Welcome to Crusaders Swimming Club and we hope you like the new website. The club was formed in 1982 to develop swimming in the Leighton Buzzard /Linslade and surrounding area. We run very active sections for 'learn to swim', stroke development, social swimmers and competitive swimmers and fully implement the Swim21 Long Term Athelete Development Programme. Please Click the Read More link below to find out lots of information about Crusaders!  If you are new to the website and a club member please Register Here or by  using the link on the left hand menu so that you gain access to all areas of the website.

Club Mark Accredited

Aims of the Club

Within a happy friendly environment we are able to teach children to swim from the age of five and continue their development into competitive swimming right up to and beyond University years. Swimmers can enjoy being part of a team, swimming in many of our competitions from our fun ‘Splash Galas’ to representing the club in the National League, County or Regional competitions.

We endeavour to provide every club member with the opportunity to realise his or her full potential.  We are linked to a Performance Swimming Club for those swimmers who want to develop their swimming to National level" The club enters inter club competitive galas, league competitions (Speedo Home Counties and Chiltern) as well as running internal club galas.

Who runs the Club?

The club is run by the parents of swimmers. Many of our teachers and all coaches are ASA (Amateur Swimming Association) qualified and take great pride in the achievements of their swimmers. The committee is elected at the A.G.M. held in November. All the work undertaken is on a voluntary basis. This includes all the teaching and coaching by our volunteer qualified coaches and teachers.

Where do we train?

The majority of our training occurs over the weekend at Tiddenfoot Leisure Centre Leighton Buzzard. Everyone has the opportunity to swim at least once. This includes a 'learn to swim' session. All lanes are individually supervised by Teachers/Coaches holding A.S.A. Qualifications. Our competitive swimmers also have the opportunity to swim Mondays, Wednesdays,Thursday, and Fridays at satellite pools within the area.

Progression Through the Club

Learn to Swim sessions take place in the Variable Base pool at Tiddenfoot Leisure Centre.  The aim here is to get your children comfortable in the water and able to perform swimming skills to the National Teaching Plan.  Progression will then be to the Improvers session currently held on Sunday mornings, where the large pool is divided into four widths groupings. 

Starting at the shallow end the children will gain competence as they learn to swim the full width.  Once this is achieved they will progress to the deep end of the pool.  This is not such a big step as it might sound and most swimmers normally take this move in their stride. The middle two lanes aim at building technique and stamina ready for the change to full length sessions, at which stage it will probably be advisable to purchase a kickboard, pullbuoy and fins, but this can be considered further at the time of the proposed move.

 Length sessions are held either at Tiddenfoot or one of our satellite pools. Swimmers will be invited to an appropriate session considering ability and age. Swimmers usually progress from widths on a Sunday morning to 4.30pm on a Sunday afternoon where they will further improve their technique.

As a swimmer progresses they will move along the lanes in their session and may be invited to increase their sessions on other days.   The club is able to develop swimmers to County and Regional standard and with its Swim21 performance link club, can offer a pathway to National standard.   Not all swimmers want to train or compete at such high standards and may be content with developing their technique and maintaining a good basic level of fitness. Crusaders cater for these swimmers usually on a Sunday afternoon.  

Which competitions and Galas do we compete in?

Chiltern League

Home Counties League

National  League

Bedfordshire County Championships

Eastern Regional Championships

Open Meets

Schools Galas

Cost

The policy of the club is to keep the subscription as low as possible. Fees vary according to the pool costs. The average cost for a quarter period (approximately 13 sessions) is £12 for a specific time allocated swim. An additional Club Membership of £4 is charged per quarter. There are substantial discounts where a family has three or more swimmers. In addition there is a compulsory £2 ASA Learn to Swim membership increasing to £15 for competition swimmers

Swim Shop

The club runs its own Swim Shop where you can purchase all your swimming needs at discount prices. The shop is open every Sunday between 4.30pm and 7.00pm at Tiddenfoot Leisure Centre. Leighton Buzzard