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Reading Swimming Club has been awarded the prestigous Swim21 accreditation by the sport's governing body, the ASA.

The programme is a benchmark for the quality of clubs' programmes in various areas, and Reading has been awarded Swim21 status in both the Skills Development and Teaching categories – a fillip for the teaching programme headed by Sally Brookfield which provides courses at a number of local pools for all levels from absolute beginners to adults and is a rich vein of talent for the club, and the training programme under head coach Graeme Thomas.

As well as assembling a large squad for the summer's national age group and youth championships, Thomas has made great strides in developing skills within the club's volunteer coaching body – with senior swimmers including Rob Knott, James Golding, Lauren Macarthur and Charlotte Zadrozny moving into coaching to assist stalwarts already heavily committed to the sport.

What does this mean for Reading Swimming Club?

The Swim21 scheme can be considered as a highly coverted,stamp of approval, similar to the "Investors in People" that many businesses are proud to display. Simply put, it means that the club has shown that it develops people - be they swimmers or coaches - according to an approved scheme, and has all the appropriate policies and procedures in place to be a responsible swimming club.

This is a huge piece of work - not least because the Swim21 scheme has been developing all the time - and involved large areas of the club - from the Teaching programme run by now Sally Brookfield, right though to the competitive training squads, and the Management and Executive committees to ensure the correct constitutional arrangements for the clubs, and adherance to Child Protection Policies and and schemes.

By choosing a Swim21 accredited club, parents can be assured that their swimmers are in a club that has been scrutinised and shown to have everything in place for developing their potential. They can also be assured that the club keeps up to date too, as Swim21 accreditation is validated on an annual basis.

The Club is indebted to Louise Barnes and Jakie Cantle for their efforts in obtaining this accreditation.

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