City of Sheffield Swim Squad Recognition for Coaches and Swimmers
James Kirton swam at the European Long Course Championships, Hungary, in August and did fantastically well. He came through the heats and semis with ease, qualifying in 6th position. In his 1st major long course final, he managed to finish in 6th position in a time of 2.14.26. Kirton said "It was a great experience and I'm happy with my swims, but not completely satisfied. I went into the meet wanting to win a medal, and know I can, but it wasn't to be on the day. It just makes me even more hungry to improve next season. I'm looking forwards to the World Championships in Melbourne next year, and know I will be pushing the big guys there!" COSSS Coach Russ Barber, who was on the team staff for the meet said "it was a big learning curve for us both, and we know what we have to do to make improvements, and to make sure that we are in the running next year. That said, I am incredibly proud of the way James handled the enormous pressure, and making the final on your 1st major International is a fantastic achievement! Things are looking great for the Olympics in 2008 as he has already made the qualifying time for the meet, and just needs to come through the trials in the top 2!"
James has also been selected for the World Long Course team next year. The meet will be held in Melbourne Australia in March 2007. As a warm up for the meet, he has also been picked for the European Short Course team in Finland, December. It is a wonderful achievement for James and City of Sheffield, and we are all very proud of him. Well done James!!
James Crisp has been selected onto the DSE World Championships team, to compete in South Africa in Decemeber. Paralympic Champion, James was selected from his outstanding performances at the National Championships. Congratulations James and good luck!
Head Coach Russ Barber has been presented with an Award of Recognition by the British Coaches Association at their recent awards ceremony. The award was given for the fantastic results that the City of Sheffield swimmers have achieved this year at the British Championships, the European Junior and Senior Championships and the National Championships. Russ said "I'm over the moon to have recieved the award. It's always nice to get some recognition for the work we do as coaches. I'd just like to thank the swimmers for their belief and dedication. I'd also like to thank Steve Cox and my coaching staff at Ponds Forge, because they make my job much easier and have done a great job this year!"
Andy Shepherd, Max Partridge and Rebecca Turner have all been picked for the GB Development Squad. They have been picked from their fantastic results at the National Championships in August. The tour will involve a training camp in New Zealand and Australia for 3 weeks, then moving onto the Queensland Chamionships, to compete for GB in December. Congratulations and good luck to all three.
Steve Cox has been selected as team coach to the GB Development Squad tour in November/December. This is a fantastic achievement for Steve and shows how lucky we are to have such coaching depth at Sheffield. Congratulations Steve.