(Affiliated to ASA West Midlands Region and Warwickshire ASA)

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 400 members attending 17 sessions at 8 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.

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.

As we entered the new millennium, a new committee and coaching team took the club into a new era - consolidating and developing the teaching base of the club, while at the same time providing competitive opportunities for Boldmere swimmers. In 2000, the club was fielding just one team in Division 3 of the Nuneaton & District Junior Swimming ('Diddy') League. By September 2009, the A team had reached their fourth successive Midlands Final following their success in 2008 when they won their first Div 1 title. (This qualified them for the second successive NATIONAL FINAL for the TOP 8 CLUBS IN THE COUNTRY - where they finished FIFTH). The 'B' team again finished as the top 'B' team in the league when they finished 2nd in Division 2 (to qualify for the regional final), and the C team moved up 6 places to finish 9th in Division 3 in only their second season (we are currently the only club in the Midlands to be fielding a 'C' team.)

At Senior Level, in December 2008, the club achieved the status of PREMIER SWIMMING CLUB IN THE WEST MIDLANDS when the A team won Division 1 of the National Swimming League (to qualify for the National Final at Ponds Forge on April 26th 2009 - where they performed with great credit as one of the TOP 10 CLUBS IN THE COUNTRY), while the 'B' team finished 12th in Division 2 following promotion as Champions of Division 3 in 2007 - their first season in the league. Such meteoric progress has been the result of the dedication and commitment of our teaching and coaching teams and the unstinting efforts of many people - both on the committee and in the background.

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.

In the 2009 Warwickshire County Championships, 72 Boldmere swimmers competed and qualified for an unprecedented 92 Finals in which the club had 8 County Champions. 24 competed at the Midlands District Championships (8 Youth, 16 Age Group) where the club had 27 Finalists and 15 Podium Finishes. Currently we have 15 swimmers who train with the City of Birmingham, and Phil Hewitt joined 8 of these at the National Championships in 2009. Holly Lynch appeared in two National Youth Finals, Jake Dixon won Silver in the 11Yrs age Group 200IM, while Penny Whittingham became the most successful swimmer from the West Midlands Region ever to appear at the Age Group Nationals when she secured FIVE Golds (800Free, 400Free, 200Free, 400IM, and 200IM) and TWO Silvers (200Fly and 100Fly) in the 11Yrs Age Group.

Boldmere SC provides a base for a diversity of aptitudes, abilities and ages. Our membership includes 15yrs old Eleanor Simmonds, seen below left receiving an award from Seb Coe to commemorate her becoming the youngest swimmer ever to be selected for Great Britain in December 2006 when she competed at the Paralympic World Championships in South Africa - before her 13th birthday. Having secured two world records in 2007 in the Ladies S6 Category, Ellie 'rocked' the paralympic world with two storming finishes to take GOLD in both 100m and 400m Freestyle at the Beijing Paralympics with a massive 7 second Long Course PB World Record in the latter. The youngest GB swimmer to win individual Gold at either Olympic or Paralympic Games, Ellie was the 2008 BBC YOUNG SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR.

In June 2009, competing against established Olympic medalists, Holly Lynch won both 100m and 200m Backstroke 'B' Finals at the Mare Nostrum Meet in Monte Carlo. On 1st August 2009, 14Yrs old Lucy Gale won the Ladies title Albert Dock Open Water Championships at Liverpool, and during the same week Hannah Nagar, representing GB, won Bronze (200Fly) and two Relay Silvers at the JCC Maccabi Games in San Francisco.

Jemma Westgate, (seen below, right, with one of her many trophies) - one of five 'Multi-eventing' Orcas who compete at regional and national competitions - is current National Modern Biathlon Age Group Champion, while Andy and Jayne Luckett compete regularly in Masters events, with Jayne winning Gold in 50 and 100 Breaststroke events in the 2008 National Championships.

      

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 Youth and Academy teams are 2009 Champions, and the Juniors Runners Up in the Midlands Region, while 7 Academy and Youth players have been selected to attend Great Britain Training Squad Sessions.

Boldmere SC is very active within the community, regularly officiating at Schools, Scouts and Special Olympics Galas, and in July 2008, nine Boldmere swimmers completed the Bournemouth 2.4km Pier to Pier Swim - raising over £500 for the British Heart Foundation. 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 (7 to 70 yrs) at our Club Championships on the last Saturday in September and at our Junior (8 to 12 yrs) Invitation Meet in February

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. In addition to the Level 2 November Open Meet, the club hosts a highly popular Junior Invitation Meet in February, a Level 3 Open Meet ('Water Carnival') for Non National Qualifiers in early July, and its Club Championships in late September, when over 150 swimmers take to the water.

(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.)

(To take a look back at some of the club's web archives, visit one of our earlier websites).