Swim Leaders & Alumni
At TYSSS we support our swimmers to develop as people as well in the pool. Supporting swimmers to become the next generation of Swim Leaders.
To help do this we provide volunteering opportunities and each season the Coaches select Junior or Senior Club Captains.
We also encourage swimmers to learn from our past swim alumni who have had inspirational swim journeys.
Athlete Focused.
Team Driven.
Swim Leaders
Here at TYSSS we support our young people to gain leadership skills for life as well as swimming skills. Many swimmers use the volunteering opportunities associated with the Club and Tadcaster Community Swimming Pool to:
achieve a Duke of Edinburgh Award
gain valuable work experience and self-confidence
add to their CV - supporting successful future education or work applications
simply give back to the club they love and feel a part of - for many especially those that join at 8 or 9, the club is an integral part of their lives and support network.
Below are some examples of current squad members who are gaining leadership skills through their involvement in the sport via voluntary opportunities with our club and home pools.
Will
Swim England’s Ripple Effect Project
Will Browning is one of the first volunteers to be a part of Swim England’s Ripple Effect project. The project aims to break down barriers for disabled individuals who want to become volunteers and encourages them to get involved in aquatics.
Luke
Swim Official
Luke previously volunteered as an assistant swim teacher as part of his Duke of Edinburgh Award. He is now training to be a J1 Swimming Official.
Caitlin
Water Assistant & Reception
Caitlin volunteers as a water assistant during swimming lessons and on reception at Tadcaster Community Pool.
Jimmy
Swim Official & Assistant Coach
Jimmy recently qualified as a J1 Swimming Official and regularly volunteers to officiate at smaller galas that his younger sister is competing in. Jimmy also volunteers as a Junior coach for the County and Competition Development squads.
Ruby
Assistant Swim Teacher
Ruby is doing her Duke of Edinburgh Award and volunteers with the Swim Programme. She assists in the water with young children just starting to learn to swim.
Zara
Swim Demonstrator
Zara regularly volunteers as a stroke demonstrator at Tadcaster Pool for the pre-competitive Development Group.
Ava
Assistant Teacher
Ava currently volunteers as an assistant swimming teacher at Tadcaster Pool to contribute towards her Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Rebecca
Swim North East Young Leaders
Rebecca volunteers front-of-house at Tadcaster Pool on reception. She is also part of the Swim North East Young Leaders scheme where she is training to be a J1 official and gaining transferable leadership skills as part of the Regional Scheme.
Many older swimmers from the squad regularly volunteer to support summer swim camps. Acting as demonstrators or just helping with team building activities and having fun with the younger squad members.
Thanks to all our swimmers, past and present, who have helped by contributing their time and skills to the squad and wider swimming community.
Many of our swimmers go on to use their experience in Swim Squad with both water based skills and leadership skills to train as:
Life-guards (from 16)
Swim Coaches or Teachers (from 16)
Swim Officials (from 14)
Team Managers (from 18)
Young Leaders,
training to Officiate.
Club Captains
Each season (Sep - Aug) the Coaches select Junior or Senior Club Captains.
Club captains are ambassadors for the club. The swimmers selected are committed, respectful and supportive of their club and fellow teammates and are expected to support others to develop as well as themselves. Club captains are particularly important at competitions where they are expected to assist the coaches and Team Managers with pre-pool warm-up and to buddy up and support new swimmers.
At the point of selection the captains criteria are:
Full-time members of the squad
Have excellent attendance at training and competitions
Fit age criteria
Senior Captains - Age Group 16 & over
Junior Captains - Age Group 13 & below
Captains can come from any squad. They are selected by the coaches.
Current Season 2023/24
Senior Club Captains
Jacob Brown
Sophie Mclure
Junior Club Captains
Caleb Britton
Matilda Hendon
Zara Holt
Oliver Walker
Past Team Captains.
2022/23
Senior Club Captains:
Liam Dawson, Libby Walker
Junior Club Captains:
Freya Eteen, Sam Wright
2021/22
Club Captains:
Ethan Baylin, Meredith Harness
2020/21
Club Captains:
Tom Carswell, Gemma Parkinson
2019/20
Club Captains:
Tom Carswell, Ellie Walker
Many of our swimmers go on to use skills gained during their time as squad members in life. Here are some of our inspirational alumni.
Jemima Browning
“My name is Jemima Browning. Having been a swimmer from a young age, I joined Tadcaster York Sport Swim Squad when I was 11. Being part of the squad, training 7 times a week and competing provided me with so much. It taught me the value of hard work and dedication, resilience and the skill of goal setting and working towards achieving these. I am thankful for my time at the club and have carried the skills it gave me into my life after leaving.
I am a graduate from the University of Warwick, currently working towards my fitness qualifications and work as a support worker for a charity providing holidays for adults with learning disabilities. I have always been passionate about creating equal opportunities for those with disabilities and making reasonable adjustments to enable those with additional needs to achieve their potential and show the world what they are capable of. I set up Tadcaster Stingrays when I was 15, the club has gone from strength to strength and continues to train and compete. The club provides a sense of belonging to its members, families and supporters, it is an environment where everyone is accepted and supported.”
Jemina is a member of the Youth Sport Trust Youth Board, representing and communicating the views of all young people to inform the work of the Trust.
In 2021, Jemina won the Rotary Young Citizen Sporting Hero Award.
Ellie Walker
“After leaving Tadcaster York Sport Swim Squad in 2019 I went onto Loughborough University, achieved a 2:1 in BSc Psychology and swam in the Performance Group. I really enjoyed my time there representing the university at the British Nationals, and making friends for life.
In early 2021 I was approached by a US swim coach with the offer of a swimming scholarship, which I initially declined. Fast forward to Jan 2022 and I was starting to consider my next steps, as my 3 year degree course would finish that summer. Fortunately for me that very same swim coach approached me again, and offered me a scholarship to swim and study a Masters degree for two years at Drury University, Missouri. This second opportunity was timely to say the least and I grasped it without any hesitation!
At first I wasn’t sure what to expect swimming and studying in America but I can honestly say it has been one of the best decisions of my life to date. The Drury University swim team are part of the NCAAs (equivalent of a Nationals league). Competing at the national event, making A finals and getting top places in some individual events and relays was amazing and super fun! The team spirit is fantastic - you are instantly made to feel part of the team competing to try and win as many points as possible, ultimately to beat other colleges (the name for universities). Winter camp to Hawaii is not too bad either!!!
Let’s not forget that the studying part is important too. The opportunity rested on me achieving my degree so I needed to focus primarily on this goal.
It is now the fall of 2023 and I am in my final season. I am making the most of it, looking to compete at the NCAA Nationals in March, and also return to England for the British Nationals in April. I will complete my Masters in May 2024, but have no idea where my journey will take me.”
Clementine Lovel
“I joined TYSSS in 2017 looking for a relaxed & enjoyable training environment that would challenge me. Danny and the team were fabulous and considerate of extramural activities which supported me to succeed in and outside the pool.
My highlights at TYSSS definitely include winning the 4x 50m Free Relay with my teammates at the Yorkshires in a TYSSS record time, our training camps to Spain and competing in the French sunshine at Mare Nostrum in 2022.
After taking a year out, I am now studying Sport & Science at Loughborough University where I train and compete with the Loughborough Sprint Performance Development Squad.
My times are getting faster and I’m making great friends. I won silver in 50 Free at the 2023 British Summer Championships and I’m enjoying success at the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Swimming Championships. I’m still enjoying those training camps in the sunshine too, this time heading to Turkey to train!”
Tom Carswell
Tom Carswell is a former Club Captain and holds many of our club records. When Tom isn’t studying Maths or swimming at The University of Edinburgh he is competing for Wales!
In 2022, Tom competed in his first Commonwealth Games in Birmingham! Tom is a 50m and 100m Freestyle and Butterfly specialist and also loves a team relay. Tom even managed to make time to inspire some young TYSSS members when he came to visit our Non-Residential Training Camp in August 2022. Last we heard Tom was altitude training with the Edinburgh team in Andorra!
Abby Parkinson
When former TYSSS swimmer Abby isn’t coaching in the holidays, she is studying Geography at The University of Manchester. Abby has enjoyed success both in sprints and endurance events across all strokes, with experience gained as a seasoned British and National Swimmer, from age 13. After years of collecting TYSSS Club Records and digging deep in gold medal winning relay teams, Abby is now enjoying the social side of swimming and coaching. This year Abby is the Vice-Captain of The University of Manchester Swimming Club and is focusing on competing in the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Swimming Championships.
After completing her Swim England Level 1 Coaching qualification and qualifying as a life-guard, Abby regularly supports the coaching teams at TYSSS and Team Jorvik during the holidays. Coaching has allowed Abby to develop many additional skills such as leadership, effective communication and mechanics (pictured above, fixing our lane ropes!). She is a popular member of the TYSSS Summer Camp Delivery Team, inspiring our younger swimmers with her experience and infectious sense of fun.
Ethan Baylin
Sprint specialist Ethan left the squad in 2023. Our former Club Captain is now enjoying some very fast swimming in the USA competing for Barton Community College.
Ethan is majoring in Exercise Science and has made a flying start to the swim season. In the opening meet of the 2023-24 Barton season, Ethan secured a bronze medal finish in the 50-yard Freestyle - logging the sixth quickest stoppage in programme history (21.15). A few weeks later, Ethan broke the Barton all time record for 50 Free in 20.59s!
Niamh Carroll
Niamh is a distance specialist in Free, 400IM and 200 backstroke.
After leaving the squad in 2023 she moved from her home in Leeds to the USA to study at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and swim for Little Rock Trojans, a NCAA division 1 team.
Niamh worked hard to get a swimming and academic scholarship which has allowed her to follow her dream to swim and study during her university studies in America.
It’s a busy life for a student athlete but she loves it, has made lots of friends and is having lots of fun. There have been lots of new experiences for her; cliff jumping, swimming in yards, ice baths and even travelling to Florida to compete outside in the sunshine for the first time.
Studying in America is different to the UK so Niamh has not majored yet, but is looking at pursuing Psychology or Maths in the future. This follows completion of A Level Maths, Further Maths and Psychology alongside Swim England’s Diploma in Sporting Excellence.
Whilst at TYSSS, Niamh competed at the British Swimming Championships and even got to represent England in Dubai.
