STAr QUALITY

More than 260 aquatic professionals came together in October for STA’s annual two-day conference at the Radisson Blu East Midlands Airport hotel

This year’s STA’s national conference offered delegates the event’s biggest speaker line up to date, with seminars covering aquatics, marketing, pool plant, business, lifesaving and first aid. The event kicked off with an inspiring keynote by Professor Greg Whyte OBE. He shared real-life stories of how he used his expertise in human physiology and sport & exercise science to coach celebrities to complete some of the toughest challenges Sport Relief, Comic Relief and Children in Need could come up with. These included tales about David Walliams’ swimming challenges and how he took Davina McCall on her ‘Beyond Breaking Point’ 506-mile ultra-triathlon. The uplifting presentation set the tone for the conference, with delegates inspired to break into the first of the day’s sessions.

The aquatics strand was kicked off by Suzanne Gabb, the COO of Goodboost, who spoke about how the company uses AI technology for personalised therapeutic exercise and rehab in the water. Meanwhile, in the swimming pool, Jo Wilson – founder of Aqua Sensory – hosted the first of two sessions on sensory practices for baby swimming. These were followed throughout the day with swimming teaching specific sessions, both in and out of the pool, on BLABT, starts and turns, creating an inclusive lesson and planning for a non-swimmer lesson.

Away from the aquatics strand, leading experts from the world of pool plant and lifesaving hosted specialist talks and panel sessions. Speakers included Dan Harrison, the Partnerships Manager at Leisure DB, who spoke about the opportunities in open water swimming and lifeguarding; and Phil Jones from Beneath the Surface talking alongside Beckie Ramsey from Doing it for Dylan about the power of AquaEye for water search and rescue teams.

EVENT REVIEW

At the heart of the event is a friendly and supportive community of aquatic professionals

STA Aquatic Excellence Awards 2024 The educational programme of seminars and networking was followed by the STA’s Aquatic Excellence Awards ceremony – a sell-out event.

The proceedings began with the hading out of STA’s historical awards, which were awarded to:

▪ Robbie Phillips - Sir Henry Pike Award ▪ Marietasha O’Flaherty - Special Recognition Award ▪ Garry Seghers - The Ross Eagle Award ▪ STA’s Cross of Merit was awarded to Des Cossum (awarded posthumously) and his family collected the award in his honour.

Then it was the turn of the STAr Awards, with headline sponsor Konfidence, and the following winners were announced by STA President Ali Beckman, alongside STA CEO Dave Candler and Mike Goody, STA’s long-standing Water Safety Ambassador who is renowned for his gold medal hauls at the Invictus games. ▪ STAr Swimming Teacher - Lara-Jane Ginty (Turtle Tots) ▪ STAr Tutor - Jo Cheek (Virgin Active) ▪ STAr Member - Mark McNichol (in at the deep end) ▪ STAr Water Safety Educator - Adam Knight (Angel Swim London) ▪ STAr Swim Academy - Active Tameside ▪ STAr Swim School Provider of the Year (under 500) - The Jelli Swim Academy ▪ STAr Swim School Provider of the Year (over 500) - Mini Swimmers ▪ STAr Not-for-profit Community Campaign of the Year - Kingfishers Swim School Fund ▪ STAr Approved Training Centre of the Year (less than 50 courses) - Aqua Baths Courses and Training ▪ STAr Approved Training Centre of the Year (more than 50 courses) - CB Training Services Limited.

What teachers want

It was an early start for delegates on day two, with another packed programme planned. Highlights included a lively panel session hosted by Love Admin with 4Leisure Recruitment and swim school owner Adam Comfort sharing and debating the results of a recent ‘What Swim Teachers Want’ survey.

Throughout the day, separate seminars were hosted by the aquatics team from GLL, Serco and Virgin Active, alongside RNLI, Level Water and AREA. Live from Australia, Janine Ramsey, Child Safeguarding Advisor at Tasmania’s Department of Health also discussed what trauma-informed practice is in swimming and why it’s important.

For the Business and Marketing strand, STA had invited marketing, employment law, insurance and safeguarding specialists to talk about best practices, the latest developments and future trends.

Making connections

Over the two days, STA’s conference also provided plenty of opportunity for networking, with delegates reuniting with old friends and connecting with newprofessionals to share expertise and ideas. A dedicated exhibition area with more than 20 exhibitors also offered delegates the chance to see everything from software developments to the latest trends in swim gear, and take advantage of exclusive offers.

This was STA’s biggest conference to date, and while learning is the overriding aim, at the heart of this event is a friendly and supportive community of aquatic professionals who care passionately about their work, and who enjoy coming together every year to learn, laugh and play with the STA team.