arena signs its largest UK partnership with Repton Swimming after a record-breaking year for the club
Repton, October 2026: Arena, the global swimming brand, has signed a three-year sponsorship agreement with Repton Swimming, the largest partnership it has made with a club and school programme anywhere in the UK.
The agreement follows the most successful year in Repton Swimming’s history, which brought a national title, a haul of championship medals, British and European Junior records, and an unprecedented number of international call-ups for both pupils and club members.
Arena becomes the Official Technical Partner and Equipment Sponsor of Repton Swimming Club and will supply swimmers and coaches with all the technical racing suits, training wear, goggles, and performance equipment they need to train and compete at their best. The agreement brings together one of the country’s leading swim programmes, which has a growing reputation for developing young swimmers, with a global brand that has decades of expertise in technical swimwear and performance innovation. Both organisations share the belief that the right environment, coaching, and equipment give young athletes the best chance to build their skills, confidence, and competitive experience over the long term.
The partnership comes at a defining moment for Repton Swimming. In March 2026, the club won the National Arena Swimming League, contested by around 400 clubs, at a National Final at Sandwell Aquatics Centre, the swimming and diving venue for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Repton became only the 18th club to take the title in more than 55 years, completing a climb from fourth in 2024 and second in 2025, a landmark result for a programme established only in 2020.
The summer that followed was the most significant in the club’s history. At the Aquatics GB Next Gen Championships in Sheffield, Repton’s 36 swimmers returned with 48 medals and 86 finals appearances, including double gold for the women’s relay team and the club’s first men’s relay medals. A record number of Repton swimmers then represented their countries at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the European Aquatics Championships in Paris, the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya and the European Junior Championships. At Glasgow 2026, Jacob Mills took four silvers for Team England, Imogen Clark won bronze, and Harry Milne won double bronze for Team Wales.
That success has been driven by Director of Swimming Craig Prime, who has recently taken the role on a permanent basis having led the programme on an interim basis since the start of the season. Craig joined Repton as Performance Coach in 2022 and has built a culture in which swimmers have progressed from promising juniors to podium regulars. He was named the British Swimming Coaches Association’s Coach of the Day at the Next Gen Championships and was selected as a Team England coach for Glasgow 2026. The current squad includes multiple British, European and international junior record holders, following in the footsteps of Olympians Adam Ramsay-Peaty OBE and Eva Okaro, and Paralympian Megan Neave.
Martin Pallot, Chair of Repton Swimming Club, said:
“We are incredibly proud to be forming this partnership with Arena, particularly after a year in which our swimmers have achieved so much. Having a partner that understands the demands placed on swimmers, and shares our ambition for their development, is enormously valuable. Arena’s expertise and commitment to the sport make them a natural fit, and we are excited about what we can achieve together.”
Debbie Poulson, Director, of Solo Sports / arena UK, said:
“This is the largest agreement we have entered into with a club and school swimming programme in the UK, and it reflects the high regard in which we hold everything that Repton has built. Repton provides young swimmers with an exceptional environment in which to learn, train, and compete, and we are proud to support them throughout every stage of their journey.
We are excited to see what the next three years will bring and are confident that, by providing world-class performance products and innovative technology, we can help ensure that Repton swimmers have access to the most advanced equipment available, enabling them to perform at their very best.”
About arena
Since 1973, arena has been at the forefront of swimming innovation, combining Italian design, advanced materials and cutting-edge technology to create high-performance swimwear and swimming equipment. Developed in collaboration with world-class athletes, arena products support swimmers of all levels, from competitive racing and training to everyday swimming. With a focus on performance, comfort and style, arena inspires every swimmer to push their limits, build confidence and achieve more in the water.
About Solo Sports Brands Limited – UK Distributor of arena
Based in Sedbergh, Cumbria, Solo Sports Brands Ltd is the official UK distributor of arena swimwear and swimming products. With over 60 years of combined experience in brand management and distribution, we work with retailers of all sizes across the UK. Our dedicated team takes pride in delivering excellent customer service and building strong, long-term partnerships, bringing arena’s world-class swimwear and equipment to swimmers across the country.
About Repton Swimming Club
Repton Swimming was established as a performance training group and granted fully affiliated club status by Swim England in 2020, meaning the programme competes beyond school competitions and within the full Swim England competition framework. The club has 230 members, having expanded from its original performance group to include a Junior Development and Performance Pathway.
The programme operates four performance squads spanning regional to Aquatics GB April Championships standards. The most promising swimmers receive dedicated pool sessions in the six-lane, 25m pool within the School’s Sports Centre, supported twice a week by specialist Strength and Conditioning coaches in a bespoke gym within the Sports Clinic.
Repton swimmers have represented England, Scotland, and Wales at international level, including at the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Commonwealth Youth Games, European Championships, European Junior Championships, European Youth Olympic Festival, Asian Games and Asian Youth Games.
Founded in 1557, Repton School is one of the UK’s preeminent boarding schools, an independent co-educational boarding and day school in Derbyshire whose heritage spans more than four and a half centuries. Its sporting reputation is recognised nationally: Repton was named Best for Sport in The Week Independent Schools Guide’s Best of the Best Senior Schools 2025 awards and ranked third in School Sport Magazine’s Top 200 Sporting Schools, with a sports programme that sits alongside rigorous academic teaching and a co-curricular offer of genuine breadth.
Repton is the flagship of the Repton Family of Schools, which educates more than 11,000 children across 12 schools on three continents and in four time zones. United by the shared values of Respect, Wholeness, Truth and Excellence, the group extends a Repton education to families across the UK, the Middle East, China and Egypt.
