Birtley Amateur Swimming Club

Nearby gyms & sports facilities

Birtley ASC meets on Wednesday's from 19:00 to 21:00 at Birtley Swimming Centre. The teaching programme spans two sessions : First Session is 19:00 to 19:50 and Second Session is 20:00 to 20:50. As well as teaching swimming, the Club is unique as it also offers a full Life Saving Programme to help keep swimmers safe whilst enjoying themselves in all aquatic environments. The Club was established i

n 1974. The original concept was, and still is, for the Club to be a 'teaching' and 'water safety awareness' organisation that helps young people to understand the principles and to receive training in 'lifesaving', as well as assisting them to learn to swim and assist in their personal development in this leisure activity. It should be understood that the Club is not for young people who wish to train to become speed or competitive swimmers. On September 3rd 2014 Birtley Amateur Swimming Club celebrated its 40th year as a club. The celebrations night commenced with a formal welcome, the singing of Happy Birthday to the club, the cutting of a birthday cake and photographs. The night continued with various demonstrations of swimming and lifesaving skills, both in the pool and on the poolside. The invited guests, along with the Mayor of Gateshead and seven of the original founders of the club, enjoyed hospitality and refreshments in the club meeting room. They were able to view visual displays, read the Minutes Book and all of the back copies of the Club Newsletter (The Splash) dating from November 1995. There are three issues of The Splash produced each year. Club members were each presented with a gift from the club in the form of a shoulder bag with the Club 40th Year Celebration logo embroidered on it and with a club colours cup cake. Since the club was established on 3rd September 1974, well over 5 million lengths of the 25 metre pool have been completed by its past and present members. The original concept was, and still is, for the club to be a ‘teaching’ and ‘water safety awareness’ organisation. This helps young people to understand the principles and to receive training in lifesaving, as well as teaching them to learn to swim and assist in their personal development in this leisure activity. Prior to 1972, Birtley Town had an open air pool that was located on the site of the present fire station on Durham Road. Birtley also had a number of other pools that were made due to the extraction of clay for the brickworks that Birtley was famous for. It was in these clay pits that local boys would sometimes play. There were a number of times when boys got into difficulties whilst swimming in the clay pits and there were occasions when some boys drowned by going through ice that had formed on the water. One of the doctors, Dr Hugh McKay, was the Chairman of the Birtley Parish Council and he declared when the proposal for a new indoor swimming pool was made that he would make sure that a swimming club was established with the prime purpose of teaching young people to swim but that there was to be a strong element of lifesaving instruction to be included in the structure of the club. With lifesaving being an integral part of the club structure, the club is affiliated to the Royal Life Saving Society UK and is a member of RLSS UK Northumberland and Durham Branch. We have recently registered the club as a Duke of Edinburgh Awards Facilitator as we provide for three of the four elements of the Award structure within the weekly programme.

25/05/2023

Unfortunately our Admin Account of the Birtley page (https://www.facebook.com/Birtleyasc) was compromised and shutdown. Despite dozens of requests, the account will not be re-instated, therefore we will have to create a new page. The new page is :

Birtley-ASC

All future posts will take place on the new page.

Birtley Amateur Swimming Club Welcome - Birtley ASC meets on Wednesday's from 19:00 to 21:00 at Birtley Swimming Centre.
Teachin

25/05/2023

25/05/2023

Reminder : Wednesday 31st May is Distance Test Night.
There are NO normal classes, so unless you have received a specific invite to attend and complete a "Long Distance Swimming Badge", then you can take the night off We're back to normal the week after (7th June). Anyone who has been invited, and attending, must arrive for a 7.00pm Start - including those swimmers who usually swim in 2nd Session.

11/05/2023

Hello All,

This is just a gentle reminder to everyone that all club swimmers must register with Emily and Clare in the office before their session begins. Even on the occasion that; you aren’t paying your weekly subs or you’re late - it is essential that we know who is in the building.

Thanks Everyone.

11/04/2023

REMINDER

No Swimming Club on Wednesday 12th April as we’re closed for Easter.

We do have our AGM on Wednesday 12th April at 7pm, Birtley Methodist Church Hall, Station Lane, Birtley, DH3 1DG. ALL parents are welcome to attend this so please feel free to join us.

Looking forward to seeing all our swimmers on our return to club on Wednesday 19th April.

05/04/2023

We have our AGM on Wednesday 12th April at 7pm, Birtley Methodist Church Hall, Station Lane, Birtley, DH3 1DG. ALL parents are welcome to attend this so please feel free to join us.

05/04/2023

Swimming Club is closed for Easter Holidays this week and next. We’re back on 19th April. Happy Easter to everyone.

14/03/2023

Birtley Amateur Swimming Club

Communication to Birtley parents and swimmers about future proposals

In early November last year, Gateshead Council (GC) announced their intention to close two of their swimming pools and indicated that the most likely to close would be the leisure centres at Dunston and Gateshead. A six-week consultation period then took place in November and December, during which the club had a significant input as a major customer for Dunston Leisure Centre (DLC).

After assessing the feedback from the consultation, GC announced on January 24th that they were no longer proposing to close Dunston pool, but instead proposed that Birtley Swimming Centre (BSC) would close. In response to further feedback received after this announcement in January, GC have extended the consultation period until May 8th, to enable people who use BSC to give their feedback.
GC will then assess the feedback from this second period of consultation and will announce their final decision on which two pools will be closing on June 20th. Their current plan is that two pools will close at the end of July, which will be Gateshead Leisure Centre and BSC unless feedback from the second round of consultation results in a further change.

Impact on Birtley Swimming club

If GC go ahead with their proposals and close BSC, as you know this will have a significant impact on Birtley Swimming Club. This would mean we would potentially need to look at other pools in the area to hold our weekly sessions.
The staff and committee at Birtley Swimming club have discussed and investigated the possibility of other pools in the area, however we need to consider travel time and availability, along with increased costs from Gateshead Council.

Proposal - Community Asset transfer option for Birtley Swimming Centre (BSC)

The club has recently had discussions with Gateshead and Whickham ASC with the proposal of working together as they have held meetings with GC about the possibility of a Community Asset Transfer for BSC. If the current proposal to close BSC at the end of July remains unchanged, and a CAT was subsequently achieved for BSC, then there would be no requirement to transfer any staff from the existing council run leisure centres to the BSC CAT group. This means there is potential for significant savings to be made in the employment costs at BSC by doing things differently, which could mean a CAT for that pool can be financially viable.
There are advantages for doing a Community Asset Transfer, which include:
• Birtley swimming club already delivers learn to swim, lifeguarding and club swimming at BSC but not competitive swimming so there is a good synergy with GAW who have a focus on competitive swimming, and the activities would be complementary
• There is more opportunity to increase income from Learn To Swim at BSC as it has two large learner pools
• BSC already has several schools who have swimming lessons there and would likely want this to continue after a CAT. Other local schools may also be interested in this.
• There is demand from the public for lane swimming in the late evening, which is currently not being met as GC are operating BSC on reduced hours
• Other swimming clubs are also interested in taking water time at BSC
• Birtley pool has a very passionate staff group who love the centre, so we believe there would be interest from some of them in applying for new roles at Birtley after a CAT has
taken place

Birtley Amateur Swimming Club

As a result, representatives from both Gateshead and Whickham Swimming Club and Birtley Swimming Club have decided to explore the potential for an asset transfer for BSC. The CAT group will also need to engage other users of BSC, including the local schools and members of the public, to get their input.

Timescales for the Community Asset Transfer
Phase 1: High level business case

Over the next two months we will be working with representatives from Birtley swimming club and the local community in Birtley to identify and quantify the activities that would be run at Birtley following a CAT, as well as developing the staffing requirements and costs to run these activities.
If this results in a viable high level business case for the Birtley CAT, with income covering costs, it will need to be presented to by the CAT group to GC by the middle of May for approval.

Phase 2: Detailed long term business plan

If the high-level business case is approved, and GC confirm in June that BSC is to close at the end of July, the CAT group will then need to undertake more work to produce a detailed long term business plan for BSC. This would include identifying and securing funding for any required capital works, agreeing water time and pricing with the future customers of BSC such as Birtley Swimming Club, GAW, local schools, and all new customers, and developing a pool timetable, staffing rota and roles required to run the activities in the business plan.
If the detailed business plan is still financially viable after this phase, it would need to be presented by the CAT group to GC for approval at the end of this phase which is likely to be in the last quarter of this year.
GC will put protective measures in place for BSC following its closure at the end of July, similar to what was in place during the COVID lockdowns, so that the pool can be reopened relatively quickly of the CAT goes ahead.

Phase 3: Implementation phase

If the detailed Business plan is approved by GC, the final phase will require the planning and delivery of all the tasks required to reopen the pool. This would include setting up the new community organisation which will run BSC after the CAT, recruitment of staff, agreement of contracts with customers, undertaking any capital work required before the pool reopens, marketing the new facility and setting up the necessary systems and processes to manage BSC after the CAT.

A significant period of time will be required to deliver phases two and three. CATs of this size typically take at least a year to deliver, so if the business plan is viable for BSC, it is likely that BSC would not reopen until towards the end of the first quarter of 2024.

Edith Scott Club Chair
Dean Cox Club Secretary
Claire Kelly Club Treasurer

22/02/2023

Congratulations to Theo Holmes who has completed his 10m distance badge tonight… 22/02/23 Congratulations Theo!

22/02/2023

For those members of the community who would like to attend the Drop In session regarding the potential closure of Birtley Swimming Centre.

This event is predicted to be well attended and those attending may have a short wait to enter the room. People can arrive at any time between 5.30 and 7.30pm and there will be no formal presentations during the evening.

15/02/2023

Congratulations to Skylaa Mulligan on successfully passing her 10m distance badges. 15/02/22. Congratulations Skylaa

15/02/2023

Congratulations to Hugo Telfer Holmes on successfully passing his 50m distance badge tonight… 15/02/22. Congratulations Hugo!

15/02/2023

Hi all, As I’m sure you’re all aware, Birtley Pool is among those selected to potentially close later this year. We have had paper petitions on a Club Night for parents and children to sign but please find below a much larger survey on the pool closure.

It would mean a lot if as many of you can fill this in. Unlike the paper petitions, you do not need to have a Birtley address to fill this in.

Any problems - feel free to pop into the office tonight at club and have a chat with Emily or Claire at the desk.

Thank you all for your continued support.

GO Gateshead - GO Gateshead GO Gateshead, home to five state-of-the-art gyms, 12 swimming pools, two athletics tracks and fitness classes for everyone.

08/02/2023

Congratulations to…Tyler, Archie, Eva, Jack, Grace, Sam and Harry on completing Rookie Silver 2 Awards. Wednesday 8th February. Well Done Everyone!!

08/02/2023

Congratulations to… Sophie, Daniel, Elizabeth, Hana, Grace, Jessica and Nathaniel on completing Rookie Lifeguard Bronze 3 Award. Wednesday 8th February. Well Done Everyone!

31/01/2023

Congratulations to Oliver, Maddie, Jack, Jamie, Ashton, Jakub, Poppy, Rosie and Olivia who all successfully completed their Rookie Lifeguard Bronze 2 Award Wednesday 25th January 2023…….well done everyone!!!

31/01/2023

A huge well done to Dylan who successfully completed his 2000m Distance Award on Wednesday 25th January 2023……....Well done Dylan!!!!

31/01/2023

Congratulations to Eva, Jack, Jensen, Grace and Archie who all successfully completed their 1000m Distance Award on Wednesday 25th January 2023……....Awesome Swimming!!!!

31/01/2023

A huge well done to Hannah who successfully completed her 10m Distance Award on Wednesday 25th January 2023……....Amazing!!!!

19/01/2023

Congratulations to Ty, James and Layla who all successfully completed their Rookie Lifeguard Bronze 2 Award Wednesday 18th January 2023…….well done everyone!!!

19/01/2023

A huge well done to Flyn, Seth, Harry, Amy, William, Liam, Peter, Holly and Gracie who all successfully completed their Club Life Saving 6 Award on Wednesday 18th January 2023……....Amazing!!!!

13/01/2023

A huge well done to Brodie, Wyatt, Emily, Angus and Jasmine who all successfully completed their 25m Distance Award on Wednesday 11th January 2023……....Amazing!!!!

25/12/2022

Just a quick message to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

15/12/2022

Morning Everyone
We hope everyone enjoyed Fun Night last night! Just a quick reminder on Dates over the Festive Period :
21st Dec 2022 – Closed for Christmas Break
28th Dec 2022 – Closed for Christmas Break
4th Jan 2023 - Closed for Christmas Break
11th Jan 2023 – Normal Club Night! Whoop! Whoop!
…see you all on 11th January next year!
Merry Christmas from Everyone at Birtley Swimming Club!

09/12/2022

Christmas FUN NIGHT for all swimmers on Wednesday 14th December 2022!
Its starts for everyone at 7.00pm and finishes at 8.30pm
There is no First or Second Session.......any swimmers from Second Session wishing to attend should come for 7.00pm!
Just a reminder that any child under the age of 8 years must be accompanied in the pool by an adult regardless of how far they can swim - this is a requirement of Gateshead Council.
This is a free night and we encourage all parents to go in the water with your children.
See you all there!

07/12/2022

Congratulations to Lilly who all successfully completed her 100m Distance Award on Wednesday 7th December 2022……....Well done Lilly!!!!

07/12/2022

A huge well done to Caleb, Sophie, Emilia, Joseph, Jack, Noah, Lewis, Isabelle, Sara, Leila and Harry who all successfully completed their 50m Distance Award on Wednesday 7th December 2022……....Amazing!!!!

02/12/2022

A huge well done to Harry, Tyler and Dylan who all successfully completed their 1 Mile Distance Award on Wednesday 30th November 2022……....Great Job Guys!!!

02/12/2022

Congratulations to Tommy, Emily, Caitlyn and Caeden who all successfully completed their 200m Distance Award on Wednesday 30th November 2022……....Great Job!!!

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