Thinking of Joining?
What we do
Wycombe District swimming club provides aquatic activities for fitness, competition and fun. The benefits of swimming include building up your knowledge on safety, improved health, stamina, strength and meeting new people. As with all sports, the more you put into the sport, the more you will get out of it.
The club is one of the top performing UK swimming clubs, but it's not all about the performance, we also believe that sport is about your own personal achievements. We aim to be an inclusive welcoming club and are proud of our #oneteam ethos.
How the Club Works
The aim of the Wycombe District Swimming Club is to provide an environment for the coaching and development of swimming and to provide the opportunity and encouragement to enable all of its membership to reach their full potential within the sport of swimming.
The club is a charity run by its members for the promotion of the sport in the area. The club relies on volunteers to manage the club, run events and assist with the coaching and we need you to get involved. The charity trustees work with a management committee elected by the members to run the day to day activities.
The club holds an AGM each year when it reports to the membership and elects the committee and trustees.
Volunteers are active across all aspects of the club, from coaching to management and administration. Volunteering has many recognised benefits including:
- It makes you happier. People who volunteer in sport often feel a sense of pride and say that their life has a sense of purpose.
- You’ll meet new people. Volunteering in sport is a great way to make new friends and connections. A shared love of sport often leads to new friendships. You won’t only connect with the other volunteers in the club, but attending meetings and events is a good way to get to know club members and the wider community too.
- It’s a great way to develop new skills. Volunteering can help you to improve current skills or develop new ones. Different roles will offer different opportunities. So volunteering doesn’t only benefit your club, but also you as a volunteer.
We believe that volunteering for the club is the best way that you can support your swimmers. It ensures that club money is only spent on in areas such as facility hire, equipment and coaching leadership and training. We rely on our members and their families to to support the club with their time and skills where they can be most effective. This is key to keeping the costs of a quality provision affordable for all the swimmers.
FAQ
Where do I start?
Young Swimmers (10 years and under)
We now take children into the Club's Stroke Improver Classes and/ or the Academy Programme, after they have started their learn to swim journey around Level 4/5 equivalent on the Swim England LTS programme. In our Stroke Improver section at the club we concentrate on building good fundamentals within each stroke along with particular focus on body position and building a good strong kick. As this progresses we then work on building stamina into the sessions and holding the technique over longer distances. Following the Stroke Improvers squads, swimmers progress into our Academy and/or Development program where they focus more on refining technique and building stamina along with preparing them to learn more competitive skills throughout a structured and fun programme.
Older Swimmers (11+)
Older children over the age of 11 years are also very welcome to join the club and we are able to offer more technique and stamina building sessions at a more appropriate level whils mixing them with similar level and age swimmers. The level they join at will be dependent upon ability and previous training. For the less experienced swimmers the entry route might be through stroke improvers or others may go straight into the development squads. More experienced swimmers (usually those training already) will transfer to other squads.
Masters
Masters swimming is for anyone over the age of 19 not in the performance swimming squads. Our Masters are a lively and diverse group and we can offer training for a wide range of abilities including for those who are interested in Triathlon. Please complete the trial form if you wish to try a free taster session.
Water Polo
Water polo is available to swimmers 12+ Please fill in in the online trial form and clearly indicate WATER POLO on the form - swimmers wishing to play water polo will need to be a reasonable standard of swimmer already and swim fit to be able to attend the waterpolo sessions. We do also offer a Fitness swim session as an add on to the Water Polo session to keep up a good level of fitness for playing the game more effectively
Disability Swimmers
Depending on swimming ability, Disability swimmers will either enter the club through the normal routes above or untilise the Enable sessions to get a start in the sport. You should fill in the trial form but if you wish to discuss specific needs feel free to contact the club's admin by email and we can then set up a call to discuss specifics.
How do I Join?
The best way to start is to fill in the online trial application form (click on the box at the top of this page) and sign up for a free trial swim. You can also email [email protected] for more information or if you are not sure if your swimmer is ready yet!
How do Trials Work ?
We hold membership trials at different times during the month except during August when teachers and coaches are away. The trials are used as a way to assess the current level of the swimmer and the most suitable place in the club to start.
Trials are normally held at various times during a month on a Saturday morning at Wycombe Leisure Centre. You must contact the club to book a place on a trial. Trialists arriving on the day without booking cannot be accepted to swim.
Once you have been accepted to join a trial, you will be informed of the date and time of your trial.
Please be aware that demand for trials is high and you may not be invited to the next scheduled trial, you may be given a date in the future, if the next scheduled trial is over-subscribed.
Are places limited?
The club is very popular but we will always try our best to place your swimmer within a suitable squad for them. From time to time we hold waiting lists for certain squads but we will inform you of this is the need arises.
What is Bronze Transition?
The Bronze Transition is an integrated program in conjunction with the Lesson Program at Wycombe Leisure Centre. The purpose of the Bronze Transition is to encourage swimmers in the current Leisure Centre lesson programme to start learning skills more aligned with the club and start to transition in. These sessions focus more on swimmers who might be ready to progress to club from stages 5 upwards.
The Bronze Transition is run by the Wycombe Leisure Centre. All sessions and costs associated with this group are organised with the Leisure Centre and and swimmers are selected by the teachers to attend this group and will then be recommended to the club when they are ready and have mastered the relevant skills.
Starting to become a better swimmer...
We have recently started a new programme - WDSC SWIM ACADEMY- at one of the local pools in High Wycombe and we are now able to offer younger, less experienced swimmers, many of who are still learnng the fundamentals - a chance to progress into the club earlier and begin their swimming journey within an established club environment.
How do I transfer from another club?
Please complete a trial form in the first instance and we will then contact you to discuss our offering based on your current swiming level, age etc. We will need to understand the level you are swimming at and possibly some of your race times (Pb's). We can then discuss a trial in the most appropriate squad. We may also ask you to meet with our coaching team to discuss building a new training schedule for you.
The standard of the Wycombe performance squads are high, transferring from a top squad in another club will not necessarily equate to the Wycombe performance squads. Our competitive squads have standards and training times equivalent or better than many clubs top offerings.
What is or Who are “Swim Admin”?
Swim admin's Nicky and Fiona are the administration service we use to run payments, general enquiries and trials for the club. They are the face of the club you will meet if you come to Wycombe and can help you with your account and general enquiries.
Please remember that they are not the coaching team or the club management but they can put you in contact with the right people to help you on your swimming journey. You can contact them at [email protected]
