Congratulations to Wrekin College Swimming Clubs very own Paige Norry-Addison (Aged 13) who has been selected to attend the ASA England Talent Development Programme and will attend training camps during September and December 2011 at Coventry Leisure Centre along with all the other top swimmers from within the West Midlands Region.

The camp will be predominately skill based and be a positive experience for the swimmers. The ASA Talent Development Programme envisage the camp to be a stepping stone for these swimmers to move forward with there swimming careers, and hopefully onto podium success.

Thousands of children go through the ASA's club structure every year but only a handful ever progress to national squads. The ASA has a development pathway to ensure that once a child's talent is identified it is nurtured to help them reach their full potential.

As a sport it can take 10 years to produce a champion so in most cases a youngster will be 'spotted' within their club environment and nurtured within their club.

The Talent Development programme The ASA also has a specific Talent Development programme that takes youngsters who have already shown promise and gives them access to quality coaching, athlete educational schemes and physiotherapy screening within a training camp environment that will prepare them for future international competition. The ASA has three levels of talent development:

• Level 1 is for 12 and 13-year-olds and is known as an 'Age' programme.
  It includes 192 athletes in eight regions.
• Level 2 is for 14 and 15-year-olds and is known as the 'Youth' programme.
  It includes 160 athletes in eight regions.
  There is also an English Development programme for Open Water swimmers at Level 2 that includes 80 athletes in eight regions.
• Level 3 is the 'National' development squad and includes 36 athletes aged 13 years or over.

Swimmers must achieve certain qualifying times for their age group at certain specified competitions to be selected onto the development programmes. They then receive varying support depending on their level but this will include training camps, anthropological measurements and lifestyle management. Swimmers who excel at the National level may progress to being selected by British Swimming to join their World Class development programme.

The Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence Athletes can also access the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (AASE), a NVQ programme that is aimed at developing professional sportsmen and women in a number of identified sport including Aquatics, Football, Rugby Union and Golf.

It is aimed at young people between the ages of 16 and 19 years, AASE offers young people in all the aquatics discipline the chance to pursue their sport whilst continuing with their education.

Download the Long Term Development Programme Click Here