15-year old Matthew has swum since he was two. He is one of 20 young swimmers who have been selected for an elite swimming squad, qualifying for the regional squad and ranked 7th in the UK. Now, their coach has been made redundant in local authority cuts. Matthew says, “Anyone who competes at the level we do dedicates so much time to the sport, that there is little time to do anything else. We choose to do this because we are proud of what we achieve, and are hopeful of what we can achieve in the future. If the coach is removed at this critical point in my swimming career, how can I ever have a chance to make the national team?”