First New Squad to Achieve Swim eXcellence Award for Derventio
Derventio eXcel have been awarded Swim 21 accreditation for their sound management. They are the first new club in the UK to achieve this. This award is at the silver standard of the Competitive Development category. The Competitive Development category is the third of four progressive stages within Swim 21. The stages are based on swimming performance. Therefore this award demonstrates that Derventio eXcel consistently produce athletes at District, National Age and Youth levels. In addition to Swim 21, Derventio eXcel have also been awarded Sport England’s Clubmark.
Swim 21 is the Amateur Swimming Association’s (ASA) Club Development programme which enables ASA clubs to help their swimmers achieve their full potential. To achieve this Derventio eXcel have demonstrated quality in all aspects of club development and that the squad follow ASA guidelines in swimmer and coach development, club administration and the development of partnerships.
By gaining Swim 21 accreditation Derventio eXcel also qualify for Sport England's Clubmark, which is a national award presented to sports clubs that can demonstrate the provision of a quality service for their members.
Julie Gibson, Chair of Derventio eXcel said:
“This award is excellent news. Our results consistently show our success in the pool but this confirms our success in terms of management and administration. We were particularly pleased that we were graded at above the gold standard for partnership work. This is an area that is crucial to our success as we work with local authorities and private business. We will now aim for higher level accreditation in all areas.”
Derventio eXcel is a partnership between the existing twelve feeder swimming clubs in the area, Derby City Council, South Derbyshire District Council, Amber Valley Borough Council, Derbyshire Amateur Swimming Association, British Swimming, Derbyshire Sport, the University of Derby and Derby College. It is one of a select number of squads that are endorsed and supported by British Swimming.