Swim England has issued an apology over the closure of the Ellesmere Titans Swimming Club in 2022.

In a statement, Swim England issued the apology after admitting to errors in the handling of complaints that ultimately led to the body disaffiliating itself from the club and its subsequent closure.

Complaints were made against the club, accusing it of emotional abuse against swimmers, but Swim England admitted that the accusations turned out to be false.

After the disaffiliation, the club was taken over by the Ellesmere College Swimming Academy.

“This fell short of the expected standards,” Swim England said in its statement. “Had we met those standards, there was a real chance that the club would not have been disaffiliated in 2022, given the willingness of the club committee to work with Swim England to address the safeguarding concerns that did exist, and the fact that some of the more serious concerns that were alleged turned out to be false.”

The statement went on to read that Swim England failed to “adequately engage with some of those involved to obtain full and accurate information, leading to our acting on anonymous information,” and that there also was “disjointed and unstructured decision-making, and inadequate executive oversight and leadership once concerns were raised over the process.”

A group of 73 swimmers from Ellesmere signed a letter of support then Ellesmere Director of Swimming Alan Bircher.

Swim England added that at the time there wasn’t a complaints policy to “allow these issues to be adequately raised and investigated.”

Ellesmere had several swimmers who trained there and then later went on to become British Olympians. Examples include:

  • Darren Mew, who was a finalist in the men’s 100 breast at the 2004 Athens Olympics and was a member of Great Britain’s 4×100 medley relay team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
  • Freya Anderson, who was a part of Great Britain’s mixed 4×100 medley relay team that won gold at the Tokyo Games. Anderson also represented Great Britain at the 2024 Games in Paris.
  • Cassie Wild, a Scottish backstroker who competed for Great Britain at the 2020 European Championships and the Tokyo Olympics.
  • Hector Pardoe, an open water swimmer who was the bronze medalist in the 10km race at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships and competed at the Tokyo Olympics.

In a statement, Ellesmere College said it welcomed Swim England’s apology.

“We welcome Swim England’s acknowledgement that its handling of matters in 2022 fell short of expected standards, and its apology regarding its assessment of false allegations made against the college that ultimately contributed to the disaffiliation of the club. We also wish to thank those clubs and individuals who have so strongly supported our swimmers and who remain committed to working in partnership with Swim England to the benefit of all.”