ASA EAST REGION

Aquaforce Volunteer Award Winners 2011

Young Volunteer Award (Under 18 years of age): Lydia Backhaus (Ware SC)

Lydia is seventeen and has through her own initiative qualified as an ASA Level 1 and Level 2 Swimming Teacher and also is a qualified and licensed time keeper, Level 1 and Level 2 ASA judge.

For the last three years she has volunteered as a swimming teacher at Ware Swimming Club. She started off working with a qualified swimming teacher on the Sunday afternoon session teaching our youngest swimmers. She regularly attended these sessions and has been entirely reliable and enthusiastic in the role. Once she obtained her Level 1 teaching award two years ago she then took over two lanes on a Sunday afternoon and taught on her own. She  has now progressed to also teaching on a Monday and Friday evening as well. She dedicates all her time on a voluntary basis and has remained as enthusiastic now as she was when she started. She has grown in confidence over the years and is now a valued member of the coaching team.

Lydia is a particularly inspiring personality. She is an intelligent girl and has established an outstanding rapport with the younger swimmers that she teaches. She has become a role model for a number of them, in particular the young girls.  With two young brothers she is also adept at dealing with boisterous young boys and manages to inspire and motivate all her swimmers and keep them under control and on task. They all participate willingly in her classes but they also have fun whilst with her.

Not only does Lydia pride herself in helping the younger Club members improve their strokes and techniques, but parents also have commented that she has also given a number of their children a real boost in their self confidence. She treats her swimmers with respect. She manages to strike a balance between establishing a friendship with them and having fun whilst always maintaining her authority as a member of the coaching team.

She takes great pride in her teaching and devotes herself to helping her swimmers improve their strokes and techniques. Every week on a Friday she takes treats to the pool for her swimmers and for their parents, generally in the form of self made muffins, cookies or brownies. This has become a real ritual and a nice tradition at the Club.

Lydia also volunteers to help the Ware Swimming Club in the capacity as an official at our galas. As a qualified Level 2 judge she regularly attends galas to either judge or time keep. She is the only member of the Club who has swum, who now teaches and also officiates for us. For a young person to give so much of her free time on a voluntary basis whilst studying for her A Levels in her final year is a commitment we feel we ought to honour by submitting an application for her to the ASA for this award.

As well as the work she does for Ware Swimming Club, Lydia also volunteers at her school and helps with teaching there as well and has done so for the last three years. 

Aquaforce Volunteer Award Winners 2011

Long Service Award (over 25 years of service): Janet Rayner (Halstead ASC)

Janet finally retired from the world of swimming at the end of 2010 at the age of 65 after dedicating  approximately 28 years of service to Halstead Amateur Swimming Club, a club that Janet has helped to grow/develop over many years. HASC will always be grateful to Janet for her enormous voluntary participation. Even now Janet still makes herself available to give advice or to help out with the main club events e.g. Annual Open Meet & Club Champs.

 Janet became a key member of HASC when her 3 boys were young swimmers in the club and she stayed to see them all become Captains and then coaches to the club.   Throughout her service Janet has fulfilled a majority of the demanding voluntary roles.  Janet was an expert in the day to day operation of HASC, her knowledge & skills ranged from Fixture Secretary  (running galas/club champs), Membership Secretary, Organising Sponsorship/Fundraising events, coordinating swimshop, to being in charge of the day to day finances. 

Janet with her exprtise often played the key role of supporter/helper to many of the new volunteers a truly inspirational character.  Speaking from experience Janet has helped many volunteers in their roles as Committee members.

Janet was always a keen team supporter/helper even when her 3 children retired from Competitive Swimming..........somebody that is both passionate about the sport and the club swimmers.

 Janet was awarded the honourable HASC club Greenwood trophy for outstanding contribution to the club in 2006, a candidate that truly could have received the award year in year out! 

Janet is most definitely somebody that should to be recognised for her outstanding contribution.  HASC clearly would not be as successful with out the efforts of this remarkable lady!   An ASA award with this recognition would be 100% deserved.

Winners of 2011 Aquaforce Volunteer and Coaching Awards

Outstanding Contribution at Club Level: Carol Naunton (Deben SC)

Carol Naunton is Deben Swimming Club's glue that keeps everything together! Her present role is Chairperson of the club for nearly two years but she had been the Treasurer for four years and prior to that a committee member for one year and a parent volunteer. Carol has spent many hours volunteering for the club in some significant roles and steering the club through the realms of Swim 21 to sustain it's success of today.

So what makes Carol special and sets her apart from all the thousands of volunteers that keep our swimming clubs going from day to day? SHE NEVER FORGETS! You only have to tell Carol something once and she will remember it, even if you have forgotten it in weeks to come Carol will have remembered! This can be from anything as serious as a target or deadline that has been set to the most caring of things such as how you take your cup of tea or what your interests are. Carol has the best laugh in the world and you cannot feel down or cross with anyone or anything when Carol is leading the way. She is a true people person with such a caring personality. Carol leads the committee in such a rewarding way and because of her leadership we have a very strong, willing and able team of volunteers that keep the club moving forward. I think what sets Carol apart from others above all is her genuine interest and care for all the swimmers. Her e-mail's out to the swimmers congratulating them on their successes, her presence on pool side at meets and her support of the Head Coach with taking the club to a National Level shows that she is in it for the swimmers and has their best interests at heart at all levels within the club structure.

As treasurer Carol kept the books in working order in a such a way that we were able to purchase our timing board and pads when the fund raising came to an end. She played an integral part along with the Fundraising Organiser in getting us this equipment. Most people give up the treasurer's role after a period of time to come off the committee or just because it's come to a natural end, there are very few that would go from a Treasurer to a Chairperson's role!

Deben Swimming Club is a success and has many success stories to tell and in amongst them you will find Carol Naunton's name somewhere as being part of that success. Recently she has led by example with a number of role descriptions in setting up and getting started some key roles such as the Fundraising Organiser and Workforce Development Officer before sourcing Deben Members to take on these roles. In doing these roles herself first and setting them up Carol has left a very easy job for the right person to then take on officially hence ensuring we have the right people with the right skills in the right role!

Some of our parents were recently asked if they knew who our chairperson was and every one of them were able to give me her name and added what a  hard working and lovely lady she was. I think when you have members that can relate to and recognise who is the driving force of the club a good job has been done and is being done from the top down!

Carol actively seeks opportunities for the club and has got us involved in trialling some new equipment at protocol stage for feedback from our swimmers, she has got us a spot on the local radio once a month enabling us to pass on our successes to the community, developed and designed the monthly club newsletter delegating it out to a volunteer to take on, filled the majority of roles for the Swim 21 Workforce template and has secured us various funding as well as the day to day running of the club.

As well has this huge role that Carol undertakes so passionately she is a "Swimming mum" to her eldest son and a "football mum" to her youngest son and is a special needs school teacher.

ASA East Region Aquaforce Award Winners 2010

Outstanding Contribution at Club Level - Peter Lynch (Stowmarket SC)

Outstanding Contribution at County/Regional Level - Tony Smith (UEA City of Norwich SC)



Long Service Award - Pat Hollis (Great Yarmouth SC)



Young Volunteer Award (Under 18 years old) - Chris Murrell (Lowestoft & Oulton Broad SC)