36 selected athletes attended the Yorkshire Swimming Development Camp at York Sports Village on Sunday 4th December. The swimmers were selected for the programme using the Swim England Talent Pathway Selection Criteria and Guidelines 2023-2024.

The programme looks to develop the swimmers as people, athletes and performers. The camp themes focused on Swim England’s Optimum Athlete Development Framework which encourages a growth mindset and to develop independence. The various different parts of the day long camp were delivered in the pool on dry land and in the classroom. These focused on fundamental movement skills plus having an awareness of the mobility and stability needed for streamline body position to help develop core aquatic and technical skills.

During the day, the swimmers feedback the key learning points that they have taken from the various sessions. After the pool sessions, these included:

” I need to improve having a high elbow on freestyle to develop a consistent length and opening my hips on backstroke”.

” I need to work on developing my distance per stroke efficiency”.

” I need to continue to work on improving my head position”.

After the S&C mobility session, swimmers gave the following feedback:

” It’s important to keep a flat back on shoulder flexibility exercises”

” I must try and keep my position tight on the thoracic exercises and keep the positions correct so my core is engaged”.

All swimmers were provided with an Athlete Pack to support their learning. The swimmers will go back to their clubs and try to implement the learning which they have taken. They will next have some educational workshops in March and a further camp in June.

The camp was delivered by Head Coach Tom Rhodes together with a team of Skills Coaches, S&C Coach and Team Managers from clubs across the county.