Like many other volunteers, James first got involved in the City of Hereford Swimming Club through his children, with two girls still swimming competitively at the club.

The short journey from sitting in the spectators gallery watching his daughter swimming up and down in 2012, to becoming chairman of the club in 2015 was a short one, but involved a number of roles along the route. First up was helping out with the occasional time-trail, which inevitably led to becoming qualified judge level one official. The next step was to help occasionally poolside with some of the squads, which again inevitably led to becoming a level one qualified coach. The journey was complete soon after being asked to become a member of the executive committee in 2014, taking on the role of the club's chairman in the summer of 2015, a position which James continued to serve until the summer of 2024.

James is a firm believer that time passes quicker volunteering and supporting the club, rather than sitting and watching from the side lines - and would encourage anyone who would like to follow suit to do so, as he's a great example that you don't need to be an ex-Olympian swimmer to help out - even if its only a little bit!