May 23rd 

Good morning, everyone!

Well done to all 25 swimmers who attended last night's session. Special Well Done to John and Miles (Lane 2) who received certificates for their hard work on stroke technique - but also to ALL our Lane 2 swimmers who have now started Gold 1 Assessments. This Award is a real "step up" from the earlier Rookie awards, with some very challenging rescues and tows, requiring speed, stamina and technique - but we have made an excellent start!

Important update for Lanes 3 and 4 - our NLA Bronze Star candidates:

On the first Friday of every month, for the next three months, starting Friday 5th June, we will be focusing on important, newly updated CPR / First Aid and Theory sections of this qualification. These sessions will take place in the Studio at Armthorpe Leisure Centre and will take up the full hour, so swimmers will not be in the water during those sessions. The dates are as follows:

Friday 5th June 7.45pm - 8.45pm

Friday 3rd July 7.45pm - 8.45pm

*Friday 14th August 7.45pm - 8.45pm

All other sessions will be water-based as usual.

Our summer break means that there will be no life saving sessions on Friday 31st July and *Friday 7th August.

Our Lane 1 "newbies" are settling down really well and beginning to develop solid rescue and personal survival skills. I have ordered some Rookie Lifeguard Progress Booklets for our swimmers. These booklets illustrate the requirements for all nine Rookie Awards and are a very useful resource and create a record of achievement. The last page is where swimmers can put their Award Stickers. The booklets are available to all Lane 1 swimmers, from this Friday, for an optional payment of £2.50.

Wishing everyone a very good half term - and we will look forward to seeing you this coming Friday 29th May.

Mary

Latest News 2026

May 20th

Advanced Notice - Summer Break Closure

Lifesaving 

The last session will be Friday 24 July 2026.

First session back will be Friday 14 August 2026

Nicola

May 14th

Hello everyone!

To all those who have being doing SATs this week… well done - I hope you feel happy with your performances! Leave them behind now! 

We are looking forward to seeing more smiles at life saving this week as you relax and enjoy yourself!

To all those doing GCSEs and A Levels - and those supporting them - dig in, breathe and just go for it - these exams WILL come to an end, and you will come through to the other side!

We are looking forward to seeing you all on Friday! 

Mary

May 12th 

GCSE / A Level students!

I’m sorry that this message is a little late, but it still comes with BIG good luck wishes to all of you - from everyone at Armthorpe Kingfishers Swimming Club!

You’ve got this! Your best will ALWAYS be good enough!

Mary

May 12th

CLOTHING ORDER

Anyone who would like to order clothing (hoodies/onesies/backpacks etc) please send me a direct message (via messenger) including size and if you would like it personalized

On the website there is a link of what is available to order including prices

This order book will be open until Friday 15th May 26

Claire

May 3rd

Good morning everyone!

This week's special mention must go to our Lanes 3 and 4 who engaged really well in the CPR / First Aid session delivered by Ella, Sandra, Ian, Rodger and Esme, in the Studio on Friday. We are now delivering the 2026 updated content which has seen quite significant changes with child and infant CPR and elements of First Aid. Our swimmers practised with our Resusci Anne Manikins (adult and child), and our three Resusci Babies (in their new outfits).

Well done, also to our Lane 2 swimmers who tackled the extended arm tow with their usual enthusiasm and effort - it is testament to their progress that their first experience of this tow, and the T-Shirt tow over 25m, presented little difficulty. Stamina development is improving steadily. Many thanks to our Young Volunteer, Lucy, who is working hard to bring our "newbie", Amelia, rapidly up to speed with Bronze and Silver Life Saving Skills.

The Bank Holiday meant that our attendance on Friday was slightly down at 22 swimmers - with just three in our Lane 1. However, those three swimmers gave 100% and definitely benefited from the personalised training from Andrew and Lisa. We will hopefully be back to our full cohort next Friday, with, potentially, two more "newbies".

We have had a new application via email to join our club from a parent who is a friend of one of our current swimmer's parents - I have replied to the email but have not, as yet, had a reply. If you know who this applicant might be, please ask them to check their spam mail, and get in touch with me so we can make arrangements for their son to come for a taster session.

We will all be back in the pool next week, and will look forward to seeing everyone. Have a good week

Mary

April 25th

Good morning everyone!

Many thanks for everyone who made last night's Life Saving session so busy and enjoyable - 28 swimmers, 4 Young Volunteers and 5 Instructors. Especially good attendance from Lanes 2 and 4.

We now have six completed Silver Worksheets from our Lane 2 swimmers - so just four to be handed in. Please try to encourage your child to complete theirs and hand it in next Friday.

Special "shout out" to Nancy - one of our Lane 2 swimmers who had the enormous honour of being a mascot for Manchester City last Sunday - walking out with Nunes! What an experience! Definitely one for the memory banks!

Another "shout out" to our "newbies" in Lanes 1 and 3 - they have settled in so well and so quickly and are beginning to develop some very useful and important survival and rescue skills.

And another "shout out" to Andrew and Thomas - two of our Lane Instructors who are juggling Life Saving with their University commitments, and Georgia who is preparing for her A Level Examinations and University applications next month - we really appreciate everything you, Sandra, Ian, Ella (who comes straight from work each Friday) and Steve, do in supporting our swimmers and the Club.

Finally, a thank you to you as parents/carers - who will be packing your swimmer's swim bags, getting them changed ready for the session, bringing them to the pool and watching them from the spectator area. The swimmers might not say it, but they will, some day, remember and appreciate the hours you put in to support them! You are our unsung heroes!

Have a good week!

Mary

April 19th

Good afternoon, everyone,

Just an update on last Friday's session - we had 26 swimmers, six Young Volunteers and six Instructors in attendance, with plenty of excellent work in evidence from all concerned. Every swimmer brings something very special to our sessions - some are great at distance swimming, others at rescues, others at leadership, others at friendship - the list goes on... but all just bring such enthusiasm and positivity. We can't ask any more of them.

Our three new Young Volunteers, Emily, Daniel and Lisa, are now half way through their probationary period and doing exceptionally well. After three more sessions, they will be awarded their Club T Shirt and Certificate. The young people who have been Young Volunteers for almost 15 months now - Lucy, Esme and Rodger - are fabulous role models for our younger swimmers and we appreciate their efforts and commitment SO much!

Hopefully, this Friday, we will have the full complement of Lane 1 swimmers so that we can make further progress with the Rookie Bronze 1 Award. Lane 2 will continue their progress through the tricky Gold 1 programme - their stamina is steadily improving, along with their towing skills. Lanes 3 and 4 will further hone their initiative skills - one of the hardest aspects of life saving, given that it involves decision making at a serious level - and rope work, which is much harder than it looks!

Thank you, again, to all our parents / carers who bring their swimmers every week. If your child is a new member of Life Saving, please remember to bring their completed Membership forms and pass them to me poolside. Lane 2 swimmers are reminded to bring their completed Silver Worksheets, if they have not already done so. Well done to the four who have handed in theirs.

Thank you!

Mary

April 14th

Good morning, everyone,

Thank you to everyone who attended Friday's Life Saving session - we had 24 swimmers, 6 Young Volunteers and 6 Instructors - an excellent response considering that this was still in the Easter holiday period.

Special "shout outs" this week, have to go to: our Lane 2 swimmers for showing excellent focus throughout quite an intense session on unconscious casualty rescues - especially given that most of our swimmers are still at primary school! Lanes 3 and 4 clearly had some fun working with the "Ice Mat", and also developing their towing skills. Well done to our "newbies" in Lanes 1 and 3 - it is lovely to see them settling in and developing new skills...and new friends.

Superstar Certificates were presented to Jakub Garbacik (Lane 3) and Nancy Roberts (Lane 2). Ada Nadolska has also been awarded one of these certificates; it will be presented at this Friday's session.

Just a reminder to bring an old T Shirt and bottoms to swim in and a drinks bottle. Please remove any earrings before the session - just to be on the safe side

See you Friday!

Mary

March 28th

Good afternoon, everyone!

Fantastic attendance at Life Saving last night - 29/35 swimmers! This includes 8 of our 10 "newbies" - who, it has to be said, were an absolute credit to themselves, their families and their Club, along with 21 "regulars", whose commitment never wavers! WELL DONE! And, again - a big thank you to all parents / carers who bring the swimmers!

And... on Volunteer Appreciation Day, a special shout out has to go, firstly, to our superb instructors - Thomas, Steve, Andrew, Ian, Sandra, Ella and Georgia - your contribution to our club NEVER fails to amaze me, and NEVER goes unnoticed. THANK YOU! And secondly, to our Young Volunteers - Lucy, Esme and Rodger, now well into your second year of committed volunteering - I know I keep saying this - but we could not manage without you! THANK YOU! Lucy - you disappeared without receiving your Thank You Egg - I will (try to) keep it safe for you!

It was lovely to see Dan, Emily and Liza - three of our new NLA Bronze Medallion Graduates beginning their Young Volunteer training last night. There is a six week probationary period, after which you will get your Young Volunteer Certificate - and a Club T Shirt if you don't already have one! Thank you for wanting to do this!

Apologies for the senior moment which led me to forget to do the Easter Lane Draw on poolside - but, we got there in the end, thanks to families in reception at the end of the session! 

The lucky winners were:

Lane 1: Amelia

Lane 2: Ruby (keeping this safe for you, Ruby!)

Lane 3 Rowan

Lane 4: Maddison

A Superstar certificate was presented to Miles (Lane 1) and another will be presented on 10/4/26 to Jakub Lane 3.

A final thank you to our Lifeguards and staff at Armthorpe Leisure Centre - we really appreciate you!

Wishing everyone the happiest of Easters - and we will look forward to seeing you all on Friday 10th April. Please remember that there is no session on Good Friday.

Mary

March 25th

Training cancelled Easter Weekend

There will be no training on Friday 3rd April (C squad and lifesaving) and Saturday 4th April 2026 (A and B squad), as it is Easter weekend, so we have limited coaches available.

Wishing @everyone a very Happy Easter 

Nicola

Hello everyone - please note that the message below from our Club Chair, also relates to our Life Saving session on Good Friday 3rd April. We will reinforce this message when we see our Life Savers at this Friday’s session 27/3/26 

Mary

March 20th

Good evening everyone!

Well... what a LOVELY session tonight with lots of work, lots of productive noise, lots of awards and 28 swimmers!

Congratulations to our fantastic Lane 4 swimmers who received their NLA Bronze Medallion Awards tonight, from Steve and Andrew! What a journey they have been on since starting as Rookies about three years ago! We are very sorry to see them go... but wish every one of them all the very best as they go onto their new adventures! 

Well done to:

Matthew W

James W

Daniel N

Kaitlyn R

Liza A

Laura G

Emily D

Please send us any photos of your children with their awards so that they can go on our Life Saving Wall of Fame on the website.

Well done, also to our Lane 1 swimmers! They have achieved their Rookie Silver 3 Awards tonight - having negotiated the tricky "initiative" scenarios. 

Well done to:

Alice B

Emily P

Molly B

Mollie CY

William D

Ruby P

Miles P

John P

Kaleb R

Next week we will complete the assessments for any swimmers absent tonight, and also begin our journey through Rookie Gold! Please remember to complete your Silver Worksheets, and bring them to the first session after Easter (Friday 10th April)

It has to be said that the volume generated by our Lanes 2 and 3 swimmers was amazing tonight - their level of communication is improving all the time - and their enthusiasm is endless! Well done!

Superstar Awards were presented to: Emily, Alice and Molly (Lane 1) and Maddison (Lane 2). Well done!

Next week, we will have a new group of Rookies starting with us on Rookie Bronze 1 in Lane 1 with Steve and Andrew. This means that all other groups will move on a lane as follows:

Mary's and Thomas's group - Lane 2: Rookie Gold 1

Sandra's and Ian's group - Lane 3 - NLA Bronze Star, along with three new members who will follow the NLA Bronze Certificate programme

Ella's and Georgia's group will move into Lane 4 - NLA Bronze Star.

Our brilliant Young Volunteers (Lucy, Esme and Rodger) will stay with their current groups.

Our weekly numbers will increase to 35 swimmers - so it is going to be busy! Thank you in advance to all parents and carers for bringing your children week after week - it is much appreciated.

I will update you on the arrangements for Good Friday as soon as they are confirmed.

See you next week!

Mary

March 19th

Good morning!

Just a reminder to our  current Lane 4 swimmers. Tomorrow is the final scheduled Bronze Medallion session, and awards will be presented at the close of that session. Parents are, of course, warmly invited to come into reception at around 8.50pm to see the swimmers receive their awards from Steve and Andrew.

If your child / children are unable to attend, do please let us know so that we can make arrangements for them to complete the award.

Thank you!

Mary

March 4th

Message for Lane 4 Life Savers:

You will be in the Studio from 7.45pm - 8.15pm this Friday 6th March - to do some First Aid and CPR - before going in the pool for the last half hou

Mary

March 13th

Hello everyone!

An amazing night at Life Saving! 22 swimmers who all worked really well. A special mention  to Lane 1 who were REALLY on it, tonight - with some excellent 200m swimming and Wading Rescues. Next week should see most of the swimmers achieve their Silver 3 Awards - and they will be well deserved! Just the important "Initiative" scenarios, and another wading rescue to navigate and then on 27th March it will be time to start the last series of Rookie awards - Rookie Gold Many thanks to Thomas and Lucy for everything you do to support our Lane 1 - I could not manage without you! A new set of newbies will start on 27th March, so ours won't be newbies any more!!

Lane 4 are very nearly there with their NLA Bronze Medallions - next week should enable us to see them achieve their awards. If any of these swimmers would like to train as Young Volunteers - like Lucy, Rodger and Esme - just speak to me at the end of next week, and we'll get you started. Thank you to Steve, Andrew and Ian for all your support with these swimmers - most of whom started out as Rookies! What a journey they have had!

Lanes 2 and 3 will become the senior groups after next week (moving into Lanes 3 and 4). They will continue working towards their NLA Bronze Star Awards, which we are hoping they will achieve by June/July this year. Well done to Maddison (Lane 2), who, despite an injured shoulder, still attended tonight and was able to support poolside with her Lane. Thank you to Sandra, Ella, Rodger and Esme for all the time, patience and effort you show, week after week!

Thank you to all our parents who bring our swimmers to the sessions - there would be no club without them, or you!

Finally, it would be lovely if all the parents/carers of Lanes 1 and 4, could come in to reception at the end of next week's session to see your swimmers receive their awards!

Have a good week! — feeling proud.

Mary

March 7th 

Hello everyone,

Well... another excellent night at Life Saving. A fantastic 26 swimmers in attendance, along with our three excellent Young Ambassadors, Lucy, Rodger and Esme. These young people are absolutely vital to the smooth running of our sessions and we are endlessly grateful to them. Well done to Esme and Maisy, who have now completed their Swim England Foundation Safeguarding Qualification. All our Young Volunteers now have this qualification.

100% attendance again from Lane 4 who, following a successful CPR / First Aid session in the Studio last night, have made really good progress with their preparation for the NLA Bronze Medallion Award. The final assessments for their award will be completed by the end of Friday 20th March. We hope, very much, that some of our Lane 4 swimmers will want to continue and train as Young Volunteers with us when they have achieved their NLA Bronze Medallions - they should let us know if this is something they would like to do.

Lanes 2/3 are settling into the NLA Bronze Star programme and are making sound progress with the development of water based and land based rescues, along with stamina and speed activities.

Lane 1 should complete their Rookie Silver 3 Awards by the end of Friday 20th March. Any swimmers who still need to complete catch up assessments because of absence, will be accommodated. The primary focus over the coming two weeks will be both of the wading rescues and Initiative Tests. Then... it's onto Rookie Gold!!

We look forward to welcoming a new batch of "Newbies" mainly for our Rookie Life Guard Bronze programme, on March 27th. Steve and Andrew will be the instructors for this group, with the other instructors moving up a lane with their current groups.

Finally - a HUGE thank you to all our Instructors - without them, and their wonderful commitment, there would be no club!

Mary

March 7th 

There will be limited capacity, starting 27/3/26, for children aged 8-11 years, at our Life Saving Club. If you are interested - please send me a message. The club runs after C Squad from 7.45pm - 8.45pm every Friday and delivers Rookie Lifeguard and National Life Saving Academy awards. 

Mary

February 27th

Hello everyone!

Wow! 27 swimmers at tonight’s session - and a brilliant response from every single one!

Special mentions to:

Lane 4 with 100% attendance. They have worked really hard and with excellent focus towards their NLA Bronze Medallion assessments.

Lane 1 - with a real team effort towards catch up assessments - the way the swimmers support each other is so lovely to see. Well done John and Miles who earned their 200m badges. Two more weeks should see us in a position to be able to award all our swimmers their Rookie Silver 3 Certificates and badges.

The attendance of Lanes 2 and 3 was 12/14 - which is an excellent response - they are working towards their Bronze Star Award, and, considering that they are only 13/14 years old, this will be quite an achievement. Next Friday, these swimmers will be in the Studio from 7.45pm - 8.15pm, working on CPR and First Aid, and then in the pool for the rest of the session. I will send out a reminder next week.

Thank you, again, for all your support - children may forget to thank you for bringing them and making sure they are kitted out with everything they need, but we know and remember and are grateful!

Have a good weekend! See you next Friday!

Mary

February 20th

Good evening everyone!

I just wanted to send a BIG thank you out to all the 15 swimmers who attended tonight’s life saving session, and those who brought them. It is very much appreciated, especially on a cold and dark February night!

Another BIG thank you to the four instructors who were able to volunteer tonight, along with Rodger and Lucy, two of our Young Volunteers. Once again, your commitment is so impressive and appreciated!

We will be back at full strength next Friday and we will look forward to seeing you! Have a good weekend, and an even better week! 

Mary 

February 12th 

Message to Lanes 2 and 3

Please remember to bring a top and bottoms to wear over your swimwear on Friday! Thank you! 

Mary

13th January

Good morning, everyone

We had an excellent attendance of 26 swimmers on the first session of Life Saving on Friday. Well done to all the swimmers who attended and thank you to all families who brought them!

This term, we continue to work through the knowledge, techniques, rescue skills and first aid required by the Rookie and NLA Awards Schemes as follows:

Lane 1: Rookie Silver 3

Lanes 2 and 3: NLA Bronze Star

Lane 4: NLA Bronze Medallion

Six “Well Done” Awards for various “over and above” contributions, including top attendance, willingness to demonstrate and general all round sustained positivity, were presented last Friday and hopefully there will be more to come in the weeks ahead. Well done to Friday’s recipients

We have benefited from Armthorpe Ward Councillor funding which has enabled us to purchase a throw ring, two body boards, two float tubes and spare goggles. Photos were taken on Friday so that we could provide evidence of the resources in use, for the Ward Council. These resources will certainly enhance our delivery and we are grateful to the Ward Council for their generosity.

Could I ask that all swimmers remember to bring a drinks bottle (and use it) and clothing to wear over their swimwear, please? Swimmers need to complete various water-based tasks clothed, and also need to demonstrate that they can remove clothing in water. Swimming in clothing also aids the improvement of stamina and strength.

Finally, a reminder that our full Swimming Club Awards Presentation Evening is on Friday 23rd January, at 7.30pm at Armthorpe Community Centre - so there will be no Life Saving session that evening. Our Lane 2 and 3 swimmers with Bronze Certificate and Bronze Star Awards will be presented with them on that evening if they are able to attend - otherwise we will present them at the end of the Friday session either this week or on 30th January. Obviously, our Lane 1 swimmers are also invited to attend.

Thank you! See you on Friday

Mary