The Club
Lancaster City Amateur Swimming and Water Polo Club was established in 1889 and is based at Salt Ayre Sports Centre, Lancaster. Although Lancaster is only a small city our history and the success of the Water Polo Team has made us one of the best known clubs in the country.
Our competitive swimming and water polo team competes in regional and national events, benefiting from close cooperation between the swimming and water polo coaches. Many of the members represent both the swimming and water polo teams. As a result we are well represented in various competitive leagues, such as in swimming;
> The micro-league (for younger competitive swimmers aged 8-12)
> The Arena National League
> The North Lancashire League
In water polo we compete in;
>Senior British Championships (LEN Cup qualifying tournament
> Senior British Water Polo League (another LEN Cup qualifying tournament)
> British Gas National Age group Championships ( three age groups, under 14’s, 16’s & 18’s)
> Senior North Lancashire League
> ASA North West Championships ( four age groups, under 12’s 14’s, 16’s & 18’s)
In addition we hold two swimming club galas each year (one around Christmas and one in the summer) where swimmers can compete for medals, trophies or to improve their own personal best times.
We also supports individual swimmers who attend competitions and galas, where swimmers can establish personal times for the four strokes over various distances under ASA licensed conditions.
When competitive times are achieved, a swimmer may be able to go on to swim in the County Championships, then Regional Championships and possibly the National Championships.
We encourage our water polo players to trail for the Inter Regional Champions North West Teams (under 14’s 16’s and 18’s) as well as the England Talent squads. Lancaster is also one of the well-known Regional Training Centres in the North West, pulling in players from Blackpool, Preston, Fleetwood, Kendal and other North West clubs. The sessions run in blocks of 10 weeks with three terms which is the pathway to England Talent.
There are a number of benefits from joining our club, in particular the development of good technique under the eye of the trained coaches. Regular attendance at several training sessions per week over a number of months normally results in development of good stroke skills and improved fitness and stamina which then helps the swimmers and water polo players to become more efficient and faster in the water.
The swimming section of the club has six level 2 and six level 1 swimming teachers/coaches, while the water polo section has four level 2 and four level 1 water polo teachers/coaches.
The club offers three main swimming and water polo training sessions per week at the Salt Ayre pool:
Sunday afternoon and Tuesday and Friday evenings. The Sunday afternoon session also includes a Learn to Swim Programme for 5 to 7 year olds and a further development programme for 7 to 9 year olds.
As well as Lern to swim we also offer a mini polo session for children aged 8 – 11. Mini-polo is a smaller, more basic game than Water Polo itself. It is also a great multi-skill activity which teaches the fundamentals of aquatics and sport as a whole. This also rund on a Sunday.
Swimmers who compete for the club and are focused on progressing to a higher level can also attend more intensive sessions on Monday and Thursday mornings with a further session at Lancaster University on Wednesday evenings.
There are also additional water polo sessions on Tuesday morning and Thursday night along with a water polo swimming sessions on Monday and Thursday mornings.
Our senior water polo team holds eleven National champions titles in the past fifteen years and the most successful side ever in the history of the British Championships after securing a record breaking nine titles in the past eleven years.
Along with the successful senior side the youth (under 16’s) team are the current National Champions and regional champions and the juniors (under 18’s) team are holding the current National title for the second consecutive year.