Our squads
Competitive Swimming
Ten squads and structured training backed by a full competition programme — from club championships all the way to national finals, for swimmers aged 7+.
The pathway
A squad for every stage
Swimmers progress through the squads as their skills, fitness and times develop, and time trials help our coaches place newer swimmers. After Gold the pathway splits into two routes that run side by side. Tap any squad to see its focus, weekly training and what it takes to move up.
After Gold · Performance pathway
After Gold · Competitive
⇄ Moving between the routes: County and Regional sit alongside Age Group Competitive, and Regional and National alongside Youth Competitive, so swimmers can move across between them. The two Competitive squads are new this season; their criteria will be added here as they take shape.
- Fundamental skills
- Development
- Competitive
- Performance pathway
Also at EDSC, outside the squad pathway: Masters & Seniors and Artistic Swimming.
Where we train
Pools across SE London & Kent
- 📍 Erith Leisure Centre
- 📍 Crook Log Leisure Centre
- 📍 Thamesmere Leisure Centre
- 📍 Charlton Lido
- 📍 Dartford Grammar School for Girls
Your squad determines your venues and session times — the full weekly schedule is in the Swimmer documents section and the club calendar.
Racing
Train hard, race harder
Competition is at the heart of the programme:
- Time trials — run by the club through the year, the first step into racing.
- Club Championships — annual, over several sessions from June to September, for Bronze squad and above; swimmers are entered automatically into their eligible events.
- League racing — National Arena, White Horse, Tudor and Kent Junior leagues.
- Licensed meets — including our own Spring, Super Sunday Sprint and Fireworks meets.
- County, regional & national championships for qualifying swimmers.
New to racing? Our beginner's guide to competitive swimming walks through each step. See our guide to leagues for how league teams are selected, and track your rankings on the Swim England / Aquatics GB database.
Competitions & meets
Poolside
Your coaching team
Useful resources
Everything in one place
📋Squad criteria & times
What each squad works on, when it trains and what it takes to move up — tap any squad on the pathway.
The squad pathway💷Fees
Annual membership (due 1 February) plus monthly squad fees — full schedule in the EDSC Swimming Fees document.
Fees & subscriptions📈Rankings
Check personal bests and national rankings on the Swim England database.
Swim England rankingsThink you've got the strokes?
If you can swim 25m of front crawl, breaststroke and backstroke, you're ready to trial. Age 7+, all levels of racing experience welcome.