Who We Are
The club has two branches: Once swimmers have achieved Stage 7 of the NPTS which must now be achieved through the DCLT (Leisure Centre teaching lessons) they have the option to progress to our 'Rookie Lifeguard/Survive & Save' or Competitive section.
For Rookies and Survive & Save we follow the programmes developed by the Royal Lifesaving Society (RLSS) UK who are the leading provider for Water Safety education, rescue techniques and resuscitation. Rookie has been developed in conjunction with the Amateur Swimming Association to compliment the National Plan for Teaching Swimming.
The Competitive section has always been one of the most successful in the area, challenging for top spot in several leagues and championships each year.
We have three squads - A B and C.
Our swimmers range from 6 years old to 18 years of age.
The Volunteers Behind the Scenes
Assistant Coaches and Support Staff
The club is built upon the work of all the volunteers who give up their time. No one gets paid but every member of the poolside team either has or is working towards ASA qualifications in teaching or coaching swimming.
The support staff and parents are vital cogs behind the scenes undertaking many tasks - the Chairman, Secretary, Team Managers, Lifeguards, Treasurer, Events Secretary, Welfare Officer, Swim Mark Officer, Membership Secretary.
We are fortunate to have a great team of qualified and experienced coaches, teachers and poolside helpers.
Just some of the volunteers who make a swim meet successful. Schofields 2024
Officers
President: Derek Fretwell
Vice President:
Chair: Pete Hardy
Vice Chair: Nicola Severeign-Kirk
Treasurer: Michele Stilborn
Secretary: Maureen Hardy
Open Meet Secretary: Paul Whiteley Shirley Cooper
Equipment Secretary: Claire Burkill
Swim Mark Co-ordinator Mary Firth
Welfare Officer: Mary Firth
Head Coach Lifesaving: Ian Fillingham:
Head Coach: Jonathan Tuffrey
Deputy Head Coach: Lee Burkill
Thank you for all your efforts!
Everyone is an integral part of the club and we are thoroughly grateful for the help and time gifted by so many hardworking individuals.
Club President
To act as a figurehead both within and outside of the club. The club president is an honorary role supporting the work of the Club and presenting a public face of the club at all times.
Club Chairperson
The club chairperson is the principal officer for the club and is elected by the club members.
Vice Chairperson
The Vice Chairperson works closely with club chair supporting them to undertake the leadership and governance responsibilities of the club. Generally speaking, the Vice Chairperson will look to step into the role of Club Chairperson when the chairperson is unavailable.
Club Treasurer
The Treasurer of the club is responsible for producing and managing the club’s accounts and finances and will oversee all income and expenditure for the club.
Club Secretary
The Club Secretary is key to the smooth running of the club. They provide a main point of contact for administration, information and communication.
A big big thank you to our regular Life Guards Deklan and Tiegen.
Swim Mark Coordinator
The SwimMark Coordinator is the key point of contact for SwimMark, Swim England’s recognised kite-mark for the development of effective, ethical and sustainable clubs.
Equipment Officer
The Equipment Officer provides a central point of contact for all kit and equipment queries and takes the lead on developing the best value for parents.
Club Welfare Officer
This role is essential in providing a first point of contact for children, parents and adults within the club who have a child safeguarding or welfare concern.
Team Manager
The Team Manager ensures team cohesion at aquatic events and competitions. This may include the organisation of the logistics where the competition is at a different venue.
Poolside Helpers
To assist with the set-up of the pool for club training sessions and ensure all equipment is correctly stored away at the end of the session.
To follow the instructions of the coach / teacher to support the delivery of the session.
To be aware of the safety of the session at all times, ensuring the poolside is tidy and any health and safety risks are reported to the coach or appropriate personnel.
To make sure that swimmers have the correct equipment needed for the session such as pull buoys and floats.
Our Training Venue
Unfortunately DCLT the pool operators will not allow us to hold any swimming competitions at Armthorpe so we usually use Adwick Leisure centre for our league Gala and home Championship
Club Background:
'The Kingfishers Swimming Club'
The Club is affiliated to the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) and during 2009 the club achieved Swim 21 accreditation which is the ASA's mark of quality.
Swim 21 has been subsequently replaced by Swimmark Accreditation which the club still holds.
We provide a friendly, positive and encouraging environment for our members to achieve their goals.
Our current membership stands at 100.
History of Armthorpe Swimming Club
The Club was formed in 1976 by George and Betty Griffiths, J.Loydd and Pete Dinsdale, shortly after the opening of the then new Armthorpe Leisure Centre. Our first President was Harry Schofield who was an ex mayor of Doncaster. He remained as our President until his death in 2004.The Club Committee at the time was Secretary Helen Caswell; Treasurer Pam Mercer and 'Money Collector' Marjory Dinsdale.
Peter Dinsdale was one of the first to introduce D.A.R.T.E.S.
Over the years the club has grown in strength and has always been one of the top competitive clubs in Doncaster, having produced 13 National Age Group Champions and many individual finalists in addition too many Yorkshire Champions.
The Kingfisher logo was chosen by the swimmers who were asked to put logos forward and 'Kingfisher' won. George Griffiths was Chief coach aided by his wife Betty. Malcolm Foy organised the buying of equipment for the newly founded club.
A.S.C. were the first in Doncaster to buy their own lane ropes with the help of members fundraising. Harry Schofield proved to be an excellent liaison person with the Council.
Harry Schofield presenting medals at the Schofield Championships