Last Updated by Bruce Sinclair 25.1.08 Cupar and District (Fife, Scotland) is a swimming club comprised of around 130 swimmers from Cupar and the surrounding towns and villages. It caters for swimmers of all ages and abilities from those who can swim a few lengths to Scottish National level.  We are affiliated to the Scottish Amateur Swimming Association (SASA) and the Royal Life-Saving Society (RLSS). Location The club is based at Cupar Sports Centre, Carslogie Road, Cupar. All training and teaching sessions take place there unless otherwise stated. Fife Council provides online information about the sports centre, including a map.  We have use of the pool for several hours each week, and we have a small club-house nearby for dry sessions. Club Structure The club is run by a committee, which is elected by the parent members at the A.G.M. Please see the club constitution for further information (link at foot of page).  The Club Chief Coach is Lesley Jayasekera.  The committee members may be contacted via the "Contact Us" link alongside.  The current president is Lesley Jayasekera, and the secretary is Bruce Sinclair.  A list of "who does what" is posted on the club notice board at the pool. Swimming The club is not in a position to teach children to swim from scratch, but can take in young swimmers at a fairly modest ability level.  Our Saturday morning sessions have a group catering for young swimmers who can swim just a few lengths, and there is then a well-defined progression of stages to the senior levels in the club.  The best swimmers currently compete in major competitions within Scotland, and have in the past represented Scotland in international competitions. Club membership remains healthy, but there is currently no waiting list, and new members of all ages are welcome. Novices - Saturday Mornings The regular Saturday morning sessions run in three stages, as described below, and cater for young swimmers from really quite modest abilities through to those who are ready to join the junior squad.  Stage1 - Swimmers are invited to come along for assessment at the start of a 9.30 Saturday morning session. Please contact John Wishart Tel. 01334 655185 for more details. If they fulfill the criteria, they are invited to join the Club. Stages 2 and 3 - As the swimmers progress, they are moved on to Stage 2 and then Stage 3 of the teaching groups, at 08.00 and 08.45 on Saturday mornings respectively. As the swimmers improve they will move on from a Saturday morning and into the `Squads` as follows:- Junior Squad - First step up from a Saturday morning. Two swimming sessions per week available, currently Thursday and Friday evenings. Improver Squad - Good all round swimmer, prepared to work hard at improving swimming techniques. Commitment to 2 swimming sessions per week. Senior Squad - Made up of experienced swimmers who do not want/cannot afford the time demanded by the Development Squad training. Opportunity for 2 swimming sessions per week. Development Squad - Made up of the top swimmers in the club. They must be capable of training for 2 hour sessions and be seen to show a level of commitment both through their attitude and attendance. 3 swimming sessions per week. LifeSaving - This section of the club provides the opportunity to gain RLSS (Royal Life Saving Society) qualifications from beginners level "Lifesaving 1,2 & 3" through to the advanced level "Distinction" award. For information on all training times please refer to the Training Times page. Teaching/Coaching All teaching and coaching is done on a voluntary basis, and we hold courses so that parents can become qualified Pool helpers/ Assistant teachers. The club survives on the assistance of parents. Competitions There are opportunities for many of our swimmers to compete in Swim Meets, for example. Real Novice Galas Fife Leagues East District Competitions Geordie Wotherspoon Gala Eric Muir Memorial Gala Club Fun Gala Club Championships  When teams are selected for these competitions, parents are asked to assist in notifying the Team Managers if their children are able to take part or not.  Although we will hire a bus for transport to some galas, in other cases we ask parents to organise transport for the children. Novice galas are arranged throughout the year for our newer swimmers, and this gives them a chance to swim for the club at friendly competitions at various venues around Fife and Dundee. Fife Leagues:  Within Fife there is a "League" set-up, at Novice, Intermediate and Premier level. Our club currently competes at the Novice and Intermediate levels. Our squad controllers select swimmers for these events, which are held at the Fife Sports Institute in Glenrothes.  The levels refer to ability in different age groups.  Once a swimmer swims better than a set time for a particular stroke they gain a "time flash" for that stroke, and are then barred from competing at that level in that stroke in the future.  This scheme means that it is not just the very best of our swimmers who get to compete in the League matches. Friendly galas at different levels are also arranged.  These include the Eric Muir gala, which is named after a person who made a huge input to the club. Fun gala:  Our annual fun gala for our club members includes a variety of relay races, each of which involves a different "activity", be it blowing a ball along the pool or sculling feet first. Open Meets: there are invitations for Open Meets which can be held anywhere in Scotland. Information regarding these meets is posted on the club notice board and in the future may appear on the web site. Club Championships All swimmers are encouraged to enter the Club Championships. There are age-group events in all strokes, the distance events being held in June and the shorter distances and main Championships in November/December. Cupar has a vast collection of trophies and medals. With both an "A" and "B" final, there are plenty of opportunities for swimmers to make their mark. Social We try to have a social event for the club at least once every school term, and this can be a Disco, a Quiz Night, an Away Visit, a Bar-B-Q or, any other ideas? Officials Every club needs officials; time-keepers, judges, recorders, starters, referees. The Governing Body of swimming organises work-shops and examinations for the above posts. Time-keeping help at club level is always required and no exam is required for this.  However, we do run timekeepers courses to allow parents to time keep at League (etc) events, and as the first step of training for higher-level duties during competitions. Administration There is a huge amount of administration within a club of this size, and again we rely on parents to:-keep registers, sell swimwear, provide catering, keep a result service, provide competition information, team manage, find officials, look after technical equipment, maintain and repair property, keep financial records....in fact we have a job for everyone so hopefully after reading this you will come along to the club and join in with the fun. Website This website is hosted courtesy of MagicFlag.com.  The current web-site maintainer is Bruce Sinclair.  Please use the "Contact Us" link to let him know of any issues arising from this website. While we try to ensure that the contents of this website are up to date and accurate, we do not warrant this to be the case, and neither the club nor the web-site maintainer can take any responsibility for issues arising from your use of this website.  Various links on our website take the user to other websites over which we have no control. Club Fees At all stages the swimmer is asked to pay their annual membership fee of £50, which includes a mandatory fee to the Scottish Amateur Swimming Association.  The remainder of the subscription covers some of the costs needed to run the club, and reduces the need for fund raising to cover our activities.   For swimmers joining later in the year the non-SASA component of the fee is reduced. In addition to the annual membership fee there are charges for use of the pool and training facilities.  Saturday morning swimmers are asked to pay a quarterly charge of £12 to help towards the cost of pool hire (£11 per month from April 2008).  This entitles swimmers and spectators to use the building during these sessions for no further charge.  Currently Junior squad sessions have a training fee paid to the club of £3 a month, plus admission charges to the pool paid to the Sports Centre.  From April 2008 this will change to a monthly training fee of £21 but with no need to pay the Council on entry to the building.  A similar arrangement is in place for the Improver and Development squads.  The club payments may be made by standing order, or at the club table.   Club Swimwear & Accessories Various items are available for purchase. Please ask at the Club Table in the spectator area of the pool during the Saturday morning or Thursday evening sessions. Details are on the Club Shop web page. Policies Club Constitution in separate pdf file Club Information Leaflet 2005 (pdf file) Our Child Protection Policy is in line with SASA guidelines.  Our child protection officer is Carol Lloyd. Photography of any kind  is not permitted at the Sports Centre except with the explicit permission of the Sports Centre  management, and the written permission of the parents of any child involved It is our policy not to display images of children from our club on this website Use of this website is "at your own risk"