Congratulations Elba and Lorraine!

It's that time of the year again where we round the year off with some good news stories.  Once again, we asked all of our Swimming Teachers to nominate those distinctive, very special swimmers who deserved a bit of recognition.

They were asked to identify swimmers on our lesson programmes (children and adults) who have displayed positive attitudes, unyielding determination or, have put in efforts over and above their peers.  They may have overcome personal adversity or achieved something unexpected or challenging. 

Elba Sheppard - Billingshurst Leisure Centre's Swimmer of the Year 2022

"Elba has developed her strokes quickly and is in stage 5.  She sometimes loses her confidence but always tries hard to overcome her fears.  She was afraid of swimming into the deep water in stage 5 but after she was reassured by her teacher, Elba overcame her fear and continued swimming to the deep end without panicking. 

She has always listened well to instructions and has developed her swimming skills to a good level and with good technique.  She will continue to grow in strength and has the determination and mindset to excel in her swimming skills."

Well done Elba! 

Lorraine Hunter - Billingshurst Leisure Centre's Adult Swimmer of the Year 2022

Lorraine has been having adult lessons on and off since 2016 (minus pandemic) with Nick.

Lorraine says “so thankful to Nick and all the other Swim Teachers for their support and encouragement as well as the Lifeguards”

When Lorraine started lessons with us she could only do a little breaststroke in shallow depth but found the breathing a struggle as well as the deeper water.  She persevered and now can do backstroke proficiently and is comfortable in a deeper depth.

Unfortunately, COVID struck so Lorraine’s confidence went down hill with her swimming, however she still returned to give it a go and carry on, and its taken a while for her to get back to the standard she was.  Lorraine is also a keen runner and swimming helps with her breathing and stamina, so much so that she entered a half marathon the other week!  Wow! Amazing!

Lorraine also uses the pool frequently between lessons to help practice what she has been learning which she finds very motivating.