The beginnings of the Academy Swim Team can be traced back to 2008. At the time the only swimming pool in the local area was the Burnham pool that had been in the centre of the town since it was opened in 1974. In 2006 Sedgemoor District Council, who at that time owned and ran the pool, began seeking new owners as they could no longer afford either the running costs or fund the repairs needed at the time. A major campaign to keep the pool open by the local community and Burnham-On-Sea Swimming Club, that also gained national attention, culminated in 2008 when new owners took over and re-opened the pool as the Burnham-On-Sea Swim & Sports Academy. As part of this takeover the new owners committed to not just the swimming but to growing the pool into a modern gym and sporting facility that also spawned a successful Triathlon team alongside the Swim Team.

As the new gym, cardio studio, sports hall and cafe was built the new academy started to grow and was recognised as the UK's top Swim School of the Year in 2012. In 2013 Burnham-On-Sea Swimming Club relocated to Brean Splash and the Academy Swim Team Burnham-On-Sea was started up. We competed in our first ever event at the end of November that year in Exeter finishing 3rd out of 15 teams and collecting 10 gold, 14 silver and 12 bronze medals in the process.

ASTBOS Swimmers after their first competition in November 2013

In February 2014 the team competed in another regional competition racking up 72 personal best times along with a host of gold, silver and bronze medals with 19 swimmers qualifying for the Somerset County Championships in the following month. Later that year the Academy Swim Team was selected to compete in the National Arena Swimming League for the 2014 season. The league was reserved for the top 400 teams in the country and was the culmination of the hard work and dedication of the swimmers and coaches involved during the team's first year in existence.

Competing in Newport at the 1st round of the National Swimming League in October 2014

By the start of 2015 the team had grown to 5 squads training regularly and hosted the 2nd annual Sprint Open Meet for the Somerset County Championships at the end of January. As well as achieving numerous new personal best's and winning 18 gold, 10 silver and 13 bronze medals, the team had also qualified swimmers for over 130 events at the Somerset County Championships held in March. This level of success continued throughout the year with a 2nd place at the annual Tim Bratchel Memorial Relay Gala in Horfield and another strong showing at the Clevedon & Chard Open Meet before the club started to run their own annual Academy Swim Team Championships in the summer.

ASTBOS at the Annual Relay Gala at Horfied in June 2015

On the club's second anniversary in October 2015 we gained the Swim21 (now known as the Swim Mark) accreditation, which is Swim England's quality standard for swimming clubs, recognising high standards of governance, sustainability and effectiveness, an accreditation that has been maintained ever since. Swim Mark is about creating the best possible swimming experience for all which is still something that the swim team looks to provide to the present day.

Second Birthday of the Academy Swim Team in October 2015

At the 2016 Somerset County Championships Callum Richards became the first Academy Swim Team member to become a County Champion, winning the Under-16 50 metre Backstroke, with the team sending 20 swimmers overall to the championships and capturing 10 medals, reaching 32 finals and collectively knocking 300 seconds off their personal best's in the process. This outstanding effort saw the team break into the top 10 performance clubs in Somerset for the first time. In the summer of 2017 Callum followed this up by becoming the first ASTBOS swimmer to qualify for 3 events at the Summer Nationals. He then went on to make the Finals in the 50M Free, 50M Back and 50M Breast where he finished 7th, 2nd, and 7th respectively to become the first ever national medal winner from AST Burnham.

Some of the highly successful Somerset County Championship Swimmers in February 2016

In March 2018 Macy Noad became the first female from the Academy Swim Team to become a Somerset County Champion, winning gold in the Under-11 400 metre Freestyle. The number of young swimmers beginning to come through was highlighted again at the start of 2019 when the Junior Development Team (aged 8-12) finished 2nd at the Bristol Penguin Junior Gala in Easton.

Competing at Horfield in January 2018

Junior Development Team at Easton in February 2019

In October 2019 the Academy Swim Team sent 23 swimmers to the Somerset Development Meet where they won 18 Gold, 13 Silver and 11 Bronze medals with 23 qualifying times achieved for entry into the 2020 Somerset County Championships. Over the months of January and February 2020 the swimmers that qualified were able to turn that success into many new PB's and qualification for multiple finals over the 4 weekends. At this point it became the most successful Somerset Championships so far for Academy Swim Team members with 11 year old Zach Powell claiming 5 silver and 4 Bronze medals across multiple events, 10 year old Maisie Fisher taking silver in the 100 metre Breaststroke and the Boys 10-12 Freestyle Relay Team of Finley Fooks, Zach Powell, TT Magang and Lewis Hay gaining a bronze medal.

AST Swimmers from the Somerset Development Meet in October 2019

From March 2020 the great progress being made by the swim team was halted along with the rest of the world by the response to Covid. The team continued to train hard throughout 2020 and into 2021 when they could in between lockdowns and tiered restrictions with access to swimming pools hit particularly hard during this time. However, the team still gained recognition in October 2020 when they were awarded first place in the B Final of the Cotswold League after three rounds of the 20 team tournament were completed prior to the first lockdown.

Head Coach Sara Dykes and various members of the ASTBOS Team holding the Cotswold B Final Winner's Trophy in October 2020

After swimming pools reopened in 2021 swim meets were few and far between but as Head Coach Sara Dykes summarised at the end of 2021, the AST swimmers had shown exceptional resilience and outstanding positivity to continue through uncertain times. This was then demonstrated by the team posting its best year so far for County qualifiers, meaning we would be sending a team of 21 swimmers to the 2022 Somerset County Championships to compete in 116 events and 12 relays.

A snapshot of some of the ASTBOS Team at the end of 2021

As swimming resumed something like normality in 2022 the first full post lockdown year saw the Academy Swim Team continue to grow and reach new heights. The Somerset County Championships at the start of the year once again saw the team set new records for the club with 24 medals won (3 Gold, 12 Silver & 9 Bronze) with several swimmers going on to gain Regional and National Qualifying times in the process.

Team Photo of 2022's Somerset County Championship swimmers

Having been abandoned without finishing properly in 2020 and cancelled in 2021 the Cotswold League returned at the end of February 2022 and the Academy Swim Team embarked on a great run of results, winning all 4 rounds of Gala's to reach the A final for the first time as the 3rd best ranked side in the competition. They went on to finish in a highly commendable 5th place in the final. In April 2022 the Yeovil & District Spring Fling Meet returned at Millfield and the growth of the squad could be seen with the number of new swim team swimmers beginning to achieve qualifying times for the 2023 County Champs.

In April 2022 the Academy Swim Team had only its second ever swimmer, and first since Callum Richards in 2017, compete at national level when 14 year old Lewis Hay took part in the Scottish National Championships. The club also fielded its most number of qualifiers so far at the 2022 Swim England South West Regional Championships in April and May before 14 year old's Zach Powell and Lewis Hay qualified for the English and Scottish National Summer Meets in June. Under 11 swimmer Leo Woodrow also took part in the Welsh National Development Meet with great success in the same month, winning 3 Silver and 2 Bronze medals in one day. 

Team Photo at the 2022 Tim Bratchel Memorial Relay Gala

In July the Swim Team took part in the Tim Bratchel Memorial Relay Gala in Horfield and again showcased the growing strength of the team with a great second place in the relay event only meet. In September 2022 11 year old's Leo Woodrow and Xander Powell were recognised for their impressive achievements by being selected for County and Regional development programs respectively. 

In October the focus switched back to gaining County Qualifying times for the Development and County Squads at the Somerset Development and City of Bristol Halloween Spooktacular meets which sandwiched the Team Bath and Millfield Level 2 Meet in the middle of the month for the club's Regional and National Squads. There was one more opportunity to compete as a team in November in the 2nd round of the Bristol Penguins Winter Gala where the team again gave a great account of themselves in finishing second.

Presentation Evening 2022

2022 came to an end with the club holding its annual awards night presentation at the Lakeside Holiday Park in December and it was the first time in a few years that the whole club was able to come together and celebrate an unprecedented year of success for the team. Following the Yeovil Christmas Cracker at Millfield in mid-December the Academy Swim Team ended the year by again breaking the club record for highest number of qualifiers for the 2023 County Championships.

Club records for the County Championships tumbled at the start of 2023 as the Academy Swim Team finished with a club record 31 medals (5 Gold, 13 Silver and 13 Bronze). This included a best ever total of 38 finalists as well as an amazing 9 medals and 5 Junior Championship medals for 14 year old Zach Powell, 9 medals for 11 year old Leo Woodrow and 6 medals for 12 year old Xander Powell. 

AST's Record Breaking County Championship Squad 2023

It was a strong start to 2023 generally as the team won Cotswold League Gala's at Monmouth, Bath and at home as they qualified for the A Final for the second year in a row, before going on to finish 7th.

Team celebrating their Cotswold win at Bath Dolphins

There were a few meets sprinkled in between the team gala's hosted by Keynsham & Bristol Penguins and Yeovil & District Swimming Club's, with several of the team going for national qualification at the Team Bath and Millfield National Qualifying Meet. The outstanding success at County level saw AST Burnham also send a record number of swimmers to the 2023 South West Summer Regional Championships in April and May.

Ryan Smout, Xander Powell, Leo Woodrow & Eleanor Rees at the SW Regionals

The club once again set new records for number of finals reached at Regional level as 14 year old Zach Powell qualified for the English National Summer Championships for the 2nd year in a row. This success was followed by 11 year old Leo Woodrow who became the club's first ever qualifier for the Welsh National Summer Championships. Leo went on to win 5 medals, the first national medals won by an Academy swimmer since Callum Richards in 2017.

Zach Powell & Leo Woodrow at the English & Welsh Summer Nationals

During the summer months the team continued to attend meets hosted by Bristol Penguins and City of Bristol at the Hengrove Leisure Centre, as well as compete as a team at the Tim Bratchel Memorial Gala once more in July.

Team photo at the Tim Bratchel Relay Gala 2023

In September the outstanding progress of the club's young swimmers was recognised as Leo Woodrow, Evie Rowley-Wall, Ryan Smout and twins Harry & Lauren Glanville were selected for the 2023-24 Somerset County Development Pathway.

2023-24 County Development Pathway Swimmers

A record year for the club continued to get better at the Somerset Development Meet in October, which saw the team once more on course to break previous club records for number of County qualifiers. A couple of weeks later the 11-12, 13-14 and Over 15 year old Relay Team's enjoyed medal winning success at the Somerset County Championships Relays & 100M Medley meet as these events were moved to a new yearly October date. Now 15 year old Zach Powell and 12 year old Leo Woodrow continued their successful year by taking home the Silver and Bronze medals respectively for the 100M Medley. 

2023 County Championship Relay Team Medalists

15 year old Zach and 16 year old Macy Noad then qualified to take part in the South West Regional Winter Championships in November. There was still time for one last team gala at the Bristol Penguins winter series before a busy and incredibly successful year for the club finished with meets hosted by Severnside Tritons, Taunton Deane, Street & Millfield and our own Club Championships in December. Zach Powell and Leo Woodrow's brilliant year also finished with them competing at the Welsh Winter National Championships.

Team photo from the Bristol Penguins Winter Series Gala

The club then came together at the end of the year to celebrate with the annual swim team presentation evening held at the BASC ground in Burnham. 2023 finished with Millfield Pool closed for the forseeable future and the 2024 County Championships delayed as a result. At the end of the year AST Burnham managed to set yet another record for number of County qualifiers with 45, including a record number of 800M and 1500M qualifiers.

Lewis Duggan and Emily Knight at the 2024 County Championships

Competitive action went on hold for nearly two months at the start of 2024 as Millfield's Pool closure delayed and then truncated the 2024 County Championships. These delays meant that AST did not manage to send all of their qualfiers to all of the events that they qualified for, but they still had a very successful champs. Lewis Duggan (now 18), Xander Powell (13) and Leo Woodrow (12) once more led the way as they landed several county medals and titles between them. The Long Distance events proved very successful for the Academy Swim Team and saw first time county medal winners emerge as Lauren Glanville (12) became AST's second ever Female County champion in winning the 1500M Free, whilst Emily Knight picked up a first ever county medal at age 16 as she won the Silver medal. Harry Glanville (12) also won the Silver for the 1500M and Bronze for the 800M Free. Macy Noad (16), who was the club's first ever Female county champion aged just 11 in 2018, and AST's most successful female swimmer to date, signed off her time successfully as a competitive swimmer with AST by winning Silver and Bronze medal's.

Harry Glanville, Leo Woodrow & Lauren Glanville at the 2024 Counties

After the break in competing at the start of the year meets came thick and fast for the Academy Swim Team, starting with the Keynsham & Bristol Penguin Spring Open and Chelsea & Westminster Grand Prix that sandwiched the Counties weekends in March. This was followed by the Soundwell Regional Qualifier at the end of the month, whilst at the same time Leo Woodrow headed to Swansea for the Welsh National Championships. April was also a busy month as a small squad of swimmers competed at the City of Bristol Level 1 International Meet and the team also took on the Taunton Deane, Millfield and Street Spring Splash, where Lewis Duggan was in record breaking form, setting new Club Records for the 100M and 200M Fly.

Team photo from the TDSC, Millfield & Street Spring Splash

The South West Regional Summer Championships in April and May then heralded the start of a significant period of change in the club's history. With 9 swimmers qualifying for the Regional Champs Head Coach Sara Flinton decided to step down after an incredible 6 years as Head Coach, a period of time in which the club punched well above its weight, producing record numbers of County, Regional and National Qualifiers, as well as winning record numbers of medals at these levels. The team also won the Cotswold League B Trophy and qualified for two A finals in a row during this time. From February to July a generation of hugely successful swimmers also departed the club, some to new teams, some to new sports, and some who finished their swimming journey for now. After the peak of 2023, the rest of 2024 became a year of transition as new swimmers and coaches joined the club and the next generation of swimmers began to come through.

A generation of talented swimmers who moved on from AST in 2024

As the club formally separated from the Swim & Sports Academy the new Junior Squad was started to replace the Potential Squad and provide a new entry point for swimmers into the club. The Long Course part of the season was now well under way and the team attended the City of Wells Open in June and the Team Bath & Millfield End of Season Meet in July, which sandwiched the Tim Bratchel Memorial Relay Gala. The 2023-24 season finished with a fun end of season gala at the Academy Pool and a BBQ in the summer rain at the BASC ground.

Team photo from the 2024 Tim Bratchel Memorial Relay Gala

Over the summer Leo Woodrow broke new ground, becoming the first swimmer from AST to medal at multiple National Championships, winning 5 medals at the Welsh Nationals in August, whilst setting new PB's that saw him beginning to reach the top 20 in his age group for the whole of the UK. That phenomenal performance was recognised as he was selected for the Regional Development Pathway, the Welsh National Pathway, and in a first for the club, Leo was also selected to represent Somerset at the National County Championships.

Leo Woodrow at the 2024 Welsh Summer Nationals

The new season started in September with 12 year old Arthur Astill being selected to the Somerset County Development Pathway. A new look team then took on the Somerset Development Meet at the start of October with great success, followed by the County Champs 100 Medley and Relays meet and the COB Halloween Spooktacular at the end of the month. County times were beginning to stack up as the team returned to Hengrove once more at the end of November for the Bristol Penguins & Keynsham Autumn Open.

Team photo from the Bristol Penguins & Keynsham Autumn Open Meet

A transformative year then came to an end with the Club Championships and Annual Presentation Evening in December. At the end of 2024 the Academy Swim Team had 21 swimmers qualified for the upcoming 2025 County Championships.

Annual Presentation Evening 2024