Boldmere SC is one of the longest established swimming clubs in the Midlands - with the largest number of active members of any sports club in the UK's 'second city' - with over 500 members attending 15 sessions at 7 venues, and more than 150 regularly taking part in competitive swimming and water polo events.

The club was formed in the 19th century by a group of enthusiasts who swam regularly in the pools of Sutton Park on the northeast edge of the Birmingham conurbation. Sutton Park (the largest park within the city limits of any city in Europe) has 7 pools - created in the 18th century (or earlier) by damming streams to provide power for water mills. In 1899, the first Boldmere SC Galas - known as 'Water Carnivals' were held in Powells Pool, and the 'Winter Swimming Club' met for the first annual Christmas Day swim in Blackroot Pool. Many members lost their lives in World War 1 and a small bronze statue - originally part of a drinking fountain in Sutton Park - is a memorial to them. This currently stands in the entrance hall at Wyndley Baths (see below).

In 1925 the club moved to Erdington Baths, and summertime swimming became popular in the outdoor Keepers Pool Lido (closed in 2003) in Sutton Park. Boldmere SC moved to a new 33m pool when Wyndley Leisure Centre was built in 1971 on the eastern edge of the park, and in 1973 the town of Sutton Coldfield was incorporated into the City of Birmingham following local government reorganisation.

The club continued as a successful teaching club in the 1980's and 1990's. Swimmers with talent generally moved on to other competitive/performance clubs in order to fulfil their potential. Joanna Coull learned to swim with and for Boldmere from 1980 to 1986, and in 1988 (age 14 years) represented Great Britain in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Two years later she won a silver medal in the 4 x 200m F/S Relay representing England in the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games.

(For a fascinating look at the history of Boldmere Swimming Club's first one hundred years please read this article written by former club official Kath Beauchamp in 1995 in celebration of the club's centenary.)

In competition, the club now operates under the banner of Boldmere Orcas using the logo:

...which means Boldmere Orcas Swimming Smart, with the word Smart standing for Swim at Maximum Ability to Record your fastest Time.

We now have around 50 swimmers attending the Warwickshire County Championships, approximately half that number competes at the Midlands District Championships and we currently have 14 swimmers who train with and represent the City of Birmingham, and seven of these represented the club and the city at the National Championships in 2007. At the National Junior Championships, 11Yr old Kristie Hackett was the major star with bronze in the 800m Freestyle, which she followed up by making 4 Age Group Finals, finishing 4th ( 400m Freestyle), 5th (200m Freestyle), 7th (100m Freestyle), and a stunning silver in the 200m Individual Medley.

James Youngman followed up some stamina-sapping performances in his individual performances with two outstanding relay swims. In all of his 7 individual events, James finished in the top 25 in the National 14Yrs Boys Age Group, finishing 10th (1500m Freestyle) and 13th (100m Backstroke). In a grand finale, swimming for the City of Birmingham Squad, James secured two brilliant golds with a 56.22secs leg in the 4 x 100m Freestyle, and a time of 2.03.42 in the Boys 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay.

Making his debut at the Nationals, 14Yrs old Sebastian Bukowski secured 15th place in the 200m Breaststroke, and followed this up with a silver swimming the same stroke in the 4 x 100 Medley Relay.

At the National Youth Championships, swimming against National stars of all ages, 14 Yrs old Holly Lynch gave further evidence of her vast potential. Qualified in four freestyle events, Holly finished 33rd in the Open Age National Rankings for the 400m Freestyle, and showed her versatility with strong performances in 100 Back and 200IM. Her time of 59.98 secs earned her a much-deserved silver in the Women's 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay.

Boldmere S.C. provides a base for a diversity of aptitudes, abilities and ages. In addition to the above swimmers our membership includes: 12 yrs old Eleanor Simmonds (seen below, left, receiving an award from Sebastian Coe) - now training hard for the Beijing Olympics - became the youngest swimmer ever to be selected for Great Britain in December 2006 when she competed at the Paralympic World Championships in South Africa, and on 3rd November 2007 she secured both the 400m Freestyle and 100m Freestyle World Records in the Ladies S6 Category. Jemma Westgate (seen below, right, with one of her many trophies) - one of 5 'Multi-eventing' Orcas who competes regularly at regional and national competitions - is National Modern Biathlon Age Group Champion

The Water Polo Section - started in 2001 - is thriving... being the largest in Birmingham with mixed U14 (Academy) and U16 (Youth) teams, Junior (U18) and Senior Men's and Women's teams. The Junior and Academy teams are current Midland Regional Champions, and 7 Academy and Youth players have been selected to attend Great Britain Training Squad Sessions.

In February 2004, Boldmere was first accredited by the ASA with a Swim 21 Silver Award as a Teaching Club, and we are currently putting structures in place to ensure that this award is renewed and extended to include our status as a competitive club. The club regularly holds courses and provides opportunities for teachers, coaches and officials to develop skills and gain further qualifications. Boldmere SC is very active within the community, regularly officiating at Schools, Scouts and Special Olympics Galas, but above all, we pride ourselves on a 'family atmosphere'...and all of our members come together to celebrate the achievements of swimmers of all abilities at our 'Juniors Gala' (7 to 12 yrs) in February, and our 'Cup & Trophy Gala' (7 to 70 yrs) - held in early July.

In October 2007 and February 2008 Boldmere SC hosted three Swimskills Technique Clinics at King Edwards School Edgbaston led by GB Head Coach Bill Furniss, and the club made history when it hosted its inaugural two-day Level 2 Open Meet at Stechford in November 2007. The extensive praise which the club received for the professional manner in which these events were staged is confirmation that the club has become established in the higher echelons of competitive swimming, and has a high level of organizational expertise within the club.

The club is looking towards the future. Late 2008 will hopefully bring the re-opening of a refurbished Wyndley Pool - with the club providing a (moveable) boom to reduce it from 33m to a competition 'Short Course' (25m) length. The successful completion of this development will provide Boldmere SC with a 'home base' of high quality for teaching, training and competition for many years to come - but not without the continuing high level of support from a large number of committed members.

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