SQUAD STRUCTURE OVERVIEW

September 2025

At Bluefins, every swimmer is part of a clear pathway that spans the whole journey of the sport — from first steps in our Skills Academy through to National Performance and beyond into Masters swimming. Our 16 squads are designed to match each swimmer’s commitment, ability, and ambition, creating the right environment for progress, enjoyment, and lifelong connection to the water.

What makes Bluefins unique is our dynamic squad movement. Swimmers are monitored daily by our coaching team, with opportunities to move when ready — whether boosting into the next level, adjusting around exams or other commitments, or finding the right balance through our Fitness Pathway. This flexibility ensures the focus is always on the whole swimmer, not just their times.

🔑 How Progression Works

A hallmark of Bluefins is our dynamic squad movement:

🏊‍♀️ Swimmers are monitored daily by our coaching team.

🏊‍♀️ Booster opportunities are available for those showing readiness to step into the next level.

🏊‍♀️ Movement isn’t always upward — swimmers may shift across or around squads depending on exams, injuries, personal goals, or changes in commitment.

➡️ This flexibility ensures Bluefins always supports the swimmer as a whole person, not just their times.

🌟 Where the Journey Begins

Most swimmers join us through the Skills Academy (Squads 1–4). This is where lessons transition into structured club training, with a focus on technique, skills, and confidence. From there, swimmers may progress into:

🏊‍♀️ Competitive Pathway → leading from Competitive Development all the way to National Performance.

🏊‍♀️ Fitness Pathway → Club Squads that provide a flexible, non-competitive environment focused on health, enjoyment, and lifelong participation.

🏊 The Competitive Pathway

The Competitive Pathway is designed for swimmers aiming to race and develop performance. Progression follows these stages:

🏊‍♀️ Competitive Development & Age Group Competitive — confidence-building squads where swimmers begin racing and learn the discipline of training.

🏊‍♀️ County Development — the first performance step, building skills and focus to reach County standard.

🏊‍♀️ Age Group Performance & Youth Performance — developing training habits and resilience, preparing for Regional standards.

🏊‍♀️ Regional & National Performance — high-performance squads where swimmers train at intensity, aiming for Home Nation and GB Championships.

Each step brings more challenge, structure, and commitment, while keeping enjoyment at the heart of training.

💙 The Fitness Pathway

Not every swimmer wants the pressure of racing — and that’s fine. Our Club Squads (1 & 2) provide structured training for swimmers aged 10–17 who want to:

🏊‍♀️ Stay active and healthy.

🏊‍♀️ Improve technique and fitness.

🏊‍♀️ Enjoy swimming without performance targets.

Attendance is flexible, fitting around school, exams, part-time work, or other sports. These squads play an important role in encouraging lifelong fitness and love of the water.

🥇 Beyond Youth Squads: Junior Masters

For swimmers aged 15–18, we offer Junior Masters Competitive and Junior Masters Club squads. These provide a bridge into Masters swimming, allowing older teens to stay engaged in the sport with more independence:

🏊‍♀️ Competitive: purposeful training, occasional racing, ideal for multi-sport athletes.

🏊‍♀️ Club: flexible, relaxed training with fitness as the focus.

Both squads prepare swimmers for a seamless transition into Masters swimming at 18+.

🐬 Masters Swimming

Masters is the pinnacle of lifelong swimming at Bluefins. Open to swimmers 18+, it brings together a wide range of abilities:

🏊‍♀️ From those training for fitness and wellbeing at every age.

🏊‍♀️ To those competing at County, Regional, National, and International level.

Masters sessions are:

🏋️ Varied — from steady aerobic work to threshold sets and beyond.

🏊 Graded by lane, ensuring cycle times suit fitness swimmers through to medalists.

❤️ Focused on fitness, friendship, and competition, in a supportive environment.

For many, the highlight of the year is the Hampshire Masters Championships, where Bluefins has one of the largest and most successful teams.

💡 Why Our Structure Works

✅ Pathway for everyone — from first strokes to international medals.

✅ Flexibility — squads adapt to exams, injuries, or changes in goals.

✅ Movement with purpose — based on commitment, attitude, and readiness, not just times.

✅ Lifelong connection — keeping swimmers active, social, and engaged at every stage.

At Bluefins, it’s not just about performance — it’s about developing people, as well as swimmers, and helping every member find their place in the water.