It is some weeks since we posted the last press report, but in that time the swimmers have as usual been continuing on the competition trail. In our previous report we wrote about the great performances of our young swimmers at the West Wales Regional Championships. The next level of competition after this event, is the Welsh Age Group and Youth Championships which is a long course (50m) meet, and is the competition where swimmers compete for the honour of being Welsh Age Group Champion in various categories. Several of our top competitors took part over the Easter weekend. Prior to this, a number of our swimmers entered the annual Llanelli Open meet, and Tenby have also taken part in a number of junior galas against local opposition in the Pembrokeshire Junior League, and the Senior team has been swimming in the Dyfed League competition. Open Competition Results The first big competition to report is the Llanelli Open meet. This is always popular amongst Tenby swimmers, and this year was no exception. In fact, as seems to be the case with most galas at the moment, the event was oversubscribed, so it seems that competitive swimming is definitely on the way up right across the country! We were a little disrupted by the continuing round of winter bugs, so we had a few withdrawals, but nevertheless, our swimmers who attended this meet were: Gemma Amos, Thomas Baker, Lewys Canton, Bethan Davie, Gareth Davie, Daniel Davies, Ffion Davies, Rebekah Gwyther and Henry Whittaker. The mixture of ages and events makes this a fun competition and our representatives once again produced some strong performances. Although not as impressive as previous years at this competition, there were lots of PB's and those achieving podium positions were: Bethan Davie, 1st 12-13 yrs 100m breaststroke; Daniel Davies, 2nd 8-10yrs 50m breaststroke; Lewys Canton, 3rd 15-16 yrs 200m freestyle. Well done guys. The Welsh Age Groups are the premier championships for Welsh Age Group swimmers (i.e. under 18s), and we are pleased to report that eight of our swimmers entered to see how they measure up against the best in Wales. They were: Lewys Canton, Bethan Davie, Matt Davie, Johnnie Delahunty, Andrew James, Jack Lear, Niamh Slack and Henry Whittaker. There are very tough qualifying times, so swimmers are generally forced to be a little selective about the events they decide to enter. Also, as the competition takes place over four full days and one evening session, it can be a real test of endurance. To encourage swimmers to train and compete at longer distances, it is necessary to enter and swim a 200m race in a particular stroke before the swimmer is allowed to take part in the 100m event. As these are held on consecutive days, just about everyone had at least two days at the pool in Swansea. The races are held in various age group categories, with each age group typically spanning two birth years, e.g. 11-12 or 13-14 yrs. This means that every other year a swimmer is going to be 'out of age' and swimming against athletes up to two school years older than themselves. The result is that swimmers can finish out of a finals position, but often be ranked well up in their own age group. It can be frustrating, but they have to concentrate on improving their times and if they do finish well in an 'out of age' year then it is a strong performance. Henry Whittaker was one of those out of age this year. On the back of some great swimming at the West Wales Championships, he once again swam strongly, recorded some great PB's and was placed 22nd and 23rd in 200m and 100m breaststroke. However, he was actually seventh and sixth amongst the boys in his own age. A good performance. Lewys Canton, also out of age, had a tough weekend, but nevertheless still posted a good 200m backstroke PB. Matt Davie was off colour, had a difficult weekend and was forced to withdraw from the later part of the competition. Johnnie Delahunty entered the 200m freestyle where he recorded a good PB on his way to qualification for the B final of this event. Jack Lear posted two good PB's in the 200m and 100m breaststroke, as did Niamh Slack in the 200m freestyle and 100m butterfly. Andrew James entered seven events, so was there for just about the whole weekend. However, it was worth it because he swam strongly and qualified for the A or B final in six events. He also PB'd just about everything and picked up a bronze medal in 15-16 yrs 100m breaststroke. Nice one Andrew! Bethan Davie, who was also out of age this year, was totally focused on trying to achieve a second National Qualifying Time and she dipped under the required figure whilst on her way to a strong silver medal in the 12-13 yrs 100m breaststroke. She has now once again qualified for the 100m and 200m breaststroke for the Nationals which will be held in Sheffield in July. She also won a bronze medal in the 12-13yrs 200m breaststroke the day before and recorded some good new PB's in the 100m and 200m freestyle and the 400m IM. Super swimming Beth! All in all it was a very enjoyable weekend with some great swims from our Tenby contingent. The days were long, but we were constantly entertained by the high standards set by the other swimmers, with many setting championship records during the weekend.
League Competition Results That is enough about the top end of the club! Our younger and club swimmers have also been battling it out in the pool against local opposition. A team travelled to Haverfordwest on February 27 to swim in first round of the 2008 Pembrokeshire League. After some intense competition, Tenby won the gala, with some notable swims from the following individuals who all won their events: Dominc Belli, Carys Davies, Daniel Davies, Luke Dedoncker, Myles Johnson, Hannah Saunders and Kiera Slack. Everyone made a valued contribution to the relay events, and in the end Tenby emerged victorious. The following week, Tenby took on Pembroke at the Tenby Leisure Centre in the second round of the same league competition. This time the winning individual swimmers were: Gareth Davie, Carys Davies, Ffion Davies, Jade Rowell, Hannah Saunders, Madison Vickery, Jessica Wainwright and Ashleigh Willars. Well done to all of you, and well done to the whole team who once again came out on top. With apologies to anyone left off the list, the swimmers selected for the galas on February 27 and March 3 were: Carys Davies, Dominic Belli, Hazel Fox, Ben Rees, Lauren Watkins, Kieran Johnson, Ashleigh Willars, Stephen Ward, Keira Slack, Francesco Zerachi, Ffion Davies, Gareth Davie, Talia Merriman, Luke Dedoncker, Jade Rowell, Myles Johnson, Sofia Scrivens, James Crowney-Richards, Kaitlyn Hicks, Billy Truman, Lydia Dilks, Nicholas Allen, Madison Vickery, Daniel Davies, Jessica Wainwright, Carl Gwyther, Hannah Saunders, Jack Parkinson, Safiya Rooney, Jacob Knox. Head coach John Amos is particularly pleased with the progress being made by the younger members of the club at the moment. Everyone is trying really hard during training and the results at the galas speak for themselves. A big pat on the back and keep it up! Some of the youngsters listed above also travelled to the pool in Crymch on March 15 to take part in the second round of the Dyfed Senior League. They were meant to be up against teams from Aberaeron and the Teifi Sharks, but in the end Aberaeron were unable to attend. The Teifi Sharks comprise of a joint team of swimmers from Cardigan and Newcastle Emlyn, but were no match for the Tenby team which was victorious despite some notable absences. Well done to all who attended that gala. Those who swam were: Carys Davies, Talia Merriman, Jade Rowell, Billy Truman, Ffion Davies, Ben Rees, Keira Slack, Gareth Davie, Kieran Johnson, Myles Johnson, Niamh Slack, Daniel Davies, Hari Truman, Nicholas Allen, Hannah Saunders, Daniel Evans, Madison Vickery, Lewis Bridle, Olivia, Sydney Vickery, Dominic Ciccotti, Bethan Davie, Josh Thomas, Eleri Canton, Sam Lewis, Rebekah Gwyther, Edward James, Elliot Hoad, Thomas Baker, Elena Ciccotti, Jack Lear, Lauren Arthur, Johnnie Delahunty, Sophie Arthur, Matt Davie, Holly Watkin- Rees, Lewys Canton, Coral Lewis, Andrew James and Gemma Amos. Unfortunately, due to a combination of illnesses and alternative commitments, Tenby were not able to field a team for the final of the Dyfed Senior League this year. Hopefully we will go better in the Dyfed Junior League which starts this weekend. Good luck everyone! Earlier this week saw Tenby take on Milford Haven in another round of the Pembrokeshire Junior League. As usual, the competition was well contested, but the greater strength of the Tenby team brought them home in first place. Once again there were some super swims from the up-and-coming members of the team, with many stepping up to try some of the longer distances for the first time. No less than 75 per cent of the individual results were PB's, which is very good considering the swimmers have all been in competition regularly over the past couple of months. It's not easy to keep reducing the times week on week! There were some particularly big improvements made by Billy Truman in the 50m butterfly, Madison Vickery in the 100m breaststroke, and Gareth Davie in the 50m breaststroke. Those selected for the gala were: Carys Davies; Dominic Belli; Hazel Fox; Ben Rees; Lauren Watkins; Kieran Johnson; Ashleigh Willars; Stephen Ward; Keira Slack; Francesco Zerachi; Ffion Davies; Gareth Davie; Talia Merriman; Luke Dedoncker; Jade Rowell; Myles Johnson; Kaitlyn Hicks; Billy Kinnear; Billy Truman; James Crowney-Richards; Lydia Dilks; Nicholas Allen; Madison Vickery; Daniel Davies; Jessica Wainwright; Carl Gwyther; Hannah Saunders; Jack Parkinson; Rebecca James; Jacob Knox; Tom Kinnear. Well done to all of you. Another great result for the team! Forthcoming Events Saturday, April 19: Dyfed Junior League, round one (Pembroke). Sunday, April 27: Pembrokeshire Team Championships (check notice board for selection details). Saturday and Sunday, May 3 and 4: Swansea Valley Open, Neath - 13/U (entries now closed). Friday - Sunday, May 16 - 18: Swim Swansea Long Course Open, WNPS (entries now closed). Sunday, May 25: Pembrokeshire Sprints eight-plus (Pembroke). Make sure you all enter this. It's fast and furious and really good fun! 25m or 50m races only - depending on age! Club News There has been a lot going on in Pembrokeshire swimming in the past six months, and your coaches and committee have been working hard to keep abreast of the latest developments and ensure that the interests of the club membership are well represented. As most of you are aware, we had a special meeting with representatives of Pembrokeshire County Council to discuss the planned restructuring of swimming in the county, and the imminent employment of a professional county swimming coach. Your correspondent was not able to be present, but by all accounts it was a very positive occasion and the committee members who attended were much clearer about the plans by the end of the meeting. If non-committee members want to know more, then please ask any of the club officers for the details you need. As discussed above, our award winning head coach John Amos is very pleased with how the younger swimmers are responding at the moment. The team spirit is reportedly very good, and the swimmers are really applying themselves well during competitions. The results have been above expectations, so clearly the training and commitment of our youngsters is very good at the moment. We are also delighted to see some new names cropping up on the results sheets, and hope that in time we can tempt you to try out some open meets and galas a little further afield. Don't forget there are meets of different standards, and everyone has to start somewhere. The club is delighted that Bethan Davie has qualified for the UK National Age Group Championships in the two breaststroke events once again. She has a lot of hard work to do between now and July! This weekend, together with a group of other prominent young Welsh breaststroke swimmers, Bethan has been invited to swim at a visiting breaststroke coaches clinic at the National Pool in Swansea with Russ Barber, a GB coach and the head coach of the City of Sheffield Swimming Club. Sounds great! Finally, we hope you managed to watch some of the recent World Short Course Swimming Championships from Manchester. It's great to see the sport getting a bit of media attention for a change! The British team had some brilliant swims, set lots of UK, Commonwealth, European records, and won no less than 24 medals, which is an amazing result. Also, many of you probably do not know, but the team for the Beijing Olympics has also been selected and includes four Welsh swimmers, David Davies (who visted our club), Thomas Haffield, Jemma Lowe and Ben Hockin. Names you can look out for in the summer. Anyway, let's hope you are all inspired by their achievements! Train hard and swim fast!