The establishment of a new British Summer Championships has been given the green light as the first headline component of a broader British Swimming Performance Pathway Strategy aimed at increasing and supporting junior talent on the journey to senior medal-winning performance.
From 2015 swimmers will have the opportunity to post a long course time within a ‘qualification window’ (broadly expected to be between mid-March and late-May) with up to 24 top ranked swimmers in each age group and event being invited to the new end of season British Summer Championships.
"Our new system needs to clearly demonstrate effectiveness in supporting the achievement of high performance outcomes at the senior international level,"
- Tim Jones
This competition structure has been designed to expose an even greater number of young, talented swimmers to national competition whilst at the same time providing a firm foundation to ensure Britain sees more of its exciting junior talent transition to becoming successful senior athletes.
The structure was endorsed and supported by all home countries at the last meeting of the British Swimming Board and follows internal consultation and external dialogue within the swimming community, the British Swimming Coaches Association and key stakeholders UK Sport..
Head of Swimming's Performance Pathway Tim Jones has been working on a new strategic framework for talent development designed not only to increase Britain’s standing in the international arena, but also to significantly increase the volume of the talent pool as well.
“We looked at every aspect – we analysed our own performance history, collaborated closely with the swimming community, engaged on specific work with the UK Sport Pathways Team, and listened intently to expert opinions as we set about understanding the need and direction for change,” explained Jones.
“As a result of our research we have now challenged ourselves to implement a robust and sustainable system which is world-leading in its capacity to produce and then appropriately transition swimmers from junior to senior level.
“Our new system also needs to clearly demonstrate effectiveness in supporting the achievement of high performance outcomes at the senior international level and the endorsement from all of the home nations recognises our framework to achieve this.”
Key elements of the first stage of the Pathway Strategy include:
- Working together to support our coaches to improve athlete performance potential
- Progressive minimum ages for each tier of Championship swimming, to reduce the risk of early burn-out
- Entry to the end of season British Summer Championships and Home Nation meets to be based on a designated “Qualification Window”
- A re-emphasis of the pre-Christmas short course swimming season
- The adoption of the consistent use of age at 31st December for Championship Meets to realign with LEN/FINA. All other competitions are to be given the flexibility to determine their own age bandings to allow variety
- Removal of BAGCAT points as part of Championship meet series
Following on from the endorsement of the wider strategy, home nations will be communicating their domestic competition plans in alignment with the agreed strategy, ensuring the implementation of a new calendar which will provide fit, flow and progression.
The dates and venue for the 2015 British Summer Championships will be announced shortly.