Who Are We... Why Choose Us?
We are a swimming & Waterpolo club which aims to cater for all - whether you are highly competitive or a keep-fit swimmer! Looking for a new sport to try at Uni? UEA Swimming & Water Polo is the one for you! We pride ourselves on being a very welcoming, friendly, and inclusive club with lots of opportunities to match.
We are a friendly, inclusive, and hard-working team that is rapidly becoming one of the most popular sports clubs on campus. All our training takes place at the UEA SportsPark which has excellent facilities. The majority of our swimmers join us at the beginning of the year after visiting our stall at the UEA Sports Fayre but we regularly welcome new members all year round. Should you wish to join or have any queries about what we can offer you, please do get in touch by dropping us an email. We are always happy to help!
Socials:
Instagram: @uea_water_polo - @ueaswimmingclub
Facebook: UEA Water Polo - UEA Swimming Club
Waterpolo Regular Training Times:
- Swimming training 25m pool - Monday 19:30-21:00, SportsPark pool
- Swimming training 50m pool - Tuesday 20:00-21:30, SportsPark pool
- Land training - Thursday 18:00-19:00, SportsPark astroturf
- Water polo training - Saturday 18:30-21:30, SportsPark pool
Coaches:
The Swim team is made up of two squads:
Development Squad:
- Train three times a week; on a Wednesday afternoon and Thursday evening and Friday Evening
- Run by the committee/qualified volunteer student coaches
- Ideal for swimmers who have no experience in competitive swimming, and wish to develop their strokes, gain new skills and improve their fitness.
- Provides an adaptable, relaxed, fun environment where you can meet new people, socialise, improve, and take a break from studying
Competitive Squad:
- Train up to four times a week in the afternoon/evenings including strength and conditioning sessions.
- Is run by a professional, qualified, independent coach who is able to bring out the best in all our swimmers so that they can meet their potential and have fun while doing so.
- Train with the intention of competing at galas held locally and nationally.
- Is ideal for swimmers with competitive experience (even if they haven't raced in a while), for those that wish to take their training to the next level or are simply willing to commit to a slightly more demanding training schedule.
Training - 2022-23:
Development Squad:
- Wednesday 1-2 pm
- Thursday (Land training) 8-9 pm
- Friday 7:30-8:30 pm
Competitive Squad:
- Tuesday 8-9.30 pm
- Wednesday 2-4 pm
- Thursday (Land training) 8-9 pm
- Friday 7:30-9.30 pm
- Sunday 8-9:30 pm
Coaches:
Development Squad:
- Matt Newson (Assistant Head Coach)
- Patrick Shimmin
- Alice Older
- Darcey Gardiner
Competitive Squad:
- Alex Pinneger (Performance Coach)
- Leyton Berry (Head Coach)
- Matt Newson (Assistant Head Coach)
Opportunities:
What we can offer you goes far beyond just swimming. Below are just some of the opportunities we encourage ALL our swimmers to get involved in throughout the academic year:
- British University College Sport (BUCS) galas at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre (Sheffield)
- Men's & Women's Waterpolo teams for British University College Sport (BUCS)
- British University Swimming League (BUSL) A series of galas for our development squad to take part in.
- Annual Waterpolo tournament
- Derby day (UEA vs Essex)
- Club Championships
- Sports Nights
- LCR socials
- Volunteering, leadership, and personal development opportunities
- Sports Awards
- Regular socials (including trampolining, BBQs by the lake, bowling, team dinners, nights out, and dress-ups)
- Sports Tour
Your Committee 2022/23
A new committee is elected at the end of each academic year to run the swim team and the many events we take part in. Most importantly, we are a team for students, run by students - with the support of UEA sport and the SU.
uea.swimmingandwaterpolo@uea.ac.uk
President: Matt Newson & Marcos Jollie
Treasurer: Lewis Chapman
Secretary: Nat Parmenter
Publicity and Kit Officer: Maia Shouksmith & Shona Morris
Social Secretary: Max Norris & Patrick Shimmin
Outreach & Fundraising Officer: Darcey Gardiner
Equality, Diversity & Wellbeing Officer: Catriona Lee
Health & Safety Officer: Hannah Vasani
Union Representative: Jack Fendley
Waterpolo Men's Captain: Josh Stroud
Waterpolo Women's Captain: Elke Povey
Development Squad Captain: Alice Older & Max Coupland
Competitive Squad Captain: Jack Eden
It doesn’t matter if you haven’t played before, we can teach anyone to play! All that is required is a basic ability to swim. (Although we have taught people to swim too!)
Please get in touch, get to know us, and come join our incredible team.
Swim & Water Polo Love x