About us
Derby Phoenix Swimming Club is a competitive organisation which aims to train young swimmers of all abilities to attain a high standard of competitive achievement, and at the same time enjoy themselves. Throughout the year the Club competes in a regular programme of team galas, both locally and across the Midlands region. The Club also competes each year in the Derbyshire County Championships. Derby Phoenix encourages any swimmer who meets the required standard to take up the opportunity to train with and swim for Derventio Excel, Derbyshire’s elite squad.
The Club is welcoming and friendly, and has been in existence for many years. Originating in around 1959 as the swimming section of the Derby Baths Life-Saving and Swimming Club, the Club later changed its name to the Derby Baths Swimming Club. The current name, PHOENIX, was adopted in 1974 and has been in use since.
Derby Phoenix Swimming Club is run by an elected committee of volunteers, which is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Club: making sure the Club operates within ASA rules, securing pool-time for training sessions, liaising with other clubs to organise or attend galas, promoting the sale of club equipment and swimming gear, and of course ensuring that the Club operates in a financially responsible manner.
All training sessions, timetables, training schedules, team selection and swimming gala organisation are the responsibility of the Chief Coach, supported by the coaching team. However, the coaching team rely very much on support given by parents to ensure that training sessions and time-trials run effectively. The Club encourages any parent willing to assist the Club to obtain basic swim-coaching and teaching qualifications by providing financial assistance.
Is it all swimming?
In the main, yes! The core function of the Club is to provide a wide range of swimming activities and facilities to develop all our young swimmers from "Tiddlers” to "Teens”. However, we also believe in developing fully all leisure aspects of club life and therefore have an active and healthy social side to the Club. Some events are swim-orientated, such as the House Gala and Club Championships. Other activities have included family discos, presentation evenings, festive functions, camping weekends and family trips, to name just a few of our social activities. Fresh ideas are always welcomed.
What do I need to join?
How old are you? What standard are you? What do you want to achieve? The Club caters for a wide range of abilities and in most instances will have a training facility to match your need providing expert coaching. In all instances, new members are accepted on a trial basis. Once the trial period has been completed the swimmer has the opportunity to become a full Club member. Contact DPSCmembership@gmail.com
How much does it cost?
The annual membership fee for both competing and non-competing members is fixed by the Club Committee, and is renewable on the 1st October each year. This fee also covers the cost of annual registration with the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA), which allows swimming in league galas, open meets etc., plus the costs of insurance premiums. The monthly fees for the various squads are fixed by the Club Committee and are reviewed annually, or as necessary. Information on current fees and charges can be found here.
Teaching to training
"Improvers” have the opportunity to be promoted from the Lonsdale Teaching Squads to the mainstream Training Squads when they have demonstrated that they are fully confident in the water and have a proper appreciation of the four swimming strokes.
Movement through the Training Squads is dependent on ability, which is monitored by regular time-trials. Regular attendance and a purposeful approach to training are essential to ensure steady progress up through the Training Squads.
Club colours
Derby Phoenix Swimming Club has adopted green and yellow as their Club colours. Swim caps, tee shirts and hoodies are all available in the Club colours. These, and other swim gear such as swim-bags, goggles, kick boards, flippers, pull buoys, and hand paddles, are all available from the Club’s Swim Shop. You can view the latest items in our Swim Shop
The wearing of Club colours presents a team image when competing in swimming galas and gives our swimmers a sense of identity and feeling of pride when collecting winners’ medals. For this reason all swimmers are encouraged to wear Club colours when competing in league competitions or inter-club swimming galas.
When and where to swim
The Training Squads (Performance, Youth and Development) utilise a variety of pools and sports facilities for their sessions. Our main pool is the Lonsdale Pool in Mickleover, but we also train at the pools at Moorways Leisure Centre and Repton School Sports Complex.
Squad training sessions are run seven days per week at one or more of the above locations. Squad sessions are continuously monitored and reviewed and are dependent on the age and ability of the swimmer. Typically, squad sessions vary in total from between two and ten hours per week.
Annual Club Championships
The highlight of the Club’s year is the annual Club Championships, usually held each November/December. This is the time when friendly rivalry becomes intense as Club swimmers have the opportunity to compete against each other.
Events are broken down into swim disciplines and age groups, with medals awarded to all competitors and trophies to the winners. Trophies are also awarded to the best swimmer overall in each age group. All trophies and medals are presented to swimmers at a special Presentation Evening.
Swimming Galas and Team Selection
The Club participates in numerous inter-club galas throughout the year, and takes special care to ensure that all abilities and age levels are covered when selecting the types of galas to enter. It is the responsibility of the Club’s Fixtures Secretary to ensure that a wide spectrum of galas are covered when drawing up the Club’s calendar of events, to give all swimmers the opportunity to compete at an appropriate level to show their skills and level of competence.
The Club has competed for many years in the West Midlands section of the National League. For the juniors, aged nine to twelve, the Club has competed in the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Junior League. The Club has enjoyed a good level of success throughout the years it has competed in these competitions.
Team selection is done by the Head Coach, with the assistance of the coaching team. The prime indicators for selection are the times achieved by swimmers at squad time trials, together with the times recorded at previous galas. It is important that swimmers attend as many time trials as possible to ensure their times are recorded. All time-trial and gala times are recorded and updated on the Club’s computer database for reference.
Parents
When a swimmer has been accepted as a member of the Club, the parents or guardians have the opportunity to become non-competing members with full voting rights at the Annual General Meeting. Swimmers aged 14 years and over also have voting rights at the Annual General Meeting.
The Club always needs parents to assist at the poolside when gala events are held. Parents do not need to be experienced to help – willingness is the greatest asset.