Cambridge City Vs Bottisham Swim clubs

[MovingHouseIsaPain]

Hi! Posted this in local too

Just moved to the area and want to sign DS (8) up with a local club (he's got promise and wants to start competing).

Which club is better? Friendlier? Etc..

Do you have any experience of either? (good or bad)?

Thanks for any advice

DS swims in East Region, we’ve swum against City of Cambridge and they always seem really supportive of their young swimmers. They appear to have been encouraged to get race experience from early on. Just bare in mind that 9 is usually the lowest age for competition (I think, DS is a few years older) so he may need to wait a while before competing elsewhere.

I’ve also come across a lot of swimmers at regional competitions, which is good to see.

It looks like they swim across several sites, so you may have some flexibility over training times.

I don’t know much about Bottisham, sorry!

Bottisham are pretty inclusive too - my daughter did triathlon training at their pool before she decided she didn’t like the running part. Bottisham is easier in term of getting there without ridiculous traffic. If you’re central Cambs i’d go city.

Thank you, that's all encouraging.

(Enb76 what was triathlon club like? We have also considered that for DS?)

I thought Triathalon club was great - you have to try out, basically to show that you can swim, run and ride a bicycle but mostly I think to show that you’re not going to be a pain in the arse. Then training on Sat mornings on a rotational basis but there’s always running - the swim and cycle training is fantastic, my daughter did not enjoy running around a big muddy field but a lot of the other kids did. It’s run by volunteers, they are a brilliant bunch of people. There’s a fair few meets you can get involved in and parents are encouraged to help out and get involved.

Thanks Enb76! That sounds really good! DS would probably enjoy running around a muddy field! ( doesn't get that from me!!) So we might look into that! Thanks! I've had a quick look just now at their training times and not sure they r great for us at the moment! But we will definitely consider! Thanks!