One Year On....... Derventio eXcel
Derventio eXcel, the premiership swim squad in Derbyshire has now passed its first birthday and is looking forward to building on the success of its first year. It is hard to believe that just over a year ago there was still some resistance to the establishment of an elite training and competition squad where all the best swimmers would come together to swim as one squad. The results achieved in the first year have been outstanding.
The measure of success has been the improvement in performance at national level. After one year of improved training and resources Derventio eXcel swimmers achieved 50 national qualifying times with 14 finalists and two silver medals. The previous year the same swimmers achieved 11 qualifying times with 2 finalists.
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, the Derbyshire Peak Park Sport and Recreation Forum, the University of Derby and Derby College. It is one of a select number of squads that are endorsed and supported by British Swimming.
Swimmers at Derventio eXcel train up to 23 hours a week with five sessions starting at 5 30 in the morning. They train in Derby City , at Queens Leisure and Moorways as well as using Etwall and Ripley Leisure Centres.
Talking about Derventio’s first year:
Councillor West, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Cultural services at Derby City Council said:
“ Derventio eXcel have made a great start with some impressive results. Derby City Council are happy to be supporting such a forward thinking voluntary group that strive to provide the best for their customers.”
Stuart Bachelor, Head of Leisure and Culture at South Derbyshire District Council said:
“The success of Derventio has been tremendous and confirms the importance of investing in all stages of the sports development continuum so that sports people can reach their potential and be role models for the next generation.”
Pippa Jones, Voluntary Sector Development Manager at The Derbyshire and Peak Park Sports and Recreation Forum said:
“Derventio Excel has enabled Derbyshire swimmers to compete effectively at national level. We hope that the impact of the squad and the excellent coaching that is being delivered, will benefit swimming across the whole county and offer Derbyshire swimmers opportunities to achieve world class honours. An opportunity that has not been in place before in Derbyshire"
Councillor John Nelson, Amber Valley Borough Council Cabinet member for Leisure Development said:
“Derventio eXcel have been very successful in providing opportunities for young swimmers to realise their potential for competing at the highest level. This has been demonstrated by the outstanding results that have been achieved and is testimony of the hard work and commitment of everyone involved.”
The main sponsor of Derventio eXcel is Radleigh Homes. Tom Finnegan , Joint Managing Director of Radleigh Homes said:
"Radleigh Homes are happy to support Derventio eXcel . The swimmers show commitment and dedication, training hard for a long period of time. Radleigh Homes actively seek to invest in the Derbyshire community and we feel this is an extremely worthy cause.”
Jamie Broom , double national silver medallist and a member of the World Class Programme said:
“Derventio has allowed me to train more and better. Mark really pushes me but when I get to swim against my rivals I know I am the best prepared I can be. This gives me confidence to go for best times and gold medals.”
Julie Gibson, Chair of Derventio eXcel said:
“It has been a great year but now the honeymoon is over. We need to continue to attract the necessary funding to further develop our position. This year we will need to raise a further £10 000 to just stand still. We have fantastic support from Derby City Council and the Derbyshire Sports Partnership but we need to extend this to attract more or indeed some funding from the other local authorities in the area, all of which are currently benefiting.
We need to compete with our local rivals in Nottingham and to do this we need more money. Swimming is an expensive sport with water time costing up to £40 per hour. The parents of many swimmers face a bill of over £3500 per year to compete at national level.
Mark Rose, Head Coach of Derventio eXcel said:
“I am asking more and more from my swimmers. In return they offer dedication and commitment. This year I need to develop the land training we do and also introduce some sports science in line with the progression that British Swimming require. We want to be the best age group team in Britain and to enhance the reputation our swimmers have built in year one. ”