Swimming team short-listed for national award

Published: 27 October, 2011

Plymouth College's swimming team has been short-listed for Team of the Year in the Aviva and Daily Telegraph School Sport Matters Awards.  The swimmers were nominated after another highly successful year in the pool.

Earlier this year the school cemented its position as the nation's leading swimming school when the team came out on top in the English Schools Swimming Association relays for a fourth consecutive year.  The team won six of the twelve national titles and currently holds six of the twelve national records.

Also this year, three swimmers swam for England in the WISE Home Schools International and another won a gold medal at the World Youth Olympics in Singapore. The school had swimmers representing Great Britain in the European Junior Championships, the European Youth Olympic Festival and the World Junior Championships.

As well as England, Ireland and Wales, Plymouth College boasts elite swimmers from 15 different nations. Between them they hold over 50 senior and junior national records. 

Plymouth College's Director of Swimming, Jon Rudd, said: "I am delighted that the team has been short-listed for such a prestigious award.  The swimmers are really dedicated and passionate about their sport, getting up at 5 a.m. every day to be coached, putting many hours into their training both before and after school.  We work hard to nurture and support them in the classroom as well as the pool and I believe that we are the only swimming programme in the country to have a dedicated school-based boarding house."

The lunchtime awards ceremony is being held at Twickenham Stadium on 3 November.  It will be attended by a host of top sports personalities including Gail Emms, Perri Shakes-Drayton and Ugo Monye.