Winsford Swimming Club

On Saturday the 18th February Winsford Swim Team travelled to the Coral Bay Beach Resort in Cyprus for an intensive week of warm weather training and preparation for the lead into the Spring and Summer meets. Departing from Manchester airport was 43 swimmers plus 5 staff, which was for the club our largest number of swimmers travelling abroad. The age range was from 12-17 and all were from the Juggernaut Squad.

The camp as mentioned above was intensive, very intensive with 12 swim sessions over 6 days, plus an hour of land work on a daily basis. The day begun with a 7-9am swim followed by an afternoon swim of 3-5pm, plus other activities scheduled to keep all swimmers busy. Add to this meal times, and it was clear the days would be full on and it certainly was.

The facilities at the Coral Bay Beach Resort were fantastic, with the hotel being right on the coast with its own private beach for its residents and a purpose built 50m pool in the grounds within easy walking distance of our rooms. The pool in fact was built especially for the British swim team in their preparation for the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The day begun early with a 6:15am wake up call with a meet time of 6:30am and a short couple of minutes walk down to the pool. The sun at this point was on the horizon, popping its head up over the trees as we arrived at the pool and begun the warm up. It was a beautiful time to swim and the pool looked amazing with the steam coming up from the water's surface. 

After the early morning swim it was straight to breakfast which was buffet style with every food item everyone could ever dream for, with a full English, continental, fruit, yogurts, meats, pastries and crepes to choose from. It was clear to see though the crepes, with the obligatory chocolate sauce, were a firm favourite among our team. Breakfast in fact was so good that it left little room for lunch, the life of a swimmer is tough at times!

As soon as breakfast was complete the swimmers had some free time to relax and to digest the mountain of breakfast lying in everyone's stomachs. But it wasn’t long before we went again but this time it was for land training. The venue for our land training was up a big hill at the top of the hotel complex on the grass, with views to die for, with the vast sea and marina down below. It was a stunning destination for land work both in terms of the view and the surroundings, but also the weather which I have to say was perfect throughout the whole week with warm and sunny conditions welcoming us throughout the day. The land sessions consisted of traditional land work with body weight exercises, core work, circuits, mobility and stretching, we also incorporated into the programme yoga work which was led by Lisa and Charlotte which everyone enjoyed.

After completing our hour of land work we made the walk back down the hill and straight onto the pool bar area, where fruit juices with ice were the order of the day. It certainly makes training a lot more enjoyable when you know you have a refreshing cool drink by the poolside, under palm trees waiting for you after the session!

Soon after our land sessions were complete we didn’t have to wait long until dinner, of which was again buffet style. For me personally and I am sure for many others our bellies were still full from eggs, beans, sausages (both hot dog and English), bacon and hash browns. However there is always room for more food, because as coaches and swimmers it was a full on week. The array of food was incredible with so much choice for all swimmers and staff. As mentioned there was also lots of cold meats on display, of which Claire Brown had her eye on, not for herself but for all the cats waiting outside. Wafer thin ham was the order of the day for her beloved cats, which were named Molly the moggie and Ciaran the cat. Those cats were big before we arrived, they are now even bigger, due to being full of wafer thin ham!

After dinner was devoured we were onto our second swim of the day, of which was in glorious afternoon sunshine. There is literally nothing better than swimming outside, breathing in fresh air, in the warm sun with a view of the sea and palm trees in the distance. I love Winsford town and the lifestyle centre but I am sorry to say it just won’t be quite the same returning to our home pool, wearing our woolly hats, big coats and training with no sun our backs! However nothing lasts forever we will back at training this evening in the waters of the lifestyle centre.

As we completed the afternoon swim the sun was starting to go down, and with this the weather conditions a little bit chillier. So our swimmers made a quick get away to their rooms to jump into he showers and dive into the hot baths. There was reports of certain lads going 3 to a bath, with trunks on of course but yes 3 lads having a bath together! Now we do pride ourselves on team spirit at Winsford but this certainly does take things that little bit further, which I am so proud of! 

The swimmers now had a little bit of down time, where they could relax, chill and get a few zzzzz’s before tea time. Tea time was 7pm of which was again a full on buffet of hot and cold meals. The evening meal had its pasta staples on a daily basis plus it was themed night. Going off the top of my head their was French, Cypriot (a word Claire can’t say), BBQ, Mexican and others which in this moment in time have slipped my mind. So it was a chance for all our swimmers to try food they might not have experienced before. What was very pleasing to see was so many of our children and young people trying different foods and healthy options with more and more team members putting some green on their plates. Overall I think everyone ate very well which made a big difference to their performances in the pool. It is so important to eat healthily so the body is fuelled for the days training, and to recover the body afterwards. Of course a little sweet treat is fine, and the desserts were out of this world, with cakes, ice cream, mousses, cheese cakes and a million other puddings to choose from. It was a a delight for all whom had a sweet tooth. 

Now that tea was done and dusted we all had free time, to relax and to go the pub. Well we say go to the pub, it wasn’t really, but this is what Michael nicknamed it! It was a communal bar area through the reception looking out onto the ocean. It was a beautiful room with such a relaxing atmosphere where the swimmers and staff could congregate and order some mocktails and fruit juices. Michael also had his card games going, which all swimmers enjoyed and there was a grand piano in the vicinity which was played by an old lady who was outstanding at her work, it really was beautiful to listen to. 

Lights were then out at 9pm or just after for some of our senior swimmers so we could get our much needed sleep so our bodies could prepare ready the next days training. The days were 100% full on and with this the week went super quick, and went exactly to plan. 

That was a short report for each day, I am sure much more went on of which all our parents have been filled in on, but it gives everyone an idea of a day in the life of a Winsford swimmer in Cyprus. On a complete overview of the training, the results were superb. It is not easy to complete 12 x 2 hour LC swim sessions over 6 days, 24 hours swimming, over 70,000m swam, plus land training. That is a lot of swimming and I would like to say well done to all our swimmers. Nobody shirked the challenge, nobody gave up, everyone tried their best and were very professional throughout the week, with their behaviour being excellent. The results in the T60 were brilliant with some tremendous swims, and it was super to watch all our swimmers giving it the beans as they say. Every session was swum with great desire, and 100% every single swimmer can take a lot away from the camp.

Camps are absolutely brilliant not only in terms of swimming performance and the preparation for the meets and championships to follow, but camps also provide so much more. Camps help to develop skills such as time management, organisation, social skills, team bonding, being resilient and being able to stand on your own two feet without parents. All of these skills are so important for a child's and young person's development, and without a doubt swim camps are great for this. I often talk about highlights throughout the season, such as championship swimming, but I think the one thing which trumps everything is swim camps. Swim camps give us all so many happy memories of travelling, training and being together as a team. Training hard as a team in a fun and happy environment with us all helping each other, supporting each other to be the best we can be. As head coach I hope everyone enjoyed the camp, and would like to take part in camps in the future. Speaking on behalf of the coaches and team managers we loved being in the swimmers company all week, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for us all and that is because our swimmers were so well disciplined. The attitude and respect you showed the staff was fantastic, so thank you.

Before I finish, I would also like to say a massive thank you to our swim camp team of, Lisa, Claire, Sue and Michael. Lisa had constant communication with Steve from Sports Abroad and communicated and organised everything so our swimmers could have the best experience possible. The swim camp team were incredible throughout the week, organising everything superbly well and supporting our swimmers every step of the way. Our team managers were a walking chemist, a doctor, physio and psychiatrists all rolled into one, I am sure they are all enjoying a nice relaxed day, putting their feet up is well deserved. A million percent, swim camp would not have been such a fantastic success without Claire, Lisa, Sue and Michael, so thank you for all your help.

Now that Cyprus Swim Camp 2023 is complete, we look back fondly with so many wonderful memories. It was so enjoyable for all us staff and we hope all swimmers loved the experience. We would love to hear any feedback and we hope all would like to attend camps in the future. Swim Camps are wonderful things to experience and so in my view a priceless memory for us all which we will cherish for the rest of our days.

Thank you in advance to the Brown family for putting together the Cyprus Swim camp video. There must be a lot of footage to go through because Claire was pointing her GoPro at us all 24/7! I am sure we will all agree we can’t wait to watch the video once it is complete, because previous year's have been fantastic.

Our next swim camp is for our junior swimmers who will be travelling to Shropshire, I am positive all will have an absolute whale of a time.

Thanks again to everyone who made Cyprus Swim Camp such a huge success.

PS: What a flipping fantastic plane journey on the way home, I am still laughing out loud now. Looking back at everyone faces on the flight makes me laugh like crazy! And the swimmers chatting about it all walking out of the airport was so funny! You had to be there to understand!

See you at the pool.

Dan.