Hello - and thank you for your interest in Blenheim Swimming Club.

For information on our structure, coaching and costs, please read the information below, and contact Jodie Lovell at blenheimswimclub@gmail.com with any questions or to set up a free trial.

BLENHEIM SWIMMING CLUB MEMBERSHIP

Blenheim Swimming Club offers two distinct aspect to its membership:
BSC Membership and Swim Coaching.

BSC MEMBERSHIP

Any swimmer may join the Blenheim Swimming Club and this will entitle them to be registered with Swimming New Zealand and join in competitive swim meets. These are held approximately 3 times a year in Blenheim and there are various other meets in the Nelson region and beyond.

CLUB MEMBERSHIP
This currently costs $105 per year (2023/24 season), and entitles you to enter Club level meets in Blenheim AND Club level meets at any Swim Nelson Marlborough affiliated Club. Please note that all meets also incur entry fees starting at $6.50 per swim.

COMPETITIVE MEMBERSHIP
This currently costs $140 per year (2023/24 season) and entitles you to swim at any meet in NZ you qualify for.  You will need a Competitive Membership to swim at the three regional Swim Nelson Marlborough meets held each year. Please note that all meets also incur entry fees starting at $6.50 per swim.

You must be a Blenheim Swimming Club member to access our swim coaching.

SWIM COACHING

Blenheim Swimming Club employs an independent coach, Shane Skehan. Shane is in charge of all our swimming coaching services, and as a club we also have a close relationship with the Swim School at Stadium 2000.

If your child is able to confidently swim Freestyle, Backstroke and Breaststroke in the sports pool, and train for an hour, they can join our club and race. To join the develpment squad all swimmers need to do a trial first (the first two weeks are free). If your child has done one term in Tasman Tarakihi (Level 10 of Swim School in Blenheim) entry is automatic. Keen swimmers in a lower level are on a case by case basis.

All technical skills are usually mastered through swim school, and if your child is coping well with the 40 minute lessons they may well be ready to transition to our coaching, whether completely or while continuing with swim school lessons. Our training sessions are focused around preparing swimmers for competitive meets in all four strokes.

We can arrange an assessment with our development coaches at one of our junior training sessions, and to arrange this, please contact Jodie at blenheimswimclub@gmail.com

Please be aware that even if your child is a fast swimmer, they may be referred back to Swim School / Stadium fitness sessions if they lack the technical competency or aquatic fitness required to join our training squads. Please note that it is our coach Shane who makes the decisions regarding when swimmers are ready to join the training squads.

SWIM COACHING COSTS

Swimmers may choose how many times they wish to swim per week (see below) and they then make monthly automatic payments to Blenheim Swimming Club accordingly. Swimmers must attend a minimum of two training sessions per week.

DEVELOPMENT SQUAD:
For swimmers new into the club, to learn how to train in a competitive squad and develop and refine skills in all four strokes. Swimmers train for one hour. Entry to this squad is done through an assessment session by the club coach. Afternoon sessions only.
Training fee: $50 per month for up to 3 sessions a week of one hour.

INTERMEDIATE SQUAD:
For swimmers to increase their endurance, to start swimming longer distances and to further develop their technique across all four strokes. Swimmers are moved into this squad at the coaches discretion. Swimmers swim for 1½ hours at any of the morning or afternoon sessions.
Training fee: $55 per month for up to 3 sessions a week of 1½  hours.

SENIOR SQUAD:
When swimmers are ready, the coach will give them the option of moving into the Senior squad. Swimmers in this squad are both mentally and physically able to train continuously for 2 hours and are competent across all four strokes. Swimmers in this squad can train for up to 4 sessions a week and can choose from both the morning and afternoon sessions. They are aiming for regional meets and may start gaining qualifying times for national meets.
Training fee: $70 per month for up to 4 sessions a week of two hours each.

NATIONAL SQUAD:
National squad swimmers are aiming for national meets such as Division II, National Age Groups, New Zealand Short Course Champs and New Zealand Open Champs. Swimmers move into this squad if national meets are their goal. Swimmers will be training for a minimum of 5 sessions per week for two hours. Swimmers in this squad will also have the option of attending extra dry-land training sessions.
Training fee: $90 per month for 5 or more sessions a week of two hours each.

POOL FEES / MEMBERSHIP

In addition to this, each swimmer takes a Stadium membership for $350 per year. This equates to about 2.4 pool entries per week and allows a swimmer unlimited access to the pool at any time. If you are only swimming twice a week, you may choose to buy a concession card from the pool for entries at $3 per swim.
Please discuss directly with the Stadium regarding membership payments.

TRAINING TIMES

For more information on training times - see our webpage HERE.

NEXT STEPS

We realize that this is a lot of information, and we encourage you to reach out to us with any questions or to arrange a coach assessment.