Report from the East Region Age Group Championships

Report from the East Region Age Group Swimming Championships

Runnymede Swimming Club took their biggest squad of qualifiers to date to a Regional Age Group Championships which was held this year at the University of East Anglia 50m pool in Norwich. The Championship included the top qualifying 10-13 year girls and 10-14 year boys in the counties of Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, and was the first Age Group Championships held by the newly established East Region Amateur Swimming Association.

Head Coach Paul Eveleigh was extremely pleased with his squad's efforts over the two weekends and said, "I am really delighted for all our swimmers involved at these Championships, and also for the club. There were so many great races from our swimmers throughout both weekends. Nobody had a bad day in the pool, and many of our swimmers produced personal best performances, which shows that they were really focused on what they had to do. At the beginning of the season we set ourselves some targets for these age groups, one of which was to make some of the event finals. We not only achieved that but we managed to get into the medal positions as well, which is outstanding."

This year's top performer for the club was 13-year-old Jason Daniels who went into the Championships on top form following a succession of competitive races which saw his previous personal bests tumble in all events. Jason set himself a target of getting on the medal rostrum at the championships and he wasn't disappointed. He set a personal best time to qualify for the 100m Backstroke final, and then produced an even better swim in the Final and another best time to take the Bronze medal, his first at a Regional Championships. Not content with one medal, Jason then produced another fantastic performance to jump from 5^th position after qualifying, to the Bronze medal in the finals of the 200m Butterfly. Jason made the finals in all events he competed in and narrowly missed another bronze, finishing 4^th in the 200m Backstroke, 6^th position in the final of the 200m Freestyle, 7^th in the 100m Butterfly and 400m Individual Medley, and 8^th in the 100m Freestyle, rounding off a very successful championships.

Another of Runnymede's youngsters to make the Championship finals was 11-year-old Henry Newton, who qualified for nearly every event at the Championships. Henry made it to the finals of the 100m Backstroke where he finished in 7^th place, the 100m Butterfly, finishing in 5^th position, and saved his best race till last, finishing 4^th in the final of the 200m Butterfly. He was also just outside of the top 8 finalist places, but swum well in the 400m Freestyle, 200m I/M and 200m backstroke events.

Runnymede's other finalists were Alex Delicata and Ryan Daniels in the 12 year age group. Both swimmers qualified for final of the boys 200m Butterfly where Alex finished in 7^th place and Ryan in 8^thposition. This was Ryan's first Regional Championships and to make a final at the first attempt was a tremendous achievement. Alex's best performance of the weekend came in the 200m Individual Medley where he set a personal best time, well inside his previous mark, in a highly competitive race to finish in 12^th position. He also set a new best time in the 200m Freestyle, finishing 16^th, and was just outside of the finals in 11^th in the 200m Backstroke event.

The youngest members of the club competing at the championships in the 10-year age group were Rory Geoghegan and Thomas Giles for the boys and Alice Cain for the girls' squad. Thomas finished just outside the top 8 finalists in 9^th position in the 200m Breaststroke, 11^th in the 100m Breaststroke and a creditable 17^th in the 200m I/M. Rory's highest place was also 9^th in the 100m Breaststroke, and he added an 11^th in the 200m event of the same stroke, a 15^th in the 100m Freestyle and 20^th place in the 200m Freestyle, many for new best times. Alice Cain's best performance of the champs was in her favoured backstroke races. She finished in 11^th place in the 100m and 14^th in the 200m Backstroke, to complete a fine year of competition that saw her rise rapidly through the ranks of junior swimmers.

Runnymede's other competitor at the championships were: Laura Humphreys (12yr) who's highest position was 18^th in the 200m Backstroke (PB); Chloe Davis (12yr) highest position 20^th in the 400m Freestyle (PB) and 100m Backstroke (PB); George Smith (12yr) 25^th in the 100m Freestyle with a PB time.

The club continues to improve and is always looking out talented swimmers to join their squads. If you want to be part of this club's future, please call Heather Davis on 01702 478380, or Paul Eveleigh on 01268 759043 to arrange a trial session.