As the competitive element of the LUSWP swimming programme, our Performance Swimming Squad offers a variety of opportunities for swimmers who have competed with their home clubs from county level right up to and including national level. The Performance Squad train every single weekday, across 9.5 hours of pool time alongside an extended strength & conditioning programme including weight-based sessions and a weekly circuit training session.
COMPETITIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS Each year the Performance Squad compete at the three core University meets: the BUCS Short Course Championships, the BUCS Long Course Championships and the BUCS Team Championships. All BUCS competitions involve a weekend visit to the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheffield. This past season our swimmers reached 13 BUCS finals, including 2 A finals, our first A finalists since 2019. It is an immense experience to swim at a high-level competition, testing yourself against the nation’s best student swimmers, whilst providing a great opportunity to bond with your teammates and develop friendships in a sporting environment. The BUCS meets are raced alongside multiple stages of BUSL competitions, including initial qualifying phases hosted in Lancaster, leading up to the BUSL National Final. This year our performance squad achieved a hugely respectable 2nd place nationally our of 54 universities in the BUSL Final, as well as finishing 1st in our conference against other local universities.
Members of the squad also compete in the Swim England National Winter/Summer Championships and the British Summer Championships, a testement to the high individual level of many of our members. This year, LUSWP was proud to have 12 swimmers who attended national meets.
Finally there is the Roses Varsity meet against the University of York, one of the most exciting competitions of the year. The Roses Varsity meet is a huge event, and one which we have achieved great success in over recent years. During the 2022/23 season, our swimmers won both the men's and women's categories, helping to contribute to the first Lancaster away win in 38 years. During the 2021/22 season, our swimmers once again won accross both categories, and alongside our WaterPolo teams we achieved a win accross all 4 events and achieved a well earned "Red Wash". We have had many recent successes in all of these events, breaking numerous club records and enjoying our own swimmers competing against Olympians in the BUCS finals.
Performance Squad Training Hours: Monday: 19:00 - 21:00 Tuesday: 18:00 - 20:00 Wednesday: 07:00 - 08:30 Thursday: 19:30 - 21:30 Friday: 19:15 - 20:15 N.B. Training hours do not include the gym programme