City
of Newport Swimming and Water Polo Club
Head Coach
Dr. Ross Nicholas
Head Coach Profile
Head coach of City of Newport Swimming Club and a Swim Wales
coach, Ross Nicholas is a former Great Britain and Wales
international breaststroke and individual medley swimmer. Ross's
achievements in swimming include selection for the British Youth
team, the Welsh Senior Elite team and the Welsh Youth squad, and
winning multiple medals at British National championships. Ross'
interests outside of swimming include travelling to exotic
destinations and surfing, along with participation in many other
sports.
Ross is a graduate of Swansea University, studying firstly for a
BSc (Hons) in Sports Science followed by a PhD in Sports
Biomechanics, during which time he worked closely with the British
ITC sprint programme. Much of Ross' research relating to the
mechanics of elite swimming has been published in international
academic journals.
Appointed Head coach of the City of Newport Swimming Club and
Integrated Swim Programme in 2007, Ross has helped the club achieve
its best ever results in the National Swimming League and at
National Championships, along with its highest ever levels of
membership. In 2010/11 Ross was awarded the prestigious accolade of
Newport Celebration of Sport Coach of the Year, beating the Premier
League's Tony Pulis to the honour.
Over the past few seasons Ross has been selected as head coach
for the Welsh Senior Elite off-shore training camp in 2010/11,
women's coach for the Welsh team at the 2011 Celtic Tri-Nations, as
well as head coach for the Welsh Youth Squad competing in Denmark
in 2010. Ross also works regularly as a Swim Wales coach at annual
events such as the Inter-Counties along with Senior Elite, Youth
and Regional squad training camps.
Ross aims to help the City of Newport reach new levels of
achievement over the coming years while continuing his work with
the Welsh National Squads, and has ambitions to coach at the
Commonwealth and Olympic Games in the future.
Club Profile
The City of Newport Swimming and Water Polo Club is a large
performance club. With five squads ranging from Dolphins, where
swimmers at Stage 8 in the National Plan for Teaching Swimming are
coached to improve their swimming techniques and stamina, through
to Regional Squad where elite swimmers train over ten sessions per
week and compete in National and International events.
In recent years The City of Newport Swimming Club has become one
of the most successful swimming clubs in Wales under our head
coach, Ross Nicholas, aided by a team of dedicated volunteer
coaches who provide all the support necessary to ensure swimmers
develop and progress.
The competitive squads train at the South East Wales Regional Pool
located in the International Sports Village, Newport. The Dolphins
squads train at Newport Leisure Centre every Friday evening and
Bettws Active Living Centre every Tuesday evening.
Contact: Rhian Collingbourne
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