’m running out of little jobs to do now.”

While David is extremely thankful to who nominated him for the award, he saves special gratitude for his wife, Jane. “I would like to thank Jane for her support of my ‘hobby’ over the last 40 plus years,” he said. “She has never complained when I’ve said I’m not able to make something because I have committed to a gala.”

Swim England East Region is delighted that Dave has been recognised in this way and the award is totally deserved.

Celebrating National Volunteers’ Week

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As part of National Volunteers’ Week Swim England East Region would like to say a big thank you to all our volunteers that give up their time to help our clubs, counties and the region. Check out our social media channels to see our clubs also saying thank you!

Update from Swim England on the licensing of Meets

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As we are sure you are aware, on Wednesday 27th May Swim England issued a statement cancelling all   national events scheduled to take place in latter part of 2020.

In respect of swimming, this included the Swim England National Winter Championships, traditionally the culmination of the domestic short course swimming season. Last week, FINA also announced that the 15th World Swimming Championships (25m) would take place one year later than planned, in December 2021.

It is somewhat superfluous to state that all of the above actions are responses to the uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

In light of the above information, the Swim England Swimming Leadership Group considers that it will be neither possible nor practical to stage regional swimming championships in early November of this year. After very careful consideration, the group has determined that regional short course championships will not take place in 2020.

The group has also decided that no competition licences will be issued at levels one or two for the remainder of 2020. Meets that have already been granted licences for forthcoming events in 2020 at levels one and two will have the option to be downgraded to level three or four in the first instance.

Swim England will be writing to the limited number of promoters whose meets fall in to this category to inform them of this change.

Notwithstanding the above information, it should be kept in mind that licensing at all levels remains suspended until further notice, with all currently issued licences being provisional in status. The Swim England Swimming Leadership Group will issue a timeline for the resumption of competition, licensed or otherwise, including Masters, once appropriate information is known. The group has adopted this stance, rather than suspending all competition until an arbitrary date, as its members are keen to see the competitive element of our sport return as soon as it is safe and reasonably practicable to do so.

Thank you for your ongoing support during this difficult time.  If you have any queries, please email [email protected]

Swim England East Region Event Cancellations

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Following the announcement by Swim England that all national events are cancelled until the end of the year, Swim England East Region has taken the decision to cancel the following competitions:

Masters Championships, planned for 27th September 2020
Disability Championships, planned for 11th October 2020
Short Course Swimming Championships, planned for 6th, 7th and 8th November 2020

We very much regret having to make this decision as we know that it will be a huge disappointment to our athletes, however it is unrealistic to think that mass gatherings will be possible within these timescales, neither are we clear when our athletes will be able to return to training.

Online Safeguarding Advice for Clubs

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Since lockdown started and the use of online platforms such as Zoom has increased, Swim England has issued advice and guidance to clubs and members on good practice.

 

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) has also issued another warning around serious safeguarding risks as a result of a growing trend on these platforms.

The charity has said a worrying pattern is emerging as public meetings via online platforms are being targeted by criminals sharing illegal and disturbing material, with police investigating a number of reports.

 

The NSPCC is urging parents to supervise their children when using Zoom and other video call platforms and to also take steps to secure meeting details and passwords.

 

Andy Burrows, Head of Child Safety Online Policy at the NSPCC, said: “While the responsibility for this lies with those uploading this terrible footage, it’s important to take precautions to lessen the risks posed to children and adults, including not sharing full meeting details and passwords on social media and only providing them to people you trust.”

 

We have also published guidance around virtual teaching and coaching as well as additional guidance on using Zoom. We strongly advise clubs and members adhere to this when hosting club related activities online.

 

Any adult concerned about the welfare of a child or young person can call the Swim England Child Safeguarding Team on 01509 640252 or via [email protected].

 

Alternatively, you can call the NSPCC helpline for free and confidential advice on 0808 800 5000 or email [email protected]. A dedicated O2/NSPCC online safety helpline is available on 0808 800 5002.

 

Children can contact Childline for free on 0800 1111 or visit childline.org.uk and speak to a counsellor about a worry or concern they may have.

Community Emergency Fund Available for Clubs

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Sport England has announced a £195 million package to help sport and physical activity through Coronavirus. This package consists of:

  • A new £20 million Community Emergency Fund, which is open now for local club and community organisations to bid for grants between £300 and £10,000.
  • A new £5 million fund for existing Sport England partners facing specific and immediate financial difficulty.
  • £55 million put aside to support the sector during an ongoing period of restrictions; to fund new and innovative ways to keep people active and then, when it is over, to help organisations get back to business and adjust to a different environment.
  • A £115 million rollover of current funding into 2021/22 to give certainty to over 100 well established partners who play a vital role in the delivery of sport and physical activity in England, and whose current funding agreements with Sport England run out in March 2021.

More information, eligibility criteria and application process can be found on the Sport England website. Swim England will be releasing further guidance on this funding over the next few days.

This £20 million fund is designed to complement other sources of funding from the government, such as funds targeted at small businesses. Please ensure that your clubs consider the funding support that the government has available before they apply to this fund.

Sport England has just a launched a new Club Matters Coronavirus page and will update this over the next few days! It provides guidance, toolkits and case studies for our clubs.

Cancellation of Regional Competitions

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UPDATED JULY 2020

All competitions are now cancelled until 31st December 2020.

Following the decision of British Swimming and Swim England to cancel national competitions planned for the summer, Swim England East Region has cancelled all regional competitions until 31st August.  This decision impacts the following regional competitions:

  • Regional Swimming Summer Meet
  • Artistic Swimming Regional Championships
  • Regional Open Water Championships

This decision also impacts these regional development events:

  • Regional Open Water Camp
  • Regional Artistic Swimming Development Day
  • Regional Workforce Development Day
  • Regional Diving Camp
  • Water Polo Inter-Regional Squad and Academy Training

Joan Wheeler, Regional Chairman, said that ‘Swim England East Region very much regrets having to make this decision as we know that our coaches and swimmers had worked hard to qualify for regional events.  We do, however, have to be realistic about the likely timescales for restrictions on large scale gatherings, and the health and well-being of our members has to be our first priority’.