WORCESTER SWIMMING CLUB - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Committee
- Membership Secretary Social / Fundraising Sub - Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Committee
- Workforce Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Committee
My name is Izzy Trow and I have been swimming with Worcester Swimming Club for 7 years. I started swimming in Skill Progression and now swim in Performance, having worked my way up through the other squads.
For as long as I can remember, swimming has been a very important part of my life. I will be forever grateful to the coaches, swimmers and volunteers who have made my time at Worcester so enjoyable.
For the past few years I have really enjoyed helping coach the Skill Development squad on Friday nights. It has been great to contribute to swimmers' development, but I have especially found it rewarding to watch the swimmers have fun and form new friendships. It has been really nice to get to know lots of new swimmers and I am looking forward to getting back to it once the pandemic is over.
Worcester Swimming Club has given me many opportunities to try new things, such as open water swimming. It was nice to mix with other squads and experience a different aspect of swimming.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member - IT
- Member of Committee
My daughter (Pru) joined the club in May 2018 and absolutely loves her time training and competing with her new friends. Unfortunately for Pru, our family has very (very!) limited swimming knowledge!, however we do understand how much time and effort is needed from volunteer's to help organise a large community sporting club, and as a technology geek I try to help out the only way I can… joining the committee to help with IT.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Chairman Volunteer Sub - Committee
- Member of Committee
Swimming and water polo has been a part of my life from a very young age, whether competing, coaching or officiating it has always been there. I was at my previous club for approximately 23 years, before I arrived at Worcester SC in 2014. The attributes required to be a swimmer, build skills way past the pool and give a sense of belonging where you learn to overcome disappointment and celebrate milestones all of the way whether, diving for the first time, hitting the times on a hard set, Swimming a PB or gaining a County/Midland or national time.
The club has helped me gain a wealth of experience where I have now achieved my level 2 coaching qualification, my disability awareness certificate of officiating and I extended my knowledge of the rules by becoming a Referee.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Junior Development Coach
- Member of Committee
I have been a member of Worcester Swimming Club since 2011 and I have been involved in swimming all my life, having grown up in a very successful swimming club in London. I love all aspects of the sport and I love to swim, still competing at masters level both in the pool and open water. I will always look for new ideas to enhance the swimmers' experience and I am a strong believer in "enjoying the journey".
Whilst my main role is with the junior section of the Club, I have also spent many years coaching our top athletes and continue to be involved in coaching or leading all squads. It's particularly rewarding to be able to watch swimmers progress from the swim schools where I have worked, through to their first team competition and then onto County, Regional and National success.
I am a level 2 coach, level 2 open water coach, level 2 teacher and after many years of either coaching or observing on County, Regional and National level development camps have been selected as a skills coach by the Region for 2022/2023.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Committee
- Teacher, Competitions Secretary, Club Records
I've been part of WSC for 20 years. The club took both of my children from Pre-Comp to British Championships and they both swam through university and well into their twenties. I have been the competitions rep processing swimmers meet entries for many years and I am club records officer. I also maintain the County records for Worcester County. WSC has been a massive part of our family life with my husband also being a past chairman.
At the age of 13, I joined Worcester having spent 6 years at my previous club, Halesowen, but I have been swimming since I was three. I started in the Age Group Potential squad and spent two years learning the skills and drills I required to improve my performance, making many new friends and I was really pleased when I was finally chosen to move up into Seniors/Performance.
Whilst in AGP, I volunteered and helped to teach/coach some of the younger swimmers in Skill Development on a Friday evening until I moved to performance, which obviously required me to train on a Friday night. I really enjoy coaching and supporting the younger swimmers to develop and transfer the skills I have learnt from the coaches to them and also see their progression. In addition, when I can, I take up the opportunity to help out on poolside at the Junior and PGL league to support the swimmers.
Throughout my swim career, I have swam in all leagues from PGL, Mercian with Worcester Winter League, Junior League, and the National League at a previous club as a junior. My most enjoyable experience was being captain at the PGL league final and when the final girls relay won by half a length. I love to compete at open meets and counties and the opportunity to swim in open water last year, which I had hoped to continue this year.
In Swimming, I've learnt no matter how hard we work individually, in training or as part of the larger team in competition, this sport requires dedication, resilience and patience to achieve the best we can. These kind of things are so important to me and I want to help younger swimmers to learn how to deal with the disappointments as well as the good and offer personal experience on how I deal. After undertaking the online part of the Assistant Swimming Coach course earlier this year, I am excited to transfer any skills I learn from the rest of this course to younger swimmers in order to develop their performance and mine too. Swimming at this club and in total has not only improved my skills and times but also my mental well-being too.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Secretary
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Head
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Committee
I learned to swim at age 8 and proved "a natural", soon swimming competitively in Diddy League for Stratford-upon-Avon. I was pretty successful as a junior, winning County titles and achieving National qualifying times though I struggled a bit through my teenage years, balancing school work and training commitments.
Whilst I swam for three Counties (Warwickshire, Somerset and Wiltshire) my proudest achievements came when I was at the University of Bath where I earned a Full Blue for Swimming, and an Honorary Blue for Contribution to University Sport as the Athletic Union President. I was selected several times for British Universities and represented England students in the home nations gala against Scotland, Ireland & Wales…where incredibly I swam the 200m Butterfly, not my favourite event, I was much more of a 50/100m swimmer!
I quickly fell into coaching when I left University and enjoyed success as Head Coach at Melksham and then Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire either side of a spell at Worcester when I moved briefly to the area with work in the 1990s. I fell in love with the Club then, encouraged by the likes of Andy MacBeth and Malcolm Latta so it was natural that when I returned to Worcester in 2003, I would want to get involved, initially as a volunteer assistant coach and then in 2008, leaving my "proper" job with Lloyds TSB behind, as the Club's first ever full time Head Coach
To my mind, we blend competitive success and a community / family oriented ethos brilliantly, and it is my absolute privilege to be Head Coach. I have no desire to pursue a wider coaching career, I bleed Blue & Green, all I want is for each and every swimmer here to have the opportunity to achieve their potential in a long-term athlete development programme that is fun but challenging
In case you were wondering where all the volunteers come from, just about every one of them starts out as a swimmer's parent who feels they can help out in some way. That's what happened to me, and the Presidents before me! I can remember it quite clearly, we moved to WSC from Pershore, when their pool closed, our eldest daughter was about 11 years old, I promised my husband that I wouldn't get involved for at least a year… nine months later I was timekeeping and on the Committee… my husband then started coaching and WSC became our second home.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Treasurer
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Member of Committee
- Renewals Secretary
Job Titles:
- Vice Chairman
- Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee
- Vice Chairman of Committee