Regular readers of our Tenby Dolphins press reports will by now have realised that we are always very keen to promote an early introduction to competitive swimming amongst our younger club members. Last weekend we were certainly not disappointed, because we are delighted to report that the 2007 Pembrokeshire Sprints were extremely well attended by Tenby swimmers of all ages. Competition Results The 2007 Pembrokeshire Sprint competition took place at Pembroke Leisure Centre on Sunday, May 27. This year the meet was held on one day, rather than being spread over the weekend as has been the case in previous years. The competition may have seemed rather long for some of our younger entrants, but the overall feeling was that this was a preferable configuration to the two day format. A 'Sprint' gala is based on short fast races. Depending on their age group, swimmers compete over race distances of either 25 or 50m. The competition is fast and furious, with a series of heats being followed by various age group finals for the four stroke categories. The five Pembrokeshire swimming clubs were well represented, but Tenby's entry was very encouraging, in such that we outnumbered the combined entry of all the other clubs! In fact, on the day, no less than 81 of our club members swam in one or more events! The Tenby Swimmers who took part in the competition were: Nicholas Allen, Carl Amos, Lauren Arthur, Sophie Arthur, Daniel Bakewell, Zara Bakewell, Claudia Belli, Dominic Belli, Eleri Canton, Lewys Canton, Dominic Ciccotti, Elena Ciccotti, Harry Cook, James Crowney-Richards, Erinna Culleton, Bethan Davie, Gareth Davie, Matt Davie, Carys Davies, Daniel Davies, Ffion Davies, Rhys Davies, Luke Dedoncker, Scott Dedoncker, Lloyd Delahunty, Lottie Dessent, Millie Dessent, Lydia Dilks, Daniel Evans, Gabriella Fecci, Nico Fecci, Samuel Foley, Hazel Fox, Jacob Griffiths, Kira Hardy, Abigail Hicks, Kaitlyn Hicks, Edward Hurle, Tudor Hurle, Henrik Jaakola, Jonas Jaakola, Samu Jaakola, Andrew James, Edward James, Rebeccah James, Sophia James, Jodie Jenkins, Kieran Johnson, Myles Johnson, Jacob Knox, Angharad Lear, Jack Lear, Coral Lewis, Samuel Lewis, Talia Merriman, Adam Muskett, Hannah Muskett, Mike Nicholas, Jack Parkinson, Niamh Parsons, Oliver Parsons, Casie Paxton, Georgia Poole, Chloe Rees, Paul Rees, Safiya Rooney, Jade Rowell, Hannah Saunders, Kezia Scaife, Kiera Slack, Niamh Slack, Josh Thomas, Billy Truman, Hari-Llyw Truman, Matthew Veale, Madison Vickery, Sydney Vickery, Lauren Watkins, Ashleigh Willars, Chloe Wilson and Francesco Zeraschi. With so many entries, it is difficult to detail the results, but finalists (i.e. first five) and medal winners were as follows: Girls First:- Ffion Davies, 1st 8/U 25m Freestyle, 2nd 8/U 25m Backstroke, 2nd 9/U 25m Butterfly; Talia Merriman, 4th 8/U Backstroke; Rebeccah James, 4th 8/U 25m Freestyle; Hannah Saunders, 1st 9/U 25m Breaststroke, 3rd 9/U 25m Butterfly, 5th 9-10 25m Backstroke; Madison Vickery, 2nd 9/ U 25m Breaststroke; Jodie Jenkins, 2nd 9-10 25m Freestyle; Niamh Slack, 4th 10-11 50m Butterfly; Bethan Davie, 1st 10-11 50m Breaststroke (New Record), 2nd 10-11 50m Butterfly, 2nd 11-12 50m Freestyle, 4th 11-12 50m Backstroke; Sydney Vickery, 2nd 11-12 50m Backstroke, 2nd 10 -11 50m Breaststroke, 3rd 10-11 50m Butterfly, 5th 11-12 50m Freestyle; Eleri Canton, 3rd 11 -12 50m Freestyle; Kira Hardy 3rd 11-12 50m Backstroke, 4th 12-13 50m Breaststroke; Lauren Arthur, 3rd 12-13 50m Breaststroke, 4th 11 -12 50m Freestyle, 5th 11-12 50m Backstroke; Elena Ciccotti, 1st 13-14 50m Freestyle, 2nd 12-13 50m Butterfly, 2nd 12-13 50m Breaststroke, 2nd 13-14 50m Backstroke; Sophie Arthur, 2nd 15/O 50m Backstroke, 2nd 14-15 50m Butterfly, 2nd 15/ O 50m Freestyle, 4th 14-15 50m Breaststroke, Coral Lewis, 1st 15/O 50m Freestyle, 1st 14 -15 50m Butterfly, 1st 14-15 50m Breaststroke, 1st 15/O 50m Backstroke.

The boys results were as follows:- Billy Truman, 2nd 8/U 25m Backstroke, 2nd 8/U 25m Freestyle, 4th 9/U 25m Breaststroke, 4th 9/U 25m Butterfly; Jonas Jaakola, 4th 8/U 25m Backstroke; Gareth Davie, 5th 8/U 25m Backstroke; Daniel Davies, 1st 9/U 25m Breaststroke, 4th 9-10 50m Freestyle, 5th 9/U 255m Butterfly; Edward Hurle, 5th 9-10 50m Freestyle; Henrik Jaakola, 3rd 9-10 50m Freestyle, 4th 10-11 50m Butterfly, 4th 9-10 50m Backstroke; Josh Thomas, 4th 10-11 50m Breaststroke, 5th 10-11 50m Butterfly; Paul Rees, 5th 10-11 50m Breaststroke; Sam Lewis 1st 10 -11 50m Breaststroke, 1st 10-11 50m Butterfly, 2nd 11-12 50m Backstroke, 3rd 50m 11-12 Freestyle; Samu Jaakola, 2nd 12-13 50m Breaststroke, 4th 11-12 50m Freestyle, 4th 11 -12 50m Backstroke, 5th 12-13 50m Butterfly; Lloyd Delahunty, 1st 11-12 50m Backstroke, 1st 12-13 50m Butterfly, 1st 11-12 50m Freestyle, 5th 12-13 50m Breaststroke; Jack Lear, 1st 12-13 50m Breaststroke, 3rd 12-13 50m Butterfly, 4th 13 -14 50m Freestyle; Matt Davie, 2nd 13-14 50m Freestyle, 2nd 14-15 50m Breaststroke, 3rd 13 -14 50m Backstroke, 3rd 14-15 50m Butterfly; Lewys Canton, 1st 13-14 50m Backstroke, 1st 13 -14 50m Freestyle, 2nd 14-15 50m Butterfly, 4th 14-15 50m Breaststroke; Andrew James, 1st 14 -15 50m Breaststroke (New Record), 1st 14 -15 50m Butterfly, 4th 15/O 50m Backstroke, 4th 15/O 50m Freestyle; Carl Amos, 3rd 16/O 50m Butterfly, 4th 16/O 50m Breaststroke, 5th 15/O 50m Backstroke, Matt Veale 2nd 16/O 50m Butterfly, 3rd 16/O 50m Breaststroke, 3rd 15/O 50m Freestyle, 3rd 15/O 50m Backstroke; Mike Nicholas, 1st 15/O 50m Backstroke, 1st 16/O 50m Butterfly (New Record), 2nd 16/O 50m Breaststroke, 1st 16/O 50m Freestyle.

Just as a note of encouragement, if you finished a little way down the order after the heats, or were unfortunate enough to be disqualified for a rule infringement, don't lose heart. You should remember that in swimming, as in many other sports, athletes develop at different rates and success may come later for some. Also, everyone makes mistakes at times, and without exception, all of our top swimmers have been DQ'd from time to time. You just put it behind you and move on. Keep training hard, listen to what your coaches are telling you, and we guarantee that the improvement in results will definitely come! Anyone who was there at the weekend will have seen that there were some fine performances by Tenby swimmers at the Pembrokeshire Sprints, so team manager Steph Amos will surely have a lot to think about when making team selections for forthcoming events. Forthcoming Events June 9: Amman Valley Sprints, Llanelli. Good luck to those who have entered. June 18/19: Last Chance qualifier at the WNP Swansea. Those near the mark will be giving it one last big try. June 23: Dyfed Junior League, Round 2, Tenby. July 1: Dyfed Junior League Final, TBA. July 23-26: ASA Age Group National Championships, Sheffield. July 27 - August 1: ASA Youth National Championships, Sheffield. August 2 - 5: Welsh Summer Nationals, WNP, Swansea. This is the last chance to post a good time and get yourself up the rankings before the Welsh squads for 2007/2008 are announced. Check to see if you qualify and go for it! As always, keep checking the notice board regularly for more details, and always ask for advice if you are not sure what to enter. Last year, we were all thrilled when World and Olympic medallist David Davies came to Tenby for a special swimming workshop at the club. Now we can reveal the exciting news that later this summer another swimming superstar is hopefully pencilled in for a visit. We wont tell you who it is just now, but as a clue, all you aspiring breaststrokers should take note! Watch this space for more news as the time approaches! Club News In the last report we mentioned that there are four swimmers from Pembrokeshire who have achieved national qualifying times for the Age Group and Youth Championships this year. However, your reporter made something of a blunder and we offer our apologies to local swimming star Danny Brown who of course has also made the grade once again, but was inadvertently omitted from the list. Oops! Danny actually attends Kelly College in Devon, but has been a great servant of the club and Pembrokeshire over the years, and is also a current member of the South West Wales Regional Squad. Naturally we wish Danny the very best along with our other qualifiers. Due to their overwhelming popularity, the original batch of our new design of club backpacks sold out in record time. However, we are pleased to inform you that our new order will shortly be delivered. To avoid disappointment this time, please see Pam at the club shop to purchase yours!

S. D.