Dewsbury ASC History
Dewsbury amateur swimming club was formed in 1875. Over its history it has had three swimming baths as its main home.
During the 1880s and 90s Dewsbury ASC trained at bath St Dewsbury, when this was condemned, they moved in 1896 to the new swimming baths on old Westgate. Here they stayed until 1974 when they moved to the present home on long Causeway.
In 1975 when the club celebrated its centenary a gala dinner was arranged and swimming celebrities from all over the country came to celebrate the club’s history and its activities.
When the old swimming baths are old Westgate closed in 1974 Dewsbury ASC had a hard decision to make, the only way they could keep going wants to share a club night with two other clubs, Because of this they decided to move the club to sun lane baths in Wakefield from the 8th of January 1979. In time this club went on to become Wakefield ASC.
Dewsbury dolphins swimming club was formed in January 1979, it was formed to help young swimmers take up competitive swimming but who could not join the previous club at Wakefield after their move in 1979.
Over their long history Dewsbury ASC has had many noticeable and successful swimmers. The most famous of these is Eileen Fenton. On August 22nd, 1950, Eileen Fenton but the first woman home in the DAILY MAIL CROSS CHANNEL SWIM. She was a member of the club and later served as an honorary secretary.
In 2015, head coach Phil, swam the English Channel in 18 hours and two minutes becoming the 12th person to successfully cross while swimming breaststroke.
In 2021 the clubs main sponsor Lee Johnson successfully swam the English Channel in 16 hours and 11 minutes.
German Exchange
In 1982 following Dewsbury’s twinning with Bergkamen in Germany Dewsbury ASC joined with Dewsbury adventure club to welcome guests from TuRa Bergkamen swimming club in Germany. The 12 children from Germany arrived in October of that year and stayed with local families.
Since that time, the clubs have taken it in turns to visit each other on a yearly basis. The week of the visit whether in England or Germany is packed full of fun activities, discos and of course a highly competitive swimming gala.
Sadly in 2020 the exchange could not go ahead due to the coronavirus pandemic; it is hoped that in the future the exchange can be resumed.
