Congratulations to Dronfield Dolphins SC and Long Eaton SC who achieved their Swim 21 status at National Panel on the 27th Feb. Dronfield Dolphins SC were accredited at Skill Development and Long Eaton at Teaching.

The Swim21 Coordinator from Dronfield Dolphins said;

"We seem to have been on the Swim 21 road forever. Our first attempt at accreditation sort of fell flat due to lack of people to actually attack the modules. This was not a negative exercise, but more a learning curve. One person took on the process and worked very hard to try and proceed through the minefield of paperwork etc. Then came along a revised accreditation, and again Dronfield Dolphins discussed making an attempt to gain accreditation. We decided as a Committee and Coaching Team to appoint a Sub Committee to meet with the Swim 21 Coordinator on a monthly basis to plan and deliver the evidence required to gain this vital Quality Mark for our Club. The Sub Committee planned, actioned and delegated the tasks, using peoples individual skills within the Club."

"A long road it seemed, but it was amazing when the e-mail came through to confirm that Dronfield Dolphins had gained their Swim 21 status. I cannot tell you how we felt as a Club. Announcements were made to first the Committee and Coaching team, and most importantly to our Swimmers and their Families. We are absolutely delighted and still on cloud nine about it all. We are awaiting our Certificate and Logo to enhance our Notice Boards and Web Site and any paperwork. A great sense of achievement, and at a time when our Pool is being refurbished and we are farmed out to other Pools to continue to provide a service to our Swimmers."

The Swim 21 Coordinator from Long Eaton SC said;

"During the second half of 2007 we formed Long Eaton Swimming Club and disbanded Trident and Treonte swimming clubs. Both former clubs were accredited at Teaching and Skill Development levels with history going back over 4 years. We started the new clubs organisation from scratch, and decided to use Swim 21 as the development tool to drive what we had to put in place. We knew that if we followed the Swim 21 criteria we would have the basis of a sound club organisation. Against each element we assessed the previous methods of each club against what others were doing then designed a process to adopt best practice. It was a major undertaking involving alot of people and members of two clubs and committees, coaching teams, two teaching teams and hundreds of swimmers, but Swim 21 gave us a model and a process to follow which made it achievable. We gained Swim 21 as a Teaching club and just 3 months after the first AGM and intend to make a Skill Development submission to the next Regional Board."

Congratulations to both Dronfield Dolphins and Long Eaton SC on their well achieved Swim 21 status.