Club Information

Our vision is to:

• Promote life-long enjoyment and involvement with swimming and aquatic activities;

• Lead as the most respected multidisciplinary swimming organisation in the South West;

• Supporting swimmers across all disciplines and abilities;

• To instil a life-long love of swimming through enjoyment and accomplishment at all levels and disciplines;

• Offer an inclusive environment & wider community engagement.

The Club aims to:

• Deliver a structured framework to develop swimming skills and enhance community support for young swimmers to be proficient swimmers;

• Support a pathway for all members to maximise their individual sporting potential including a performance pathway catering for county, regional and national athletes;

• To provide excellence in professional coaching and programs to develop individuals to the best of their abilities;

• Provide other swimming journeys eg fitness, triathlon and open water;

• Nurture the next generation of swimming volunteers, teachers and coaches;

• Organise a structured young volunteer program.

Club Training

On joining the Club, a swimmer is allocated to the squad that is suitable to their needs and commitment level. The decision as to placement of a swimmer in a squad is solely at the discretion of the coaching team.

Non Performance Squads

Academy

A gradual increase in swimming frequency with a focus on skill development in a fun environment

The Academy section of TDSC is focused on skills and development. This is focused on Swim School Levels 5-7 moving from one session a week through to three sessions in preparation for competitive swimming or alternative swimming journeys.

Under the experienced guidance of the coaching team, swimmers focus on their skills to progress their swimming journey - whether that is competitive swimming or one of the other paths on offer. 

In the Academy section, there may be an opportunity to compete in events such as the “Cotswald’s Cup” to begin experiencing competition at a local level. 

JUNIOR CLUB

To develop an enjoyment in swimming fitness at all levels as part of a healthy lifestyle and supported within a fun and social environment with the benefit of coaches and support to achieve individual goals.

Many swimmers on moving up from Academy will not necessarily wish to commit to a competitive pathway. This may be for any number of reasons from those who do not wish to compete or may not have the time to balance competitive swimming with their other interests. Junior Club provides a fully coached program focussing on skills and development in a relaxed environment with the ability to join L4 Club events if the swimmer so wishes. 

TRIATHLON

Junior tri has seen rising popularity with events such as “try-tri” making this a development option for young athletes as a pathway into the sport

 option for young athletes

Many young swimmers are beginning to focus on a triathlon pathway rather than traditional competitive swimming as their main interest. This group is led by an experienced triathlete coach with a range of activities suited to development in the sport. 

MASTERS

Adults who wish to train in a coached environment to work towards individual goals including competing.

The TDSC Masters program offers adults complete flexibility to fit their swimming around their requirements.

Competitive Swimming

Competitive swimming at county, regional and national level supported by experienced coaching with a regular competition schedule

TDSC provides five performance squads that support a competitive swimmer according to their ability and commitment.

• Performance Development - predominantly County Level swimming, focus on further skill development and incremental increase in training per week. Motivated to develop.

• Performance 3 - Aspiring Regional swimmers. High attendance levels and commitment expected. Minimum attendance thresholds may be communicated by the coach.

• Speed - High performance swimmers of regional/county level typically 13+ who may want to balance strong performance swimming with other school and life commitments. Training will be focused on speed and high performance with less of an endurance focus to enable athletes to compete at a high level.

• Performance 2 - Regional level competitive performance. High levels of commitment with minimum attendance levels being set by the coach.

• Performance 1 - National/aspiring national swimmers. The highest level of commitment and standards. Minimum attendance.

Land Training

Land training is a key component of a swimmer’s development and is provided as a supplement to appropriate squads usually from P3 and above. 

Performance Training

P1, P2 and P3 constitute the Club’s performance program and athletes are expected to aspire to national competition. Minimum attendance levels will be set by the coach. This will constitute a minimum for all members of the squad but there may be higher attendance levels set for individuals depending on their ability and level as well as deviations agreed for injury or new members of the group. If an athlete is not able to meet the commitment required for membership of the group, the coach will initially discuss with the swimmer but as a second step will meet to discuss attendance with the parent/guardian. If the swimmer is not able to commit to the necessary attendance required, the Club reserves the right to allocate the swimmer to a more appropriate group based on the recommendation of the coaching team.