After a short break over the Christmas holidays, members of the Tenby and District Swimming Club have been back in the pool putting in the long hours of training necessary for success in this very competitive sport. Already the hard work is paying dividends, with some great results at several galas which have taken place over the past few weeks. Firstly there was the Pembrokeshire Long Distance Championship over 800m and 1500m, followed by the Welsh Amateur Swimming Association (WASA) New Year Dragon Meet at the National Pool in Swansea. To close out this report we have a summary of the achievements of the Tenby swimmers at the recent Urdd Finals which also took place at the National Pool. Competition Results Pembroke Leisure Centre was the venue for the Pembrokeshire Long Distance Championship which took place on Sunday, January 15. The 800m and 1500m races, held over 32 and 64 lengths of the pool, respectively, are obviously endurance events, so nail-biting finishes are not common. Nevertheless, it is testament to the ability of these young athletes that after racing over such long distances, the difference between winning and losing can often be measured in just a few seconds. The results of the Tenby swimmers were as follows: 1500m Boys 13/U: Lewys Canton 1st, Nathan Clarke 3rd; 1500m Women 14/O: Sophie Arthur 1st; 1500m Men 14/O: Michael Nicholas 1st. 800m Girls 12/U: Elena Ciccotti 2nd, Eleanor Brown 4th, Eleri Canton 5th, Sadie Griffiths 12th, Niamh Slack 14th, Rebekah Gwyther 15th, Lauren Arthur 16th, Hari-Llyw Truman 17th. 800m Women 13-15yrs: Coral Lewis 1st, Gemma Amos 2nd, Holly Watkins-Rees 3rd. 800m Boys 12/U: Johnnie Delahunty 1st, Jack Lear 2nd, Nathan Clarke 3rd, Lloyd Delahunty 5th, Samu Jaakola 6th, Henrik Jaakola 10th, Samuel Lewis 11th, Josh Thomas 12th, Dominic Ciccotti 17th, Billy Truman 20th. 800m Men 13-15yrs: Andrew James 2nd, Daniel Brown 3rd, Matt Davie 4th. 800m Men 16/O: Carl Amos 1st, Matthew Brown 3rd. It should be noted that in both boys and girls 12 and under 800m events, there were a wide range of ages competing. As you might expect, the older competitors tend to lead the way, but there were some great swims from some of the younger club members, which bodes well for the future. The next gala where Tenby representatives competed was the Welsh Amateur Swimming Association (WASA) New Year Dragon Meet which, as mentioned earlier, took place at the National Pool in Swansea from January 20-22. This is a prestigious annual event which attracts competitors from all over the UK, and is an opportunity for our local swimmers to see some of the best in the country compete. The other novelty for the Tenby swimmers is that this event is held in the eight-lane 50m long course pool, which could accommodate four 'Tenby sized' pools within its area! For those making a first visit, a length of this pool can seem a bit daunting! Amongst very tough competition, the Tenby swimmers produced some excellent performances. Notably Andrew James, who finished in a fine second place in the 13-14yrs 200m breaststroke, and who narrowly missed out on a place in the final of the 13-14yrs 100m breaststroke where he finished 9th. Jack Lear also produced a great performance in the 12/U 100m breaststroke, just missing the final by two- hundredths of a second, but finishing a very respectable 9th out of 55 entrants. In addition, several good long course PB times were set by the Tenby contingent consisting of Gemma Amos, Holly Watkins-Rees, Kira Hardy, Eleri Canton, Sadie Griffiths, Andrew James, Llewys Canton, Jack Lear, Leon Goddard, Maxwell Randles and Lloyd Delahunty. Well done to all! As we have previously reported, a number of the club swimmers qualified for the National Finals of the 2006 Urdd Swimming Gala. This was held at the National Pool on Saturday, January 28, with the Junior Schools finals in the morning, followed by the Senior Schools in the afternoon. The details of the children's successes will no doubt be covered by their individual schools, but a summary of the individual medallists is as follows: Junior Schools: Girls Yr3-4 Breaststroke, 1st Rebekah Gwyther; Boys Yr3-4 Breaststroke, 3rd Daniel Davies; Boys Yr3-4 Butterfly, 2nd Henrik Jaakola; Boys Yr5-6 Breaststroke, 2nd Samu Jaakola; Girls Yr5-6 Breaststroke, 2nd Bethan Davie; Boys Yr5-6 Backstroke, 3rd Jake Jenkins; Boys Yr5 -6 Individual Medley, 3rd Samu Jaakola. Senior Schools: Boys Yr9-10 Freestyle, 2nd Daniel Brown; Boys Yr9-10 Breaststroke, 2nd Andrew James; Boys Yr9-10 Individual Medley, 3rd Andrew James; Girls Butterfly Yr9-10 2nd Holly Watkins- Rees. There was also success for relay teams from Tenby Junior, Saundersfoot, St Teilo's and Greenhill. Once again congratulations to all the club's medallists. Two junior galas against Fishguard and Haverfordwest have taken place within the last week. Full details coming soon. Forthcoming Events The next few weeks sees a busy time for club members. Tomorrow (Saturday), there is Round One of the 2006 Dyfed League, which is scheduled to take place at Carmarthen Leisure Centre. The list of selected team members has been posted on the club notice board as usual, and is also available to view on the club's web-site. The warm-up for this event starts at 4.15, so please arrange to be at the pool by 4 pm. Soon we have the West Wales Championships which take place on February 11, 12, 18, 19 and 20 at the Penlan Leisure Centre in Swansea. Entries for this competition are now closed, and competitors should have received confirmation of the events entered. Good luck! It is sure to be as exciting as usual! Coming up on the weekend of March 11 and 12 is the 2006 Llanelli Open Meet. There's a full range of age group races for both boys and girls, details of which can be found on the notice board and on the web-site. As usual, we encourage all squad members to enter. Please be aware that the closing date for entries for this gala is Saturday, February 11, so make sure your entries are on the notice board within the next week!
