Things are going swimmingly for Cheltenham Swimming and Water Polo Club (CSWPC).

What’s great is that they can only get better with the appointment of James Ross, the club’s new chairman.

“I’m really pleased that I’ve been given the position,” he said.

“The club have 600 active members and have been around for over 100 years, so we’re a big part of local history – it’s a real honour to carry the baton.”

James, who was elected during the club’s AGM in November, couldn’t have taken over the role at a better time.

“The club are in a strong position; it’s a good situation, so it’s a good time for me to take over,” he said.

“We’ve got strong membership numbers and are getting great results all-round, so there should be some exciting times over the next few years.”

Unique for its participation in three aquatic disciplines – competitive swimming, synchronised swimming and water polo – the club have achieved some pretty impressive things recently and whilst James is a busy guy, juggling this new role with running a construction company, he won’t let that take away from how proud he is.

“We’re actually getting really good results in all three disciplines,” said James.

“The synchronised swimmers had recent success at The National Masters; including winning bronze in the pairs.”

However, there’s always room for improvement.

“I’d love for us to continue to improve our swimming performance. We haven’t had any strong representation at the nationals for about 15 years, but we’ve recently had 75 swimmers achieve county times; hopefully we’ll start seeing more regional times being recorded as well.”

The water polo section of the club is particularly strong.

“Our men’s water polo team are currently national league champions and the women’s water polo team are in Division Three of the national league,” said James.

“The fact that both our male and female teams are competing so highly is great because it makes the club really accessible for both sexes.

“We really want to show people that our club is welcoming to everyone.”

During the course of James’s conversation with The Local Answer, that word – accessible – cropped up several times.

It was in relation to James’s aspirations for the club, which are based around making it accessible for more people in a number of ways.

He’s starting with improving it from a financial perspective.

“I’d like to stop membership costs raising on a year on year basis. This should help make us accessible for more people – it would be great for us to expand our membership,” said the optimistic new chairman.

“I’d like us to cut pool hire costs right down. Our really strong relationship with Sandford Parks Lido, which we hire throughout the summer, already helps us.

“I aim for the club to be able to work better with Cheltenham Trust as well. They run Leisure at Cheltenham which we use all year round – it would be great for us to strengthen those links.

“It’s quite a long way off, but I’d love to see a reduction in membership and training fees, which should make our club more accessible and appealing. At the moment though, it’s just crucial that we focus on not allowing these fees to go up.”

The club can also look forward to some exciting events coming up.

“These should further improve our accessibility,” said James.

“In June, there’s going to be under-12 and under-14 national water polo tournaments taking place at The Lido. There will also be a masters tournament for the over 40’s. This is great because it shows we cater for a diverse amount of age groups.

“We’ve got a swimming open meet coming up in September, which is a gala open to anyone from any club – it’s the first one we’ve hosted in about 15 years.

“Holding it at Leisure at Cheltenham will be great because it means CSWPC competitors don’t have to travel to places like Bristol; their families can come and support them, making our club more accessible.”

It’s no surprise that James has plenty of swimming experience of his own under his belt – in fact, he’s been committed to both the sport and the club for 32 years.

“I joined as a swimmer and have been a member ever since. I stayed a member all through my time at Cardiff University studying Structural Engineering,” he said.

“I’ve been playing water polo for 26 years and currently coach the men’s first team.”

In fact, a love of being in the swimming pool runs in the family, with James believing it’s great to get in the water at a young age.

“My 11-year-old daughter has been playing water polo since she was eight,” he said.

“With swimming, you can see a definite correlation between effort and results. It’s a good thing for young people to be involved in because it shows them, from an early age, that if they work hard they’ll see results.

“Water polo and synchronised swimming build on this by adding team work, helping to develop the essential skills of co-operating with other people. It teaches people, young and old, a lot about themselves and how they work with others.

“It’s really good for pushing yourself and seeing how far you can go.”

And what better place to swim and play water polo than as a member of CSWPC?

“It’s a great community. There’s a real family atmosphere,” said James.

“We hold an annual summer ball in June. People who haven’t swum at the club for 30 odd years come and still remember their time at the club and all the skills they learnt fondly.”

James is expecting to hold the role for three or four years – if things carry on the way they’re going at the moment, it’s safe to say that we can expect great things from CSWPC.