Coaches
Head Coach – Graham Begley
I have spent the last 10 months in Scotland as Head Coach at Milngavie & Bearsden Swimming Club. I have previous knowledge and understanding of Worcestershire County Swimming from my time as Head Coach at Evesham Swimming Club. I have now been coaching since 2017 and hold my Level 3 Senior Coaching Certificate.
I started my years as a swimmer in the late 80s at Evesham Swimming Club and then later went on to swim for Gloucester City and represent Gloucestershire County ASA. In 1993 and 1994 I qualified to compete at the National Age Group Championships, qualifying in the 100m Butterfly and 100m Backstroke.
I feel passionate about providing opportunities for individuals to reach their potential in the sport. Developing skills such as resilience, perseverance and general social skills within a team are sometimes more valuable than the winning of medals and swimming PBs.
Through holding high expectations, I aim to inspire the swimmers to push themselves out of their comfort zone and challenge their capabilities; providing opportunities for them to realise their full potential. I have come to learn that swimming is a fast moving sport and it is important to keep up to date with the progress of each swimmer. This has proven successful
in my previous ventures and I am excited to support the swimmers at City of Hereford Swimming Club.
Water Polo Liason Officer – Dave Cash
waterpolo@herefordswimming.club
Self-confessed water polo nut! First played the sport in 1975 in the West Midlands. Fell into coaching as there was no youth set up in Hereford for my daughters. The swimming club incorporated water polo again in 2013 and since then we have coached skills and signposted players to be the best they can be. We have Great Britain and Welsh internationals, National Academy members and Regional players who all started their water polo journey in Hereford as well as players who have become qualified coaches.
You don’t have to be a great swimmer, just loving team sports is enough. We cater for all ages including parents!! Give water polo a try…..you know you want to!
Our Committee
Chair – Lisa Evans
chair@herefordswimming.club
I’ve been a member of the club since 2016 when my eldest son joined. I’ve been in the membership role for about 8 years.
I’ve not got a background in swimming but have always enjoyed getting involved. I’ve trained as an official, a team manager and more recently as a coach. Coaching poolside has been a great way to get to know our swimmers better while being able to support their training.
As I’ve been part of the committee for quite a while.
Vice Chair – Alison Beynon
Ali.beynon@herefordswimming.club
Being a part of a sports club is about so much more than the sport itself. Since my children first got involved at age 7, I have enjoyed coaching, officiating, and volunteering as part of a hard-working committee.
Watching swimmers train, compete and deal with all that sport has to throw at them is a real privilege. I’m particularly interested in watching life skills developing alongside physical skills, whilst at the same time developing myself as a supportive parent, coach, and committee member. As an ex-swimmer I’m always happy to chat about anything swimming or CoHSC.
Club Secretary – Amalka Woodall
secretary@herefordswimming.club
I have been secretary for the club since June 2023. After spending so much of my time watching my son Sebastian train and compete, I decided to take a more active role. I love seeing how the club functions and being part of a hardworking team that pulls great Swimming Galas and events. It is also a great way to meet like-minded parents.
I have never been much of a swimmer but seeing how much fun the kids have and cheering on the Hereford City Team has given me the push I needed to improve my own swimming.
If you want general information, you are welcome to email me.
Membership Secretary – Laura Perrott
membership@herefordswimming.club
My son Finn has been a member of the club for just over 12 months and is absolutely loving his swimming journey so far, progressing well with his training and having the opportunity to enter many competitions being lucky enough to be selected for the Wyvern league, SwimGainz and Arena league meets.
I am a qualified secondary school PE teacher by trade and have just taken voluntary redundancy from a job of almost 20 years up in Telford, so I hope that some of my skills might come in useful for this role. I love sports of all kinds and am a keen skier I hope I can provide the club good organisational skills as well as a good communicator to all members new and old.
Welfare Officer – Katherine Byron
welfare@herefordswimming.club
Hello….my name is Katherine Byron-Daniel and I am your new welfare officer for the club. My daughter (Matilda, AGP) has been a member of the club for approximately 18 months and since joining her love for swimming just keeps on growing and now our lives revolve around training and the next competition! We have seen over this time how much swimming has benefitted her in so many ways and as she loves it so much, I thought it was time to give something back to the club. I live near Ross on Wye with my husband and son (who is less keen on swimming!) and therefore you will mostly find us at the Ross pool during the week.
I am clinical psychologist working in mental health services in NHS so I hope that some of my skills might come in helpful for this role. I hope I can provide a good listening ear to any concerns as well as helping find solutions and resolve any problems. When I am not working or taxiing Matilda to swimming, I have a passion for running and can happily talk about this for a long time with anyone! Please do come and say hello if you see me pool side and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any welfare concerns.
Treasurer – Alina Jedrzejewska
treasurer@herefordswimming.club
I’m a mum of two swimmers and enjoy swimming myself although I’m not great at it. I’ve been running my own business (Aconbury Sprouts) for the past 12 years where I gained a wide range of skills which can be useful for the club. As a child I loved counting my pennies so I became a qualified accounting technician, I will be happy to support the club as Treasurer.
Open Meet Coordinator – Chris Wilson
promoter@herefordswimming.club
As a complete novice in the competitive swimming world, I joined the volunteer team in 2022 to support the club. I am lucky enough to have two children who both enjoy swimming with the club and when they joined, I had no idea of the effort that went on behind the scenes. Initially I dipped my toes into roles like marshalling and announcer roles at home galas getting an understanding of how the club works.
I’ve now moved into the role of Club Promoter. This role is right up my street, planning and organising galas to give our swimmers the opportunity to develop and compete.
If you would like to help and don’t know where to start, reach out for a chat, no matter how support you can offer. We would love to hear from you.
Workforce Coordinator – Jayne Hayde
workforce@herefordswimming.club
My daughter started at CoHSC when she was just seven years old. She was advised by her pediatrician that she should swim more regularly due to being born with developmental hip dysplasia… fast forward a few years and she is now in the AGP squad training several times a week as well as competing regularly.
After spending so much time poolside I wanted to help in any way possible, initially volunteering as a land training coach for junior squads and then later as a poolside assistant. I have since done my J1 and Team Manager qualifications as well as volunteering on the committee as the club Workforce Coordinator. I enjoy helping at Meets and meeting new people. We are always looking for new faces to join our friendly team of volunteers and I am always available to contact if anyone would like to find out more about the volunteer roles we have at the club.
Swimmark Secretary – Kath Meadowcroft
swimmark@herefordswimming.club
I am Kath, mum of two swimmers. I am a Team Manager, J1 trainee official and Swim Mark for our club.
I decided to train as a Team Manager and official to help at our own meets and those elsewhere as I will be there anyway, I now get to be poolside whilst my son’s swim.
SwimMark accreditation is Swim England’s quality standard for clubs. It recognises high standards of governance, sustainability, and effectiveness to create the best possible swimming experience for all our members.
Competitions Secretary – Owen Lloyd
competitions@herefordswimming.club
I am an Assistant Head Teacher at a local secondary school. My main subject is PE, however, I do more paperwork than teaching now!!
My son Ollie (9 years old) joined the club just over a year ago and absolutely loves it. He has made huge progress under Graham’s coaching and has been fortunate enough to be selected to represent the club at SwimGainz, the Wyvern League, and the Arena League.
People may recognise me from coaching poolside and officiating at Meets & Galas (Get involved if you can, its actually great fun and a fantastic opportunity to ‘learn’ swimming).
Outside of swimming I am a keen sportsman and budding triathlete, completing Long Course Wales and Ironman Wales this year, always happy to talk about these!
I think I’m pretty approachable so please stop me and say hello if you have any questions about entries or competitions, according
to my wife I love a chat!!
Sponsorship Coordinator – Dai Hamer
partnerships@herefordswimming.club
We have been with the club around 2 years, I have 2 boys who swim here, we have been with other clubs but City of Hereford is where they have settled in exceptionally well. Great atmosphere amongst the swimmers and the parents.
I got involved within the first 6-8 months poolside at our Galas volunteering and enjoyed helping the swimmers of all ages.
Now helping to raise funds through sponsorship and grants to improve our club is very important to keep us moving forward.
Volunteer Opportunities
Find out more about Volunteering