Glen joined DASC as an Assistant Coach in summer 2007 when the club was in a difficult position, with membership, performances, and morale at a low level. In late 2009 he became DASC Head Coach, gaining his Level 3 Senior Coach qualification in 2013.He continued as Head Coach and Top Squad Coach from that time, until his recent resignation. In that period, he has worked with four club Chairmen, and perhaps 20 coaches, and has been a big part of the lives of many young people who have passed through DASC.
If you have seen Glen in action on poolside at training or at galas, you will have witnessed his passion for swimming and for swimming coaching, and the satisfaction he gained from inspiring young people of all ages and abilities to develop their competitive swimming potential. He has also encouraged coaches to share his enthusiasm and develop their skills and effectiveness.
When Glen was on poolside, you could not fail to notice him; he was loud of voice, cajoling, encouraging, demanding, as well as being loud in his choice of clothing. He believed strongly in the need for there to be an element of fun as well as hard work in training, looking to put smiles on swimmers’ faces as a means of helping to get the best out of them. Out of the pool he enjoyed club social events, often in fancy dress – Lightwater Valley outings, ROF59 Presentation Nights, the annual North Sea Dips at Scarborough, and Ellerton Lake open water swims spring to mind.
Turning around a declining club is neither quick nor easy, and there have been plenty of difficulties and frustrations along the way. Thanks to a measure of stability and leadership that Glen brought the club through over a decade of coaching, and the support of other coaches, volunteers and committee members, DASC has steadily improved.The N&D Championships in February 2020 and the N&D Team Championships in March 2020 just before the pandemic started were the best club performances of his time with us. He has coached 7 (I think) DASC swimmers to qualify for the National Championships, including one current swimmer who has won medals at the National Agegroups and at the Scottish Nationals, and is the only swimmer based in the N&D area currently on the Swim England National Performance Squad.
Lucy Proctor joined DASC in 2004 and was one of Glen’s Top Squad swimmers for several years, before she turned her hand to coaching at Glen’s suggestion, and now succeeds him as DASC Head Coach. Lucy says, ‘As soon as Glen joined DASC, he made a huge impact. We had an absolute blast and made memories that will last a lifetime. He taught us all a new way of training, working hard whilst having fun. He always managed to get the best out of us and in more recent years, he’s progressed swimmers to a much higher level.
He passed on his enthusiasm for the sport and helped me to become the coach I am today. He will be missed at DASC and I will try to up my sock game!”
No one should come into DASC as a coach unless they are committed to young people, the club and the sport. The long and anti-social hours both on poolside and behind-the-scenes, while sustaining a day job, require dedication and a willingness to sacrifice sleep, leisure time and family time.
As Glen leaves DASC, we thank him for all that he has given to DASC, we congratulate him on his successes at DASC, and we wish him well in the future.
This time last year the British Swimming Championships were due to take place in the Olympic Pool in London with selection for places in the GB team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and other international events at stake. Fast forward through a year of pandemic, and in the same pool, but with a different format, British Swimming is holding the Selection Trials on 14-18 April 2021 under ongoing COVID restrictions with the focus being on senior selections for international competition later in 2021.
Harriet Rogers of DASC has qualified to compete in 100m Freestyle and 50m Freestyle on 17 and 18 April. Glen Fenby will be attending the Trials with Harriet, in his final gala as DASC Head Coach
Glen said, ‘This is Harriet’s opportunity to continue to show British Swimming that she has made the big leap to Elite Swimming. This is her first step in a busy and important swimming year, ensuring she stays in the Commonwealth Squad. I totally believe in Harriet and I know on the day she will produce her absolute best and we all wish her well in this task.
Harriet will however continue to improve over the next year and will look back on all her recent swims at Manchester and especially attending the Olympic trials in London with fond memories. Competing in the Trials is an important step to keep her on track for her dream of selection for the Commonwealth Games in 2022. To have a DASC swimmer qualify for the British Swimming Trials makes me extremely pleased and to have a swimmer with so much potential for the future makes me so proud. “Go Harriet” 😊’
Harriet is looking forward to the competition and to be swimming at the London Aquatics Centre for the first time. To be racing the top swimmers in the country is another massive challenge and experience for Harriet. With this being Glen’s last gala as Head Coach, Harriet is hoping to do really well for both Glen and the Club.
There will be a third DASC member at the event. Lesley Butler, mother of Max in Top Squad, is a licensed gala official, and will be officiating each day at the Selection Trials. She was due to do so at the 2020 event and has been invited to attend this year instead. She is proud to be representing DASC and looking forward to the experience.
The heats start at 10am each day with finals in the evening at 7pm. The Entry List can be found at FINAL_Brit_Selection_Trials_2021_Programme.pdf . The event will be livestreamed on the British Swimming YouTube channel.
All at DASC wish Harriet every success at the Selection Trials.
The Manchester International Swim Meet did go ahead, albeit under a heavily revised format compared with usual, and limited to elite athletes as defined by the government’s COVID-19 protocols.
It provided a key competition opportunity for British swimmers especially those targeting the Olympic and Paralympic Games and was attended by the likes of Adam Peaty, James Wilby, Luke Greenbank, Freya Anderson and Ellie Simmonds.
Following her selection in December to the Swim England Performance Squad, DASC swimmer, Harriet Rogers, was invited to attend and compete in four events over the 3-day meet. There were heats in the morning session and finals in the evening session each day. Here is a summary of her performances.
Day
Event
Heat/ Final
Previous PB
Time
Position
Fri 12 Feb
50m Back
H
30.36
30.33
7th (Opted not to compete in final)
PB
50m Free
H
25.60
25.89
4th. 3rd fastest GB swimmer in the heats. Fastest under-20 swimmer at meet.
50m Free
F
25.60
25.92
5th. 3rd GB swimmer in final
Sat 13 Feb
50m Fly
H
27.80
27.87
9th. 7th fastest GB swimmer in the heats (Place became vacant for the final.)
PB
50m Fly
F
27.80
27.73
8th. 6th GB swimmer in final. Fastest under-20 swimmer at the meet.
PB
Sun 14 Feb
100m Free
H
57.76
57.53
6th. 4th fastest GB swimmer in the heats.
PB
100m Free
F
57.53
56.72
4th. 2nd GB swimmer in final. Fastest under-20 swimmer at the meet.
PB
During Lockdown 3 Harriet has been undertaking intensive elite swimming training run by Swim England near Northampton, involving 2.5-4.5 hours per day for up to 6 days per week. The Manchester Meet provided her with an opportunity to see what she could do in a competitive environment, as well as gaining invaluable experience racing against top-class swimmers from GB and other European countries.Harriet made the most of her chances, producing excellent performances with 4 PB times and the remainder of her swims being close to her PBs. She saved the best swim until the final final, when she swam over a second faster than her PB going into the event in the morning. Her time of 56.72 is a new NER record beating the time set by Emily Large (Newcastle Swim Team) in 2016. This is a huge stride forward at this high level and she finished as the 2nd GB swimmer in the event. Given the interruptions to training, the lack of competitive opportunities of the last 11 months, and the very strange conditions of the whole meet both in the pool, on poolside and outside the centre, Harriet’s achievements at the meet were tremendous.
The transition from Junior to Senior competition is indeed a big step and the first couple of races at the weekend were notably a big adjustment for Harriet. However, as the weekend went on, she gained in confidence and produced some incredible times considering the training issues. I am extremely proud in watching a Darlington Swimmer compete at this highest of levels and she did the Club proud but, more importantly she started putting foundations down in staying in the Senior Performance Squad and in particular for Commonwealth Games selection. Well done Harriet.
Comments from Head Coach Glen Fenby
A collaborative working group including British Swimming, Manchester City Council, GLL and The City of Manchester Swim Team (COMAST) worked extremely hard on developing the most rigorous COVID protocols possible with a competition bubble, similar to the one used for the ISL in Budapest last year, implemented for four days.Everyone involved in the meet – swimmers, coaches, officials and volunteers – were required to be part of a robust testing process upon arriving at the meet hotel. They then had to confine themselves to the meet hotel, the Manchester Aquatics Centre and private transport for the duration. Face coverings and social distancing were mandatory at all times, other than when swimmers are in the water, with robust cleaning processes in place between all races. The event was held safely behind closed doors without spectators, and with only a few coaches allowed in attendance, but the meet was livestreamed.
It was unlike any other gala I have been to. There were more officials than swimmers and I was there on my own with no coach. Everyone had to sit 2m apart and masks had to be worn at all times, other than when you were swimming. It was quite a weird experience.Warm up was also very different, with staggered timings and allocated specific time slots. We were not allowed to warm up in the competition pool, instead it was a 25m pool with no access to blocks for dive practice. Due to these restrictions, I warmed up 2 hours before all of my swims which wasn’t ideal. All of that aside it was so good to get the chance to race again and I know how lucky I was to be there.Overall I was pleased with how the weekend went. I was hoping to go faster in the 50 free, so I was disappointed with my time, but I was really pleased with my 100 free finishing 4th with another pb.
Good Luck to Harriet who is competing at Manchester International Swim Meet 2021 today and tomorrow (12th&13th Feb). Harriet will be competing in the 50m Free, 100m Free and 50m Fly. You can watch her live by clicking this link.
We are thrilled that Carol Bottomley, in her role as DASC COVID Liaison Officer, has been recognised for her hard work, leadership and determination enabling DASC to return to some training in 2020
Darlington Sports Winners Awards are usually made for achievement in sports by competitors, coaches and volunteers. In 2020 they were instead given to people of any age who have gone the extra mile and beyond to ‘help clubs, charities, individuals within a school, home or community setting’.
As an Awards Event was not possible, the award and a letter from The Mayor was presented to Carol on her doorstep. Carol said that it was not something she would have achieved without the support of others.
For those of you who may not be aware of what has gone on behind the scenes at DASC, here is part of the nomination put forward by Dan Oliver:
In June this year after the pandemic started, Carol volunteered to be the club’s Covid Liaison Officer, and has carried out the previously unknown and ever-expanding role thoroughly and calmly, working in trying and changing circumstances and under pressure. This has involved liaising with four different pool providers under varying stages of Covid restrictions, keeping up to date with changing guidance from the Government and Swim England, writing protocols, overseeing Health Screening and Risk Awareness questionnaires, training Covid Officers for each squad, planning new training programmes to cope with the restrictions, consulting with Committee Officers and other coaches, and keeping all club members informed of what is going on.
Without her attention to detail and her passion and energy to see the club’s swimmers and divers given the best possible chance to return to training in a safe and worthwhile way, DASC members would not be in anything like such a good position to be ready when training can get back to normal and competitive swimming can restart, hopefully in the not-too-distant future.
Harriet Rogers has been awarded The Fred Kirby Trophyas theNDSA Coaches’ Swimmer of the Year for 2020
Harriet is only the second winner of this new award and was nominated by Glen Fenby
The award was first given in 2019 following the retirement of Fred Kirby from his managerial role within the NDSA Performance Programme. Fred was instrumental in setting up the Performance Programme and developing aquatics within the county. The NDSA Coaches’ Forum decided it would be fitting to name the award after him.
At the end of each swimming season the NDSA Coaches’ Forum discuss nominations received from coaches and agree the recipient according to the following criteria:
The swimmer:
Must be in a full training programme with an NDSA affiliated club in the season/year of selection
Must be the highest ranked swimmer at National level/International level (best performing)
Because of the COVID restrictions, it may be sometime before Harriet can be formally presented with the trophy, but we congratulate her on being very deserving of this recognition from the NDSA Coaches’ Forum.
Darlington Swimming Club swimmer, Harriet Rogers, has been selected as a member of Swim England’s National Performance Squad, on the basis of her swimming performances in sprint events both before and during the pandemic.
At age 16, Harriet is one of the youngest to achieve this selection, and is also the only selected swimmer currently based in a club in the N&D area.
Along with all the English swimmers currently named on British Swimming’s and British Para-swimming’s World Class programme (which includes such household names as Adam Peaty, Freya Anderson and Maisie Summers-Newton) the National Performance Squad swimmers have been named in the first-ever England Swimming Team ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games to be held in Birmingham.
The full team consists of 85 swimmers and brings together all those currently to be considered for selection for Team England at those Games. Once swimmers are back in the pool, they will have the opportunity to demonstrate their potential. The Team will attend a number of swimming camps and preparation meets. Grant Robins is the team leader for England Swimming at the 2022 home games and is excited to be creating a new identity for the team.
During Lockdown 3 Harriet is currently taking part in some intensive elite training run by Swim England near Northampton, involving 2.5-4.5 hours per day 6 days per week. She has been invited to compete at the invitation only Manchester International Swim Meet to be held on 12-14 February. Ahead lies a lot of hard work, in order to maximise the opportunities that she has been given, especially at this time when many swimmers are not allowed to be in the pool.
Harriet joined DASC at age 7, and since then has made great progress, showing huge determination, which, combined with very hard work and enormous natural talent, has seen her win silver medals for 50m and 100m Freestyle at the British Swimming Championships in August 2019. She currently lies 3rd on the European Rankings for her age for 50m Freestyle.
“I am thrilled by Harriet’s fantastic and well-deserved achievements so far. I anticipate an interesting and demanding 18 months for Harriet in her training for the Commonwealth Games. Harriet’s family have given tremendous commitment and made great sacrifices to support her. I am grateful to all the coaches who have nurtured her talent and helped develop her potential over the years. I hope that with the right support from the area she will go on to become successful, make the Commonwealth Games team, put our club in the spotlight and do herself proud, hopefully with the possibility of a medal.”
Comment, Head Coach, Glen Fenby
“This is a fantastic achievement for a hugely talented swimmer and we are all extremely proud of Harriet. She is an inspiration to many DASC swimmers, showing what hard work and determination can achieve along with the support of the excellent DASC coaching team. The club wish Harriet every success with her future swimming journey.”
Comment, DASC Chair, Dan Oliver
When she isn’t training, Harriet is studying hard for A Levels, and QE VIth Form College in Darlington have been supportive in Harriet’s endeavour to follow her swimming dream while continuing her education. In addition, Harriet is also doing a Diploma in Sporting Excellence through Swim England and Loughborough University.
Article – with thanks to Jane Teague DASC Secretary
Great news that swimming will resume as from Wednesday 2nd December.
As the health and safety of everyone involved remains our priority, restrictions and procedures continue to be in place at all pools. Please remind your swimmer to comply including with the wearing of a face mask to enter and exit the venue – remember HANDS/FACE/SPACE.
If you have yet to complete the online Health Screening Survey please do this before returning to the pool. The survey can be found by logging in to Membership portal.
Most of the swimming times remain the same apart from A1 will now swim at the Dolphin Centre on a Sunday at 5-6pm. A3 will now swim as one group on a Monday and Friday at Longfield 6-7pm. Click the link below to see the updated timetable.
Please remember to use easy fundraising when you do your Christmas shopping this year.
There are over 4,000 shops and sites who will donate to Darlington ASC for FREE when you use easyfundraising to shop with them. This means you can raise donations for us when you buy anything from decorations and festive food shopping to gifts like toys, jewellery, tech, experiences and more!
These donations really help us and all you have to do is use easyfundraising when you’re ordering the things you’ll be buying anyway.
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You can also find further detail on Easyfundraising by heading to our Fundraising page.
