Club Gala Results

With so many galas having been cancelled since January our swimmers would have been forgiven for being a bit ring rusty.  However, this was certainly not the case with 8 out of the 10 swimmers in the opening breaststroke squadron event achieving ‘personal bests’.

With the team accumulating 28 points before the gala even started, due to them being unable to compete in 4 events, all the swimmers performed fantastically achieving 52 ‘personal bests’ overall.

Highlights of the evening were Grace Begley Hunter’s victory’s  in the 100m Breaststroke and 100m Butterfly, both in personal best times and new club records,  Bethany Halsey’s win in the 100m Freestyle in a very good new personal best time and David May’s two new personal best times in the 100m Breaststroke and Butterfly.

Individual victories were also achieved by Jack Willis in the 100m Backstroke, Sally Nicholas in the 100m Breaststroke and Sophie Pembroke in both the 50m Butterfly and 50m Freestyle.

On the team front, the Girls 16 & under team of Naomi Smith, Sally Nicholas, Chloe Pembroke and Leanne Saheed, the Ladies Open team of Jess Rea, Grace Begley Hunter, Michelle Fewster, Chloe Pembroke and Naomi Smith and the Boys 10 & under team of Kavan Swain, Yalun Zhang, Daniel Curtis and Ben Chambers won both their relay events although Ben Chambers had us worried on the freestyle relay opting to do butterfly instead!

A special mention to Katie Parris who not only achieved two personal bests in her individual events but also swam very well in all the squadron events and both of the 12 & under relays.  

A sincere big THANK YOU to all the team, you did your club proud not only with your swimming but with your vocal support as well. And finally, thanks to the poolside team and all the parents who gave up their Saturday evening to give their support.

1st Maidstone 151 points, 2nd White Oak 152 points, 3rd Dartford 221 points, 4th Larkfield  237 points, 5th Gravesend 268 points, 6th Beachfield 334 points

Full results on Team Managers Page

Our younger swimmers took a trip down the A21 to compete in this event which was primarily a rehearsal for the forthcoming Junior Kent League.  Upon arrival, we knew we would be in for a tough competition with only two other teams competing, Sevenoaks and RTW Monson, both of whom swam in Division One of the Junior Kent League last year.   
As happened the previous week’s gala at Maidstone our swimmers didn’t let us down and the competition was very evenly matched throughout with never more than a handful of points between the teams.  In all, our swimmers achieved 36 personal best times during the evening, no mean feat considering some had only achieved a personal best the previous week.  Stars of the evening were our under 10 boy’s team of Kavan Swain, Yalun Zhang, Ben Chambers and Daniel Curtis who were victorious in both relays and all four individuals. Well done boys.  Other individual winners were Charlie Knight (50m Freestyle & 100m Fly),  Andrey Brightwell  (50m Breast & 100m Breast) and Druanne Brown (2 lots of 50m Backstroke).
The evening concluded with the most competitive Squadron relay I have witnessed for a couple of years, with less than a second between all 3 teams at the finish.
Thank you to all the parents who came along to support, you made yourselves heard, and to our team of trusted poolside helpers.
Swimmers, keep up the good work in training and put the dates of the Junior Kent League in your diaries.  YOUR CLUB NEEDS YOU!
John Willis TEAM MANAGER
Full results on Team Managers Page