​Executive Committee

​
Jon Smith - Chair

"After my daughters joined the club and I realised that it was run by volunteers I was keen to help out in some way. My first experience was to hold a stopwatch at the end of the lane at a club gala. Shortly afterwards I was asked to train as a teacher and help with the coaching.
 
The club supported my development and I have now qualified as a Level 2 teacher and Level 1 coach. I do not have any swimming experience as rugby was my preferred sport.
 
I teach the stroke improvers and adult swimmers on a Monday night and coach the junior squads on Sundays. Since 2005 I have coached 5 hours a week and seen many of our senior swimmers develop through the squads.
This has its challenges but it is great to see the swimmers progress and move on to compete for the club.
 
Our club needs volunteers to support it and continue the success we have achieved in the pool. You do not have to be a proven swimmer or county champion to get involved. If you feel you are able to help in any way please speak to me or any of the committee to learn more about the club."
 

Rachel Merelie - Treasurer

Bryan Thompson - Secretary 

"I began in swimming as the taxi service for Amy & Annie. When Izzy started swimming at a club as well I had a choice to make – become a swimming widow (Annie was coaching by this point) or get involved. I'm not a good swimmer – technically nor staminarly (is that a real word?) so coaching wasn't an option. I was talked into becoming an Official and then joined the clubs committee. I am now a J2S (Judge Level 2 Starter) which means I can Referee at low level meets and can Timekeep/Judge/Start at any level.



When we moved to Harpenden I joined the Committee as I felt I had ideas to help the club. Within a short period I was proposed to join the Hertfordshire Swimming League committee where I eventually took on the roles of Results & Compliance Officers – a position I filled for several years.  I then got nominated to join the Hertfordshire ASA Management Board – partly due to my ignorance as I actually wanted to get onto the Herts ASA Swimming Committee and assumed the Management Board split into sub-committees – I was wrong! However, I did also get nominated and elected to the Herts ASA Swimming Committee as a committee member. Within a year I found myself at a Management Board meeting where we were discussing finding a new Swimming Manager.  As there were no obvious candidates and we were discussing lots of “knowledge” requirements I stuck my hat in the ring as the novice alternative and was put into the post in 2008. In 2010 our Club Secretary was standing down and it was obvious that the role needed some knowledge of the workings of swimming clubs so I got myself nominated for that as well. In 2012 I decided that I wanted to understand more about how things worked at the Regional  level and through a slightly convoluted route ended up being accepted as ASA East Region Technical Swimming Manager – a very grand title.

So through being inquisitive about how things work at different levels I am now Harpenden Club Secretary, Herts ASA Management Board member, Herts ASA Swimming Manager, and ASA East Region Swimming Manager.

In a relatively short time I have gained a fair amount of knowledge of clubs, counties & regions. I have touched to a greater or lesser degree on Officiating, Club Secretary roles, swim21 accreditation, development plans, membership, team selection, meet organisation, social secretary, communications officer, website administrator and database administrator.

I think I can lay most of the blame for this at Amy’s door… but I do thoroughly enjoy doing it. There is an immense satisfaction in seeing swimmers achieve even if they are not yours. I am always happy to talk to anyone who wants to know about any of the roles or is unsure about what any of the various documents/notes mean that we publish – don’t be scared to ask. That’s probably enough from me – hope it gives you an insight and if you want to get involved please speak to us – the more people that help the more we can do."