A County Down-based swimming club is truly making waves in the sport and punching well above its weight with its talented young members smashing record after record.
Banbridge Amateur Swimming Club was established in 1988 and is entirely volunteer-led – even the coaches give freely of their time in their pursuit of excellence.
And it is a commitment that has really paid off.
For five young swimmers – Aodhan Barry, Alan Karchenko, Shea Mathers, John Rada and Matthew Rice – have been excelling beyond all expectations, representing Swim Ulster and Swim Ireland in the regional and national pathway programme and also participating in offshore competitions.
They currently hold a total of five Swim Ulster and one Swim Ireland Long Course Junior Relay Record which they have secured within just six months, since November 2025.
What makes it all the more special and remarkable is that these are plaudits which traditionally are taken by some of the bigger swimming clubs and bigger names in Ulster.
It is a source of pride, therefore, for the boys, their families and all associated with BASC, including secretary Paula Jardine and head coach Davy Wilson.
The club has around 160 members and they make use of the pool facilities at Banbridge Leisure Centre and South Lake Leisure Centre in Craigavon.
As secretary Paula told Armagh I : “We pride ourselves in being a friendly, family club. We have grown considerably over the last 10 years, but we are a small club compared to the likes of clubs in Belfast or Bangor, but we can hold our own.
“We remain in the top league in Aquasprint and have made Group A finals with Ards & Bangor for the last few years. We remain in the top division in the Provincial Town League and have won this for ten years in a row.
“We have various swimmers involved in the Swim Ulster Skills Academy and Ulster Regional Development Squads and have had past swimmers successfully leave with Swimming Scholarships in America.”
The club encompasses all ages, from six years and over. Juniors swim three times a week and seniors six – four at Banbridge and two at South Lakes.
BASC also runs a ‘Swim Academy’, which operates on a Thursday evening, concentrating on younger swimmers and working as a ‘feeder’ school, helping to prepare them for club swimming.
At the other end of the age spectrum, there is also a few university swimmers who register with BASC so they can still swim and represent the club.
Head coach Davy explains that an early start was the key to progression.
“Unless particularly good, or from a swimming background, we like to have swimmers join our club from six years upwards to allow them to learn the skills and build an aerobic engine,” he explained.
Now well in their teens, years of experience and dedicated training have been essential for the success currently enjoyed by Aodhan, Alan, Shea, John and Matthew.
Alan, Matthew, Shea and John who were presented with their ratified certificates. Confirmation of their record-breaking Ulster and Irish 200 Medley relay (SC) came at the War Memorial Gala in November.
All encapsulate the spirit of BASC and they have bonded well and are generous too in terms of participation.
Said Davy: “The boys involved in the different relays mainly swim their own individual events, with relays being seen as more of a bonus than what they actually train for.
“If you look at the Ulster and Irish club relay records and not the Ulster or Irish team relays – relays which have been but together to represent Ireland and Ulster using different swimmers from different clubs – you can see it is not that often you get four or five good swimmers in the same club.
“For a club as small as Banbridge has been through the years, it is very difficult, and something which may only happen on a very rare occasion.
“The senior performance group, which includes these boys, mostly train 12-and-a-half hours a week. The sessions are mainly in Banbridge swimming pool but since the opening of Craigavon we swim four hours long course over the weekend – this is the pool in 50m format. Prior to this, to get access to 50m swimming, we used to travel to Bangor on a Sunday evening after training in Banbridge on the Sunday morning.
“We also swim at 6am on Tuesday and Friday mornings before they go to school!
“Swimmers in this group currently attend Pilates once a week and strength and conditioning every other week.
“We currently have five boys fighting over four places for the medley team relay. Two of the boys swim the fly leg, being extremely close on times, which can change from competition to competition.
“We spoke to both boys so we could come to a fair way of deciding who should swim each competition.
“They knew there was a good chance of Ulster records and a possibility of an Irish record.
“What did make me proud was the way they sorted out between them who should swim each time and how it is decided, with the benefit of the team to the fore.”
In any sport, training is vital to reach – and remain – at peak physical performance.
And the effort these young people put in is beyond impressive.
Swimming is not a sport one reads about as often as others, for want of a better turn of expression, ‘more mainstream’.
Davy and the team of dedicated coaches know that more than anyone else…
“I believe swimming will never be the most popular sport,” he said. “The commitment and time you need to put into it is considerable.
“To be a top level senior swimmer you need to train 16 to 20 hours in the pool, three gym sessions per week at least, and Pilates or similar each week.
“It is not usually a team sport, except for relays, although they do have fun between themselves when training.
“It you miss a week or two at football it does not have as much impact on their fitness as it does with swimmers.
Ulster Junior Relay Champions: 4x 100 medley. Alan, John, Aodhan and Matthew who broke their own record, set in February 2026, at Ulster Age Group Bangor in May 2026.
“And if you make it to the top, the financial gains are not what you would expect compared to most other sports.”
In the head coach’s opinion, there are four ingredients which must be present in making a good swimmer – good technique – body position, efficient stroke and good kick; consistent practice, as “swimming improves with repetition”; fitness and ensurance – shoulders, legs, core, heart and lungs; and, of course, mindset, with discipline, focus, commitment and attendance.
For the five record-breaking boys, they tick all of these boxes.
For the 4x50m Medley Team relay, they clinched the Irish and set a new Ulster record at Bangor last November.
They took the record for the 4x100m Medley Team Relay in Dublin in February and then broke that in Bangor this month.
May in Bangor has also seen them break the long-standing 4x100m Freestyle Team Relay, which had stood since February 2009, and the 4x200m Freestyle Team Relay, held since April 2018.
Next up, and Dublin beckons in July, when the boys will compete in the Irish age group competitions.
The 4x100m and 4x200m Freestyle Team Relays (Front Crawl) will see Shea Mathers, Matthew Rice, John Rada and Aodhan Barry compete.
And the 4x100m Medley Team Relay will comprise John Rada BC, Alan Karchenko BRS, Matthew Rice/Shea Mathers Fly, and Aodhan Barry FC.
Meanwhile, Shea Mathers will also be traveling to Edinburgh shortly with the Irish squad for a swimming meet.
All of the records held are for ‘Junior’ level – 19 years and below.
But Davy adds: “Going forward, you would like to turn them into Senior records, but this will all depend on where these swimmers end up with their education, etc.”
It certainly is a busy time for Banbridge Amateur Swimming Club and, as well as the five boys’ record-breaking achievements, there is so much more happening and so much more to be commended.
Secretary Paula said: “We are holding our annual Long Course Gala at South Lakes on the 6th June and here we will welcome swim clubs from all over Ireland.
“BASC are also very proud of our very own Alana Burns-Atkins, who has been chosen to be part of the NI Team and will be travelling with the squad to compete in the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
“Our swimmers and coaches continue to excel, many winning awards or nominations at local ABC level and at Ulster and Irish Swimming Awards. Our head coach is a member of the Performance Coaches Group and we have various qualified officials up to and including National Starters and Referees.
“A small club who always punch above our weight, we work hard and provide a skills-based programme developing into the competitive swimming environment.
“We also encourage our teenage swimmers to give back and help at the club, and also help them with coaching qualifications so they can take these on to university or for part-time work when they have finished their swimming with BASC.”
BASC is also a previous winner of the Swim Ulster Club of the Year and Swim Ireland Club of the Year, as well as being a Clubmark-approved club through Swim Ulster/Ireland.
For all involved, it really has been a tremendous journey to date and the future is in very good hands.
As Paula said: “The continued success of BASC is a result of dedicated coaches and, of course, swimmers – and not forgetting the parents who are a crucial support to both the swimmer and the club.”
For any aspiring swimmers, BASC regularly holds trials at Banbridge Leisure Centre. For more information check out the website – www.bascswimming.wordpress.com/ – or email the secretary at basc.clubsec@gmail.com
