Arnold Swimming Club were awarded Swim 21 accreditation in May 2008. The award was formally presented on 23^rd June 2008 by the Mayor of Gedling, Councillor R J Goodwin to the Chairman of Arnold SC, Jim Shelton. The Club were delighted to welcome the President of Arnold SC, Bill Hammond. Also present were Committee Members from the Club, Rob Clarke, Head Coach Arnold SC and Sasha Matthews who swims for the Club when she is not competing in National Events or representing Great Britain! Sasha is one of the ‘Lloyds TSB local heroes’ selected to receive sponsorship up to the 2012 Olympics and is obviously a massive asset to the Club.

Arnold SC is run by volunteers and currently has over 200 members, mainly from the local community with most swimmers being under 15 years of age. The Chair of Arnold SC, Jim Shelton said ‘Attaining Swim 21 accreditation is a fantastic achievement for the Club. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all the volunteers who help out at the Club and to all those who have attended training courses to ensure that the accreditation could be possibly. I would particularly like to thank Colin Walton who has worked tirelessly in collating all of the information required for submission and for driving this project’.

Swim 21 is the Amateur Swimming Association's Club Development model - a planning tool, based on the principles of Long Term Athlete Development, enabling clubs to help athletes, teachers, coaches and administrators to achieve their full potential. It focuses particularly on the needs of athletes - striving to provide them with the best possible support and environment. Swim 21 accreditation is a 'Quality mark'. It recognises nationally and regionally the clubs that are committed to providing safe, effective and quality services for the benefit of their members.

Q - What does that mean for Arnold SC?

A - It means that Arnold have been recognised and awarded the Teaching and Skill Development accreditation, (the only club in Nottinghamshire at the moment to have the two levels), in doing so it proves that the club have the structure and abilities to provide safe, effective and quality services for swimmers and coaches. It also means that as a Swim 21 club we are able to keep pool time and look for more time in other areas as we should now be looked at more favourably over other clubs without swim 21. Also the coaches from the club who attend courses are eligible for Regional Grant Aid funding to help reduce the cost of courses.