Since our last report, there has not been a great deal of competitive swimming in the Pembrokeshire area, but several of our team have been taking part in some bigger events much further afield. These include the Tiger Bay Open in Cardiff, the Welsh Age Group and Youth Championships in Swansea, and the British Long Course Championships in Sheffield.

Competition Results

In chronological order the first competition that took place was the British Long Course Championships which was staged at Ponds Forge in Sheffield from March 29 to April 3. This is the main event for all British swimmers and served as a qualification meet for various international events taking place later in the year, such as the European Championships, European Junior Championships and the Commonwealth Games.

Our Welsh international swimmer Bethan Davie had qualified for both the 200m and 100m breaststroke, and on the basis of some very good pre-competition training was hopeful of a strong showing. Despite finishing second behind British international Hannah Miley in the heats of the 200m breaststroke, her time was not quite good enough to progress to the finals and she finished outside her PB in a creditable 12th place. She was also unable to progress in the 100m event. Nevertheless it was her first time taking part in the championships and she will take a great deal from the experience.

Bethan, who was not scheduled to swim on the last two days of the British Championships, then travelled down to Swansea to take part in the Welsh Age Group Championships from April 2 to 5. This time she was joined by club swimmers Ffion Davies, Talia Merriman and Dan Davies, and a whole host of swimmers from across the county.

The Welsh Age Group and Youth Championships is the premier annual swimming event for Welsh junior swimmers, and we are delighted to report that as a result of some very mature swims we now have two Welsh champions in the club. This is the first time the club has achieved this. What a fantastic result!

Ffion Davies swam to an excellent gold medal in the 10-11 yrs 100m butterfly and added a bronze in 200m event, and set good PB's in quite a few other races.

Bethan, who was still swimming a little off her best, won the 14-15yrs 100m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke and 200m IM, together with a silver in the 100m freestyle.

Both girls were out of age in their races, which makes their victories more impressive.

Bethan topped up her medal tally to seven for the championships, by adding a gold and two silvers as part of the Swansea Performance Centre girls youth relay teams.

Our two other club swimmers also acquitted themselves very well at the Welsh Championships. Talia was competing at this level for the first time and enjoyed being part of such a big occasion. Both she and Dan swam well and set loads of PB's and will certainly enjoy more success at this level in the future. Very good swimming all of you!

To top off a very intensive few weeks of long course competition, three of our swimmers travelled to Cardiff to take part in the Tiger Bay open meet over the weekend of April 10-11. They were Talia Merriman, Lauren Watkins and Luke Dedoncker.

Luke and Lauren were swimming in a long course event for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed the experience by all accounts. Lauren won a bronze medal in the 9yrs 100m backstroke, and Luke set some very good long course PB's. Talia built on her performances in Swansea the previous week and set yet more PB's and placed very strongly in several races with quite a few top 10 finishes, despite being out of age. Well done all three of you.

Forthcoming Events

April 17: Junior gala at Llanelli. See notice board for selection details.

April 25: Junior gala, Pembroke. See notice board for selection details.

May 8: Swansea Valley Junior Open, Neath.

TBA May: Dyfed Junior League. It's back! A one day gala in Llanelli where about nine teams are expected to swim. Sure to a be a fun event.

May 14- 16: Swim Swansea Long Course. Entries Closed.

May 22-23: Pembrokeshire Whitsun Weekender. A great meet on your doorstep in Haverfordwest. No excuse not to enter either the Level 1 or 3 events. Check notice board and website for details.

June 12: Amman Valley Open, Llanelli. Always a fun event for those who want to enjoy their swimming. Check board and website for details.

Club News

The revised squad structure will shortly come into force, so be prepared for a change in the week beginning April 26. Our developing competitive swimmers will have a bit more room in the pool as our fit swim guys move to their own session on a Wednesday evening.

The Pembrokeshire County team had a very good weekend at the Welsh Age Groups, with three of the team adding to the list of those achieving National Qualifying times for the Age Group Championships in Sheffield in July. We would like to pass on our congratulations to Carys Thomas, Isabelle Davies and Kelsey Williams for their excellent swims, and indeed to the whole team for a very good all round performance.