Swim Wales names first three dates for young swimmers’ Skills Academy

Swim Wales has announced the first three regional dates for its 2026/27 Skills Academy, a development programme for young swimmers, coaches and parents. The north-west session is scheduled for 22 November 2026, followed by the west on 13 December and the south on 7 February 2027. Dates for the south-west, east and north-east are still to be confirmed.

What is different this season?

The third season adds basic land-based movement work and technical sessions on backstroke, breaststroke and the turn between those strokes in a medley. Sport Wales will deliver a workshop on creating positive competition experiences. Commonwealth Games gold medallist Alys Thomas leads the academy with high-performance coach Graham Wardell and current and former swimmers.

Ask your club about nomination

The programme is aimed at swimmers aged 11 to 14, or 11 to 15 for para-swimmers, progressing towards performance-level swimming. Clubs nominate swimmers and receive booking information directly. This is not an open drop-in swimming lesson. The programme page lists a registered 200m individual medley time among the criteria and excludes swimmers already on the Wales National Squad pathway. Parents should speak to their club coach about eligibility and booking.

There is an inconsistency in the published age guidance: the main programme text refers to age at the end of 2026, while the FAQ still refers to 31 December 2025. Confirm the applicable cut-off, price and session venue with the club before booking. The new announcement does not resolve that difference.