CSWPC Swimming Competition Information
January 3, 2012, No Comments
Swimming
CSWPC Swimming Yearly Report 2012
2012 Olympic Trials
The Olympics dominated all sports this year and we were fortunate enough to have two swimmers Hannah McCarthy and Warren Cannon compete in the British Gas Swimming Championships 2012 (Selection Trials) at the London Aquatics Centre. Olympic selection was highly unlikely as both swimmers were up against the best swimmers in the Country, and also a large contingent of international swimmers who were using the event as a test event for the London Olympics later in the year.
Due to the scheduling of the event in March, both our swimmers were slightly off their best. Warren swam 24.55 in the 50m Freestyle but was happy to swim in his first Senior National Championships. Hannah was overjoyed to make the Final in the 50m Freestyle finishing in 8th place in 26.27, and she just missed qualifying for the semi-finals of the 100m Free in 57.63. As many Club members saw, Hannah’s 50m Freestyle semi-final was televised live on the BBC and she got a mention from BBC commentator Andy Jamieson. Unfortunately, the 50m Final on the last day was not televised.
As a result of their endeavours Hannah was again selected to represent Wales at the annual Celtic 3 Nations event, this year in Dublin, and Warren was selected for the newly formed ASA England Talent Development South West Region Training Sessions. This is in addition to the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence program that they have both undertaken in addition to their A levels.
It has been many years since CSWPC has had more than one swimmer compete at an Olympic Trials, and it again proves that with the limited resources available to us it is possible to achieve national success if you work hard and attend training regularly.
In July we were lucky enough to host the Malawi Olympic Swim Team, who trained with us for four weeks before the Games. When they weren’t visiting local schools or doing media work they made three morning sessions every week and really enjoyed the sessions, especially training with our senior swimmers who were preparing for Nationals.
National Championships
Sophie Tebbs made significant improvements last year and she joined Hannah and Warren as another CSWPC National Qualifier.
At the end of June, Hannah and Warren again made the trek to Sheffield to compete in the ASA National Championships, which were also a last chance qualifier for the Olympics. In the final of the 100m Freestyle Hannah pulled out all the stops and swam a lifetime best of 56.70 setting a new Welsh Senior Record and also breaking the CSWPC Club Record. In the 50m Freestyle again Hannah made the final and swam another Welsh Senior and CSWPC Club Record of 25.99 to finish 5th.
Warren Cannon swam in the heats of the 50m butterfly and managed a creditable time of 25.65, just off his best. Unfortunately, Warren just missed the final by 0.07 of a second – at this level races are won and lost on starts and turns so younger Club members are encouraged to practice them at every training session.
In mid-July Hannah and Warren represented CSWPC for the last time before heading off to University in September. At the ASA National Youth Championships 2012 again in Sheffield both swimmers raised their game and took on the best in the Country. At the end of the competition Hannah finished with a Silver in the 100m Freestyle in another Welsh Senior and Club record of 56.36 and a Bronze in the 50m Freestyle just off her best in 26.03. In the 100m Fly Warren swam a lifetime best of 57.76 but missed the semi final by 0.40. In the 50m Freestyle Warren made the semi-final but couldn’t improve on his heat time of 24.20 (CSWPC Record) and finished 15th in 24.23
For the first time in many years, swimmers from local Clubs joined forces in order to be able to compete nationally with bigger squads who themselves regularly take swimmers from many Clubs to compete nationally.
In the lead off leg of the 400m Freestyle Warren swam set a new lifetime best and Club Record of 53.43 and was joined by swimmers from Soundwell, Gloucester and Lydney eventually finishing in 19th place. Hopes were high for a medal in the 400m Medley Relay as they made the final ranked in 4th place. All swimmers gave their all and Warren swam an awesome 56.13 100m Butterfly split but unfortunately the Team could not improve on their heat position and finished a creditable 4th place.
Sophie Tebbs made her national debut at the ASA National Age Group Championships again in Sheffield. On day one in the 100m Freestyle Sophie swam a solid 1:01.25 but was slightly off her best finishing in 24th place.
In the relays, like Warren Sophie teamed up with swimmers from Tewkesbury SC and Gloucester City SC and in the heats of the 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay Sophie went first and swam a great PB of 1:00.59, which is also a National Qualifying Time for 2013. The Team made the evening final but the swimmers could not repeat the times of the morning and finished 9th. In the 800m Freestyle relay Sophie swam a good split of 2:13.58 and the team finished in 21st place. In the Medley Relay Sophie swam the anchor Freestyle leg and swam another good time 1:01.25 with the team finishing in 36th place.
South West Region ASA Championships
We had several swimmers qualify for this year’s Youth Championships which were held at the new 50m pool in Plymouth. However, due to the number of competitions this year and the expense involved only Warren Cannon decided to make the journey. Warren swam well in all his events but used the event mainly as a training exercise for Nationals later in the year. His best result was in the 17yrs+ 50m Butterfly where he won a bronze in 25.27 which was a new Club Record. In the 100m Freestyle Warren swam another Club record of 53.90 which was also a National Qualifying Time.
At this year’s District Age Group competitions at Millfield we were represented by Sophie Tebbs, Joe Fountain, Sophie Whitehead and first timers Trinity Donohugh and Owen Cannon. Sophie Tebbs was our most successful swimmers winning two bronze medals in the 100m Freestyle 1:00.91 and the 200m Freestyle 2:12.81. The 100m time was Sophie’s first National Qualifying Time. Sophie also swam in the 400m and 800m Freestyle Relays with swimmers from other clubs (as mentioned above) and was rewarded with a silver and bronze medal and relay National Qualification.
Competing in her first regional event Trinity Donohugh swam well and made the final of the 200m Backstroke where she finished in 8th place in 2:47.07. Owen also swam well in his first regional event in the 400m Freestyle with a 4:49.91and Joe improved on his times from last year.
In July at GL1 we had the annual Regional Sprints for non-national qualifiers where each swimmer competes in 50m of each stroke plus a 100m Individual Medley and points are awarded for each race swam. Medals are then awarded based on the total points scored. Trinity Donohugh Joe Fountain and Sophie Whitehead represented our Club and finished in 27th, 4th and 15th positions respectively.
Gloucester County ASA Championships
With our National qualifiers leading the way we had another record breaking time at this year’s County Championships. This year we had an admirable total of 45 swimmers qualify for a total 245 events.
After all was said and done, we finished with a total of ten County champions in Warren Cannon, James Fletcher, Hannah McCarthy Adam Naylor, Sophie Parton, Sophie Tebbs, Emily Sheppard, Sophie Whitehead, Jenny Todd and Olivia Mitchell.
We had County Senior Champions in 6 events, and our swimmers established 3 Age Group Best Times, 3 Championship Best Times and 3 County Records. In the medal table for individual events we finished in seventh place overall with 16 Gold, 15 Silver and 18 Bronze medals.
Despite swimming a limited program due to this year’s Olympic Trials Hannah McCarthy and Warren Cannon still managed to lead the Club and set County Records. Hannah set new County Senior records and Championship records in the 50m Free 26.25, 100m IM 1:05.83 and 100m Free 57.33. Warren set County Age Group Best Times in the 17yrs 50m Fly 26.18 and 50m Free 23.66. All records were also CSWPC Club records
In the Bagcat events where points are awarded for differing events, strokes and distances, Sophie Tebbs was second in 13yrs, Olivia Mitchell was fourth in the 10yrs and Ollie Brophy was sixth in the 14yrs
In relay events our Teams improved on last years performance with 3 teams winning County Titles and the mixed 17yrs+ Freestyle Team equalled the County Record.
County Representation
In October at the ASA National Inter-County Championships at Sheffield Warren Cannon was County Captain and was joined by team mates Connor Casey and Sophie Tebbs who where both representing Gloucestershire for the first time.
At the annual 3 Counties competition in June we were represented by Sophie Tebbs and Nick Armitage-Bond and Sophie Whitehead were selected to represent the County for the first time.
Cotswold League
A great effort from all swimmers led us to regain the Cup after defeat in 2011. Having finished the regular season in 5th place with 592 points, 45 points behind leaders Norton Radstock, we knew it would take a big effort on the night to regain the Trophy. The competition was tougher than in previous years with several regional medallists and qualifiers competing and at least one swimmer who had just swam a national qualifying time.
Cheered on by a large group of parents who travelled to the gala, event 6 produced our first win, Jack O’Hanlon in the 11yrs 25m Free in a PB 14.62. Jack had the golden touch on the night winning all 4 of his races, 11yrs 100m Med Relay, 11yrs 25m Back 18.04 and 13yrs 100m Med Relay. Sophie Whitehead also had 4 wins on the night in the 15yrs 50m Back 34.80, the 13yrs 50m Free 30.59 and 13yrs 50m Back 35.84 and 15yrs 200m Free Relay. Nick Armitage – Bond had 3 wins in the 13yrs 50m Free 29.57, 13yrs 50m Back 34.14, the 13yrs Medley Relay and a 2nd in the Free Relay. Other individual winners on the night were Olivia Mitchell 11yrs 25m Fly 16.84, Jonathon Ranshaw 11yrs 25m Breast 20.53, Emily Sheppard 15yrs 50m Free 30.06 and Ollie Brophy 13yrs 50m Fly 33.96
The future is looking good for us in the competition as 11yr old swimmers added the most points on the night with a total of 86 points from a total available of 96.
Thanks to the following who contributed to our success on the night and the earlier rounds Jeanette Hallam (Coach), Richard Davies (Team Manager), Sandy Painter (Chaperone), and judges Mike Hynd and Marilyn Barry.
Ross PGL
CSWPC qualified in fifth place for the final held at GL1. This proved to be a nail-bitingly close contest. After 10 races we were in joint third place with Pershore out of the eight Clubs competing, but we moved up to second place – two points behind Stourbridge- by halfway. Going into the final ten races those positions had reversed, with CSWPC two points ahead.
We eventually finished in a creditable third place just two points behind Worcester and eight points behind winners Stourbridge.
Thanks to Jacky Gleed who spent many hours picking the teams and matching competitors to events and to the parents and officials who gave up their time to support the Club
CSWPC Club Championships
As normal we ran a full program of events this year in order to give club members the opportunity to compete in all events and swimming County Qualifying Times without the expense of attending Open Meets. This year the Girls led the way with fourteen Club Championship Records broken compared to six for the Boys.
In the past there has been some confusion as to which events swimmers should be entering. This year we issued guidelines on which events should be entered. We are a competitive swimming club and as such we expect swimmers to compete at every opportunity they are given.
Thank you to all parents, coaches and officials for giving up your time to help our swimmers compete. A special thanks to Brian Armstrong who spent many hours compiling the results for us.
Cheltenham & District Primary Schools Gala 2012
More than 100 youngsters and their families packed leisure@cheltenham for the Cheltenham & District Primary Schools Gala.
Fourteen primary schools entered the event, run by Cheltenham Swimming and Water Polo Club, with pupils competing in mixed relays for U11 and U10, and girls’ and boys’ individual freestyle races in the two age groups.
The prizes were presented by Sue Jones, president of the Gloucestershire ASA and the club’s senior captains Balcarras sixth formers Hannah McCarthy and Warren Cannon.
“It was a fantastic night with superb swimming and great team spirit,” said Richard Davies, a spokesman for the club. “We’re grateful for the support of our sponsors, Carter Construction, and the local schools who keep this popular event going.”
Masters
2012 has been a fruitful year for the more senior members of the swimming squad who train with us in our morning sessions.
Ollie Wilkinson, again proved his distance swimming prowess as he set a new British Long Distance Swimming Record in their one hour postal swim event. A mere sprint, in comparison to his epic Lido marathon swim, yes literally the full 26 miles where Ollie raised over £2000 for the Lido Charity and swam the last 50m butterfly!
The distance success theme continued for Kate Nimmo, who also posted the best ladies distance on the postal swim, just shy of her age group record. This came at the end of the February Fitness Competition. In this American competition, Kate went for the dual challenges of swimming every day and recording the highest mileage possible over this period. Racking up over 120k, she easily won her age group and was the highest place overseas competitor overall. This provided Kate with an excellent foundation for the World Masters Swimming Championship in Italy where she flew the CSWPC colours and took silver in the 3k Open Water event.
Summary
We now have more frequent intakes of new swimmers and are working on making the Club’s website an up to date source of information. There are many aspects of administration that could be taken on by parents and we would like to hear from you if you feel able to offer your assistance in helping the section.