Swim Ireland Newsletter

Newsletter #4
Vol. 2019

Welcome to the May edition of the Swim Ireland Newsletter. April has been a busy month with a number of events and announcements. We look back at the National Team announcements for swimming, a superb cup double for St. Vincent's Water Polo Club, another first for Irish Diving and the Swim Ireland AGM.

In May we look forward to star studded line ups at our first National Youth Conference and Performance Coaching Conference. We're delighted to give you details of two new Education Courses for Open Water and Autism Swimming. We'll be recognising our volunteers during National Volunteer Week and registration is now open for the #WePlay Conference on July 3rd! We've also got a big announcement coming this month that will benefit the whole organisation including all disciplines and clubs, keep your eyes peeled!

Click through to catch up on all of our news!

(Click to jump to story)

Youth Development
National Youth Conference

Performance
Cryan & Dingley Make History with Synchro Diving Bronze
National Teams for Summer 2019 Announced
Performance Coaching Conference
Performance Pathway Squad Camp

Water Polo
Cup Joy for St. Vincents

Clubs And Community
Swim Ireland AGM
#WePlay Conference
National Volunteering Week
Swim for a Mile 2019
Schools Interpro

Education

Open Water CPD
Autism Swimming Teacher Qualification

Upcoming Events

Last chance to get your tickets for the National Youth Conference this Saturday May 4th in the National Sports Campus in Dublin.

Hear motivational talks from ParaAthletics star Jordan Lee and World Boxing Champion Kellie Harrington, and meet swimmers Brendan Hyland, Shane Ryan and Grainne Murphy. Workshops and competitions on the day too.

This promises to be a fantastic day with a number of inspirational speakers and topics discussed. Don't miss out!

Tickets available here and each candidate will receive a free gift and event t-shirt.

Irish divers created another piece of history last month as the duo of Clare Cyran and Oliver Dingley won a first ever International Synchro Medal for Ireland.

Competing at the FINA Grand Prix in Canada, Clare and Ollie collected 3M Synchro Bronze with an Irish Record score of 269.04.

Also in top form last month Ciara McGing took Platform Gold at the GB Junior Elite Nationals with a PB of 364.15

National Teams for Summer 2019 International Meets Announced
Swim Ireland’s team for our premier benchmark meet of 2019, the FINA World Championships in Korea was announced earlier this month as well as teams for European and World Junior Championships and the European Youth Olympic Festival. Read the full announcement and check out the team lists HERE.

Swim Ireland are pleased to announce our second annual Performance Coaching Conference will take place in Dublin on Friday 17th & Saturday 18th May 2019

Alongside Swim Ireland Performance Team Members Jon Rudd, Ben Higson, John Szaranek and Paul Talty, we have exciting practical and/or lecture hall based workshops from some of the world's leading practitioners, including:

Arilson Soares de Silva - World Record breaking coach to Andrii Govorov
Steven Tigg - coach of World Champion Duncan Scott
Craig Lord - the world most renowned swimming journalist and activist for clean sport
Wayne Goldsmith - world leading swimming psychologist from Australia

The full timetable, and some background on each of the speakers, as well as booking information for the Conference can be found HERE

The Swim Ireland National Performance Pathway Squad traveled to Mount Kelly on 15th April for a 6 day camp. This provided the ideal opportunity for swimmers to complete a block of focused work in the pool and gym as they begin the final cycle of the season leading into European Juniors, European Youth Olympics, Irish Summer Nationals and World Juniors.

The coaching team identified the further enhancement of race starts and swimming efficiency as two of the camp objectives and these were achieved by incorporating drills and skills in every workout.

Thank you to the athletes, coaches and team managers for making this a successful camp.

Congratulations to St. Vincent's Water Polo Club who claimed double cup glory in the Irish Senior Water Polo Cups with victories for both the ladies and men! With 24 games from 14 teams played across the 3 days St. Vincent's faced off against Cathal Brugha in both finals. Victory for Vincent's Ladies came with a scoreline of 14-6, while the men won out 8-6 in their game.

Congratulations to Ireland Water Polo, officials, volunteers and the teams on a fantastic weekend.

The Under 17 Boys National team traveled to play in the EU Nations Tournament in Brno, Czech Republic from the 16th – 21st April 2019. The team, who finished in 12th place. were: Caolan Crosbie, Clonard WPC, Conal Mervyn, Clonard WPC, Elliot Manks, Clontarf SC, Phillipe Tracey, Clontarf SC, Adam Murphy, Corrib WPC, Alex Naughton, Corrib WPC, Fearghal Creagh, Cú Chulainn WPC, Ciaran Cope, North Dublin WPC, Finn Hanley, North Dublin WPC, Fergal Kirby, Sandycove SC, Alex San Emeterio, St Vincents WPC, Marius Sandu, St Vincents WPC, Sam O'Dwyer, St Vincents WPC.

The next competition for our National Teams will see our Senior Ladies travel to Brno, Czech Republic in May in the next round of the EU Nations Tournaments.

The Swim Ireland Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held on Saturday 13th April at the Campus Conference Centre and was very well attended. The AGM is an important forum for members to learn about how the organisation is managed and to air their views on what they feel we could be doing better.

New Directors are elected at the AGM and this year we welcomed 3 new Directors, Colin Morrissey, Gary Stoops and John Mullins. We also welcomed Peter Conway as incoming Chairman. Peter replaces Clare McGrath, who retires having served her full term of office.

A copy of the Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2018 are available here. Points of Note are also issued to all members after the AGM and this can be viewed here.

Swim Ireland are delighted to return with the annual #WePlay: Inspiring Girls in Sport Conference! The conference will take place on Wednesday July 3rd, from 10:00 to 16:30 at the National Indoor Arena at the Sport Ireland National Sports Campus.

The one-day conference will explore mental resilience, body image and health and well-being as an athlete. Ireland’s elite athletes and sporting professionals will come together to describe their experiences, what they have learnt through sport and their advice to YOU!

The day is open to females of all ages and abilities involved in sport! Whether you are an athlete, parent, coach, official or spectator - this is one you do not want to miss!

Find more information and tickets HERE!

Monday 13th - Saturday 19th May is National Volunteering Week and we want to celebrate the great work our club, regional and national volunteers do.

Volunteering is central to the success of Swim Ireland at all levels. Within our clubs there are committee members and coaches who give up hours on a weekly basis to provide support to their club athletes and members. At regional and national competitions volunteers play an important role in officiating, coaching and team managing. The Swim Ireland board and national sub-committees comprise of volunteers who give up their time to share their experience and knowledge.
We want you to sing the praise of your volunteer hero and we will share the best stories throughout National Volunteer Week on our social media platforms.
What do we need?

Photo, name and club of volunteer
Name of person nominating the volunteer
Brief story/ description of what makes them a great volunteer (max 50 words)

Send to SashaMaguire@swimireland.ie by Friday 10th May @ 5pm.
Featured volunteers will receive a certificate of appreciation and a Swim Ireland gift

As we approach the end of the 2019 Swim for a Mile (SFAM) Challenge, it looks to be the programme’s most successful year with 1,650 people taking to the pool across Ireland to take on the mile! After touring the country this month, it has been shown yet again that this programme attracts the most amazing people with their own unique motives to take on the 12-week challenge.

Whether it was a case of improving fitness, water confidence, mindfulness, raising money for a lost or struggling loved one or just for the craic alone! Our participants showed up week after week at their SFAM pools and worked their way up in mileage, intensity and confidence to complete the mile and we could not be prouder! Find photos from this year’s SFAM events here and results here!

Donations are still rolling in for our Charity Partner Temple Street Children’s Hospital Foundation and we can’t wait to get the final count over the next two weeks to help the wonderful people at Temple Street in the fantastic work that they do with our nations youngest. If you’d like to help head over to the Idonate link here!

Congratulations to Leinster Swimming who were crowned 2019 School Interpro Champions at the NAC earlier in April.

There was fantastic competition between all four regions, with outstanding swims and a close fought battle for the cup. Well done to all!

Open Water Swimming – Continuous Professional Development
We will be going live with an open water swimming cpd this June in five locations across Ireland: Derry, Down, Dublin, Limerick and Sligo and we’ll be confirming dates very soon!

Introduction to Open Water Swimming & Coaching – (Risk Assessing & Pool to Open Water Skills)

This CPD is for coaches or open water swimmers and indeed anyone thinking of trying open water swimming this summer. Target level is level 2. The is a 3 hour, classroom based CPD.

Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the session, learners should be able to:

Describe the role of the Open Water Swimming Teacher / Coach
List Safety considerations when selecting an Open Water venue
Identify Core Skills swimmers need to have before taking to Open Water
Prepare Learners for Open Water Swimming
Identify signs of Cold-Water Shock
Perform an Open Water Risk Assessment

As always, our courses are bookable through your Swim Ireland profile and via our GoMembership course booking system.

Swim Ireland are delighted to announce the launch of our Autism Swimming Teacher qualification – designed by Swim Ireland Tutor Johanna Tilley-Rock. In partnership with JTR Swim School, based in Spin Activity Centre in Newbridge, Co Kildare, Johanna and Swim Ireland will host the first specialist ASDST Course in Ireland on 22nd June from 9am-5pm.

The course will equip Level 2 Swim Ireland Swimming Teachers with the knowledge and practical skills to plan and deliver lessons for children and young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This course is limited to 10 places and can booked by clicking here If you require any further information please contact Emmet Ó Muirí phone +3531625 1120 or email emmetomuiri@swimireland.ie