C Team Gala - "We Few, We Happy Few"

The abiding memory of the C Team gala at Devizes last night was that of everybody in the team, top to bottom, showing great determination, team spirit, enthusiasm and hard work. Though depleted in numbers (yes we had but one Open Girl swimmer, two U16 Girls, one U14 boy) this was a team that bonded quickly and supported each other throughout, especially those making their first appearance for the Club taking the opportunity to show what they can achieve. Click "read more" for the full story.

We were up against the Devizes “A”, and the BOA “B” (and remember that their “A” Team swims 5 Divisions higher in the League) with Pewsey unfortunately failing to raise a team. The Corsham Team comprised some Club stalwarts (thanks Stuart, Steve and Katie) and a host of debutantes with some more experienced swimmers bolstering the ranks.

Everyone, especially the junior ages, swam their hearts out and so although I do not want to pick out star performers (there were many) there were a few performances that stood out. James McGettigan who swam tirelessly and was always up for a race, as indeed was Matt Lines (the sole U14 boy) who also swam for the U16 relay. Josh Price worked hard with a smile on his face and in his last event put in one of the best racing dives I saw all night. Sean Elliott’s enthusiasm was contagious, with Jack Stanley’s cheeky grin keeping us all going, and all these U12 boys swam up in the relays. A real credit to the Club.

For the girls Ella Scott Humphris swam 3 back-to-back races and finished off by swimming up 2 age groups in the final event of the night. Alex Moore took a win in the U16 freestyle early on, capping that with a great performance to take 2^nd in the Open 100m Butterfly (and she only turned 14 this month) and then Amelia Lias also took 2^nd in the Open 100m Backstroke. Kirsty Stanley produced one of the biggest cheers, coming from behind on the turn in the U14 50m Butterfly to take the event with a great second length. Shula Scotford and Amy Kitchener swam up in the relays for the U16s, with the U12 girls fighting hard in all events (gaining a number of PBs I am sure). It was a pleasure to meet and see these girls performing so well, full marks to Hannah Trollope, Bethany and Kara Little, Freya Bollen and Safiya Mahmood.

The team was ably cheered on by the “Little Clan” led by Tom (I am still slightly deaf having stood too close to him when he was encouraging the team – I wonder where he gets that voice from?). Tom managed a sub 13-second freestyle length for the first time, and Ollie Little contributed solidly as did Jake Feirn and Elliot Berning.

Many thanks to Julia Airlie who organised the team and officiated, and to the coach Amanda (who started out with a sore throat and with all the cheering could barely be heard after the Gala – obvious comment here resisted). Jane Scott Humphris took the other lane end with Donna Feirn managing the girls, and Carl Lias recording the Club times – thanks again to all as we could not have managed without you. The Team behaviour was a real credit, this marked by the facts that there were no DQs and the last event took place shortly after 8:20pm.  And also thanks to Devizes for putting on a well-run and friendly event (though it will not stop us trying to beat them next time!).

This Gala provided the opportunity for many of the junior Club swimmers to show what they could do, and they took the opportunity with both hands. With this attitude and enthusiasm the future of the Club is looking good.

Girl of the Gala - Ella Scott Humphris

Boy of the Gala - Matthew Lines

And the result? Whilst not entirely academic, it is the Team performance in all aspects that really counts here

Bradford on Avon B             119

Devizes                                  99

Corsham C                             78