Following the latest Government announcement on the 11 May and the recent announcement from Swim England regarding the suspending licences for swimming competitions, we have had to make the difficult decision to cancel our Summer Madness gala on the 11 July. I am sure you all share in our disappointment, but until we have a clear timeline for the appropriate reintroduction of competitions and the easing of lockdown and further information on what social distancing measures we would need to put in place, we are unable to hold this competition. We are still busy planning for our Back to Pool gala on the 26/27th September and further information on this will be sent out soon. In the meantime stay safe and we look forward to seeing you all soon.
Following yesterday’s Prime Minister’s daily COBRA briefing we received updated guidance from Swim England as to the capacity for the club to continue its current activities.
The Board of RDASC has examined this guidance and we have taken the step to suspend all club training and activities with immediate effect.
Payments
Your Club Fees will be suspended during the period – all Direct Debits will be suspended and there is no need for you to do anything, our finance team will undertake the necessary steps.
Those paying by Direct Debit should take NO acton regarding payments, this will be managed by RDASC.
If you have continued to pay by Standing Order, then you will need to cancel these payments immediately – we will not be in a position to issue Standing Order refunds.
Club Updates
We will review the situation every 14 days and update you accordingly as to when training will resume. The next update will be Monday 6th April.
Club Funding
The Club will continue to cover its liabilities during this period and this will place increased pressure on our resources. If you feel in a position to continue to pay your club fees during this period then please do let us know via the email address as this will significantly assist with the clubs finances.
The Future
Whilst we are currently experiencing an unprecedented situation with the spread of COVID-19, we wish to assure you that RDASC has put steps in place to ensure that the club will continue to service the swimmers of our region well beyond this current period.
Last night the Board unanimously approved an exciting new Club Structure and Expansion Plan presented by our Head Coach, Ben Hatchett. We are now actively seeking to add to our coaching team and are in the process of rubber-stamping key links with two other Swimming Clubs within this area.
We are sorry that it has not been possible for the Club to remain in operation during this time, as we had previously hoped, but RDASC has a great future ahead of it – and we are excited for you to continue to play your part in it.
If you have any questions about this or any other issue please do not hesitate to contact
In response to the recent guidance from the Government, Public Health England and subsequent advice from Swim England with regards to COVID-19, we have now taken steps to cancel our April Fool Gala, which was due to be held at the John Charles Centre, Leeds on 28/29 March 2020. I know you will share in our disappointment in making this decision but we must ensure the safety and wellbeing of all swimmers, coaches, volunteers and parents.
RDASC will be organising a full refund to Clubs for all swims and poolside passes. All refunds will be paid directly to the swimmer’s affiliated Club, followed by a confirmation email to the Club’s Competitions Secretary.
Where multiple paper entries have been received from Clubs, we also intend to make a single BACS payment transfer directly to the Club and ask that the Club reimburse their swimmers accordingly.
Can I ask that each recipient of this email reply with confirmation of their Club’s bank details so as to ensure reimbursements are made to the current bank account.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for choosing to take part in our April Fool Gala, and also for your continued support.
In light of the widespread concerns regarding Coronavirus, we are following guidance from Swim England, local authorities and the British Government. At this point, club activities will continue as planned (training and competitions included) unless we communicate or are forced otherwise. We encourage that members exercise the appropriate cautions around hand washing and disposing of tissues as per the widely available guidance.
Club members are encouraged that if they do have any concerns about possible infection, we ask that they contact the club immediately so appropriate steps can be taken. We do have several members with disabilities and respiratory conditions.
A huge shout out to Scarlett Goodwin who last week had her hair cut and donated the cuttings to the Little Princess Trust, a charity who construct hair pieces for children who have lost their hair through illness.
Scarlett also has a Just Giving page (details on link below) raising money for the British Heart Foundation. She has a target of £200 so please help Scarlett pass this total if you can, its for a fantastic cause.
RDASC support two swimmers 3 hours per week in the Para Squad. Sophia (8) who has Spinal Cord astracytoma, and Archie (11) who is visually impaired. Archie has qualification times for the 2020 Junior Para Nationals.
The programme started at the beginning of October and will continue for the foreseeable future.
Sophia and Archie are coached by Zoe Cowan who is now lead coach for the Para-swimming team.
Both swimmers swam in the RDASC Club Championships last weekend.
Special thanks to Nuffield who kindly sponsor a lane to keep the para squad running.
Congratulations to Junior Potential swimmer Gracie Morgan who, after coming 2nd in her first international dressage competition has been selected to be a lottery funded National Academy rider for British Dressage 2020. Well done Gracie.
A NEW Head Coach for Richmond Dales Amateur Swimming Club
RDASC board has selected Ben Hatchett to replace Chris Dove who left the club to take up a coaching position in Dubai. Ben is currently Head Coach at Durham City Aquatics.
“I’m delighted to be taking over as Head Coach; the club has a massive amount of potential and has the resources available to be consistently finishing at the top end of the County Championships table. These results will then form the foundation towards our primary performance targets, of podium success at Regional and National meets, which the team will be looking to continuously develop over the next few years.
I am thoroughly looking forward to getting started; working with the athletes, coaches, board members and parents to drive the club on to the next level”
Ben holds over 10 years experience, coaching swimmers and implementing strategies over a range of abilities covering Learn to Swim to British Championship standard. He holds the Swim England Level 3 Senior Coach qualification, a Bsc (Hons) in Sport Science for Performance Coaching degree and an MSc in Performance Coaching
Richard Palmer-Jones, Chairman RDASC said “We are delighted to welcome Ben as the new Head Coach of Richmond Dales. We are excited by his vision for the club. He has a proven pedigree – having successfully combined athlete performance development with overall club development in his previous role. Ben will now lead our impressive team of 8 coaches as we take the next step in our clubs evolution towards our stated intention of becoming one of the leading clubs in North East Swimming.”
This years RDASC AGM, is to be held on Monday 11th November at 18:00 in Catterick Leisure Centre. All members of the club are invited to attend the AGM.
The attachments to this post are:
– Nomination Form AGM 2019:
This should be used if you would like to nominate yourself or somebody else for a Board role within the Club. Please note new members can be nominated and those who currently hold that position will be more than happy to support and guide you should your nomination be successful. Completed nominations forms should be returned by 14th October 2019.
– Notice of AGM 2019:
More information on the roles is included in this attachment “Notice of AGM_2019”. Please feel free to chat to existing members of the Board if you want to find out more about these different roles. Current roles are held as follows: Club Chair: Chris Smith; Club Secretary: Eithne Longstaff; Finance Officer: Lesley Scott; Club Development Officer:Keith Hall; Coaching Representative:Chris Dove; Fundraising Officer: Amy Simeon (Please note, Chris Smith, Eithne Longstaff, Lesley Scott and Chris Dove will all be standing down from their roles at the 2019 AGM).
Please contact any member of the board if you have any queries.
Massive thanks to @chriscookgb for joining us on Zoom this morning!
Mental toughness session for our older athletes and Chris’ Journey through competitive swimming and Q&A for our Juniors 👍
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