C Team Gala Report - Summer League 2nd Round July 10th

The Happy Few reassembled on the night of Saturday July 10th for the second round of the Wiltshire Summer League at the Springfield. This was a different team in terms of swimmers (quite a few changes due to some swimmers now being in the B Team or unavailable which necessitated some late night phone calls on the Friday - thanks Julia) but the same team in terms of spirit and support for one another. The referee started the event by instructing everyone to be hushed at the start of each race but to cheer loudly thereafter - the crowd needed no second bidding. Click "read more" for the full story.

This was always going to be a tough Gala but the best statistic of the night is that there were 51 PBs which clearly shows the commitment of the entire team.

With Calne Alpha taking the place of Pewsey it was great to have a full 4 lanes of racing. Stuart Gibbs and Emma Connor started very well with a 2nd and 1st in the individual medley events, then Lois Watts won the U14 50m breaststroke. Stuart was well supported in the Open section by Sean Browne who won the 100m breatstroke. Leo Matcham and Ollie Little covered the U16 races, supporting the Open relays well.

There were but 3 girls in the entire U16 and Open sections, with Alex Moore and Amelia Lias barely getting out of the pool between races. A number of the younger girls swam up age groups, with good performances from Amy Kitchener, Melissa May, Hannah Trollope and Katherine MacPherson. All the girls worked hard in the team - full credit to them.

The U12 and U14 boys operated as a close unit supporting each other. As such it is difficult to call out individuals but Aidan Saunders showed excellent form in backstroke and Sean Elliott worked hard with a grin throughout (though was a little concerned at the thought of being in the Open relay - the Sean in question for that race turned out to be Mr Browne!).

So the team competed hard across the Gala and cheered on every race. The aim here is to work hard, listen to the coaches, keep good stroke and give it your all - I am pleased to say that this was the case and there will be some good pointers to work on in training before the next gala.

The final result was Bradford on Avon 115, Devizes 109 and Corsham 65 (Calne Alpha not being scored as they did not start the season in this Division).

Team Lists -

Boys - Stuart Gibbs, Sean Browne, Oscar Matcham, Leo Matcham, Ollie Little, Rory Fox-Evans, Harry Berning, Andrew Collins, William McKenna, Josh Price, Sean Elliott, Aidan Saunders
Girls - Emma Connor, Amelia Lias, Alex Moore, Katherine MacPherson, Melissa May, Amy Kitchener, Lois Watts, Hannah Trollope, Emma James, Bethany Little, Kara Little

And thanks to all the poolside helpers - Amanda Little, Donna and Jake Feirn, the Trollope family, Linda and Karl Lias, Dawn Kitchener, Adele MacPherson and Fiona Moore. This could not have heppened without you all.

NB - we still have 2 Galas left to go on September 4th and 18th so please keep these clear in your diaries.