At a public meeting held on 2nd November 1973, it was agreed to form the Ripley Swimming Club, but with all the necessary preparations to be made and with the proximity of Christmas, swimming did not commence until the first Tuesday in January.

Soon after the Club got under way there was found to be enough interest to start a Life Saving section, and eventually the Council allowed them to have their own training sessions on Friday evenings.

The object of the Club was, and still is, to teach as many people as possible to find pleasure in, and to be safe in water. There was a natural progression towards competitive swimming, and we swam against other Clubs, but it was all at a low level.

 

In 1985 we changed the Club’s name to the Ripley Amateur Swimming Club And Life Savers.

It was soon after we engaged a professional Swimming Coach that we started to improve in speed swimming, and we have never looked back, now regularly having a significant number of our members swimming for the County, and several who have achieved county and regional times.

Meanwhile the Life Saving Section quickly found a wealth of talent and it was not long before we had our first National Life Saving Champion. 

 

Through the 2000s and into the 2010s the club had some of its best ever results and progress, with record numbers qualifying for County and Regional Championships, entering the National Arena Swimming League (and rising up to the Premier Division) of the West Midlands section with promotion in 2018), organising the club's first ever Open Meets and of course having two athletes , Molly Renshaw & Jacob Whittle go on to become Olympic swimmers.
 

The club has steadily regrown through the 2020s, with continues representation at County & Regional level, swimmers being selected for the Derbyshire Team at National Inter Counties and recording out highest ever finish in the West Midlands section of the Arena League in 2021.

 

In 2026 the club now enters a new chapter, returning to its core origins of focusing on the discipline of swimming, with particular emphasis on improving competitive performance. An exciting opportunity for all our members, coaches and families awaits.

RASCALS has always had a reputation for being a “family Club”. The amount of parental involvement in managing, poolside work and administration is renowned in swimming circles. We hope that we will soon be able to add your name to that list.

Frank Mansey
Founder Member