SWIMMING coach Jess Calderbank is setting the perfect example for her young charges after claiming her best-ever finish at the ASA British Summer Championships.

The 19-year-old, of Walmersley Road, Bury, finished 15th overall in the open age 50m butterfly, just missing out on a place in the final after clocking 28.5secs.

It was the highest ranked tournament Jess has qualified for so far, with the meet for swimmers with the top 20 fastest times in Great Britain this year.

The former Woodhey High School pupil has made yearly progress since, by her own admission, joining the sport late.

She became a member of Bury and Elton Amateur Swimming Club aged 11, and went on to qualify for county and regional championships before leaving to train with the high performance squad at Oldham Aquatics when she turned 17.

Since then she has twice made finals at the British Universities Championships and also reached the British Winter Short Course Championships.

Future ambitions include qualifying for next year's British Championships, which will be attended by Team GB's top swimmers, and qualifying to swim for England at the Commonwealth Games.

But before then, she will continue to pass on her experience to the youngest members of Bury and Elton ASC, where she works as a volunteer coach.

"I like to think that what I have been able to achieve, through lots of hard work and dedication, is the perfect example for the young swimmers I coach at Bury and Elton," said Jess, who is studying for a sports science course at the University of Salford, and also works as a lifeguard and swimming teacher at Castle Leisure Centre.

"I started much later than most of the children I coach at Bury and Elton, so they already have a head start on me.

"I think this is the perfect place to learn the basics and get a good grounding in the sport.

"My ambition was always to reach the next level, and what I learned at the club helped me to do that. When I wanted to find out how to reach the county championships and then the regionals, the coaches gave me the training schedule to do that.

"Many children go straight into a high-performance club at an early age, but I think you can suffer burnout that way.

"I feel now like I still have plenty of room to grow and improve, and hopefully I can pass on everything I have learned to the youngsters coming through at Bury and Elton."

The club, which is based at Castle Leisure Centre in Bury town centre, has more than 150 members ranging from beginners to more experienced senior swimmers.

They train four times a week under the guidance of head coach John Bennett and a team of volunteer coaches, such as Jess.

Weekly club sessions are held on Wednesday evening and Sunday afternoon, with additional technique training on Monday and Friday evening.

The club is always looking for new members, especially at the younger age range, from six upwards.

If your child can swim 25m at backstroke, breaststroke and front crawl and would like to join then call John on 07999 555465 or check out the club website at www.buryandelton.co.uk for more details.