On 6th June at the Festival of Aquatics in Sunderland, Nicola Hughes was presented with the Northumberland and Durham Presidential Chain, officially beginning her role for 2026–27. Everyone at Northumberland and Durham would like to wish Nicola an enjoyable and successful year ahead.
Not sure who Nicola is? Read on as she shares a message with us:
Swimming has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. As a child I practically lived in the pool – training, competing, helping younger swimmers and even teaching some of my parents’ friends how to swim. Something one of them still mentions 40 years later!
My dad was a military man and when he was posted to Cyprus the family moved with him and I swapped the pool for open water. Nothing beats an early-morning mile sea swim to start the day.
Some years later I was fortunate to join Swim England to run the Ripple Effect project, funded by the Spirit of 2012, supporting people with disabilities into volunteering roles as Technical Officials. Working with the seven National Disability Sports Organisations we helped a cohort of individuals with a range of disabilities to complete their Timekeeper training and progress to Judge level 1. They exceeded every expectation – many won National awards during the two-year project and I’m very proud that several of our volunteers are still officiating today, and a number have now progressed to Judge level 2.
I currently work for the Royal British Legion as part of the team planning and preparing for the next Invictus Games. A role that brings me immense satisfaction as well as the opportunity to meet disabled veterans and support them on their journey to competitive participation and success.
Inspired by the project, I completed my own training as a SE Technical Official and am qualified to Judge level 2 and I support as many events as I can. Local and Regional events in all disciplines can only happen when people step up and offer to help and I’m grateful to have the chance to give back to the clubs and volunteers who have supported me. I am a member of Durham City Aquatics and the club and its members have played a huge role in my journey and I’m proud to represent them as I take on this exciting new challenge as President of Northumberland and Durham Aquatics and give my support to all aquatic disciplines in our county.
