Welcome to the May edition of the Swim Ireland Newsletter. As you are aware GDPR has been to the forefront of news stories for most of May, with that in mind we'd like to remind you that you can unsubscribe from this Newsletter at any time by hitting the Unsubscribe button at the bottom of this mail.
We've had another busy month in May with fantastic success at the World School Games, a wonderful Performance Coaching Conference with delegates from across Europe attending and the finale of the Irish water polo season with three cups taking place. Tickets for the World Para Swimming European Championships are on sale NOW and we were delighted to launch videos this month in conjunction with the Irish Deaf Society.
With Open Water Swimming Season now underway remember you can purchase Swim Ireland Special Membership with a number of events available to you. Click through to read all of this and more.
Athletes Announced for Summer Tours
As part of our preparations into the 2018 European Championships, the 2019 World Championships and the 2020 Olympic Games, the Performance Department have announced two groups of athletes who will gain vital senior international experience this summer through two discrete initiatives.
A group of identified female athletes will travel to Canet and Barcelona to compete in two legs of the Mare Nostrum tour with training dates in both venues being utilised before, between and after the two meets.
With a clear focus on relays through to and including 2020, the Male 400m Freestyle, Male 400m Medley and Mixed 400m Medley relays have been identified as our primary opportunities to see Ireland feature our first swimming relay at an Olympic Games. Although athletes selected for the LEN European Junior Championships will not be able to avail of this as the dates clash, a further group of athletes will benefit from a 7-day training camp in Ostia before travelling into Rome to race in the highly regarded Sette Colli Meet.
Mare Nostrum (Canet) - 9th - 10th June, Mare Nostrum (Barcelona) - 13th - 14th June, Sette Colli (Rome) - 29th June - 1st July. Team List available HERE.
Ireland's Youths Return from Schools Games with 13 Medals
The 2018 ISF World Schools Games Gymnasiade in Casablanca, Morocco, was to see Ireland enter a team in the swimming championships of the multi-sport event for the first time and return with an outstanding 13 medal haul. Six golds, five slivers and two bronze medals saw the eight-strong team finish second on the medal table. Read full reportHERE.
As the open water season starts to gear up, we are pleased to announce that Swim Ireland and Leinster Open Sea are working in partnership to provide a number of races for Special Members in 2018. This is a great opportunity for swimmers to take part in some exciting races on the Leinster Open Sea calendar and enjoy what the Leinster coastline has to offer. In addition to this, we have several races and masters events taking place around the country.
Day & Date Race & Location
Saturday 23rd June 2018 Wicklow Mid-Summer – Wicklow Town
Saturday 23rd June 2018 Warrior of the Sea -Sligo
Saturday 23rd June 2018 Thomond Swim - Limerick
Sunday 22nd July 2018 Tracie Lawlor – Curracloe Wexford
Saturday 28th July 2018 Grand Dublin Swim, Docklands
Saturday 11th August 2018 Aer Lingus Masters - Portrane
Saturday 8th September 2018 Swim Ireland Swim for a Mile - Windsurfers
Sunday 9th September 2018 Wicklow 3k
Performance Coaching Conference
On 18th and 19th May, our Education and Performance departments joined forces to present the inaugural Swim Ireland Performance Swimming Coaching Conference. With a line up of internationally acclaimed speakers and presenters the event hosted 130 delegates from our home programmes as well as Finland, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Estonia, Czech Republic, Spain and UK. Delegates were given an insight into Meso-cycle planning, performance questioning and reasoning, Training monitoring, Stroke Rate/Tempo and how it informs performance as well as real life examples of how to create a world class club environment from our own Dr Jon Rudd.
If you missed out on the conference, you can purchase a CPD module with live video from the day and the presentation provided by the speaker to gain valuable CPD points. Visit the education calendar by clicking here
CPD 1: Principles of Meso-cycle planning for age-group athletes and beyond, Professor Jan Olbrecht (1 point)
CPD 2: Performance questioning and Performance reasoning, Patrick Miley (1 point)
CPD 3: Examples of training monitoring: short and long term considerations, Professor Jan Olbrecht (1 point)
CPD 4: Effective Coaching Communication: Person before Athlete, Dr Paul Gaffney (1 point)
CPD 5: Creating a World class club environment, Dr Jon Rudd (1 point)
CPD 6: Leading a 21st Century Multi-disciplinary team, John Watson & Ben Higson (1 point)
CPD 7: Informing performance – Stroke rate and stroke temp in key sets, Patrick Miley (1 point)
Get into Coaching Diving – join our Dublin course this June!
Course: Blended Level 1 Assistant Diving Coach Location: Irish Sport HQ and National Aquatic Centre, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 Cost: €325/€375 (Member/Non-Member) Dates: 30th June and 1st July
*Please note online learning must be completed prior to attending the face to face element of the course
Pool Pod Launched in Wexford Swim Ireland Education were delighted to support the launch of the first Pool Pod in Ireland at Wexford Swimming Pool this month. In partnership with Wexford County Council, Sports Active Wexford and the Board of Wexford Swimming Pool, Swim Ireland are delighted to see our Learn to Swim facility investing in access for all and leading the way with this innovative device. Check out more on Pool Pods by clicking here
Youth Development Strategy 2018 – 2021
Our latest strategic plan for young people was recently published. Copies were distributed at our recent AGM and will be available at forthcoming events. We have some exciting projects over the next few years – all based on views and ideas from young people.
Club Youth Awards
Orders for the Club Youth Awards are now open; if your club registered with us please make sure to check they have sent in their order – they have been sent the link for ordering. We would love to see the photos or hear about your club giving out the awards.
Club Captains in Youth Sport
Our first pilot training course was held earlier this month with 15 young people. The day went really well and the feedback from the Club Captains was extremely valuable in shaping the final details of the programme.
We now have 8 dates around Ireland for further training opportunities:
June 2018
July 2018
23rd
Dublin
CCYS training
1st
Belfast
CCYS training
24th
Galway
CCYS training
14th
Sligo
CCYS training
30th
Cork
CCYS training
14th
Kilkenny
CCYS training
15th (tbc)
Limerick
CCYS training
22nd
Omagh
CCYS training
Further information will be sent out for the venue, times and signing up – keep an eye out on twitter, facebook and our website. We look forward to meeting your future Club Captains!
Leinster Swimming Officials School
Leinster Swimming hosted an Officials School in Irish Sport HQ on the 12th and 13th May. 25 candidates from 21 clubs in the region were in attendance along with 1 candidate from Connacht and Ulster respectively. The officials’ school was delivered by tutors Phillip Fitzpatrick, Frank Stevens and Pat Daly.
The officials school was the culmination of the officials’ development plan initiated by Leinster Swimming in the 2017-2018 season to improve the standard of officiating at competitions in the region. Clubs were set training requirements based on the numbers taking part at regional competitions. Courses were subsidised by the region and held in clubs to encourage maximum attendance. 26 level 1 courses were held with over 475 in attendance while 150 people completed the level 2 courses over the course of the season. Thank you to clubs and their volunteers for their support throughout the season.
We look forward to welcoming our newly trained officials poolside at upcoming regional and national competitions this summer and beyond.
Launch of Irish Sign Language Videos Swim Ireland were delighted to launch our Irish Sign Language Swimming Videos in Deaf Village Ireland last week.
There is a long history of deaf participants in our sports with a number of swimmers and coaches excelling. As the Irish Sign Language is not known by many people in the country, members involved in our swimming, open water and water polo events often have a challenge communicating with the many deaf participants taking part alongside them.
In Partnership with the Irish Deaf Society and with funding from the Department of Justice and Equality, Swim Ireland have created an Introduction to Irish Sign Language using videos and an information sheet to inform all Swim Ireland members of the common phrases that they can use to help communicate with other deaf swimmers. The timing of the programme could not be better with Irish Sign Language designated as a native and independent language in Ireland in December 2017.
Keep an eye on our social media pages over the next few weeks as we share the videos.
Dublin 2018 Tickets Go Live
The Dublin 2018 World Para Swimming Allianz European Championship tickets were launched last week at the National Aquatic Centre. Tickets for the first ever major international Para Sporting event to take place in Ireland are available to purchase now. Read moreHERE
Water Polo News
May was an extremely busy month for our Water Polo Clubs and players with three Cups, two EU Nations and National Teams announced for July's ASA Championships.
Click HERE for updates on:
U15 Girls & Boys Cups
Senior Ladies at EU Nations
Senior Men at EU Nations
U15 Girls and Boys Team Announcements
Upcoming Events
European Junior Diving Championships - 25th June - 1st July, Helsinki, Finland
European Junior Swimming Championships - 4th - 8th Juy, Helsinki, Finland
Irish Division 2 Championships - 5th - 8th July, UL Sport, Limerick
Irish Summer National Championships - 25th - 29th July, NAC, Dublin
European Championships (Swimming & Diving) - 1st - 12th August, Glasgow, Scotland
World Para Swimming Allianz European Swimming Championships - 13th - 19th August, NAC, Dublin
