Our club captains for 2023/ 24 are Carmen West and Henry Hoare
About Carmen
Hi, my name is Carmen, I’m 17 years old and I’m in upper sixth. I am one of the senior club captains for the 2023/24 season alongside Henry! I’ve always swum from a very young age and completed my ASA stages from ducklings all the way to gold! As I enjoyed swimming so much I joined my local swimming club whilst completing my stages and swam there with my sister until I was 10. I then moved over to WSC and over the past 7 years I have enjoyed many moments with friends. As well as swimming I used to enjoy many sports like gymnastics, hockey and netball (always keeping busy!)
I have made an abundance of memories, like competing at different galas, from level 4 to level 1’s and league events like Arena League, Winter League, PGL (now SwimGainz) I’ve learnt so much from all the incredible coaches at WSC which have helped me achieve some great pb’s! I love swimming and I’d say my favourite strokes are backstroke and freestyle. I worked extremely hard to have the chance to compete at the regional finals for 100m backstroke where I bagged myself a bronze medal! Since then I particularly enjoy to compete in the 200m back and the 100m freestyle, (because I’m now 17 I steer clear from the 200m breaststroke despite it being the first county time I got….) I think one of my favourite sets that Mark enjoys to put in at least a couple of times a season is ‘Pipsqueak’, the 1000m lactate set. It’s definitely hard but one of the more rewarding ones.
When I can, I come over to Perdiswell on a Friday night to help poolside and coach the younger squads, which is very rewarding when you watch them improve and go on to swim pb’s at galas. To me, being a club captain isn’t just leading the land training sessions or collecting trophies at galas… It’s someone who’s available to all the swimmers in the club, a friendly, positive and approachable face around the pool. Someone who encourages and supports our community.
Since Henry and I have been club captains there have hopefully been some memorable moments for everyone like many dads and coaches raising money and awareness for Men’s Mental Health during November, Mark walking around poolside with a party hat on and sporting a very good look with a sprout headband as well as getting both Kate and Mark to participate in some BeReal’s!
It’s important to remember that not every swimming journey is the same, sometimes you will have pb’s in every single race at a gala and sometimes your times will plateau. But as long as you turn up to every training session I’m sure the improvements will be seen next time you compete.
I am very thankful I got the opportunity to be a captain and be able to get everyone up for those all important WHOOSH’s at galas!
Worcester Swimming Club – Club Captain Roles
If you are elected as Club Captain for WSC you have been selected by the swimmers of the club and are now their voice and support system. You are entitled to attend committee meetings to raise any issues and to be involved in some decisions. We want you to bring your individual qualities and character to the role in a dedicated and professional manner. The committee does however expect certain things of you, which are detailed below:
- As the Club Captain, you are the representative for every single swimmer; be they junior or senior, competitive or fitness swimmer. You must treat everyone equally, and, if the situation requires, make fair decisions that can be understood and appreciated by all involved and others observing.
- As a representative for the club, you should be seen in the correct kit at all time i.e. a Worcester polo shirt when coaching, helping, competing and a club hat when competing. You should also encourage other swimmers to do the same.
- You must be accessible to everyone, so should attend regular training sessions and volunteer on poolside. You may also be required to attend junior galas to help the coaching and team managing staff, and should do your best to swim in the league galas.
- You will be required to give a speech at Presentation evening. This should be a round up of the year to date, combined with some events to look forward to and words of encouragement. You will also have to select and present the Club Captains Award. This award is given to a person, chosen solely by the Captains, who has given an outstanding contribution to the club in the year doing any role.
- It is your duty to report any problems to the coaching staff if they arise. This may include misbehaviour in the changing rooms, suspected bullying or other discrimination. Swimmers are likely to come to you if they have a problem, so you must treat their information with confidentiality and respect, and pass on any concerns to the appropriate adults.
- Raising money for charity is an important part of Worcester Swimming Club. You will be expected to attend any event raising money and you may be asked to organise a charity event. You should promote the event positively and try to gain the support of as many swimmers as possible.
- You may be asked to assist in organising events such as training camps. This may involve you choosing activities or making bookings. Sometimes you may have to organise a team photo, or something similar, so will need to inform swimmers and parents of a time and place effectively.
- When at a competition you should be at the forefront of supporting the team. This means you should be cheering on all other swimmers and encouraging others to do the same. You should also give support to younger swimmers at all times, especially when things don’t go so well!