Latest News 2025
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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2025
Following the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Kingfishers Swimming Club, a new committee of Officers was formally elected to oversee the club’s operations for the upcoming year.
The AGM also provided a platform for reports from officers highlighting the club’s achievements over the past year and paving the way for a smooth transition of responsibilities.
The newly elected Officers are as always volunteers who bring a diverse mix of experience and enthusiasm to their roles, positioning the club for continued success both in competition and community engagement.
Among the key appointments were the Chairperson, Secretary, and Treasurer, each entrusted with vital responsibilities in governance, communication, and financial oversight. Additional roles, such as Welfare Officer and Head Coach Liaison, were filled by individuals with strong ties to the club and a deep understanding of its values.
The club looks forward to a productive year under the guidance of its new leadership team, with plans already underway to enhance training programmes, grow membership, and strengthen the club’s presence in regional competitions.
Thank you in advance for your efforts in the coming year ahead.
Officers 2025/6
Chairperson - Nicola Severein-Kirk
Vice Chair - Pete Hardy
Secretary - Shirley Cooper
Treasurer - Michele Stilborn
Membership Secretary - Maureen Hardy
Competition Secretary - Shirley Cooper
Welfare and Disability Liaison - Mary Firth
Head Coach - Jonathan Tuffrey
Club Affiliation/SwimMark - Mary Firth
Equipment Secretary - Claire Burkill
Life Saving Coordinator - Mary Firth
Additional Committee Members -
Lee Burkill
Ian Hunter
Claire Hobson
Nicola Sanders
North East Regional Championships
1st Day of the NERs and Alexander Drury was on fire
4 second PB with a time of 1:30:37
Ranked him 13th in the North East in the 100m breaststroke for 12 year olds
Well done Ander!
The following swimmers are representing Armthorpe this weekend and over the next few weekends at the Regionals. These events are for the fastest in the whole of the North East Region. To take part swimmers not only have to achieve qualifying times, they are then ‘considered’ before their entries are accepted. So getting to Regionals is a huge achievement. I’m sure you will all wish the following swimmers full-speed for their upcoming races:
Alexander Drury 50m & 100m BR
Laura Garbacik 50m Fly & 50m FR
Miranda Burkill 50m FR
Vlad Akula 50m FR
Also look out for our Armthorpe swimmers who are representing DARTES over the coming weekends in several events
James Ellis
Jack Jones
Sofia-Elise Sanders
Because it’s a special competition, events are broadcast live on YouTube with the following link if you want to follow our swimmers:
https://www.youtube.com/live/J36kYewxgSg?feature=shared
And a draft programme can be found here for this weekend:
https://www.swimmingresults.org/events/senerag25/NERag.pdf
Best wishes to all those swimming, swim hard and have fun!
Jonathan
Day 2
Some amazing swims for the Kingfishers today, Alexander returned for the 50m breaststroke and he was joined by Laura and Miranda competing in the 50m freestyle
The heats saw them all achieve PBs
12 year old boys 50m breaststroke
Alexander smashed out a 2 second PB with a time of 40.21 which ranked him 7th making the regional final
The final was fast but saw another impressive swim with Ander finishing 9th
13 years 50m freestyle
Laura was next up and finished 13th just missing out on that final with a time of 30.71
14 years 50m freestyle
And last up was Miranda with yet another PB and a time of 30.34 finishing 21st
Aria and Jakub were brilliant cheerleaders too
To even qualify to compete at these events is impressive, so they have all done themselves and our club proud today
Nicola
***Phase 2 of the Race Calendar***
Team Events Ahead!
March was a fantastic month of racing, culminating in the John Harrimans gala, where Armthorpe claimed victory! While there were club points at stake, these events were primarily about individual swimmers improving their personal bests, and we saw plenty of that! It was also brilliant to see so many of our newer swimmers competing for the first time, gaining experience and confidence.
Now, as we move into Phase 2 of the race calendar, the focus shifts to team events. From May 31st, we have the METS Teams (Bridon Shield) followed very closely by three BML galas, the first one on June 1st! These competitions are all about racing for the club, and selection will be based on PBs and performances from the past few months. We are the defending Bridon Shield champions and last year’s BML winners, let’s aim to keep both trophies at Armthorpe!
We appreciate that everyone wants to race, but team selection is limited. Teams will be posted as soon as possible, and we encourage everyone to be available. Thank you for your understanding and support.
Looking ahead, there are also several sprint meets throughout the year which are great opportunities for all swimmers to improve times and push for future team selection. If you’ve completed the forms, the next one is the Rotherham Metro long course event on May 17-18th.
Keep training hard, keep racing, and let’s keep Armthorpe on top!
Jonathan
Swim England have released a few tips on how to balance training while studying for exams, please see the link below. Please find me for a chat if you need to discuss this.
Jonathan
Harriman's Photo Call
Harriman's Photo Call
Final scores for the Top Club Award were as follows:
Armthorpe 357
Adwick 312
Dearne Valley 296
Dartes 245
Edlington 100
Askern 26
Go To Competition Result & Report for full details
Congratulations Maisy!
Overall Top 14 Year Old Girl performance
Overall Top 14 Year Old Girl performance
50m Backstroke Gold: 36.91 (PB)
50m Freestyle Gold: 33.02
50m Butterfly Gold: 36.76 (PB)
50m Breaststroke Gold: 44.20
Evie and Ben - Congratulations on your performances the Harriman’s!
Pride of Armthorpe awards Evening
Congratulations to
Lucas Johnson Sports Person of the year U-16 2025
Hi everyone,
As you know, we have been trialing blue swim hats for competitions. These hats were provided free of charge, and after listening to your feedback, the committee discussed this at our meeting on Monday and agreed that we will no longer be using the blue hats going forward.
(If you previously requested a personalized blue hat, please note that these will not be ordered or charged.)
Moving forward, yellow hats will be our official race hats for all competitions. Personalization options will be available for yellow hats only. Both blue and yellow hats can continue to be used for training.
If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message.
Thanks,
Claire
Please can you all take a minute to sign this petition, a 20m pool is no good to a competitive club.
Alison Fielding
Beverley Barracudas March 16th Photo call
Morning Warm Up - 8.00am
Warm up with Jonathan
Afternoon Warm up - 2.00pm
Evan and Arthur
Emily D
Corey, Harris, Alfie
Millie and Abigail
Emily, Laura and Miranda
Competition Report can be found under Competition Results and Report page
Alex and Harrison
Lucas and Lucas
Laura and Sofia.
Ben, William, William, Jakub, Ray, Henry
William H, William J, Jakub, Henry
Noah and Rodger
Evan, Arthur, Emily and Nikki
Poolside
Rodger
Calling Notice for the AGM 2025
Named Competition Cap Order
Quite a few people have requested a new personalised competition hat.
The named hats will be £10 each
So if you would like one please comment below with the exact name and spelling you wish to be printed.
Final date for ordering will be Friday 21st March
Nicola
Worksop Dolphins Open Meet
March 1st Ponds Forge
Huge thank you to the coaching team for today, you did a great job as always. Some brilliant swims and PBs from Kingfishers. Great day!!
Shirley
Well done to all our kingfishers that competed today
You were all amazing…
Nicola
This meet was a brilliant opportunity for our swimmers to experience a top-class venue, with its impressive and challenging atmosphere it will prepare them well for future competitions. For some, it was their first taste of long course racing, and they handled it brilliantly. For our more seasoned swimmers, it was also a great chance to try different strokes over different distances, and they pushed themselves outside their comfort zones.
With none of the usual Yorkshire based teams competing, our swimmers could fully focus on their own performances without distractions. Medals were tough to win, making each one even more rewarding, but we always intend to focus on the time, rather than the reward. Beyond the results, the team spirit was fantastic. There was plenty of space for them to spend time together to build friendships, team spirit and they supported and motivated each other throughout the meet.
It was great to see them all embracing the challenge, learning from the experience, and most importantly, enjoying themselves. Whether smashing PBs or gaining valuable race experience, every swimmer should be proud.
Well done to everyone who raced! This was a valuable stepping stone in their swimming journeys, and we can’t wait to see the progress continue in the next competitions. Beverley next! Keep training hard, and let’s build on this momentum!
Jonathan
***Worksop Dolphins - March 1st 2025***
Some additional details below for the meet this weekend.
Warm up
Please arrive no later than 730am ready for warm up at 8am.
For the afternoon session, swimmers to report to coaches no later than 1pm for 130pm warm up.
Parking
https://www.q-park.co.uk/en-gb/cities/sheffield/castlegate/
50% off parking by pre-booking with this code PFQPSHF50 (limited spaces) or pay on the day and hand your ticket to reception for 25% off.
If Castlegate is full, there is another multi-story a short walk away at Victoria Quays.
Spectator tickets are available with this link.
https://search.app/jbyt8GHzTRVuiYbo6
Safeguarding
It is a big venue and it’s busy - can parents/guardians please remind their children they should not go anywhere without informing the coaches.
Also, after they’ve finished for the day please let us know they have arranged to be collected by their parents/guadians. Please use messenger if necessary.
Please remember there are strictly no mobile phones to be used in changing rooms by anyone. Please help us to reinforce this.
Really looking forward to this one! It was a great gala last year with many pbs so let’s go for more of the same!!
Jonathan
YORKSHIRE CHAMPIONSHIPS
The following swimmers are representing Armthorpe on Saturday 22nd February 2025 at Ponds Forge!
Alexander Drury
Ben Gilson
Jakub Garbacik
Laura Garbacik
Lucas Stallard
Miranda Burkill
Ray Chapman
Vlad Akula
William Holmes
Warm up times are below and also a link to the programme. Please arrive no less than 30 minutes before the 1st warm up.
If there are any withdrawals from any events, let me know by 10am Friday 21st Feb please.
Reminder that mobile phones are strictly forbidden in changing rooms for everyone.
Jonathan
The caps have been ordered and are due in 4/5 weeks time, I’ll be in touch once personalized hats have been delivered.
Thanks Claire
Congratulations to our Lane 4 Life Saving group, who, after three and a half years of hard work, have finally achieved the NLA Bronze Medallion Award: Alex, Esme, Maisy, Lucy, Rodger, Lucas and Rodger can be justifiably proud of their achievement! There is now a limited number of spaces in the Life Saving Club.
Please send me a message if you are interested in a place for your child.
Mary
Further to the recent equipment and kit guide and for anything that is not branded or personalised club wear which is available from Claire D Burkill
I am pleased to let you all know that Martyn at sporty swim has generated us a discount code for their family run business.
If you type ‘KINGFISHERS’ into the promo code when purchasing you will get 10% discount on your entire order.
They offer free delivery on orders over £15
And offer PayPal pay in 3 if you need to spread the cost
They are only based at Nottingham for anyone wanting to go and try those more expensive suits or jammers on and offer expert guidance on fit.
Nicola
I’m sure you will all join me in congratulating the following 12 swimmers for achieving Yorkshire qualifying times for the spring Yorkshire Championships 2025!
Vlad Akula
Lawrence Chapman
Ray Chapman
Alexander Drury
Jakub Garbacik
Benjamin Gilson
William Holmes
Lucas Johnson
Lucas Stallard
Miranda Burkill
Laura Garbacik
Jennifer Powell
Also well done to 5 of our DARTES swimmers who have also achieved qualifying times:
James Ellis
Jack Jones
Aria Sanders
Sofia Sanders
Stephen Tuffrey
(Entries via DARTES)
The closing date for entries is 10th January 2025, so there will be a form appearing later today for you to confirm the swims you want to race. We need your completed forms by 8th January please so that we can complete the entry admin in time. A screenshot of which swims are eligible for each swimmer is in the comments section.
Races are £6 each and are split between John Charles in Leeds and Ponds Forge in Sheffield. Details for where events will be held can be found in the link below:
https://yorkshireswimming.org/.../YSA-Galas-2025-Version...
Spectator tickets go on sale on 10th January and we will share more details on this later this week.
Well done to all swimmers once again!
Jonathan Tuffrey
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