DECEMBER 2020
Hello!
We have now been in the pool for almost three months and, because we can now do lifts, etc, it is starting to feel like ‘normal’.
Thank you for your support in ensuring that all the safety protocols are adhered to, and thanks to all the swimmers for following the rules. Scottish Swimming and Edinburgh Leisure continue to stress that we need to do all we can to ensure that a training session is not the cause of a Covid infection. If cases are linked to pools or club sessions this may mean that the Government considers closing the pools in higher tiers. So, although sometimes they may seem unnecessary, we need to continue to follow all the procedures.
We had a great session on Sunday filming all the routines that the swimmers have been preparing. We have two more routines to film on Sunday. The premiere of the club Christmas routine will be at the quiz on 19 December. The link for the whole of the display will be sent round straight after the quiz.
Our final session of the year will be on Sunday 20 December. We have a shorter session that day as we know that everyone has a lot on. It will be from 2:30pm until 4:30pm for all the swimmers. We would usually have a ‘fun session’ with the whole club involved but unfortunately we need to remain in the groups due to the Covid rules. I’m sure the coaches will have something fun for them anyway!
Our first session back is 10 January in the RCP. At the moment we don’t anticipate there to be any changes in the training times and locations.
We will be holding our annual Club Figure Competition on Sunday 31 January during training time. We will let you know how it will work at the beginning of January as we will need to maintain distancing rules, but at the moment we ask that you please keep the whole session (1:30pm until 5:30pm) free for all swimmers.
Niamh has asked me to send you a quick note about kit. A few of you have requested items but we don’t have enough for a full order yet. We will do one in the new year.
2020 has been a difficult year for everyone. Thank you for your continued support for the club and to the swimmers for their enthusiasm for training in whatever form it comes. Here’s hoping that 2021 brings happier times for you all.
Best wishes from all at Edinburgh Synchro
OCTOBER 2020
Hi there
Our first update email for a while!
Firstly, this is coming from me and Caroline, as we are sharing the secretary role this year. Caroline’s new email address is EdinburghSynchroCoSecretary
Training
The swimmers have now been back in the pool for a few weeks and everyone seems to be getting used to the new procedures around covid. In November we’ll be moving back into the dive pool in the RCP and into Portobello so there will be new procedures for them. We’ll communicate the procedures as soon as we know them.
The current arrangements continue until 1 November.
The new arrangements, from 2 November, are:
Sundays
RCP dive pool
Beginners – 2pm to 3pm
Grade 1 / Grade 2+ – 2pm to 4pm
13-15 – 4pm to 6pm
Junior – 3pm to 6pm (last hour solos and duets only – others can stay to work on elements if they wish)
Wednesdays
Portobello small pool
Beginners / Grade 1 – 7pm to 8pm
Portobello main pool
Grade 2+ / 13-15 / Junior – 7pm to 8:45pm
Beginners – 2pm to 3pm
Grade 1 / Grade 2+ – 2pm to 4pm
13-15 – 4pm to 6pm
Junior – 3pm to 6pm (last hour solos and duets only – others can stay to work on elements if they wish)
Wednesdays
Portobello small pool
Beginners / Grade 1 – 7pm to 8pm
Portobello main pool
Grade 2+ / 13-15 / Junior – 7pm to 8:45pm
Fridays
RCP dive pool
Stamina session – 7:30pm to 8:30pm
Land training is still as important as ever. Although it isn’t a face to face session at the moment we encourage everyone to join their zoom class.
Non-age groups: Sundays at 12:00am (note the new time)
Age groups: Saturdays at 11am
Non-age groups: Sundays at 12:00am (note the new time)
Age groups: Saturdays at 11am
These times should be in place until the end of December. We will let you know if anything changes.
It has been noticed that some people are arriving late to training. It is very difficult to manage the swimmers through the process if some are late so please try to be on time. The RCP have allowed swimmers to wait inside the building (on the right hand side by the windows onto the pool) as long as they have their mask on and remain two meters from anyone else. As we get into the colder months this will be useful. No parents are allowed inside though.
Also, some swimmers are forgetting to put on their group chat if they are not attending the session. Often the CLO will remain outside waiting for the remaining swimmers, so it is incredibly important to let us know.
Finally, if a swimmer has missed two or more sessions, for whatever reason, they cannot come to training until they have completed the ‘Health screen survey for returning to training after a break’ form. It can be found here: http://edinburghsynchro.
Call for some new members
Due to the current situation we can’t hold a trial session for the club. However, we do have a few spaces in our beginner group so we would like to open this up to family members and ‘friends of the club’. If you know of anyone between the ages of 8 and 10 who can swim 100 meters comfortably and would like to give it a go, please let me know. The reason we are not opening it to a wider group is that we would like there to be another swimmer who knows the new member, so can show them the procedures. Also, as parents can’t come into the building, we need to know that both the parent and the swimmer will feel comfortable with us. The new swimmers can have a couple of trial sessions to see if they want to continue, and for the club to assess whether they meet the swimming criteria. So, let us know.
Forms
As it is the start of the new year we will be sending out our usual annual forms (consent and codes of conduct). This year we will do them on google forms to make it more covid-friendly. We’ll send a separate email about that soon.
Thanks
Vicky and Caroline
JUNE 2020
Hello everyone
It has been a while since I sent an ‘update’ email, and has felt even longer!
While I don’t have any news as such, Scottish Swimming has started the process of working out how we can get back into the water. No date has been announced but it is not expected to be before 23 July. We are hopeful that we will be able to have some form of water based programme from the start of the school year at the latest.
When we do get back in the water, things will be very different for a while. We may be limited by which venues are able to open. We may be required to follow social distancing rules in and out of the pool. This may mean shorter sessions to enable all swimmers to train. At present all of these are ‘maybes’ as we just don’t know.
I am attaching two documents. The first is the ‘Back to the Water’ route map that Scottish Swimming have produced. This has an overview of what each of the Scottish Government’s phases means for clubs. The second is a useful summary of where we are right now and the indicative dates for changes, announced by the Scottish Government this week. As there is no mention of pools reopening on this second document we are assuming that we fall into the final box, hence the 23 July date.
Our zoom land training and walkthrough sessions have been a success and we will continue these until we are back to full training. We will also continue to have our full club quizzes! It may be possible for some outdoor walkthrough or land training to take place after 10 July. This will be up to individual coaches and will only be held in teams, if at all, and only if everyone is comfortable doing it. Blended training will be with us for a while.
We completely understand that returning to training will be tough for some swimmers, and there will be concerns about any rules in place. If you do not feel comfortable with any of the timings you do not need to attend. The process will be slow and will take some getting used to, so it is fine to take things at your own time. We also are aware that some of our swimmers, or people they live with, have health needs that mean that they will not be able to return at first. We will do all we can to continue to support training at home for however long that takes. The health of our swimmers and volunteers will always be paramount in our planning.
Regarding fees, the reduced fee of £5 will continue to be an option for the time being. Once we start building up training again and incurring costs, we will need to re-look at the fees for those affected. We understand that this time has had a severe impact on finances for many people. We do not want anyone to leave our sport or club for financial reasons, so, once we start increasing training, please talk to us if this is a situation you are facing.
We would like to thank all our swimmers and families for the support that you have given the club and the enthusiasm you have showed for our new ways of training. Not everything has been smooth but it is excellent to see so many of you each week. I think everyone has found it hard at times but it does mean that it should be easier to start again in the water.
We wish you all well and hope to see you all at the quiz next Sunday, and in person in the not-too-distant future.
Vicky, on behalf of the committee and coaches
FEBRUARY 2020
Hello
Welcome to our five new club members from our trial session last week. We hope you enjoy your time with us. It is a bit of a long update this month as it is confirming things for the rest of the synchro year. Please read to the end!
Training
Just as a reminder, the training sessions are:
Tuesdays – 8pm to 9pm at Warrender – stamina session for those with grade two and above
Wednesdays – 7pm to 8pm at Portobello – beginner session in the small pool
8pm to 9:30pm at Portobello – session for grade one and above in the main pool
Thursdays – 7pm to 8pm at Portobello – session for age group swimmers
Sundays – 3pm to 4pm at RCP – land session for all in either Studio One or Three (go to Studio One first each week to find out)
4pm to 5pm at RCP – pool session for beginners
4pm to 6pm at RCP – pool session for all other swimmers
However, due to events at the Commie the following training sessions are cancelled:
Sunday 23 February
Sunday 23 February
Sunday 15 March
Sunday 28 April
Grades
Well done to those who passed their grades in the last figure grade day at the beginning of the month. The groups have been re-jigged and hopefully everyone is happy. The next grade day is a routine grade day on 17 May. The swimmers will be working towards that, along with routines for any upcoming competitions.
Competitions
The competitions for this synchro year are:
English National Age Groups – for 12&under and 13-15 groups – 7/8 March – Manchester
Scottish Figure Competition – for all those who meet the Age Group criteria – Saturday 21 March – RCP
English National Championships – for the Junior age group – 18/19 April – Nottingham
Synchro for All – for all non-age group swimmers – 6 June (TBC) – venue to be confirmed but it will be either in Edinburgh or Fife
Scottish Nationals and Age Groups – for all who meet the age group criteria – 20/21 June – Drumchapel
Scottish Club Championships – for the whole club – 3 October – Aberdeen
The groups should stay the same between now and the beginning of November, which is when the next figure grade day is being held (8 November). Therefore all swimmers should know in which competition they will be competing. Everyone in the club has a competition in June and October. If you have any questions about dates or which competitions your child is eligible for, please just ask.
Camps
Everyone in our Beginner, Grade 1, Grade 2+ and 12&under groups should have received an email about next year’s Whithaugh Park training camp. If you haven’t but think you should have, please let us know. It is happening on the weekend of 8/9/10 May and the swimmers will be working on their routine grades, and their routines for the June competitions. Our very new beginners will receive information about that in the next week or so.
Forms
Thank you to everyone who has returned their forms. We don’t have many left outstanding. I will be contacting each person who has a form outstanding in the next week or so but please note that anyone with a consent form or code of conduct outstanding after the end of February will not be able to train until they are returned.
Quite a few more have not completed their GDPR online form. I am reattaching a link here: http://edinburghsynchro.
Club Policies
We have put all the club policies on one page on the website here: http://edinburghsynchro.
Fundraising
Our excellent new Fundraising Coordinator, Jillian, has been hard at work and has managed to secure a much sought-after bag pack date. She has asked me to send this:
To help with our fundraising efforts for this year, we’ve managed to secure a bag pack at Sainsbury’s Craigleith on Saturday 14th March from 10-6. We are looking for as many swimmers as possible to cover 2 hour shifts. If you could let us know your swimmer’s availability on the attached doodle poll, that’d be great. One shift would be brilliant, two split shifts would be even better – the more aisles we can cover the more we’ll raise. The funds will be split 50/50 with Sport Relief. Committee members will be on hand to give breaks. Thanking you in advance. https://doodle.com/poll/
To help with our fundraising efforts for this year, we’ve managed to secure a bag pack at Sainsbury’s Craigleith on Saturday 14th March from 10-6. We are looking for as many swimmers as possible to cover 2 hour shifts. If you could let us know your swimmer’s availability on the attached doodle poll, that’d be great. One shift would be brilliant, two split shifts would be even better – the more aisles we can cover the more we’ll raise. The funds will be split 50/50 with Sport Relief. Committee members will be on hand to give breaks. Thanking you in advance. https://doodle.com/poll/
I will also post the message onto the whatsapp groups.
Kit
There will be a kit order soon, organised by Niamh, our Kit Coordinator. Please see if you have everything needed for any upcoming competitions.
Finally, as always our usual reminders:
All pools we use have public using the facilities at the same time. Our swimmers must be courteous when using the showers and changing areas. For example, they are not to ‘reserve’ cubicles. Also no bags should be left unattended. They should either be in a locker or on the poolside.
Our responsibility as a club for a swimmer ends when they leave the poolside / land studio. Please ensure that you have an agreed meeting place and that they know that if you are not there they should come and find an adult member of the club so that we can wait with them. However, they do continue to be a member of Scottish Swimming so rules about using mobile phones in the changing rooms still stand. There is a zero tolerance policy to taking photos / videos / etc in the changing room.
As ever, thanks for the support you give your children, and the club.
Best wishes
Vicky, on behalf of the committee and coaches
DECEMBER 2019
Hello
Thanks to everyone who came along to our silent disco tour of the Christmas Market last night. It was great fun, and good to see so many people getting involved.
That marked the last event for us for 2019. Training will start again on Wednesday 8 January at Portobello.
As always at the beginning of the year I will be sending out the annual forms. Please ensure that these are completed and returned to me before the end of January.
From all of us at Edinburgh Synchro, have a great, and restful, break over Christmas and Hogmanay. See you in January.
Vicky, the coaches and the committee
NOVEMBER 2019
Hello
I am really sorry that I didn’t do an October update. Not sure why!
News
Quite a bit has happened since the last update. The club won the Mary Black Rosebowl at the Scottish Clubs competition. We had a great night of celebration at our Awards Night. Loads of swimmers passed their figures grades and moved groups as the new synchro year started. The 13-15s and Juniors went to Lanzarote for a warm weather training camp and developed their routines for the coming year.
This month we had our AGM and our Club Figure Competition. Results of the competition are now on our website. Well done to everyone who took part. We also had a trial session and now have five new swimmers in the Beginner group. Welcome!
Display
Our Christmas display is on Sunday at 5pm. This is to show you the routines they have been working on so far this year. As the ‘year’ is only two months’ old most of the routines are shorter than they will be come competition, but they have been working hard to show you something. Please don’t come much before 5pm or you will be watching the rehearsals!! If swimmers can all be at studio one at 3pm, that would be great. Swimmers will be free to go at 6pm.
Training
Training continues for the next two weeks, with the following exceptions:
Thursday 5 December – Adult come and try for all parents (male and female) to try out what your kids are doing, and anyone else who fancies giving it a go. It is a free session for all parents but we ask for a donation of £10 to the club for anyone else.
Sunday 8 December – training is on but may be disrupted due to the Scottish Diving competition beforehand. Once we do get in it will be a fun session.
Sunday 15 December – no training due to a swimming competition taking place in the RCP.
Training then finishes for the Christmas break and returns on Wednesday 8 January.
Grades
The next grade day is on Sunday 2 February. Following this the groups will change again. Anyone meeting the age group criteria will be given the option of moving into the age group or remaining in the Grade 2+ group until the end of the season. We will discuss those options with each individual swimmer.
Competitions
All National competition dates, except the Scottish Clubs, are confirmed, and they are:
English National Age Groups – for 12&under and 13-15 groups – 7/8 March – Manchester
Scottish Figure Competition – for all those who meet the Age Group criteria – Saturday 21 March – RCP
English National Championships – for the Junior age group – 18/19 April – Nottingham
Scottish Nationals and Age Groups – for all who meet the age group criteria – 20/21 June – Drumchapel
English Combo Cup – for those who meet the age group criteria – 4 July – London
Scottish Club Championships – for the whole club – 3 October – To Be Confirmed
Unfortunately, we still do not have the date for the novice event but it is usually in May or early June. We are really disappointed about the decision to remove recreational routines from the Scottish Nationals but are hopeful that the West District will follow the East’s lead and add recreational routines to the novice event programme. If not we will try to find another event for our Grade 2+ swimmers.
If you are unsure which dates to put in your diary for next year please ask. There is also a competition matrix on the website to help you understand which swimmers compete at each competition. Also on the website is our planner with dates for the full year.
Camps
Everyone in our Beginner, Grade 0/1, Grade 2+ and 12&under groups should have received an email about next year’s Whithaugh Park training camp. If you haven’t but think you should have, please let us know.
Flowchart
We had a query about how decisions are made with respect to requests for swimmers for displays, events, etc, so we have created a flowchart to explain it. It is attached.
Finally, as always our usual reminders:
All pools we use have public using the facilities at the same time. Our swimmers must be courteous when using the showers and changing areas. For example, they are not to ‘reserve’ cubicles. Also no bags should be left unattended. They should either be in a locker or on the poolside.
Our responsibility as a club for a swimmers ends when they leave the poolside / land studio. Please ensure that you have an agreed meeting place and that they know that if you are not there they should come find an adult member of the club so that we can wait with them. However, they do continue to be a member of Scottish Swimming so rules about using mobile phones in the changing rooms still stand. There is a zero tolerance policy to taking photos / videos / etc in the changing room.
As ever, thanks for the support you give your children, and the club.
Best wishes
Vicky, on behalf of the committee and coaches
SEPTEMBER 2019
Hi there
All the swimmers have been working really hard on their routines for the Scottish Clubs Championships in Inverness on Saturday. Good luck to everyone.
Congratulations to all our swimmers for passing their routine grades. A 100% pass rate! A special mention to Anya and Jessie who got Silver in their routine grade.
This Saturday’s competition marks the end of the 2019 synchro ‘year’. We hope you will all be joining us on Friday 27 September for our awards night to celebrate it.
I hope you all received my email stating the date change for the AGM. It is now on Sunday 3 November.
In the August update I said that the groups would be changing on Sunday 22 September. However, as there is a figure grade assessment day on Sunday 6 October, it is better to change groups after that date. Therefore, at all sessions between 22 September and 6 October, the swimmers will be working on grades. The only exception to this is for the Junior age group – Baylee, Ellie and Kiku will move from the 13-15s to the Juniors on 22 September.
Once we have the figure grade day results I will communicate the groups for the 2019/20 synchro year.
I will be sending out an email about the grade day later today or tomorrow.
Sadly we are saying goodbye, or hopefully “au revoir”, to Laura as she is moving down South to add English Law to her Scottish Law degree. We wish her every success and are looking forward to her coming back to the club whenever she can. Laura – you will be missed.
We have provisional dates for the 2019/20. They are on the planner on the website here: http://edinburghsynchro.
Finally, as well as the whatsapp reminder I thought it best to put here as well that all pools we use have public using the facilities at the same time. Our swimmers must be courteous when using the showers and changing areas. For example, they are not to ‘reserve’ all the cubicles. Also no bags should be left unattended. They should either be in a locker or on the poolside.
Thanks
Vicky
AUGUST 2019
Hello
I hope you had a wonderful break over the summer, if you got one! I sometimes wonder whether the summer is actually more tiring!!
We are now back to normal for training:
Tuesdays – Leith Victoria is closed for refurbishment so the stamina session has been moved to Warrender pool on Tuesdays at 8pm.
Wednesdays – Beginners 7pm, Rest 8pm
Thursdays – Age groups 7pm
Sundays – Land 3pm, Pool 4pm
Please keep looking at the calendars on the website for week-by-week details.
On Saturday 31 August we have the Porty Beach Busk. Thank you to everyone who has offered to come along and help / busk.
We are straight into serious training for the routine grade assessment day on Sunday 8 September. I sent an email today to all those who the coaches would like to enter. Please ensure that you have paid your invoice by Monday 26 August, as we need to pay Scottish Swimming for the entries that week. As this is the first time we have done routine grades it is going to be a learning experience for us all! Oh, and in the email I meant 12 noon – not 12am!!!
We have our final competition of the synchro year, Scottish Clubs, on Saturday 21 September in Inverness. Attached is the final team sheet. It is going to be a really long day as we will get the bus up and back, but it should be great fun. More details about the bus, etc, will be sent out in the next week or so.
On Sunday 22 September we start our new groups for the 2019/20 synchro year. It will be an easy session, as everyone will be tired, but it is important to come, especially if you are changing groups. We will be sending out details of the new groups in the next week or so.
On Friday 27 September we have our awards night, to celebrate the successes of the 2019 ‘short’ synchro year. Then on Sunday 29 September we have our AGM, to again review the previous year and to set ourselves up for the coming year. Please put both of these dates in your diaries as we would like everyone from the club to be at both.
We don’t yet have dates for competitions for the next synchro year. We’ll let you know as soon as we do.
Child protection
Another quick reminder that our responsibility for a swimmers ends when they leave the poolside / land studio. Please ensure that you have an agreed meeting place and that they know that if you are not there they should come find an adult member of the club so that we can wait with them. However, they do continue to be a member of Scottish Swimming so rules about using mobile phones in the changing rooms still stand. There is a zero tolerance policy to taking photos / videos / etc in the changing room.
Thanks
Vicky
JUNE / JULY 2019
Hi there
It has been a busy month! The club had two great competitions – the Synchro for All competition on 1 June and SNAGs on 15/16 June. Write-ups for both competitions, and loads of photos and videos, are on our website.
The final competition before the summer is the Combo Cup on 6 July. We wish our two teams the best of luck.
Once we get the entry pack for the Scottish Clubs Championships on 21 September, we will contact you with the details. In the meantime, please keep that day free.
The club also had a great afternoon on the beach for our annual bbq. Thank you to everyone who helped with the organisation. Our next event is the Porty Beach Busk on 31 August. Please support it as best you can.
Training times change for the summer as follows:
Mondays – this session has finished for the summer and we hope to start again on 26 August.
Wednesdays – training as normal on Wednesday 3 July. After that there is no 7pm session and all swimmers are to attend the 8 – 9:30pm session. The 7pm Wednesday session starts again on Wednesday 21 August.
Thursdays – training is on as normal on Thursday 4 July. It starts again on Thursday 22 August.
Sundays – pool training is on as normal throughout the summer (except Sunday 14 July as there is an event in the RCP). Land training will only be in studio one for everyone.
Mondays – this session has finished for the summer and we hope to start again on 26 August.
Wednesdays – training as normal on Wednesday 3 July. After that there is no 7pm session and all swimmers are to attend the 8 – 9:30pm session. The 7pm Wednesday session starts again on Wednesday 21 August.
Thursdays – training is on as normal on Thursday 4 July. It starts again on Thursday 22 August.
Sundays – pool training is on as normal throughout the summer (except Sunday 14 July as there is an event in the RCP). Land training will only be in studio one for everyone.
All dates are on our website.
We have ensured that there will be at least one trained coach, plus other volunteers, at all sessions. However, it may not be possible to coach each group individually as usual.
If you aren’t able to come to training, please remember to keep up your land training. Videos and guides are on our website.
We wish you all a great summer.
Vicky and the rest of the committee and coaches
MAY 2019
Hello!
Hello!
We have had another busy month with a grade day, a strength and conditioning workshop and a training camp! Photos from all these events are on our website. All the swimmers are getting ready for the upcoming competitions and it is great to see the pool busy.
The pdf document from Calumn’s resistance band session is attached. The videos are almost ready – I will share the link on whatsapp when I get it. Please ask any of the coaches if you have any questions. We hope to see swimmers on the poolside doing their band warm ups from now on.
Competitions
Saturday 1 June – Synchro for All Competition, Carnegie pool Dunfirmline
Saturday 1 June – Synchro for All Competition, Carnegie pool Dunfirmline
Attached is the final entry for this competition. Final details of the transport arrangements, etc, will go out next week.
15/16 June – Scottish National Age Groups, Drumchapel
15/16 June – Scottish National Age Groups, Drumchapel
Attached is the final entry for this competition. Final details of the transport arrangements, etc, will go out at the beginning of June but there will be a bus going both days for the swimmers.
Saturday 6 July – Combo Cup, London Olympic Park
Attached is the final entry for this competition. All travel and accommodation is booked.
Saturday 21 September – Scottish Clubs, Inverness
We are hoping to take the whole club to this event so please keep the date free. We will be arranging a coach to take us there and back in the day so it will be a very long day for everyone!
Dates for your diary
Sunday 2 June – training cancelled due to an event in the RCP
Sunday 2 June – training cancelled due to an event in the RCP
Sunday 16 June – training cancelled due to Scottish Nationals
Saturday 22 June – Beach BBQ (Antonia will be sending more details soon)
Saturday 31 August – Porty Beach Busk (Claire will be sending more details soon)
Friday 27 September – Awards Night and Disco
Training times change during the summer holidays. Details are on the annual planner on the website and I will put them on the June update.
Child protection
Another quick reminder that our responsibility for a swimmers ends when they leave the poolside / land studio. Please ensure that you have an agreed meeting place and that they know that if you are not there they should come find an adult member of the club so that we can wait with them. However, they do continue to be a member of Scottish Swimming so rules about using mobile phones in the changing rooms still stand. There is a zero tolerance policy to taking photos / videos / etc in the changing room.
Good luck to everyone competing in, and volunteering at, the upcoming competitions. You make your club proud!
Vicky and the committee / coaches
APRIL 2019
Hello
Since the last time I wrote the groups have been working hard on figures and routines. The Scottish Figure Competition was a success, with Edinburgh swimmers winning one silver and four bronzes. Thanks especially to those parents and swimmers who volunteered to be officials or runners at the competition. You are the reason it was a success. A full report of the competition is on the website.
The Easter holidays are about to start. This means that some coaches will be away over the next couple of weeks. At present we are sure that all sessions will be on, but it may be that training is with a different coach / poolside helper.
Please don’t forget that training is cancelled on Sunday 14 April and Sunday 28 April due to events at the RCP. Monday training is also cancelled for the holiday and it starts up again on 29 April. Wednesdays and Thursdays will be continuing through the holidays, unless notified on whatsapp.
Figure grade assessment day
It won’t be long until the next figure grade assessment day – Sunday 5 May. Here are some dates for you to remember:
Sunday 7 April – split test on the poolside at the RCP between land training and the pool session. Everyone hoping to be put forward for the grade assessment day will need to come to this. Please can I stress that this is to ensure that each swimmer has the correct technique and that they are low enough that they will not get zeros. We don’t want any swimmers to push themselves and risk injury. If you are away on this date it is very important that Margo sees your splits before the deadline for entries.
Wednesday 17 April – this is the deadline for coaches to determine who is ready to be put forward for the assessment day. If you haven’t heard whether you will be put forward by the end of training on Wednesday, please ask your coach.
I will contact all swimmers who have been put forward to confirm whether they want to do it and Neil will send out invoices. The fee is £15. You will need to have paid by Sunday 21 April.
Any questions at all, please ask. This is the last figure grade assessment day of the 18/19 synchro year. The next one will be in December.
Competitions
The information is starting to go out about the next three competitions. Again, if you don’t hear anything and expect to be going to one of them, please ask your coach.
Saturday 1 June – Synchro for All. Swimmers from our Beginners, Grade 0/1 and Grade 2+ groups will be competing. A bus will be taking swimmers to the competition at the Carnegie pool.
15/16 June – Scottish National Age Groups. Swimmers from the age groups, plus hopefully the recreational combination teams, will be competing. A bus will be taking swimmers to Drumchapel on both days.
Saturday 6 July – Combo Cup, London. Two teams are competing from the age groups. Travel and accommodation arrangements are being made.
Kit
The kit order has gone in. We had some requests for swimming costumes, but we didn’t reach the minimum order threshold. Please can anyone wanting a costume (even if you have told one of us before) complete the form on the website here https://www.edinburghsynchro.co.uk/
Dates for your diary
Sunday 15 May – poolside warmup workshop (age groups 2pm, non-age groups 3pm)
Saturday 22 June – Beach BBQ (sorry for the wrong date on the previous update email)
We hope that you have a good break over the Easter holidays, if you are having one.
Vicky and the committee
MARCH 2019
Hello
The synchro year has well and truly started! Our 13-15 age group team travelled to Manchester to compete in the Swim England National Age Groups. A write-up about that is on our website here: http://edinburghsynchro.
We had our annual Club Figures Competition on Sunday. It was great to see such a good turnout and some lovely figures. Thank you in particular to the volunteers who helped run the competition so smoothly and to our amazing judges. Full results are now on our website here: http://edinburghsynchro.
On Saturday 23 March the RCP will be hosting the Scottish Figure Competition. We have 22 swimmers entered into that competition, and for the first time we have swimmers competing in the technical routines section. We wish them all the best of luck. If anyone wants to support the team please come down. The competition is on between 1pm and 7pm.
We are also getting organised for the rest of the competitions this ‘synchro year’:
Saturday 1 June – Synchro for All Competition (all non-age group groups)
15/16 June – Scottish National Age Groups (all age groups on both day, non-age groups on Sunday)
Saturday 6 July – Combo Cup (age group combination teams)
Saturday 21 September – Scottish Clubs (all swimmers)
We sent out emails this week about the Synchro for All Competition and the Combo Cup. Please respond as soon as possible if you haven’t already done so.
We do not have enough pool time to work on everything that we would like so we have asked the strength and conditioning specialist who worked with Synchro Caledonia, Calumn Duthie, to develop two short warm ups that the swimmers can do on the poolside before they get into the pool. These can also be done at home before doing land sets or before doing their own stamina or synchro pool training. Having swimmers who have already warmed up their muscles before getting into the pool means that the coaches can start doing synchro-specific training in the pool earlier, and will mean fewer injuries. In order to ensure that the swimmers have the correct technique, Calumn will be coming to training on Sunday 12 May to teach the warm up to the swimmers. As this warm up is to be done on the poolside before coaches arrive, and at home, we also ask that parents attend so that they can ensure that their child does the warm up correctly. There will also be a chance for parents to ask Calumn any questions they have about strength and conditioning training. There will be two sessions:
2pm – Age group swimmers
3pm – Non-age group swimmers
Both sessions will be in Studio One and will be instead of normal land training. Age group swimmers will work on walk throughs once their session has finished.
Please put this in your diary as we need as many swimmers and parents as possible to attend.
Other dates for your diary:
Sunday 17 March – training cancelled due to an event in the RCP
Sunday 7 April – Split test
Sunday 28 April – training cancelled due to an event in the RCP
Sunday 5 May – figure grade assessment day at Bo’ness
Saturday 29 June – Beach BBQ
Poolside volunteers
We would like to thank everyone who offered to go on the team manager course that we put on the whatsapp groups last week. We would also like to put a call out for poolside helper volunteers. These are parents who come onto the poolside to help the coaches. No experience is necessary. The main role of a poolside volunteer to begin with is to be an extra pair of eyes on the swimmers. Some of our groups are large and it is helpful to the coach to be able to concentrate on one swimmer at a time, knowing that the other swimmers are being supervised. Parents of the newer swimmers are particularly welcome as they can learn about synchro at the same time as their child, which is very helpful to the child’s development. Poolside helpers are not required to come every week – they can decide how often they come. If you would like to become a poolside helper, please can you let Claire, me or Laura know.
Child protection
We would like to remind you that our responsibility for the swimmers during training sessions begins and ends on the poolside. Please ensure that you have an agreed meeting place and that they know that if you are not there they should find an adult member of the club so that we can wait with them. However, they continue to be a member of Scottish Swimming so rules about using mobile phones in the changing rooms still stand. There is a zero tolerance policy to taking photos / videos / etc in the changing room.
As always, please do not hesitate to ask any questions.
Thanks
Vicky and the committee
FEBRUARY 2019
Hi there
Thank you to everyone who came to our AGM and to our Awards Night. It is always good to look back on the year to see how much has been achieved and to celebrate those achievements. Photos are on our website.Welcome to our nine new swimmers who have joined us following our trial session on 27 January. We hope you enjoy your time with us.
We have put together a ‘Who to contact’ sheet so that it is easy for you to determine who to contact regarding various issues, and where information is held on the website. It is attached. You will notice that all committee members now have their own ‘Edinburgh Synchro’ email addresses. This is for continuity and also so that you can know who is contacting you and why. Please use them if you have to contact someone about the club.
The new fee structure comes into effect on 1 March. You will receive an invoice soon with the details of the fee that relates to you. Please make sure that the standing order is amended for the new amount and that it is set to come into our account on the first of each month. You will not receive an invoice every month – only if there is a fee change.
If the swimmer moves from a Non-Age Group to an Age Group or visa versa, the fee change will begin on the first of the following month. An invoice will be sent to remind you of the change.
We have a new stamina session on Mondays at 8pm in Leith Victoria Swim Centre. It is for swimmers with Grade One and above and it is to build up stamina and lung capacity. It isn’t a swimming lesson so if you currently go to a swimming club session at that time please continue with that.
Thank you to everyone who has completed and returned the Codes of Conduct and Consent forms. We only have three outstanding, which is great. I will be contacting them individually.
Unfortunately we still have a lot of outstanding Privacy Notice emails. I will be emailing those who have not yet completed the online form this week.
The next grade assessment day is on 17 February. All swimmers who have been entered should have paid their invoices by now. Good luck to everyone. Training is on for all those not at the grade day. Once swimmers have finished their assessment they are encouraged to come back to training if possible.
The next competition is the English National Age Groups on 2/3 March. Eight members of the 13-15 team are going to Manchester to compete. We wish them well.
We have our own Club Figure Competition on Sunday 10 March at 3pm. All swimmers in the club are encouraged to compete. Beginners will do two figures and all other swimmers will do four figures. Swimmers will be competing against other swimmers at the same grade level and/or age group. It is a very relaxed competition and is intended to help the swimmers get used to competing in figures, which helps for both competitions and grade assessment days. I will send out the full information after the grade assessment day. If you are unable to make it, please let me know.
There will be a training camp for Beginners, Grade 0/1 and the 12&unders on the weekend of 17 – 19 May at Whithaugh Park. We encourage all swimmers to go if possible. It is a fun team building weekend and they will be working on their figures and routines for the competitions in June. Hilary, the camp coordinator will be contacting you (or has already) about it.
I have been asked to clarify the club’s position on make up for routines in competitions:
We have put together a ‘Who to contact’ sheet so that it is easy for you to determine who to contact regarding various issues, and where information is held on the website. It is attached. You will notice that all committee members now have their own ‘Edinburgh Synchro’ email addresses. This is for continuity and also so that you can know who is contacting you and why. Please use them if you have to contact someone about the club.
The new fee structure comes into effect on 1 March. You will receive an invoice soon with the details of the fee that relates to you. Please make sure that the standing order is amended for the new amount and that it is set to come into our account on the first of each month. You will not receive an invoice every month – only if there is a fee change.
If the swimmer moves from a Non-Age Group to an Age Group or visa versa, the fee change will begin on the first of the following month. An invoice will be sent to remind you of the change.
We have a new stamina session on Mondays at 8pm in Leith Victoria Swim Centre. It is for swimmers with Grade One and above and it is to build up stamina and lung capacity. It isn’t a swimming lesson so if you currently go to a swimming club session at that time please continue with that.
Thank you to everyone who has completed and returned the Codes of Conduct and Consent forms. We only have three outstanding, which is great. I will be contacting them individually.
Unfortunately we still have a lot of outstanding Privacy Notice emails. I will be emailing those who have not yet completed the online form this week.
The next grade assessment day is on 17 February. All swimmers who have been entered should have paid their invoices by now. Good luck to everyone. Training is on for all those not at the grade day. Once swimmers have finished their assessment they are encouraged to come back to training if possible.
The next competition is the English National Age Groups on 2/3 March. Eight members of the 13-15 team are going to Manchester to compete. We wish them well.
We have our own Club Figure Competition on Sunday 10 March at 3pm. All swimmers in the club are encouraged to compete. Beginners will do two figures and all other swimmers will do four figures. Swimmers will be competing against other swimmers at the same grade level and/or age group. It is a very relaxed competition and is intended to help the swimmers get used to competing in figures, which helps for both competitions and grade assessment days. I will send out the full information after the grade assessment day. If you are unable to make it, please let me know.
There will be a training camp for Beginners, Grade 0/1 and the 12&unders on the weekend of 17 – 19 May at Whithaugh Park. We encourage all swimmers to go if possible. It is a fun team building weekend and they will be working on their figures and routines for the competitions in June. Hilary, the camp coordinator will be contacting you (or has already) about it.
I have been asked to clarify the club’s position on make up for routines in competitions:
– It is up to each team to determine whether they will wear make up for a routine or not. The coach has the final decision.
– If nothing is said about make up, the assumption is that the team will not wear it.
– If make up is worn, the club recommends that only lipstick, mascara and eye shadow should be worn as the rules state that it can only ‘enhance natural beauty’. No theatrical make up is allowed.
– Lipstick and mascara cannot be shared so each swimmer must have their own. If the team is wearing it, the coach will let the swimmers know what they need well ahead of a competition.
– Solos and duets can determine their own make up, but the same rules apply.
– If make up is worn, the club recommends that only lipstick, mascara and eye shadow should be worn as the rules state that it can only ‘enhance natural beauty’. No theatrical make up is allowed.
– Lipstick and mascara cannot be shared so each swimmer must have their own. If the team is wearing it, the coach will let the swimmers know what they need well ahead of a competition.
– Solos and duets can determine their own make up, but the same rules apply.
– If anyone is allergic to any make up it is important that they let the club and the coach know.
Make up is not allowed at any training sessions, grade assessment days or in figure sections of competitions.
Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions.
Thanks
JANUARY 2019
Happy New Year!
I hope you had a restful break and are ready for another year. It was good to see so many swimmers at our first session yesterday.
Training
Training sessions are as follows:
Sunday 15:00 – 16:00 – Land training for all
Sunday 16:00 – 17:00 – Beginners
Sunday 16:00 – 18:00 – All other groups
Wednesday 19:00 – 20:00 – Beginners only
Wednesday 20:15 – 21:30 – All other groups
Thursday 19:00 – 20:00 – Age Groups only (unless advised otherwise)
Please remember to be on the poolside ready 15 minutes in advance of the start time to do your poolside warm-up.
Group meetings
Each group will have a meeting at the beginning of the year which will be lead by the coach(es) as well as Margo and Claire. Please can all swimmers and a parent / guardian attend as they will be going through important information. The times are:
Sunday 13 January –
3:15pm (or straight after AGM) – Grade 0/1
3:30pm (or straight after the Grade 0/1s) – Junior
3:45pm (or straight after the Juniors) – 13-15
4pm – 12&under
Wednesday 16 January @ 7:45pm – Grade 2+
Beginners – this meeting will be held after the trial day so that it includes all new swimmers. We will put the date and time on the WhatsApp group chat.
If you haven’t already given in your consent / code of conduct forms please do so at these meetings.
Grade assessment day
The next Figure Grade Assessment day is on Sunday 17 February at Bo’ness. This is only a few weeks away. Because of this we will be opening up the Thursday session for all swimmers hoping to do a grade in February. However, this is ONLY if there is a coach available to coach the specific grade that the swimmer is working towards. Please check with your coach each week to see whether there will be someone available. All Age Group sessions will continue on Thursdays as usual.
We will be holding a split test on Sunday 27 January on the poolside between land training and the pool session. Everyone hoping to be put forward for the grade assessment day will have to come to this. Please can I stress that this is to ensure that each swimmer has the correct technique and that they will not get zeros. We don’t want swimmers to push themselves and risk injury.
Competitions
The coaches from each group will go through which competitions during the year are applicable for their swimmers. In the meantime all competitions are on the planner here: edinburghsynchro.co.uk/
Dates for diary
Please see the calendar on the website here: edinburghsynchro.co.uk/
Sunday 13 January – AGM at 2:30pm, followed by group meetings (see above)
Friday 18 January – Awards Night
Sunday 10 February – Training cancelled due to an event at the RCP
Sunday 24 February – Parent forum
Sunday 10 March – Club Figure Championships (more information on this in the next update but it is for ALL members of the club)
Sunday 17 March– Training cancelled due to an event at the RCP
Volunteering / Duke of Edinburgh
We have been getting requests from swimmers to do some volunteering with the club for DofE or other schemes. Some swimmers also wish for synchro to be their ‘sport’ for the DofE. Please can all requests for either of these come to me in writing before the start of any programme? This is so that we can ensure that as many as possible can do it, without overburdening coaches and sessions. We also need to keep records during the programme time, so need to have agreed to it in advance.
If anyone believes that they have already got agreement to do either volunteering or the DofE sport option, please let me know.
Child protection
I would like to remind you that our responsibility for the swimmers ends when they leave the poolside. If you would like to pick your child up at the poolside and take them to the changing rooms, that is fine. If not, please ensure that you have an agreed meeting place and that they know that if you are not there they should come back to us on the poolside so that we can wait with them. However, they continue to be a member of Scottish Swimming so rules about using mobile phones in the changing rooms still stand. There is a zero tolerance policy to taking photos / videos / etc in the changing room.
I think that is it. Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions.
Thanks
DECEMBER 2018
Hello and welcome to the final update of the year!
Hello and welcome to the final update of the year!
It was great to see so many of you at the End of Year Show yesterday. We hope you enjoyed it.
It was also great to see a good Edinburgh crowd in the spectator gallery in Bellshill. It was a great afternoon of synchro and a wonderful end to the competitive year for the club. Scottish Clubs Champions 2018!
As you all know by now things are changing in 2019. January to September is the 2019 synchro year. Then, from 1 October, the 2019/20 year will begin.
The new planner is on the website (http://edinburghsynchro.co.
Sunday 6 January – first session of the year
Sunday 13 January – 2:30pm – AGM – Agenda attached. It would be great if all parents could make it. We are still looking for someone to take up the position of Fundraising Coordinator so if anyone is interested please let us know.
Friday 18 January– 7pm – Awards Night and Disco – All swimmers and parents are encouraged to come. We will be giving out Grade Assessment certificates, Star Awards to a member of each team and our overall club awards.
Sunday 27 January – 3pm – Trial session – If you know anyone who fancies trying out for the club, please send them this link: http://edinburghsynchro.
Sunday 10 February – training cancelled due to an event at the RCP
New groups
Claire sent everyone details of the new groups from January 2019 (email dated 2 November). I have attached them again, plus the expectations for each group. I will be changing the participants of the whatsapp groups before the end of this year to ensure that the coaches can contact all swimmers in their group ahead of the first session.
Within the first two weeks of training we will be holding Group Meetings for all swimmers and parents in each group. At this meeting the coach will outline the plan for the year (up until September 2019), including the competitions that they would like everyone in their group to attend. Margo and Claire will be there to give you an overview of the other groups and the options for the swimmers, and will reinforce our 2019 codes of conduct. I will send out the codes and the 2019 consent form at the beginning of the year and it is extremely important that we get these back by the end of January.
The first Grade Assessment Day is on Sunday 17 February at Bo’ness. This is important for anyone who wants to move into an Age Group for the 2019 short year. We will be doing a split test at the beginning of January to see who will be ready to put forward for their grades so please keep stretching throughout the Christmas break.
This year has been a great one for the club and we hope that you all have enjoyed being a part of it. We thank you for all the positive messages that you have been sending us. As everyone involved in coaching and running the club are volunteers it is always a joy to hear that swimmers are enjoying their experience with us.
We wish you all a great break over the holidays and a wonderful 2019. We look forward to welcoming you all back in January!
Vicky and the committee
NOVEMBER 2018
Hi there
COMPETITIONS
Well done to everyone who took part in the Scottish Nationals at the end of October. Everyone performed brilliantly and the club was very close to retaining the Top Scottish Club trophy.
Good luck to the nine Edinburgh swimmers going to Gloucester next weekend to compete for Synchro Caledonia at the English National Age Groups.
The Scottish Clubs is on Saturday 8 December. The final entry is attached. All swimmers going will get an email in the next day or so with final details.
TRAINING
Sunday 9 December – Training is cancelled due to an event at the RCP
Sunday 16 December – At the end of this session we will hold our ‘End of year show‘ when all swimmers will get to perform their routines for their family and friends. This is our final session of the year
Sunday 6 January 2019 – First training session back after the Christmas break
AGM
Sunday 13 January is our club AGM. It is in the Sir Peter Heatly room at the RCP from 2:30pm. We encourage everyone to be there. Training will still be on from 3pm.
We are looking for new people to join our committee. If you are interested, please let me or Claire know. We have five meetings a year and it is a good way to understand the workings of the club and to get involved in the decision-making.
AWARDS NIGHT
You will have received an email from Antonia, our social coordinator, about the club Awards Night on Friday 18 January. Please make sure that it is a date in your diary. We hope that all swimmers and a lot of parents can come along.
ADULT ‘GIVE IT A GO’ SESSION
You will have received an email from Claire about our come and try session for mums and dads / older siblings of swimmers, on Thursday 13th December 7-8pm at Portobello. Please remember to let Claire know if you can come and to share it with your friends. There is no charge for parents.
CALENDAR 2019
Unfortunately the 2019 calendar is still not confirmed but we do have some dates to share with you. Again unfortunately, these are different to the ones that Claire sent out on the email about the groups. We can only apologise about this. The latest Scottish dates that have been shared with us are below. Please jot these dates down but only in pencil as they are not confirmed!
17 February – Figure grade assessment day
17 February – Figure grade assessment day
23 March – Scottish Figure Competition
5 May – Figure grade assessment day
15/16 June – Scottish National Age Groups
8 September – Routine grade assessment day
21 September – Scottish Clubs Championship
1 December – Figure grade assessment day
The English dates we have previously shared with you are still correct. A 2019 Annual Planner will be on the website as soon as possible.
At the beginning of the year each group will have a meeting with swimmers, parents and coaches, to set out expectations for the year and to confirm which competitions apply to the group. Hopefully this will bring some clarity. In the meantime, however, if you have any questions at all please just ask.
We hope to see a lot of you at the Scottish Clubs and / or the End of Year Show.
Thanks
OCTOBER 2018
Hello
A quick October update. Please note the three dates below on which training is cancelled.
It is very important that no one wears outdoor shoes on the poolside so please ensure that everyone (swimmers and volunteers) has pool shoes with them. We have a link to some in club colours on the kit section of our website here: http://edinburghsynchro.
COMPETITIONS
The Scottish National Age Groups (SNAGs) on 27/28 October in Drumpchapel is happening this weekend. Good luck to everyone competing.
Everyone, except those who have just joined us, will be working towards a routine for the Scottish Clubs on 8 December in Bellshill. It is important for everyone to be at Sunday sessions between now and then as that is where most of the routine training is done. Wednesdays will still be for figures for the most part as it is too small a pool for everyone to be working on routines.
TRAINING
Sunday 28 October – Training is cancelled due to the Scottish Nationals
Thursday 1 November – Training is cancelled due to an event at Portobello
Sunday 9 December – Training is cancelled due to an event at the RCP
Sunday 16 December – At the end of this session we will hold our ‘End of year show‘ when all swimmers will get to perform their routines for their family and friends.
BLUE SHOES
Edinburgh Leisure have made the decision to stop providing blue shoes at all their venues due to environmental reasons. Below shows why. We fully support this decision.
It is very important that no one wears outdoor shoes on the poolside so please ensure that everyone (swimmers and volunteers) has pool shoes with them. We have a link to some in club colours on the kit section of our website here: http://edinburghsynchro.2019
Unfortunately we haven’t yet received details of the calendar for 2019. What we do know is that the ‘synchro year’ is changing to match other Olympic sports. We will be sending out details about this in the next week or so.
As always, if you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Thanks
SEPTEMBER 2018
Hi everyone and welcome to our new joiners. Eight swimmers have joined us following the trial day at the end of August, and we have two new swimmers joining us from clubs in France.
We had a very successful grade assessment day on Sunday, with most swimmers passing. Those who didn’t were excruciatingly close. Everyone should be very proud of themselves.
GROUPS
Following this and the trial day we are having a very small reorganising of the groups. Attached is a document that has which group each swimmer in is for figures and for routines. In most cases these two are the same but there are some swimmers who are not in a routine, or who are in more than one. If there is anything that isn’t clear, please just ask. I will also be reorganising the WhatsApp groups in accordance with the document so everyone is in the correct group. Details of training for each group will be posted on WhatsApp.
COMPETITIONS
The entry for the Scottish National Age Groups (SNAGs) on 27/28 October in Drumpchapel has gone in this week. Attached is the entry. I will be sending details to all swimmers who are included nearer the time but if you are not entered it would still be great to see you at the pool supporting your team mates. The Sunday is the best day to come. There won’t be any training that day as almost all coaches and poolside helpers will be at the competition.
Everyone, except those who have just joined us, will be working towards a routine for the Scottish Clubs on 8 December in Bellshill. It is important for everyone to be at Sunday sessions between now and then as that is where most of the routine training is done. Wednesdays will still be for figures for the most part as it is too small a pool for everyone to be working on routines.
KIT
Everyone going to either competition needs to have club kit – t-shirt, cap, black leggings and costume. There will be a kit order very soon for t-shirts and hoodies. We do appreciate that there are some new swimmers who missed the costume order earlier in the year so it is fine for them to wear black costumes for the warm up at the Scottish Clubs. However, everyone going to the Scottish Nationals must have a costume. It would also be great to see spectators in our club colours so feel free to order a top for yourself!
FUNDRAISING
We have recently hit £1,000 of fundraising via the easyfundraising app. This is an amazing achievement and at present only a very small fraction of parents / supporters are using it. It would be wonderful if we had more people using it. You do not donate anything – the donation comes from the site you shopped on as long as you have got to the shop via an easyfundraising method (app, website, plugin, etc) If anyone signs up and raises a donation using the following link, easyfundraising will donate an extra £1 to our cause:
https://www.easyfundraising.or
CLUB OF THE YEAR
It is the Scottish Swimming Awards Night at the end of the month and we have been shortlisted for Club of the Year. Some coaches and members of the committee will be going to the night to be there when the announcement is made. It will also be streamed on Facebook. Whether or not we win it is a huge achievement to be shortlisted. We think we might be the first minority discipline club to have got this far. The work that all the coaches and committee members put in, all entirely voluntary, is incredible and the swimmers always do the club proud with their wonderful attitude.
As always, if there are any issues, however small, please come and speak to us.
Thanks
AUGUST 2018
Hello
I hope you have all had a wonderful summer and that you all managed to catch some of the European Synchro Championships, on the BBC if not live. It was great to have the event so close to us.
We are now back to normal training:
Tuesday 06:00 – 07:00 all swimmers with a grade
Wednesday 19:00 – 20:00 swimmers without Grade One
Wednesday 20:00 – 21:30 all other swimmers
Thursday 19:00 – 20:00 pool age group swimmers only
Thursday 20:15 – 21:15 land age group swimmers only
Sunday 15:00 – 15:55 land all swimmers
Sunday 16:00 – 17:00 pool all swimmers
Sunday 17:00 – 18:00 pool all swimmers with a grade
There will be an extra hour of pool time on lots of Sundays running up to the competitions. Your coach will let you know if these are for you.
You are also welcome to attend Grove swimming sessions on Mondays and Thursdays.
Please remember to look at the planner and calendar on the website:
GRADE ASSESSMENT DAY
The next grade day is Sunday 9 September. The coaches will be assessing the swimmers this week and next. I will contact you by the end of next week regarding entries. Please keep the date free at the moment.
COMPETITIONS
Well done to our 13-15 Back to the Future team who won Bronze in the Combo Cup in London in July. Photos and results will be on the website soon. I am a little behind!
The Scottish National Age Groups (SNAGs) is on 27/28 October. This is for all age group swimmers plus we hope some of our other teams will compete in the recreational section so please can everyone in the club keep it free. Entries will go in on 14 September so we will know the full team then.
The Scottish Clubs Championships is on 8 December. We hope everyone in the club will compete at this competition so please can everyone in the club keep the whole day free.
SOCIAL EVENTS
The Porty Beach Busk is on Saturday 25 August. This is always a big fundraising event for the club. Claire is organising it. Please donate your time / baking / tombola items.
TRIAL DAY
Our next trial day is on Sunday 26 August at 3pm. If you know anyone who might be interested, please direct them to our website here: edinburghsynchro.co.uk/
As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Thanks
JULY 2018
Hi there
I missed June! I am sorry. But you did hear a lot from me in June regarding the Club of the Year panel so I don’t imagine you mind…
GDPR
Thank you to everyone who has completed the GDPR forms.
There are still some people who have not completed the GDPR form, either on paper or online. Please can you do so? If not we are concerned that there may be some information on update emails, etc, that we might not be able to send to you.
CLUB ROBES
We have decided to get some club robes for swimmers to wear on the poolside during figure competitions. It is very important to keep warm and we hope that by having a club robe swimmers will be encouraged to do so. They will be a black towelling robe with the club logo embroidered in pink on the left and the swimmer’s name on the right. The price is £29.99.
The sizes are:
Child – 3/4, 5/6, 7/8, 9/11 and 12/13
Adult – S/M (Length 120cm) L/XL (Length 130cm)
The adult ones come up pretty big.
We will make the order at the end of July so we get them in good time for the Scottish Nationals. If you would like one, please email EdinburghSynchroKit@gmail.com and transfer £29.99 to our account with the reference – Name Robe – by 23 July.
Name: Edinburgh Synchronised Swimming Club
Sort Code: 87-70-33
Number: 82628168
OTHER CLUB KIT
As well as the required kit, we have now put links on our website to recommended kit: edinburghsynchro.co.uk/club_
Kit bags in club colours – some people have asked us if we have a ‘club bag’. We don’t but recommend these as they are excellent quality and in club colours!
Pool shoes in club colours – we are all aware of the danger of plastic to our oceans so we would prefer swimmers to wear pool shoes instead of using the blue plastic shoe coverings.
Leg warmers in club colours – for figure competitions
If you need an item of required kit you can order it at any time on our website. There will be another top (drifit, polo, hoodie) order in September. The swimsuit company has a minimum order of five swimsuits so we can only order them when we have received five or more orders.
Please note that that full payment is required before an order is made.
And don’t forget to put names in all club kit!
TRAINING
Training changes during the summer months as follows:
Wednesday 7pm training has stopped and all swimmers train in the main pool at 8:15pm. This training re-starts on 15 August.
Wednesday training is cancelled on 11 July due to maintenance.
Thursday pool and land training has stopped and re-starts on 16 August.
Sunday training on 22 July has a change due to setting up for the European Games. Training will be in the teaching pool (depth 2m) from 5pm until 7pm. There will be no land training that day.
Sunday training is cancelled from 29 July due to the European Games. It restarts on 19 August.
Sunday land training is in Studio 1 for everyone from 8 July until 22 July
Tuesday training is cancelled from 31 July due to the European Games. It restarts on 21 August.
Tuesday training is cancelled from 31 July due to the European Games. It restarts on 21 August.
During the summer months coaches also go on holiday so training will not always be with your assigned coach. We believe that we will have at least one coach at every session but if that is not possible we will let you know in advance.
Due to the closure of the pool some Sunday sessions in September and October have an extra hour. Your coaches will tell you if you are needed for that hour.
Please look at the calendar on the website if you are unsure if a session is happening. edinburghsynchro.co.uk/member-
COMPETITIONS
Well done to our swimmers who went to the Novice Event and all came home with medals. More information is on our website here: edinburghsynchro.co.uk/2018/
The figure competition was also a success for the club, with three swimmers on the podium. More information is here: edinburghsynchro.co.uk/2018/
The Combo Cupwill be held at the London Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park on Saturday 7 July. Good luck to our Back to the Future combo team!
After the summer the swimmers will be working hard for the two big competitions at the end of the year. The Scottish National Age Groups (SNAGs) is on 27/28 October. This is for all age group swimmers and we hope some of our other teams will compete in the recreational section so please keep it free. The Scottish Clubs Championships is on 8 December. We hope everyone in the club will compete at this competition so please keep the whole day free.
GRADE ASSESSMENT DAY
The next grade day is Sunday 9 September. It isn’t that far away so it is important that everyone keeps stretching their splits and working throughout the summer holidays. If you can’t get to the pool there are a lot of land exercises that you can do. Ask your coach if you haven’t got any and look here: edinburghsynchro.co.uk/member-
SOCIAL EVENTS
Antonia and Christine have been busy organising club socials.
The trip to the European Games is on 7 August. Please don’t forget to contact Christine if you want to join the group travelling together.
The Porty Beach Busk is on Saturday 25 August. This is always a big fundraising event for the club. Claire is organising it. Please donate your time / baking / tombola items.
The Swimming with Men premiere trip was excellent, with the swimmers attending being on the red carpet with the stars. They are all over social media and were in the Edinburgh Evening News. More information is on the website here: edinburghsynchro.co.uk/2018/
It is a fun film with some good, and some very bad, synchro! Go see it if you can.
TRIAL DAY
Our next trial day is on Sunday 26 August at 3pm. If you know anyone who might be interested, please direct them to our website here: edinburghsynchro.co.uk/join-
We hope you have a lovely summer.
MAY 2018
Hi there
I have just realised that we are almost at the end of May and I haven’t done an update!
Groups
After the successful grade day we have now re-jigged the groups so that swimmers can work on routines for the competitions at the end of the year. The list of groups is attached to this email. I am also attaching a list of team routines that swimmers are working on. This doesn’t cover duets and solos as I couldn’t fit them all on! Also there may be some changes once the regulations for the competitions come out at the end of the year.
The training calendar has been reorganised as well and I attach it. You will see that the later Wednesday session is going to be very busy. This session will therefore be mainly figure training.
We hope that the coaches will be having team meetings in the next couple of weeks with their new group. They will contact you directly about that.
Training
Training changes during the summer months as follows:
Wednesday 7pm training stops from 27 June and all swimmers train in the main pool at 8:15pm. This training re-starts on 15 August.
Thursday pool and land training stops from 28 June and re-starts on 16 August. (there may be
an extra session or two for the Back to the Future combo team but that is to be confirmed)
Sunday training on 22 July has a change due to setting up for the European Games. Training will be in the teaching pool (depth 2m) from 5pm until 7pm. There will be no land training that day.
Sunday training is cancelled from 29 July due to the European Games. It restarts on 19 August.
Sunday land training is in Studio 1 for everyone from 8 July until 22 July
Tuesday training is cancelled from 31 July due to the European Games. It restarts on 21 August.
Tuesday training is cancelled from 31 July due to the European Games. It restarts on 21 August.
During the summer months coaches also go on holiday so training will not always be with your assigned coach. We believe that we will have at least one coach at every session but if that is not possible we will let you know in advance.
Due to the closure of the pool some Sunday sessions in September and October have an extra hour. Your coaches will tell you if you are needed for that hour.
Please look at the calendar on the website if you are unsure if a session is happening.
Competitions
The Novice Event is on Saturday 2 June in Nairn. Seven swimmers are going to Nairn to compete. We wish them well.
The Figures competition will be held at the RCP on Saturday 16 June. Out of the 20 eligible 15 swimmers have been entered. Good luck to everyone who competes.
The Combo Cupwill be held at the London Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park on Saturday 7 July. Due to holidays there was only one full team available for the competition but they are working hard on their Back to the Future routine for the competition.
Grade Assessment Day
Well done to everyone who entered in the grade assessment day. It was a busy day but everyone coped well. The next grade day is Sunday 9 September. It isn’t that far away so it is important that everyone keeps stretching their splits and working throughout the summer holidays. If you can’t get to the pool there are a lot of land exercises that you can do. Ask your coach if you haven’t got any.
Social events
Antonia and Christine have been busy organising club socials.
The beach bbq is on Saturday 9 June from 4pm until 7pm on Portobello Beach. It was great fun last year. I hope we’ll see a lot of the club there. Please don’t forget to let Christine know if you are going so that she can buy the correct amount of burgers!
Sunday 1 July is the premiere of Swimming with Men and we want to make it a club event. If you have tickets let me know and we can organise getting together beforehand.
The trip to the European Games is on 7 August. Please don’t forget to contact Christine if you want to join the group travelling together.
The Porty Beach Busk is on Saturday 25 August. This is always a big fundraising event for the club. Unfortunately no one has yet come forward to organise this. Please let me or Christine know if you can do it. Helen, our previous fundraising coordinator, has done an amazing job over the last couple of years and I’m sure would be happy to give you the details of what we have done so it won’t be a hard job. The money from fundraising goes to pay for buses to events, new costumes, event tops, and subsidies for camps. So it is incredibly important to the club.
IMPORTANT: New bank account
If you haven’t done it already, please ensure that you move to our new bank account. Please ensure that the payment is set up for the first of every month and that all transfers are labeled with the swimmer name and the reason for the payment (fees, kit, camp, etc). The new bank details are:
Name: Edinburgh Synchronised Swimming Club
Sort Code: 87-70-33
Number: 82628168
IMPORTANT: GDPR
Thank you to everyone who has either given me the form or has completed the online form. If you haven’t, please do so. The links are
Swimmers:
Volunteers:
CPO to WPO
The Child Protection Officer role has been re-titled to the Welfare Protection Officer to reflect the true nature of the role. It doesn’t make any difference to what Sinead does though. If you have any concerns please contact her. Her email address remains the same – EdinburghSynchroCPO@gmail.com
Finally we have a parent forum on Sunday 3 June. We will meet in the cafe at 3pm. If there are a lot of us we might move to a meeting room. It is a chance for you to come and meet the other parents and ask any questions. I’ll be briefly going through some of the things mentioned above but really it is for you so come along and ask away…
See you at the pool.
APRIL 2018
Hello
I hope you had a good Easter break. I thought it was time for another update….
Training
Training is cancelled on Sunday 22 April as there is an event on in the pool.
Training is changed on Sunday 29 April as, instead of land training the social team have organised a go on the AquaDash course at 3pm. If you haven’t booked your spot yet please get in contact with Antonia or Christine.
Training is cancelled on Sunday 6 May as there is an event on in the pool.
Competitions
The Edinburgh swimmers who represented the East in the Inter District competition on 24 March did brilliantly, with almost all swimmers coming back with a medal. The full details, with links to videos of the routines and results are on our website here: http://edinburghsynchro.
Some of our swimmers will be representing Caledonia in the English National Championships in Nottingham on Saturday. We wish them well.
Eight swimmers are entered into the Synchro Cup in Luxembourg on 4-6 May. We wish them all the best of luck.
The Novice Event is confirmed for Saturday 2 June in Nairn. All swimmers who have not attempted Grade Two yet are eligible. I will be sending a separate note to them. We hope to take a good sized team to the competition.
The Figures competition will be held at the RCP on Saturday 16 June. We are hoping to enter all our Age Group swimmers, including those who pass the required grade at the May grade assessment day. I will be sending a separate note about this after the grade day.
Grade Assessment Day
The next Grade Assessment Day is on Sunday 13 May. The coaches are currently assessing the swimmers and we should know by the end of the week who is to be entered into the assessment day. If you don’t hear from me but expect to be entered, please talk to your coach or drop me a note.
Training will still be on on that day and we hope many swimmers who have taken part in the assessment day will still want to go to training. However, we have only booked one studio as we realise that there will be fewer swimmers for that.
Following the grade day there will be a bit of a reshuffle of groups. We will communicate that but it may not be instant so if in doubt, go to your normal training session / group.
IMPORTANT: New bank account
Only five people had updated their standing order in time for the 1 April payment. It would be great if the rest of the club could do it for 1 May.
Please ensure when moving the orders that the payment is set up for the first of every month and that all transfers are labeled with the swimmer name and the reason for the payment (fees, kit, camp, etc). The new bank details are:
Name: Edinburgh Synchronised Swimming Club
Sort Code: 87-70-33
Number: 82628168
IMPORTANT: GDPR
You may have heard about the large changes in Data Protection laws that come into force next month, known as GDPR. These have an impact on every organisation, including ours. Within the next month I will be sending out an email with our Privacy Notice, and a consent form for using your data for emails such as these. Please read the notice carefully and complete the form. I realise that it is another form but if we do not receive your consent then we cannot send you ‘newsletters’ such as this, or information regarding social events, for example, which may mean that you miss out on things.
Any questions at all, just ask.
Thanks
MARCH 2018
Hello
March has been an interesting month with the weather playing havoc with our training plans but the sun is shining today so hopefully Spring is here.
Competitions
The Inter District competition is on Saturday and the East team is made up solely of Edinburgh swimmers. There are 14 swimmers competing and we wish them luck. The results will go up on our website as soon as possible afterwards.
Eight swimmers are entered into the Synchro Cup in Luxembourg on 4-6 May. It is very exciting as this is the first time for many years that the club is competing at a competition abroad. We wish them all the best of luck.
Grade Assessment
The next Grade Assessment Day is on Sunday 13 May. We are expecting that a lot of swimmers in the club will be entering. More details will be available in April but the coaches have asked me to remind you that the splits are incredibly important so everyone should be doing split stretches as often as possible. All swimmers are assessed on their left and right split and scored according to the distance between the floor and the crotch for splits, and the floor and the foot for oversplits. Scoring is in 10cm increments. A change from last year is that if the swimmer has more than 20cm between the floor and their crotch they will get a Zero. This will mean that it is incredibly hard to pass the grade. Therefore the coaches will do an assessment in the club in advance of the grade day and it is very unlikely that someone will be entered if either split will be a zero.
Training camps
Hilary has been busy organising the training camp to Whithaugh Park in May. It should be a great weekend and everyone is looking forward to it. It is wonderful to see so many of our new members also going along. There is a meeting on Sunday 15 April at 2:45pm for all swimmers going and their parents.
Social
Our social committee has also been busy organising the AquaDash on 29 April and the beach party on 9 June. We hope that most of the club can make the two events.
Development
Thank you to those who came to the development meeting. We have got some good ideas to work on improving the club this year.
Kit
The kit order closes at the end of the month. Please remember that swimmers must have the club kit of top, cap and swimming costume if they are competing in any competition so if your child will be in any competition before the summer, please order them kit. If you are not sure, please ask. It is still possible to request kit via the website after the end of the month but that will go into the next order after the summer break.
Scottish Swimming renewal
The renewal with Scottish Swimming is now complete and everyone should have received a confirmation thanking them for renewing their membership.
IMPORTANT: New bank account
We have moved bank accounts to allow us to have internet banking for the club. There is a transfer process in place whereby all money that it paid to the old account is immediately transferred to the new account. This lasts for about a year but we obviously would like everyone to move their standing orders to the new account as soon as possible. Please ensure when moving the orders that the payment is set up for the first of every month and that all transfers are labeled with the swimmer name and the reason for the payment (fees, kit, camp, etc). The new bank details are:
Name: Edinburgh Synchronised Swimming Club
Sort Code: 87-70-33
Number: 82628168
Forms
I still have 12 Codes of Conduct and 14 Consent forms to be returned to me. It is very important that you get them to me as soon as possible as the swimmers are not allowed to go to any club event without the consent form and shouldn’t really be training without the code of conduct signed. I have everyone’s forms who is competing in the Inter Districts but not everyone who is going to Whithaugh Park. I have attached them again for those who haven’t completed them.
Child protection
Finally I would like to remind you that our responsibility for the swimmers ends when they leave the poolside. If you would like to pick your child up at the poolside and take them to the changing rooms, that is fine. If not, please ensure that you have an agreed meeting place and that they know that if you are not there they should come back to us on the poolside so that we can wait with them. However, they continue to be a member of Scottish Swimming so rules about using mobile phones in the changing rooms still stand. There is a zero tolerance policy to taking photos / videos / etc in the changing room.
Dates for your diary:
Land training will only be in Studio One on 1 April as we are expecting a lot of swimmers to be away.
Training is cancelled on 22 April due to an event in the RCP
Training is cancelled on 6 May due to an event in the RCP
As always, please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions regarding anything above or about the club.
Thanks
FEBRUARY 2018
Hi there
I hope you had a restful break, if you had one!
Firstly please join me in welcoming our ten new swimmers. Please help them by saying hello and answering any questions they may have or pointing out people who can help.
We have made a couple of changes to the website:
1. We have added a calendar to the calendar page of the website. The planner is still there for an annual overview (which shows exceptions to normal training) but now there is a calendar with all training sessions colour coded by group. It is a google calendar so can be added to your personal calendar. At the moment you have to add everything but we are working on a way to only add your group’s events. http://edinburghsynchr
2. We have added a kit page. This has a form for you to complete if you need kit. The order will be sent to a special kit email address. There will still be two orders per year and we will check with you that you still want the order when the price is known, but it should help collect the orders in a simpler way. http://edinburghsynchro.c
3. We have updated the grade page with information from the new FINA manual relating to the new judging guidelines and age group figures. This has also impacted the grades, which have also been updated. Please take time to look through the page. http://edinburghsynchro.
The Club Figures Competition is on Sunday 25 February at 4pm. Everyone is invited to compete, including the new beginners. It is a chance for the newer swimmers to experience a judging environment in a more relaxed setting and is a chance for the age group swimmers to be judged on the new figures before the competition in March. All swimmers, including the new joiners, are invited to take part. I will be sending out more details on a separate email but if you are not able to make it, or don’t want to compete, please let me know as soon as possible.
Please remember to return the consent form and code of conduct to me as soon as possible. Our first camp is coming up and I don’t have even half the club’s forms. I have attached them below.
Our first parent forum for the year is at 3pm on Sunday 25 February, before our figures competition. Please come along and ask us any questions you have. It will be in the RCP, hopefully in one of the meeting rooms. Maybe you could bring the consent / code of conduct with you?
At the end of the month we need to go through the Scottish Swimming membership renewal process, and this includes paying for all current members to renew their membership for another year. We cover this cost and there is no additional amount for you to pay, unlike with most other clubs. However, we do ask you to let us know if you are considering leaving the club. We don’t want anyone to leave but at the same time we don’t want to pay their renewal at the end of February for them to leave in March. When we renew you are likely to receive an email from Scottish Swimming thanking you for your joining and providing details of the membership we have purchased. You do not need to do anything with this, unless you spot something that looks wrong.
See you at the pool!
Thanks
JANUARY 2018
Hi there
Happy New Year to you all.
Thank you to everyone for your feedback on the new structure, which was generally positive. It will take a little time to get settled. If anyone is unsure if they are in the correct group please speak to us before you make a decision.
Thank you also to everyone who attended the AGM and / or the group meetings. The AGM minutes are on the website here: www.edinburghsynchro.co.uk/
This year we have decided to have one consent form for the whole year so please find that attached along with the 2018 swimmer code of conduct. Please can you return these to me by the end of January.
It is our first Awards Night on Friday. Thank you to everyone who has replied to Christine’s email. I think we have almost heard from everyone. Please come if you can – let Christine know that you are coming and what food you are bringing please. The awards will be given out throughout the night, interspersed with the disco. It should be fun.
Sunday’s training is cancelled as it is our trial day. So far we have 25 swimmers on the list to come. It is wonderful that we have many enthusiastic people wanting to join. Please welcome them when they start coming to training the following week.
On Sunday 25 February we have two events. Firstly we have our parent forum at 3pm. We will try to get a room for this as there will be new parents as well. This will be a chance to reflect on how the new groups are getting along. It will also include an introduction to the club and the sport of synchro for the new parents. Following that, at 4pm, it will be our first Club Figures Championship in the pool. We would like every swimmer in the club to take part in this, except those who joined in January. We will be providing details nearer the time but please put the date in your diary.
There will be an East District training camp on 3/4 March in Tulliallan. Please can all 13-15s and Juniors plus Lucy put this in their diaries. More information will come out about that soon.
The first competition of the year is the Inter Districts on 24 March. Again this is for 13-15s, Juniors and Lucy.
Margo, Sarah and I attended the Swim England Synchro Conference last weekend. They detailed changes to the age group figures, grades, judging method and the synchro calendar from 2019. They also spoke about periodisation, the importance of stamina and land training, and injury prevention. We will put together all the information to pass on to you and we will be adjusting our training plans to incorporate our learning. However, one thing I wanted to pass on straight away relates to splits in grades. Swimmers who are more than 20cm above the ground in splits will receive a zero. So please ensure that everyone is working on splits! The first grade day isn’t until May so you have time. Please remember that information on split stretches as well as all the new figures, etc is on our website here: www.edinburghsynchro.co.uk/
See you on Friday