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Swim21
Swim 21 - what is it?
What is Long
Term Athlete Development (LTAD)?
Who can apply
for Swim21?
How do I know if
I am at a Swim21 Accredited club?
What are the
benefits of being at a Swim21 club?
What can I do if
the club I am at is a non-Accredited club?
Swim21 is the ASA Club Development model, planning tool based on the principles of Long Term Athlete Development, enabling clubs to help athletes, teachers, coaches and administrators to achieve their full potential. It focuses particularly on the needs of the athletes - striving to provide the best possible support environment. Swim21 is not just endorsed by the ASA but also by Sport England; Swim21 accreditation includes Sport England Clubmark, a kite mark set across all sports.
What is Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD)?
Long Term Athlete Development is about achieving optimal training, competition and recovery throughout an athlete's career, particularly in relation to the important growth and development years of young people. For more information on LTAD visit the British Swimming website
Swim21 accreditation is available to ASA clubs of any aquatic discipline - diving, swimming, synchro or water polo. Each club is encouraged to sign up to Swim21 and are positioned at one or more of the 4 areas:
Teaching - where the emphasis is on quality teaching using a multi skill approach, underpinned by sound governance;
Skill Development
- where athletes develop their technical skill within a quality programme of coaching and competition, supported by sound governance;Competitive Development
- where, supported by sound governance, athletes are part of a quality training and development programme, which consistently enables athletes to compete successfully at regional and national levels;Performance
- where athletes can access training and support services in a performance development environment that is focussed and coach driven and supported by sound governance.
How do I know if I am at a Swim21 Accredited club?
All clubs who have achieved Swim21 are allowed to use the Swim21 logo on their letterheads, promotional material and website. They also receive a certificate from the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) to display at their training venue in order to promote their achievement.
There is a full list of Accredited Swim21 clubs on the British Swimming website.
What are the benefits of being at a Swim21 club?
The club is implementing
the ASA Child Protection Policy and their coaches/teachers and volunteers
have been CRB checked in line with national guidance;
The club's
coaches/teachers and volunteers are appropriately qualified and access
continuous professional development to ensure they are up to date with
current teaching and coaching principles/methods;
The club is accessing
sufficient pool time to ensure swimmers are able to develop in line with the
Long Term Athlete Development model;
The club is pro-active
in developing a swimmer pathway to ensure swimmers can continue to progress
and develop;
The club will have more
opportunities to access additional funding through the ASA, Sport England
and other agencies.
What can I do if the club I am at is a non-Accredited club?
Not all clubs are Accredited yet. It is important that your club is aware of Swim21 and is working towards Accreditation - that means they are actively planning to try and reach the quality standard. It may be the club needs more support with the management/teaching/coaching and officiating and you may be able to help them by bringing this to their attention and assisting them on their way to achieving Swim21.