Brian DeVal

The Prime Minister’s latest coronavirus announcement was certainly inevitable… the impact of the statement nevertheless another huge blow to our sports, clubs, members, coaches and teachers. When Boris Johnson announced leisure facilities would shut once again as part of a month-long lockdown to help slow the spread of coronavirus, my overriding emotion was one of … Read more

Masters swimmers are being asked to put forward their views on what format the British Masters Championship should take in 2021. With coronavirus restrictions still covering large parts of the country, the Home Countries Masters Swimming Management Group has taken the ‘difficult decision’ that a ‘normal’ British Masters Championship will not be possible next year. … Read more

Clubs can receive top tips on the best ways to boost their coffers through fundraising campaigns at online Swim England seminars. The recognised national governing body’s Head of Fundraising Michael Mogan will be leading two sessions in November which will detail the best ways to create a plan to help raise money. It comes as … Read more

Swim England has created a five-point roadmap outlining a ‘safe and effective’ route to returning to swimming competitions. The recognised national governing body has confirmed it is currently at stage three of the pathway following the launch of Level X Racing. Dates for advancing to stages four and five have yet to be confirmed but the next … Read more

Swim England chief executive Jane Nickerson believes ‘common sense has prevailed’ after leisure centres and gyms in Merseyside were given the green light to reopen. The Government last week unveiled a three-tier system to help tackle the spread of coronavirus and the Liverpool region was the first to be placed under the very-high restrictions. Measures … Read more

Swim England is to submit evidence to a new inquiry which is to examine what help is needed to guarantee the survival of the community sports sector. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee will look at the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on grassroots sports and clubs and how their future … Read more

“Level X Racing is a fun opportunity for them to practice some racing skills in the absence of those club, county, regional and national events. “The feedback we have had so far from the test sessions has been extremely encouraging. “Everyone who has taken part has loved the chance to test themselves against their team-mates … Read more

Champions of community sport are to be honoured as part of a new campaign for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. The search is on for Hometown Heroes to be the faces of an advertising promotion when the countdown to the competition begins in 2021. Nominees could be a longstanding, inspiring coach, a dedicated volunteer who … Read more

Hertfordshire Aquatics have released the first drawings for the 50m pool project that will take Swim England Hertfordshire into  the future. These early drawings give a good idea of what the centre will look like and how it will operate. The centre is being designed as a centre of excellence for swimming, water polo and … Read more

Swim England has confirmed it is committed to doing everything it can to enable the ‘excellent’ County Age Group Swimming Championships take place in 2021. However, due to the ongoing coronavirus restrictions, it is highly unlikely that these events will be able to take place in their usual January/February time slot. To that end, Swim … Read more

Swim England has frozen its membership fees for 2021. The recognised national governing body has confirmed that there will be no increase to its element of the annual fees to help support its affiliated clubs and members that have faced ‘extreme difficulties’ during the coronavirus pandemic. Category 1 members will pay £9.20, the Category 2 … Read more

We will be discussing the recently announced “Level X” competition as well as other initiatives to get our sport up and running – looking to 2021 and beyond. We will be looking for suggestions from attendees as well as putting forward suggestions and answering questions on information that we expect to be published by Swim … Read more