FOR the first time, a disability swimming coach has been chosen to join an elite band, training to become top coaches of the future.

That coach is Rob Aubry, who used to live at Bow, went to Queen Elizabeth's Community College, Crediton and worked at the Lords Meadow Leisure Centre swimming pool and the pool at Okehampton. He has been chosen to join the 2012-2014 Elite Coaching Apprenticeship Programme.

This is targeted at emerging coaches already working in the high performance system. Rob is Swimming GB Development Coach for disability swimming, working with all the GB Paralympic Games swimmers, a task which has taken him all over this country and abroad.

The programme promotes a collaborative approach between the National Governing Bodies (NGB) and UK Sport, providing coaches with a two-year accelerated development opportunity to hone the skills, knowledge and experiences to deliver results consistently within high performance sport.

John Atkinson, National Performance Director of British Disability Swimming, said: "We are delighted that Rob Aubry has been successful in joining the 2012-14 Elite Coaching Apprenticeship Programme.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for him to continue his development within the sport and learn from others around him to take his coaching to the next level."

Rob's Master Coach, Billy Pye, said: "It is an honour to have been chosen to work with a talented coach like Rob.

"It is so important to upskill our coaches and I will share as much of my knowledge and experience as possible to move him up to the world class level.

"For me the ECAP is a great programme for accelerating Rob's current experience and getting him ready to be one of our best coaches in the future."

Sue Read