Somerset ASA has completed its 2023/24 pilot County Development Programme (CDP). Over the summer, we carried out an in-depth Evaluation of the pilot looking at both Quantitative and Qualitative data sources.
Quantitative Results
Our key performance metric was to increase the number of Somerset athletes achieving Regional Qualifying Times (RQT) in the 200IM, therefore supporting holistic athlete development, and future entry into Swim England Talent Pathways. This has been achieved.
| Quantitative Outcomes | |
| Sessions | 10 Sessions complete (9 Short Course, 1 Long Course). |
| Participants | 47 Swimmers representing 16 out of the 20 eligible Somerset clubs 14 ‘Guest’ Coaches representing 9 clubs, attending 29 sessions between them 29 Coaches joined the new ‘Somerset Coaches Network’ WhatsApp group. |
| Outcomes | Increased number of swimmers gaining RQT from 9 in 2023 (6 girls, 3 boys) to 14 in 2024 (8 girls, 6 boys) Improved Somerset representation at RQT from 16% of total cohort in 2023 to 25% at August 2024 Improved 200IM times of 11.5 seconds on average from Sept 2023 – August 2024. Improved test set skills (underwater work) of 45%. |
Swim England South West Region consists of 6 counties.
Of the 92 swimmers participating in the 2024-25 Regional Development Pathways, an amazing 29% are from Somerset!
Qualitative Results
We sought to provide participants with an opportunity to build inter-club friendships and work collaboratively across the county. We explored how we have achieved this using participant feedback questionnaires.
Swimmers were asked about their expectations, experiences and personal outcomes.
96% responded positively
‘stroke improvement’….‘especially breaststroke’… ‘fantastic coaching’… ‘time to finesse strokes’, ‘underwater is way better and faster’…‘starts (dives) much better and I can go 5m off each turn’…‘feeling more confident’… ‘so much fun’.
Swimmers felt inspired:
‘the way in which the coaches could give advice on small tweaks to improve technique’…. ‘swimming at Millfield’ … ‘the chance to train… with swimmers from other clubs’ … ‘to challenge myself on my underwaters’, ‘to work harder’… ‘to keep going as there’s always improvement for the next race to learn’.
Swimmers were asked: What 3 words would you use if you were to describe CDP to a parent, a friend/team-mate, or your home coach? A word cloud was generated from the responses:
Coaches were asked about their expectations of the CDP.
89% of respondents said they were looking to build skills and/or gain new ideas for sets and drills:
‘building coaching skills by learning new swimming tutoring techniques’, ‘learning from high-grade coaches’, and ‘to step outside my bubble and be able to watch how other coaches help athletes to develop’.
All respondents felt that their expectations had been met mostly or completely
55% of respondents stated they were looking for a chance to
‘network with other Somerset coaches to build a county-wide community of coaches.’
Read our CDP Pilot Final Evaluation pdf document here.
To find out more about our evaluation please contact isabelblight@btinternet.com