History
March 1973, a small group of parents banded together, under the steering committee’s leadership of Fred Wakeham to form the Regent Swimming Club, taking its name from the pool where lessons were initiated. Angie Johnson, Dave Baudains and Brian Wither taught many of the children during that initial period, and membership was recorded at 106 members. During the early years the Club’s activities mainly centred on consolidating its excellent teaching programme, under Jo and Maurice Lakeman, with a wide variety of water skills taught, including diving, snorkelling, lifesaving. Competition first appeared in 1974 in the guise of the Puffins & Penguins Gala - incorporating not just the run of mill events (!), with this came the ‘honour’ of being granted, in 1975, one early morning training session a week at Fort Regent. March 1977 the membership had grown to 200. Regent S.C. as conscientious as ever with regard to qualifications had tutored a fresh batch of teachers - amongst them being Beryl Taylor and Hazel and Bernard Lakeman.
1978 saw the emergence of the Spartan Swim Squad dedicated to improving the standard of local swimmers in order to compete outside the island in nationally recognised events, and slowly during these early years to make more and more of an impact on Regent Swimming Club.
Spartan swimmers initially came from both Jersey Swimming Club and Regent Swimming Club, but by 1981 were exclusively members of Regent Swimming Club. The driving force and instigator was Paul du Feu, who had returned to his native island to work in 1977, having qualified as ASA Coach in 1976. Amongst his helpers in the early days were Ann and Leslie Minty and Anne Jarvis (nee du Feu). Training took place at Moorestown College but soon transferred to De La Salle. Dedication was the name of the game, with many hours a week training to raise the standard of local swimming, not just for the immediate future but for the benefit of all the islands' swimming organisations.
Progress was rapid with the small band (27 at the end of '79) of Spartan Swim Squad members excelling in away Meets as far apart as Luxembourg and Scotland, accumulating in their short time as a squad 36 Southern County Finalists, 6 national finalists and two commonwealth games swimmers. Amongst the poolside and administrative helpers were Dick Lees-Baker, Annette Lowe, Richard Crapper, Barbara Stanley, Cathy Eglington and Al Thomas.
1981, another milestone was achieved with affiliation to the ASA and the first JEP/Spartan Open Meet taking place at Fort Regent, a resounding success, with the Spartans winning the Team Trophy. In this year also a team from Regent (with Spartan swimmers) took part in the South Coast and Junior Cup League for the first time, placing second, and the first Shrimps Meet (now Junior Meet) took place in Guernsey.
1982 saw two Spartan swimmers Kirsty Lowe and David Filipponi, obtain the highest goal achieved by any local swimmer when selected to swim for Jersey at the Commonwealth Games. The first Channel Island Age Groups (organised by Regent and now by GASA and JASA) took place at De La Salle pool.
1983 was an historic year, not only because Regent Swimming club celebrated its 10th birthday but also because of the amalgamation of Spartan Swim Squad and Regent S.C. It had been decided that resources were better 'pooled' together and judging by the Club's progress since then, it was a wise and shrewd decision. Numbers in the Club at that time were nearly 400. With Spartan Swim Squad andRegent combining, the Club became a force to be reckoned with, and the development of the Club continued a pace, although with the associated problems of finance (the first fete was held that year) and reducing the waiting list of 240! The squads in the competitive programme numbered 5, Spartans (couldn't lose the name!), Titians, Trojans, Olympians and Juniors. Coaching staff included Beryl Taylor, Janet Corbet, Richard Crapper, Leslie Minty, Ian Hocquard, Ken de la Haye, Annette Lowe, Cathy Eglington, Dick Lees-Baker, Trevor Goodson and Paul du Feu (Chief Coach).
The teaching programme on Club Nights was unaffected and continued to flourish under the direction of Annette Lowe, Beryl Taylor and Hazel Lakeman. Walter Callander became the first president of the newly formed Jersey Amateur Swimming Association. Both male and female Castle to Harbour records were broken by Gordon Callander and Sanchia Crapper and Emma Cooper dead heating in the Ladies. Paul du Feu took a years' sabbatical, with Dick Lees-Baker, Trevor Goodson and Annette Lowe continuing to run the coaching programme.
1985 saw change and continued development of the Club under the presidency of Peter Pitcher. The Club lost the valued services of Barbara Le Breuilly (Secretary) Annette Lowe and Dick Lees-Baker, but Paul du Feu returned to the team. Teaching and competitive swimming flourished, and with the first Island Games Team distinguishing themselves in the Isle of Man and David Filipponi making 3 senior Nationals finals, the 80's were proving good.
David Filipponi and Alison Christie were selected in 1986 for the Commonwealth Games. The Club took its initial step into being 'computerised' by holding its membership on file, and at the present times membership, personal bests, records and numerous other details are kept on file, as well as various meets.
In 1987 sponsorship deals worth £30,000 over three years were signed (HongkongBank & James Capel) Membership stood at nearly 500.
1988 saw Rod Amy in the President's chair who oversaw and steered through many improvements and changes during his 3 year term of office, not least was Regent's change of name! Regent Tigers! Squads became Bengals, Panthers, Cougars and Cubs. (The name Spartan disappearing into the record books forever!) The 'Up and Comers' Gala was 'taken over' and organised by the Tigers for the first time, and the Junior Cup won by the Club.
1989 was again a year of changes and innovations affecting the Club, and initiated by the Club. The Channel Island Counties Amateur Swimming Association was disbanded with the afflilation to Hampshire Counties taking place soon after. A Channel Island Swim Club was born to enable all four local clubs the opportunity to compete under the banner of Channel Island Swim Squad at national competitions. (disbanded 1995) On the competitive front Jeanine Taylor was selected to swim in the Commonwealth Games Team.
In 1990 an important landmark in the Club's history was reached when the Club formally agreed to employ a part-time professional coach., (first mooted in 1985) to safeguard the long term security of the Club and ease the burden on the present coaches. David Hopson was appointed to the post of Senior Coach in the September, with Paul du Feu becoming Director of Swimming. Competitively, Nationals (individuals and relays) were swum under the banner of the Channel Island Swim Squad for the first time. A Club booklet was produced detailing squad training programme and defining the rules. Plans were submitted to the I.D.C. for a new pool at St. Michael's school, meanwhile the Club had to be satisfied with a new Club night on a Monday evening at Grainville school to relieve pressure on the waiting list. A new squad Sabres was introduced catering for Master swimmers and no less than 59 trophies were presented for 1990, with most of them generously donated over the previous two years.
1991 saw Brian Beadle at the helm supported by both long serving coaches/teachers and committee members (Paul du Feu, Beryl Taylor, Leslie Minty, Hazel Lakeman, Janet Corbet, Tony Osmont, Rosemary Colley) as well as new ones, it was a good season with the 'new look' national age groups, swum in single age groups. Rebecca Wise and Raulin Amy won the Castle to Harbour swim with Rebecca breaking the record. Diddy galas were introduced at the beginning of the year to cater for younger squad and Club swimmers, and Saturday Night Club swimmers at the Fort were introduced to a new award scheme. Another first for a Channel Island Club was the hosting in late September of the first ever Speedo League Division 1 match ........which Tigers won!! The Club, with squad numbers of over 100 now were able to place 'B' team in Division 3 Speedo League (South).
November 1991 saw John Atkinson take over the position of the Club's professional Chief Coach in November '91, relieving Paul of some of the workload, who took charge of the Junior section of the squads. John rapidly made his mark on the Club, with his outgoing nature, and the squad set-up quickly became very difficult to imagine without him. 1992saw the Club's dream of its own pool disappear early in the year, with St. Michael's school withdrawing from the partnership, preferring to opt for a smaller pool quickly. Sponsorship was very hard to find although Education made some inroads into helping the Club's travelling expenses.
Exasperation with the state of the pools, or the lack of them continued, with Grainville out of action for seven long months, severely disrupting the teaching programme. In September Beryl Taylor, one of the Club's stalwarts 'retired' from organising Saturday Night Club Nights. Having organised Club Night for nearly 10 years, taught and served on Committee for 16 years, it was a large gap to fill.
1993 saw a change of Committee and President, with Brian Beadle relinquishing the chair to Barry Phillips and a number of Committee members also deciding to ''call it a day', having given stirling service to the Club. Christina Blampied became the Club's 'teaching co-ordinator' to oversee and run the now termly teaching programme at Fort Regent and Grainville. The club's competitive programme followed much the same course as previous years' with success.
1994 and 21 years old! The occasion was celebrated in grand style with a Dinner & Dance at the Hotel L'Horizon with Adrian Moorhouse as guest of honour. Pool safety came under scrutiny, with the Club losing the use of Victoria College during term-time, although Les Quennevais pool commenced building. However, not all the events centred around the teaching/competitive element of the pool, and 1994's idea of fundraising matched the previous years 'How many Pools can You Swim In' novel element - with a sponsored 'Fill A Pool'.
John Atkinson, Chief Coach for three years, resigned to work in Australia, with the Club welcoming Christina Blampied as its full-time professional coach
1995 saw Paul Huddlestone take over the Presidency. The club decided to reduce its participation in the Speedo League to one team, entering the Junior Cup League once again. Puffins and Penguins Galas were reintroduced to the junior squads on a thrice yearly basis.
In 1996, with the patter of tiny feet imminent, Christina's involvement with the Club took a back seat, and Mick Wakely was employed to the position of Chief Coach, taking responsibility for the Seniors and Paul du Feu reverting to the Juniors while also heading up the organisation for the 1997 Island Games. The new swimming pool at Les Quennevais was officially opened in May, but for public use only. Simon Militis's gold in the Seniors Nationals 200m backstroke was a first for the Club, and led to selection to the England team swimming in the Canadian Nationals in August. New Teaching Co-ordinators for both Fort Regent (Maggie Ryan) and Grainville (Maurice Lakeman) were welcomed to the Club, and Tigers became fully professional with the decision to pay its teachers. The AIB delighted the Club by announcing its sponsorship of the Club over a three year period of £25,000.
1997 was very much about the Island Games, with Jersey hosting the event. Places were fiercely contested for the event, even enticing some swimmers back into the water after long lay-offs. 13 Tiger swimmers combined with 5 Jersey swimmers to produce medal winning performances of 45 medals, with many Jersey and Island Games records. Jersey was represented in every final. Seven swimmers travelled to National Age Groups On the pool front, Les Quennevais, having been used for the ‘elite squad’ for the Island Games team, became available to the Clubs on a restricted basis.
1998 saw major changes on the administrative front at Tigers, who initially were hopeful of a merger with Jersey Swimming Club to move into the 21st century. Jersey S.C. declined the offer. Tigers pruned its Committee reducing it to five members, employed an administrator and with the departure of Mick Wakely appointed Paul du Feu as Director of Aquatics. The Tigers had their most successful Nationals for some time collecting 2 bronzes medals (Stuart Battersby 100 & 200m Breastroke) and 1 silver (Nathan Jegou 200 fly) Simon Militis swimming for Portsmouth Northsea was selected to swim for England in the Commonwealth Games and placed 8th in the final, and Allied Irish Bank announced a further three years sponsorship. Tigers lost one of its stalwart former supporters when Leslie Minty died.
1999 was a hectic year competitively with notable successes. Island Games featured all Tiger members except one swimmer from England (born in Jersey) a much younger team than in latter years with only 2 members having previous experience. Guernsey won the 'Best Island’ trophy for the first time in many years. Nationals was again very successful (14 swimmers travelled) with the Club obtaining a 16th final Club placing. Simon Militis, swimming for Portsmouth Northsea S.C. qualified for European Championships held in Turkey, placing 10th in the 200 backstroke. Squad membership reached 130 during the year.
The teaching programme grew to average 400 pupils each term, teaching taking place at Grainville and Fort Regent. Haute Vallee pool was made available and proved invaluable during the last few months of the season. It’s future use still to be determined but the outlook is promising. A regular quarterly newsletter was set in motion.
In 2000 the Club’s first ever National Age Groups gold medals were won by Simon Le Couilliard (3) and there was Olympic selection for Simon Militis. The British Long Course and Short Course 400IM records was held by Simon. Natalie Bree represented the South of England team in Luxembourg. Nathan Jegou was Junior Champion at the Winter National Championships in the 1500 freestyle. During 2000 Tigers swam under Portsmouth Northsea’s banner in southern counties and national championships.
2001 was competitively very successful with the Island Games capturing the headlines for Jersey. The team comprising all Tiger swimmers excelled themselves by reeling in 45 medals. The format of 3 National Championships saw Tigers competing at all three championships. National Age Group gold medals being secured by Simon Le Couilliard who gained selection on the World Class Potential programme early in the year. Natalie Bree was selected again for the South of England team swimming in Luxembourg. De la Salle school boys relay team which included 3 Tigers gained selection to the World Schools Swimming Championships in Luxembourg by winning their relay at Crystal Palace. They placed 3rd in the championships.
On the Committee front Barry Middleton resigned as President with William Whitehead stepping into the chair. Learn to swim continued to grow with just under 500 in the programme. A new face, Australian Matt Magee joined the coaching programme on a 1year contract and Christina Blampied decided to ‘call it a day’ with the Club in December 2001. Haute Vallee’s use by the swimming clubs continued under the management of Sports, Leisure & Recreation.
2002 as busy as ever competively with the season culminating in the Commonwealth Games for three swimmers (Natalie Bree, Emma Hirst, Alexis Militis), Catholic School Games in Malta (Sian du Feu, Eloise Le Cornu, Daniel Huddlestone, Kate Sloan) and National age groups for Ashley Cope and Victoria Rebours and Youth Nationals for Simon Le Couilliard, Daniel Halksworth, Nathan Jegou, Rosie Barrett, Kate Sloan, Sarah-Jane Poingdestre. The Club extended Matt’s contract for 2 years ensuring the younger members of the squads were in safe and careful hands.
With the imminent closure of Fort Regent in 2003 some more of the teaching programme was transferred to Haute Vallee, although Sport, Leisure and Recreation still seemed unaware of problems ahead with the closure of the Fort. The teaching programme now catered for well over 500 children. AIB renewed their sponsorship for another three years.
2011 - John Gallichan stood down as Club President, succeeded by Bob Donaldson.
Emily Bashforth, Ella Dias, Charlotte Manning and Giovanni Guarino represented Jersey at Commonwealth Youth Games in the Isle of Man.
In 2012 the Club identified a looming financial challenge with reduced income and an increasing cost base. This was dealt with proactively by the Committee and with some short term help from the Club's rainy day fund. The next 18 months saw some consolidation of activities and an increased focus on external fund-raising. The Committee of the day rose to the occasion led by Bob Donaldson, President.
2013 was a pivotal year for the Club with the loss of long-term sponsor, AIB Jersey and the commencement of support from Walkers Global, a leading offshore law firm. Following a successful trial period, the new Learn to Swim programme took hold and numbers grew healthily necessitating a move from Mont a L'Abbe to Haute Vallee.
Bob Donaldson, Hiren Patel and Bob Jackson stood down from the Committee after tremendous contributions as President, Secretary and Treasurer respectively. Richard Corrigan became President with Chris Jones becoming Vice-President, Ian Stubbings to Secretary and Stephen Atherley to Treasurer.
Tigers provided the backbone of Jersey's 2013 Natwest Island Games team for the trip to Bermuda. Comprising Gemma Atherley, Emily Bashforth, Beth Cumming, Ian Black, Danielle Edwards, Charlotte Manning, Kerrie Smith, Cameron Donaldson, Tom Gallichan, Giovanni Guarino, Garth Jackson and Tony Manning, the team had great success and finished as the top swim team in the competition under the guidance of Nathan Jegou.
Qualifiers to ASA Nationals included Emily Bashforth, Charlotte Manning, Beckie Scaife, Kerrie Smith, Nathan Corrigan, Cameron Donaldson, Tom Gallichan and Giovanni Guarino.
The Club enjoyed a successful 2014 with finances continuing to strengthen, the Learn to Swim programme growing and squads almost at capacity. A new partnership with Jersey Triathlon saw Walkers Tigers provide training support for the swim discipline in a rapidly growing local triathlon scene.
The highlight of 2014 was Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with Ian Black and Tom Gallichan both qualifying to compete for Jersey. With lifetime bests under their belt, both enjoyed the closest 'home' games of their swimming careers.
Qualifiers for ASA Nationals included Gemma Atherley, Lillie Godden, Fran Stubbings, Beckie Scaife, Ian Black, Nathan Corrigan, Cameron Donaldson, Tom Gallichan, Giovanni Guarino and Robbie Jones. Nathan also qualified for the Scottish National Youth Squad and Fran Stubbings made stage 1 of the ASA England Talent programme.
2015 was another year of success in the pool and away from it. Robbie Jones was selected for the ASA English Swimming Talent Programme and Nathan Corrigan was re-selected for the Scottish National Youth Squad. Nathan also broke 2 Hampshire County records and a number of Junior Island records in the year. Island Senior and / or Junior records were also broken by Holly Hughes, Olivia Pollard, Ian Black, Tom Gallichan, Giovanni Guarino & Harry Shalamon.
With Jersey playing host to the Natwest Island Games, we were delighted to provide all of the swimmers to a successful Jersey swim team and the vast majority of Technical Officials and volunteers.
The Club also provided all 5 swimmers (Olivia Pollard, Beckie Scaife, Nathan Corrigan, Harry Shalamon & Cameron Swart) to represent Jersey at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa.
The Club hosted another sell-out Autumn Open Meet with competitors coming from Chalfont Otters, RCPT (formerly Llantrisant), Tilehurst, Truro and the Channel Island clubs.
Finally on the competitive front, Tigers swimmers took 2 ASA Summer Championship titles (Holly Hughes & Harry Shalamon) and 4 Scottish National Age Group titles (Nathan Corrigan).
Richard Corrigan stood down as Club President, handing over the reins to Chris Jones. The Club continued in excellent financial health with new commitments made to a professional dry-side programme with Elevate. Year 1 of a 2 year funding programme from The One Foundation supported swimmers at County, Regional & National standard with an offset of travel costs.
2017 Calligo become the lead sponsor for the Jersey Tigers Swimming Club. The sponsorship deal is designed to support the Tigers Swimming Club financially, but also through technology by helping the club take advantage of modern technology based techniques in the development of swimmers at the club.