A relatively quiet week for the majority of the club members has seen most focus on training rather than competition.
However, the first round of the national swimming league competition has taken place, and a group of our swimmers took part as members of the Pembrokeshire county swimming squad.
League Competition Results
On October 11, the Pembrokeshire county team travelled by coach to the leisure centre at Trowbridge to take part in the first round of the National Swimming League.
There are a few changes to the competition this year. Firstly, the name has changed following the withdrawal of the previous main sponsor, though for most people it will no doubt continue to be called the 'Speedo League'.
The second change is that despite missing out on promotion in 2007, a reorganisation of competing teams meant Pembrokeshire were offered a place in the Premier League of the Western Division. This year, they are up against collectively very strong opposition from Barnstaple, Bournemouth, Dolphins A, Bridgend, Carmarthenshire A, Chard, City of Cardiff A, Exeter City, Ferndown, Glamorgan Valleys, Kelly College, Keynsham, Millfield, Plymouth Leander, Swindon Sx3 A, Taunton Deane, Thornbury and West Wilts Force 5 A.
At each round of the competition, six teams battle it out, with the overall league winners eventually going on to the national final in Sheffield next spring. This is a difficult competition for Pembrokeshire to compete in because the county does not yet have the strength in depth of the top teams, and as the galas are always held in the west of England, there is a long coach trip to make to and from each event.
The difficulty of the task ahead for the Pembrokeshire team was made apparent at this first gala. Despite some strong swimming from many of the team, they were not able to match the quality of the opposition, and finished as the lowest points scorers of the six competing teams.
Nevertheless, to swim against stronger opposition than usual is very good experience, and hopefully in the next round they will manage to improve their placing.
Forthcoming Events
October 22 - Dyfed Schools Trials for secondary students; October 25 and 26 - Pembrokeshire Age Groups, Pembroke Leisure Centre. The main annual county swimming event. No excuse not to enter this, it's on your doorstep!; November 1 - Neath and Nexus Valley Open, Neath Leisure Centre; November 8 - second round of National Swimming League.
November 15 and 16 - West Wales Sub Regional Competition, Penlan Leisure Centre, Swansea. A-Level four meet for those who don't have times to qualify for the bigger championships. We recommend that you give this a go.
November 21-23 - Welsh Schools and Swim Wales Winter Nationals, WNP Swansea. Long course meet with qualifying times. (Closed.)
Club News
We must apologise to Talia Merriman for missing her off the list of Tenby competitors who took part in the Llanelli Autumn Meet on October 4. For some reason, her name failed to appear on the computerised results list.
However, this has now been rectified and we are pleased to report that Talia not only took part, she set new PBs in the six events she swam in. To top off a great day's swimming, she also won a bronze medal in the nine-years 50m backstroke. Very well done indeed Talia. We look forward to reporting on more of your successes in the future!
If anyone else is overlooked in these reports, please let me know. All of our swimmers deserve recognition for efforts and we make every effort to include the correct information.
As regular readers will know, our coaching team which is ably lead by head coach John Amos, is entirely made up of volunteers. We are always looking for more help and are keen for parents of up-and-coming young swimmers to get involved.
We have recently had some new recruits and they are already making a valued contribution. Don't worry if you feel that you don't know anything about swimming when you start. Most of us were in the same boat, but you will receive guidance from the existing team, and there are teaching and coaching courses that can be completed if you really get the bug.
The old adage of 'many hands making light work' is certainly the case with swimming. The more coaches we have the more attention the swimmers receive, and the faster they improve. It's also much more interesting than sitting on the balcony watching them swim back and fore. We are looking for volunteers to help in other areas as well, so please contact any of the club officials if you would like to get involved.
S. D.