The Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) is the governing body for swimming in England, and with the Scottish and Welsh bodies forms the Amateur Swimming Federation of Great Britain. The ASA organises competition throughout England, establishes the laws of the sport and supports the national teams for swimming, diving, water polo, open water, and synchronized swimming. The ASA offers education programmes and certification for teachers, coaches and officials, and operates an awards scheme.
The Association’s current aim is to encourage all local authorities to produce a written swimming strategy, taking account of the swimming needs of all the community, and to provide the facilities necessary to meet these needs. The main aims of the ASA is: To support the pursuit of excellence at all levels of the sport To provide an effective programme for the training of teachers, coaches and tutors To maximise the commercial opportunities available to the sport for the benefit of the sport
To ensure that everyone has an opportunity to learn to swim To establish laws for the sport To fund clubs all over the country To meet our commitment to race, gender and disability equality in swimming. Grants and Funding from the Department of Arts Sports and Tourism The Department runs two grant programmes: The 2004 Sports Capital Programme and the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme. The Irish Sports Council are responsible for the administration of the Grants Scheme for National Governing Bodies of Sport 2004 Sports Capital Programme
The National Lottery-funded Sports Capital Programme, which is advertised on an annual basis, allocates funding to projects that are directly related to the provision of sport or recreational sport facilities and are of a capital nature. Funding can be allocated to the following organisations under the programme: voluntary and community organisations, including sports clubs; in certain circumstances, schools, colleges and local authorities; and national governing bodies of sport and third level education institutions, where it is evident that the proposed facility will contribute to the regional and/or national sporting infrastructure.
Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme Grant-aid from the Exchequer is made available to local authorities and bodies supported by local authorities, towards the cost of providing new swimming pools or refurbishing existing pools. Levels of Grant-aid Under the Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme grants of up to a maximum of �3.8 million are available towards the refurbishment of existing pools or the provision of new pools, subject in either case to the total grant not exceeding 80% of the eligible cost of the project or, in the case of projects located in designated disadvantaged areas, 90% of the eligible cost
All of these bodies and agencies help fund and organise the sport of swimming in the UK. Incentive schemes and development plans Together with Sport England, the ASA have development plans and incentive schemes to carry out. They are as follows: The Amateur Swimming Association’s national development plan which aims to ensure high standards of teaching and coaching by providing a network of development officers to work closely with local authorities and to try and encourage clubs to work constructively with local authorities and local education authorities.
From Arm Bands to Gold Medals ASA’s national facility plan for swimming together with Sport England, to encourage investment in pools, to develop a network to accommodate all the swimming disciplines, water polo, diving, synchronised swimming and swimming. This plan has yet to be published, and Sport England urges the ASA to do so.
Active Sports Programme Sport England’s development programme targeting 10 sports including swimming, and encouraging young people to become more involved in sport. The programme created 45 sports partnerships to assist in training and coaching and to promote easier access to facilities. Supporting Grassroots Development Through its partners, the Association is actively involved in developing opportunities at a local level, creating more clubs, more events, and ensuring an inclusive approach is taken by all. Programs affected by individual differences In swimming, training sessions are not decided on by age group or gender but by ability but how able they are depends on their age in some cases.
At Broadway Swimming Club, there is three different sessions. In the early session, the swimmers are beginners; they are aged around 4-6 years old and possibly 7 if they are less able than other swimmers in their age group. In this session, the beginners swim widths. They are just being introduced to the water for example kicking their legs with a float and putting their face in the water. In this session, the assistant coaches are actually in the water with the children guiding them across the pool. The aim of the teachers in this session is to build the confidence of the children and gradually remove their armbands and other aids to improve their swimming for the next session. In the second session, the swimmers will concentrate more on technique to improve their ability for later stages if they wish to compete.