Essential Information for New Members

Your Membership

The Membership Secretary will

• Set up your Membership.  When your swimmer joins our competitive club, they must also become a member of Swim England, Swim England East Region, and Swim England Norfolk in order to be able to compete (grouped together as one Swim England membership).  Benefits of this Swim England ‘Club Compete’ membership include automatic insurance provision.  Swimmers under 18 must also have a parent / guardian join as a Swim England member at the Club Support level. 

• Set you up on Swim Manager, your primary tool for managing your swimmer’s experience at the Club.  Your Swim Manager account holds your contact details, the policies and procedures you sign up to, your swimmer’s recorded times, and it is also the tool with which you enter most swimming competitions (Meets).

• Send you the Swim Manager Parents’ Guide.  Your swimmer can’t compete if you’re not familiar with Swim Manager.  The full desktop version is more comprehensive than the app and should be prioritised.

• Confirm the swimming equipment list your swimmer will need for the particular squad they are joining, along with the training schedule, and squad expectations.

• Confirm the total monthly fees that will be taken by direct debit comprising training fees and WNSC and Swim England Membership Fees.

IMPORTANT: You and your swimmer must read and digitally sign your respective Parent / Guardian Code of Conduct, and Swimmer’s Code of Conduct before training and competition can commence. These documents are available on the Account home page of your Swim Manager account.  Once signed, you can revisit them at any time within the ‘Club Policies’ tab of your Swim Manager account.

A Step Up

Joining WNSC marks a step up from swimming lessons and there are some notable changes.  We are a competitive club and your swimmer will be coached rather than taught.  The programme of training is designed and delivered by an experienced team of coaches and will include stamina and technique work across all strokes.  You will not receive the regular progress updates you might have been used to during swimming lessons.  Instead your swimmer will get feedback during training and competition. You will become familiar with the phrase 'trust the process'.

It is important for both safeguarding and general safety reasons that you do not go onto poolside during training or competitions in anything other than an emergency. Please see ‘Key Points of Contact’ below on how to contact your swimmer’s coach and others.

Squad and Equipment List

There are many different squads within the club.  Most young swimmers enter via the Academy, moving up through Junior Development, Potential, Competitive, Competitive Plus, and then follow either the Performance, Competitive, or Club sections depending on various factors.  A description of the squads and their respective training timetables, expectations and equipment requirements can be found on our website: Squad Structure.

Key Points of Contact

Lead Junior Coach Oliver Kenny is your primary point of contact for any questions you may have about training, or which events to enter in competition.

Otherwise the Club’s governing committee should be your first point of contact for any other queries. Contact:

• The Club Secretary (Lois Addis) for swimming competition entry queries and miscellaneous queries.

• The Club Membership Secretary (Helen Hill for 2024/25) for anything related to your membership.

• The Club Treasurer (Stuart Bellamy for 2024/25) for fees and payments queries.

• The Club Welfare Officer (Sarah Ringwood for 2024/25) for safeguarding and welfare concerns.

• Any Committee Member for any other query: they will ensure it gets to the right person.  The Committee page on our website lists all current members: Club Committee

Swimming Competitions/Meets

In addition to the weekly training schedule, the Club takes part in a programme of swimming competitions or ‘Meets’ which are listed in the Club calendar on our website.  The Head Coach will target certain squads for different meets, and these will appear in the Meets tab of your Swim Manager account, from where you must enter your swimmer yourself by the deadline, and pay the related invoice upon entry.  Whilst not compulsory, encouraging your swimmer to compete has numerous benefits that can significantly enrich their Club experience. 

Further Information

Please do read the full Members’ Pack: Essential and Helpful Information to learn more about the purpose of swimming meets; open water swimming opportunities; welfare; safeguarding; policies and conduct; and Parent/ Guardian volunteering expectations from Junior Potential up. 

The pack also includes information about the club coaching team, the captaincy team and the governing committee, the wider Swim England governance structure, more information about different types of swimming Meets, and nutrition advice.              

Welcome to West Norfolk Swimming Club.