Nuneaton to host EU Swimming Invitational in 2012

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An annual European swimming competition is to be hosted in Warwickshire next year - the first time it has been held in the UK.



Nuneaton and Bedworth Swimming Club (NBSC) successfully bid to host the EU Swimming Invitational which was first held in Paris in 2006.

The event attracts hundreds of competitors from the continent across a range of age groups.

Swimmers will compete in Nuneaton at Pingles Leisure Centre in October 2012.

The dates are yet to be confirmed but this year's tournament took place in Miskolc, Hungary, over the weekend.

Culture celebrated

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council helped NBSC put together their bid pack which championed the swimming club as well as celebrating nearby attractions such as Warwick Castle and Coventry Cathedral.

Councillor Ian Lloyd said: "This is fantastic news for the borough on so many levels. Although we knew we would be up against the big boys we were confident that we could offer plenty in terms of facilities, location and the dedication of the swimming club.

"Nuneaton and Bedworth is a borough with rich heritage, high aspirations and a warm and welcoming community."

The invitational meeting is designed to celebrate European culture as well as offering the chance for rising stars to experience international competition.

Among those to feature at previous events is Scottish Commonwealth Games silver-medalist Brodie Cameron who competed at the inaugural invitational held in France.

Belgium has twice hosted the competition (Liege, 2007, and Aarschot, 2009) with swimmers also competing in Slupsk, Poland, (2008) and Neuchatel, Switzerland, (2010).

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Plans to stage a top sporting event in Nuneaton next year have been scrapped.

It had been announced that the 2012 EU Swimming Invitational would take place at the town’s Pingles baths and involve about 500 competitors from throughout Europe.

The prestigious event was to be hosted by the local council, in conjunction with Nuneaton and Bedworth Swimming Club, and had been hailed as “fantastic news to put the borough on the map.”

But those hopes have now been dashed because of administrative problems.

The Amateur Swimming Association, the UK’s governing body, said they would not sanction insurance cover and an alternative offer by the council and the swimming club to provide the necessary cover was rejected by the organiser, Julia Galan.

She made a statement on the official EU Swimming Invitational Facebook page that the event would not be held in England next year, as scheduled.

Coun Ian Lloyd, the council cabinet member for arts and leisure, said: “I am bewildered and disappointed to hear that this decision has been made, especially as we offered a solution to the apparent problem.

"The organisers have shown disregard for the effort and resources we have put into this event and there are a lot of disappointed young children who were looking forward to the gala.

“We are now looking at the options available to us in terms of putting our preparations to good use by working with Nuneaton and Bedworth Swimming Club to provide a similar type of event.”

Swimming club chairman Tony Green said: “We are disappointed that our own governing body, the Amateur Swimming Association, felt unable to support the organisers of the event.”