The Bluefins Masters squad made a statement at the Swim England National Masters Championships at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, turning their love for relays and racing into a weekend of medals, British Records, and unstoppable team spirit. This year’s team was the club’s largest ever at Nationals, featuring several new faces making their Sheffield debut. Our Senior 18–24yrs swimmers — Bradley, Olly, and Josh — raced in their first National Masters Championships, gaining valuable

If your swimmer has started competing, you’ve probably heard the term “Licensed Meet.” You might even have seen codes like “Level 3 – LC” on a meet notice and wondered what it all means.

County Development is the first step on the County Pathway, where swimmers aged 9–14 learn to handle tougher sessions, race more often, and measure themselves against County standards.

Swim England and Aquatics GB encourage a balanced approach to competition.Young swimmers should experience a range of strokes and distances, including 400 m, 800 m and 1500 m freestyle, to build a strong foundation for future success in the sport. Early distance exposure isn’t about specialising — it develops complete swimmers with the fitness, pacing control and resilience needed to progress confidently through the sport.

Every Autumn, as the race calendar builds and we head towards Christmas, one question comes up again and again from parents: “How does County Qualification actually work?”