Awards and Achievements

At Tynemouth Amateur Swimming Club swimmers have an opportunity to achieve at the highest standard.

To help swimmers remain motivated and to enable swimmers, parents and coaches to monitor progress we have a number of awards and achievements for swimmers to aim towards and obtain.


National Plan for Teaching Awards

These are Amateur Swimming Association Awards and are aimed at swimmers gaining aquatic skills up to stage 7. Stages 8, 9 and 10 are for competitive swimming.

  1. These awards are issued from Tadpoles right through to group 6.
  2. The awards start at Ducklings 1 through to Stage 10.
  3. Awards are assessed continuously and it is not always the case that all swimmers in the same group are working towards the same stage.
  4. When new swimmers join the club parents advise of the stage that they are currently at  to give an indication to their child's standard, however the club will carry out an individual assessment to identify where they fit within the club structure.
  5. This information is recorded on the swimmer profile through Swim Club Manager.
  6. When entering the club swimmers are often at a higher stage than we would assess them for – this is no reflection on other learn to swim programmes rather than the fact that we are very strict about correct technique as we do not want swimmers to be disqualified when entering events at time trials and galas and we do not want children swimming numerous lengths with incorrect technique as their muscle memory will record this and they will continue to swim incorrectly. Our group names do not represent the stage of swimmer, for example group 4 does not mean stage 4 and so on.
  7. When a teacher has assessed a swimmer and they have successfully achieved an award this is recorded on the swimmer profile.
  8. The swimmer and parent will be notified of how to collect and relevant certificate. 
  9. Awards certificates and badges can be purchased from the club when achieved.

Competitive Start Award

This is an Amateur Swimming Association award. Achievement of this award will enable swimmers to complete racing starts from the starting blocks when competing in time trials and galas.

  1. These awards are commenced in Group 5 and completed in Skill Development.
  2. Once completed the coach/teacher updates the swimmer profile and completes the certificate to be provided to the swimmer which enables them to purchase the award.
  3. The coach/teacher ensures that Swim Club Manager is also updated.
  4. The swimmer will then be given the opportunity to purchase the award.

Club Awards

These awards were introduced by Swim England and have been specifically designed for competitive swimmers. It consists of a progressive set of 6 awards to motivate swimmers and support training sessions.

Club awards help transition from the familiar Learn to Swim Awards into the competitive environment by recognising and rewarding specified achievements, providing a clear and progressive pathway.


Sprint and Distance Awards 

These awards are based on time standards and are for swimmers up to the age of 12 on the day of competition. They are a good way of understanding progress of a swimmer. The time standards for these awards are set out below:

1. There are 12 awards to collect in total which include:

  • Sprint – bronze, silver, gold and platinum (25m, 50m 100m swims)
  • Middle Distance – bronze, silver, gold and platinum (200m, 400m freestyle)
  • Distance – bronze, silver, gold and platinum (880m and 15, freestyle and 400m individual medley)

2. In addition there are flashes available for each of the strokes – e.g if a swimmer achieves a bronze sprint award for a time achieved swimming a 50m freestyle style this will also entitle them to a bronze freestyle flash. There are 20 of these available:

  • Freestyle – bronze, silver, gold and platinum
  • Backstroke – bronze, silver, gold and platinum
  • Breaststroke – bronze, silver, gold and platinum
  • Butterfly – bronze, silver, gold and platinum
  • Individual Medley – bronze, silver, gold and platinum

3. A report will be produced at the end of every month to identify which swimmers have achieved any new awards.

4. Certificates of achievement are then produced and provided to the swimmers.

5. Swimmers will need to show their certificates if they wish to purchase an award or purchase them on the day the awards are on sale.


Record of Achievement

It is encourage for swimmers to maintain their own record of achievement. When a swimmer achieves a national plan stage they will be issued with a sticker which they can place on their record of achievement. The form provides space to record when swimmers have achieved their Competitive Start Award and other achievements. 

Many swimmers display their awards on their swimming towels whilst other maintain a file containing their awards and certificates.


What Next?

From here the swimmers should be aiming to qualify to compete in County, Regional and National competitions. Coaches can provide you with advice and guidance on this.