Club Championships Report
15 Jun 2023
Author: Matt Boyd-Wallis
This is another event where it just shows how well the club and swimmers have been and are developing their performances, with confidence and belief in themselves and their ability growing. The timing of these club champs wasn’t perfect, with regards to exams being in full swing and half-term and as a result not as many swimmers participated as normally would have. Yet the club managed to pull the officials, timekeepers and swimmers together and we were not disappointed with the performances of our swimmers and volunteers. Plus, if we look at the number of swims compared to PBs recorded, people will see why the coaches are so pleased and proud of our swimmers.
Hence why I am going to start this report off a little back to front and just show how well they all swam over the 3 days of competition. In total we had 417 swims and recorded 237 PBs. I include first time swims as PBs, as this is exactly what they are, first recorded time for that event and so right now is the swimmer’s PB in that event! In short, 57% of our swims were PB swims, which is incredibly high especially with the range of events and the fact that it was spread over 3 days. Normally we would see PBs tail off as the competition progresses, yet our third session had our highest number of PBs, meaning that swimmers were keeping their focus, drive and effort throughout the length of the competition.
However the really pleasing aspect of these Club Champs was not just the number of PBs, but also how much swimmers dropped their times. I am fully aware there are other contributing factors to these drops, but the sheer numbers and how many swimmers were taking down their old PB times by such large amounts means an awful lot more. I know I can’t mention everyone and I apologise if you feel I missed out some swimmers but all these results can be seen on Meet Mobile App and in your Swim England Profiles.
But here are just a few highlights that stood out and I feel need a mention:
Session 1: 133 Swims with 58 PBs
Event 1 – 200m Fly
- A tough event to start with yet we had 9 swimmers take part in this event, with a number being first timers! We had 7 PBs, Alana M dropped her PB by 5 seconds and Megan T set a new club record in the 14-15 age category.
Event 2 – 50m Breaststroke
- Contrary to people’s belief getting PB’s in 50’s is a lot harder than other events as the margins of errors are so small; making a mistake in one part of the race can have a big effect on the rest of the race and as they are such a short distance it’s hard for swimmers to make up for those mistakes! Yet we recorded 5 PBs .
Event 3 – 100m FC
- 24 swimmers recorded a new PB with Freya R dropping 9 seconds.
Event 4 – 50m Butterfly
- We had 15 PBs with Jennifer W dropping 8 seconds and Alzbeta S and Veronika S dropping 3 secs, which are huge margins for 50m.
Event 5 – 200m Backstroke
- 7 PBs with Aurelia R dropping 27 seconds, Emily B dropping 13 seconds and Alana M dropping 6 seconds.
Session 2: 97 Swims with 56 PBs
Event 6 – 200m Breaststroke
- 15 PBs with Emma P-O and Alzbeta dropping 12 seconds, Elliot L dropping 10 seconds, Ben W dropping 9 seconds, Sammy S dropping 8 seconds and Amy VW dropping 6 seconds and there were a lot more.
Event 7 – 50m Backstroke
- A huge total of 19 PBs with Jennifer W dropping 3 seconds
Event 8 – 100m Butterfly
- 6 PBs with Jacob A dropping 8 seconds and Adam S dropping 4 seconds.
Event 9 – 200m FC
- 16 PBs with a special mention for Will S who dropped a huge 46 seconds. Emma P-O 16 seconds, Sammy S 10 seconds, Samuel M 9 seconds, Veronika S and Jennifer W 6 seconds & Frazer W 5 seconds.
Session 3: 187 Swim with 123 PBs, this is very impressive!
Event 10 – 200m IM
- 17 PBs with Jacob A dropping 20 seconds, Emma P-O 15 seconds, Aurelia R 14 seconds, Aiden B and Adam S both dropping 10 seconds, Elliot L and Sammy S dropping 7 seconds, Jessica H-C dropping 6 seconds & Alana M and Veronika S both dropping 5 seconds.
Event 11 – 50m FC
- A huge 36 PBs which is fantastic from everyone, with Corden E, Leonardo B, Evan W, Alistair T, Ben S, Amelia W, Isabelle R and Harriet J all dropping 2 seconds.
Event 12 – 100m Backstroke
- 13 PBs with Ben S dropping 22 seconds, Alzbeta S 10 seconds and Emma P-O dropping 5 seconds.
Event 13 – 100m Breaststroke
- 23 PBs with Frazer W dropping a huge 19 seconds, Will A 13 seconds & Imogen W 5 seconds.
Event 14 – 100m IM
- Another events were we had 34 PBs and Evan W & Frazer W dropping 16 seconds, Harry G & Emma P-O 9 seconds, Alzbeta S & Emily B 6 seconds, Abi N & Elliot L 5 seconds, Veronika S 4 seconds and Aurelia R 3 seconds.
In this 3rd session I wanted to also mention the incredible racing that took place, with some races literally coming down to the touch and final strokes. Showing the wonderful competitive spirit and nature we have between our swimmers and the way they all were smiling and congratulating each other afterwards. As a coach, I love seeing this great determination and grit in our swimmers, not willing to give up until the very end. It’s the one thing that competitive sport, as a whole, brings out of us and the great feeling of sharing these triumphs and experiences with each other, at any level.
All of this happened because of our club spirit and members prepared to give up their time, support their swimmers and be part of this club. It was so nice to see the seats in the viewing gallery fuller than usual and the same with the Junior Arena League Gala the other day. I wish to encourage this to continue with more parents and members coming in and watching what your swimmer, their coaches and what your club is doing! Without all of you, this club wouldn’t exist, wouldn’t be able to do what it does and wouldn’t be able to show these young swimmers their true potential. So if you have an interest or time, please ask any of us about getting involved and continue the great work of our current volunteers, because the future of our club is truly in the hands of new parents and swimmers joining Eastleigh Swimming Club.
club, champs, competition, medals, PBs, race, swim, meet, gala, open