British Swimming has unveiled a new development structure to provide clearer pathways for talented young athletes to reach the top of the sport.

The new World Class Pathway will consist of three elements: World Class Talent, World Class Development and World Class Podium, which will be underpinned by a new English talent development programme.

World Class Podium is being funded by UK Sport and will focus on athletes ranked in the world's top 16, World Class Development targets athletes who are six or seven years away from the podium and World Class Talent will offer opportunities to identified talented swimmers who could be fast-tracked to reach their potential.

The former World Class Age programme will be replaced from September by the England Talent Development programme, which will work alongside existing schemes in Scotland and Wales to deliver a stream of talented young athletes.

The Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) intends to develop eight to 10 regional high performance clubs, based at 50m pools around the country, which will each have a regional development coach. Details: www.britishswimming.org