Coronavirus information

We are updating this page regularly, please continue to check for updated information.

Swim England also has FAQs on their website.

20th July 2020:

We are delighted to announce that pool training will begin on 27th July. A timetable and information has been sent to all swimmers, and this can also be found in the Coronavirus and Training during Coronavirus areas of the website.

29th March 2020: Week 2 Dry land training sessions for swimmers are now available in the “Swimmers’ Corner” area of our website - see link above. Zoom links will be sent to squads by email.

20th March 2020: A message to members from Bob Petersen, Treasurer

All Squad Fees

➢ March fees should be paid as normal

➢ April fees will be suspended.

➢ We will review May, June, etc on a rolling weekly basis and keep you informed.

March fees should be paid in full by all members. Proportionately March has run as normal for all swimmers with all the associated costs of running a swimming club. We have also been informed that we may not receive refund of pool hire costs prior to a seven days’ notice period. Therefore to support the clubs infrastructure, coaching fees, additional behind the scenes work that has been going on to support you with resources and options for alternative training it has been necessary to keep March fees in place.

Academy Lessons

For all our academy swimmers we will be offsetting any missed lessons from this term that you have already paid for from the next termly invoice, whenever that may be.

You will receive over the coming days additional communications from the Chair and Committee to keep you fully informed of other initiatives that we have been working on.

I hope that everyone is safe and healthy during this period.

20th March 2020: A message to members from Dr Claire Cooley, Chair

Thank you for all your patience, understanding and support during this difficult time, it really is appreciated.

As we expected the situation around the coronavirus has continued to evolve and information has been changing daily even hourly. We have continued to monitor all the information and guidance coming from key areas including Swim England, Public Health, Schools, and the Government. It has been our job to assimilate this information and apply it to our decision making to ensure we do the best for the club and you as our members.

We made the decision to suspend all swimming activity for all squads and our academy, on Wednesday to ensure your safety and wellbeing. We considered completing a risk assessment similar to other clubs to allow some swimming to continue but we collectively did not feel qualified to undertake such an assessment without fearing making the wrong decision that could put you and your family at risk. We have therefore maintained our position that all swimming related club activity would be suspended for the foreseeable future. Our pool sessions were cancelled and we are negotiating with the council to recover the pool hire costs for these sessions. Some parents asked if the club lanes could be used for individuals to still swim, but due to the clubs position we could not authorise this. It has in the last few hours been announced that all pools and leisure centres will close as the priority is protection of the community, therefore the clubs position is in line with what is now expected.

We know how much swimming means to all of you, and how devastating the suspension of activities, galas and championships is. We are working hard behind the scenes to think of alternative fitness regimes and ways to support you all and maintain our Black Lion Team spirit, no matter how isolated we have to be. We are very lucky to have Martin Jurco, Performance Director, guiding the club through this extraordinary situation, with his years of experience, knowledge and expertise we are able to explore creative ways in which to support you all and help maintain your fitness, and physical and emotional wellbeing. We will continue to be exploring all options available to us and utilising the technological world to support us in supporting you. As I am sure you can appreciate this takes a lot of time to pull things together so it can be applied across all our squads, so as soon as we have more information we will share this with you, so keep an eye out on the website, social media and emails for information. Don't forget to refer to our website and FAQ page for up to date information and we will update this as and when we have further news. Our focus is needed elsewhere at the current time so won't be able to address individual emails at this stage but will keep you all updated as the situation unfolds.

We will continue to monitor all the information as it is available and we will get you all back in the pool as soon as possible. We wish we could give you a definitive time frame but nobody has that and as result we all have to learn to cope with the uncertainty and take it one day at a time. As I have said before team spirit and support of each other is needed now more than ever and we want to keep our wonderful Black Lion Community together as much as possible. If you have any ideas, tips, suggestions, fun photos or videos, let us know so we can share them with everyone and bring a few smiles, laughter and banter to keep us all going during this difficult time. You can send anything you would like to share to our blscmed@gmail.com.

We will keep you updated on a regular basis, but for now we wish you and your families well, and hope you all stay safe and well during this time.

19th March 2020: A message to members from Bob Petersen, Treasurer

Corona virus is an unprecedented challenge to our swimmers and indeed to BLSC itself. We have been working tirelessly to find the correct way forward to protect all concerned.

We would ask you all to be patient whilst we plan the club’s policy and review other issues including fees. We need to develop a clear and concise policy for all swimmers, to avoid what would otherwise become an administrative nightmare.

Regarding fees in particular, we will issue our guidance before the weekend and would request you not to cancel payments until this is received, since in doing so could jeopardise your place in the squad and make our job harder.

Please remember that your Committee are unpaid volunteers and we need your support in this matter. We are working through everything as quickly as we can, but this is unchartered water for all of us. We would like to thank you for your continued patience.

18th March 2020: A message to members from Dr Claire Cooley, Chair

Thank you for your patience and understanding today. It has not been easy to work out the best options for the club, with the wellbeing of our members being our priority.

In line with all the guidance and information available to us the committee in conjunction with Martin Jurco, Performance Director have decided for everyone’s safety we will suspend all club activities including training was immediate effect and for the foreseeable future. We will continue to monitor the situation and as soon as we can get back in the pool we will be there.

We wanted to ensure you were kept up to date so sharing information with you all as soon as decisions are made. With this in mind there are many questions we cannot answer right now but will get information to you in the coming days about how we will manage this unprecedented situation, from reviewing fees, to ensuring you have training options available. We will keep you updated every step of the way so please do keep an eye on our website for the latest information.

Thank you all for your continued support and understanding at this difficult time

18th March 2020: A message to members from Dr Claire Cooley, Chair

As you may be aware since my update last night Swim England further reviewed their guidance and they have recommended clubs and swim schools consider suspending all activities including training.

I am working closely with the committee, our coaching team, swim England and pool providers to assess the situation and what action we can take.

We have set up a page on our website with information about coronavirus, resources that maybe be helpful especially for explaining to our younger swimmers what is going on, and a Frequently Asked Questions section.

I’m sure you can appreciate this is a very difficult time for everyone and it will take time to make decisions and put contingency plans in place. During this time we won’t be able to respond to individual emails as our focus is needed else where and as volunteers we are all juggling our own additional demands. Please refer to our website for the most up to date information and we will update you as soon as we have more news for you.

Thank you for all your support, patience and understanding.

17th March 2020: A message to members from Dr Claire Cooley, Chair

As we continue to face an uncertain time with information changing on a daily basis in relation to the coronavirus, I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on the clubs current position.

We continue to follow the Swim England guidelines which are being informed by the government updates. In line with the current advice we may need to postpone our Spring open and have already looked at alternative dates. All galas and events by Swim England have been cancelled up until the end of May including regional championships. British swimming have cancelled the British Championships in April so those who ordered tickets we wont be going this time. The Senior Swim Camp due to take place this April has sadly also been cancelled.

We have been liaising with pool providers and at the current time they remain open and in line with Swim England guidelines it is believed to be safe to swim due to the chlorine in the pools. Therefore we will continue to train until we are advised otherwise. We will also continue to offer our learn to swim programme over at academy.

We are working hard behind the scenes to think of alternative fitness regimes should we face pool closures to help maintain swimmers fitness and wellbeing. With Martin Jurco's expertise and experiences as well as working with our partners Amazon 24 who support our land training and strength and conditioning programme, we may be bale to offer individualised Land Training programmes that can be done at home and run outdoor bootcamps. We will also be keeping a close eye on Swim England's announcements re any rearranged events and the guidelines for qualifying for Summer Nationals which are currently scheduled to go ahead.

Please continue to look after yourselves, follow all the advice available re maintaining good hygiene, showering before swimming, washing hands and following the guidelines requested by Amazon 24 when attending land training. If you need to self-isolate for whatever reason we completely understand and support whatever you need to do.

Team spirit and support of each other is needed now more than ever at such challenging times and we appreciate everyones support and understanding as we navigate this unprecedented situation. We will keep you updated as and when things change both on email and social media.

12th March 2020: Message from Dr Claire Cooley, Chair

As you are all aware, Coronavirus remains in the headlines and is something for us all to be aware of and respond to as appropriate.

As a club we are monitoring the advice of Swim England, who, in turn are referring to the latest Government information and advice. Please follow this link for the most up to date information.

For now we will continue as normal with all training, galas and events taking place as planned. We will notify you all immediately if there are any changes.

https://www.swimming.org/swimengland/coronavirus-advice/