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Scarborough A & B graded gala Written by Mike Sayer Skins information by Claire Millington For the Olympic 1 & 2 and AA squad swimmers, the gala over the weekend of the 19th/20th and 21st of June was what the past months intensive training was all for. The Scarborough gala saw 18 Middlesbrough ASC swimmers compete in the A & B graded gala. Medals were awarded to sixth place and speeding tickets were awarded for those swimmers faster than the grade cut off times. Middlesbrough swimmers picked up a total of 23 medals and 12 speeding tickets over the weekend, with Matthew Young also coming first in the boys 12 years and under skins competition. There were 8 boys who swam over the weekend and they managed to win 12 medals and secure 6 speeding tickets. Matthew Young (12), swam extremely well, and was the most successful Middlesbrough swimmer. The last event of the gala was the boys under 12s skins which featured Matthew. He swam brilliantly in the 50m sprints of butterfly, breaststroke, freestyle, and backstroke to comfortably reach the final. He swam a great race in the final, winning the close battle to claim the £50 prize! He not only won the skins competition, but in his 6 other swims, he amassed a gold (100m back), 3 bronzes (200m free, 100m free and breast), a 6th place (100m butterfly) and a speeding ticket (100m IM), with all his swims being new PBs. We had two 9 year old boys swimming, Josh Watson and Joe Carter, both of whom achieved PBs in all their swims. Josh had 4 swims, coming first in the A grade 50m free and second in the B grade 50m butterfly. He also swam well in the 200m and 400m free under 12 years, coming 9th in both events. Joe also swam 4 events, and for his first major away gala, he swam exceedingly well! He picked up 2 speeding tickets in the 50m free and breast, gold in the 100m IM and 4th place in the 50m back. The 10 year old boys' results were topped by Hassan Ben-Tiba, who managed to get 2 speeding tickets (50m back and 100m IM) and 2 golds (50m breast and free) in his 5 swims. Lewis Plaice took gold in the 50m Butterfly and received a speeding ticket in the 50m free. He also swam very well in the under 12 years 200m free coming 8th and gaining a 5th place in the 400m free, were he was only beaten by 12 year olds! Matthew Konya gained gold in the 100m IM and two 4th places in the 50m back & free races. Liam Bollands competed well in his 3 races and managed to get a second place in the 50m butterfly. Our only 9 year old girl, Abigail Jackson had five very strong swims and led the way for the girls, grabbing 2 silvers, a bronze, a speeding ticket and a fourth place. The speeding ticket came in the 100m IM, the silvers in the 50m back (A grade) and the 50m butterfly, the bronze in 50m breast and the fourth place was in the A grade 50m free. Emma Sayer (11) and Alice Griffiths (10) both managed 4 awards each. Emma received two speeding tickets in the 50m back and breast, silver in the 100m IM and a bronze in the 50m free. She also swam in 3 other events gaining 2 PBs. Alice was awarded a speeding ticket for the 50m back, silver in the 100m IM and two 4th places in the 50m free and breast. She also picked up a PB in her other event. Two other girls swam the maximum 7 events and both Chloe McCormack (10) and Elisha Millington (11) received 3 awards. Chloe achieved PBs in all her events and got gold in the 50m free, silver in the 50m back and a 5th place finish in the 100m IM. Elisha swam very well and knocked a lot of time off her PBs in six of her swims. She received two speeding tickets in the 50m back and breast and a 5th place in the 100m IM. Isobel McGarrell (10) had 6 swims getting a 4th place in the 50m breast and 6th place in the 50m back and 4 good PBs along the way. Also gaining 2 awards, Jessica Marshall (11) achieved gold in the 50m back and a 4th place in the 50m breast; she also achieved PBs in all her 6 swims. The other medal won was gold in the 100m IM for Sophie Dawson (12). She also gained 4 new PBs over the weekend. The other club swimmers who contributed to this successful weekend, were Ali Ben-Tiba, and Sophia and Adelle Benson. They all swam well over the gala, getting 6 new PBs between them. The award total of 35 (38.5% of the total swims) was a very good return from the swimmers, in what was a very enjoyable gala (ignoring the fact that the pool was 120 degrees, with the water not far behind!). Of the 91 swims made, 72 new personal bests were set, with many of the swimmers really starting to ‘race' their strokes! This gala saw many of the swimmers staying away from home, whilst competing, for the first time! I am sure that they all had some good laughs, and that many new friendships were made over the weekend. I think that they all enjoyed the experience, and this will help them as they progress through the club squads. Some of the highlights for me from the weekend must be:- •1. Matthew Young winning the skins competition. •2. Ray accusing the boarding house owner of stealing his brolly! (It's in my car!) •3. Matthew Konya's and Hassan's dancing during the Sunday warm up. •4. Alice getting her towel down by the pool first each day! •5. Being beaten round the lake in Peasholm Park in a Dragon boat, by 2 girls aged 10 and 11! •6. The spectators joining in with YMCA on Sunday warm up! The team spirit over the weekend was great, with swimmers and coaches constantly shouting encouragement to those in the water. The times achieved, and the smiles on swimmers faces, showed me that this squad, really thrive in that type of environment! This gala was a resounding success! Boldmere Water Carnival, Birmingham . 3rd - 5th July 09 Middlesbrough ASC took their National Age Group squad to their first away trip on 3rd-5th July to Boldmere Water Carnival, Birmingham. This was an opportunity for the swimmers - mostly aged 11 and 12 with a couple of teenagers for good measure - to gain valuable experience in taking care of themselves without their parents. They were responsible for getting themselves up and organised on a morning, getting their kit ready, looking after their own money, and making nutritious meal choices. These skills will be necessary as they progress to higher level competitions as they grow older. It was also an opportunity for them to act as a team- supporting and encouraging each other throughout the weekend. Their Coach Ben Philo, Team Manager and 2 chaperones accompanied the 19 swimmers and were extremely impressed by their fantastic behaviour and responsible attitudes. And then of course there was the swimming!! Pbs were smashed with almost every swim, with some swimmers showing up to an enormous 13% improvement on previous times, as heat after heat was won by a Middlesbrough swimmer. By the end of the first day it was clear we were in the running for the ‘Top Visiting Club' award and, when the results were announced, we won with a massive 196 point margin! The medal tally was equally impressive :- 19 GOLD Daniel Andrews 11 yrs 50 fly and free, 100 back, free and IM, 200 and 400 free Eve Chinnock 12yrs 50 free, 100 free and IM James Griffiths 12yrs 50 back and 200 back Jack Willis 12yrs 50 free and 100 IM Jess Atkinson 11 yrs 200 back, Patrick Severn 11 yrs 200 breast Jack Baister 12yrs 400 free Owen Waddington 12yrs 200 breast Matthew Twohig 13yrs 50 fly. 12 SILVER Jack Willis 100 free and fly, 200 breast James Griffiths 100 back and IM, 200 fly Patrick Severn 200IM Daniel Andrews 50 back Eve Chinnock 50 fly Owen Waddington 400 free Matthew Twohig 400 free Catherine Regan 14yrs 200 back 31 BRONZE Jack Willis 50 back and breast, 100 back, 200 back and fly Patrick Severn 50 breast, 100 IM and 200 fly Eve Chinnock 50 back 200 free and IM, 400 free Catherine Regan 50 fly and back, 100 IM and 400 free Matthew Twohig 100 IM, 200IM and free Emma Tweddell 11yrs 200 back and fly Joe Errington 11yrs 50 fly and 200 breast Rebecca Maude 12yrs 50 and 200 breast Jack Baister 100 fly and 200 breast Brigid Knowles 12yrs 100 Fly James Griffiths 50 fly, 200 IM Jess Atkinson 100 back Our swimmers also won 70 4th - 6th place medals. 11yr old Daniel Andrews won the ‘Top Boy' award with team-mates Jack Willis coming 2nd, James Griffiths 5th Eve Chinnock (12 years) took 2nd place in the ‘Top Girl' category. All swimmers were a credit to their parents and to the club. They tho roughly enjoyed themselves in the carnival atmosphere and looked and acted like a team at all times, wearing club shirts and always giving the loudest cheers! The pbs and fantastic results are obviously important but this was also a valuable lesson in taking responsibility for themselves and their performances. This experience proved that they are all more than capable of making the correct decisions and the results speak for themselves! They were ALL amazing! Well done! The Welsh Dragon Meet in Swansea Written By Stuart Willmott Middlesbrough Swimming Club took 19 swimmers aged 10 - 16 years old to the Welsh Dragon Meet in Swansea for three days of intensive competition from 9th - 11th January. Despite the long journey and in heavy training the competition was valuable experience in a 50m pool for age and youth swimmers alike especially early in the season. Aimee Willmott the only 15yr old won gold medals in the 200 and 800m freestyle, 100 and 200m backstroke, 200m breaststroke and 200m individual medley. Aimee also recorded a great time in the 400m individual medley. Perry Gardner 11yrs was the clubs most successful age group swimmer winning gold in the 100m and 200m butterfly, he also picked up silver for the 200m backstroke and a bronze in the 200m freestyle. 14 Year old Daniel Johnson competed as a youth swimmer to gain valuable experience and was rewarded with a place in the A finals of the 400m individual medley, 400m freestyle and 100m breaststroke, Daniel also made the B final of the 200m freestyle and recorded a great personal best time of 1.58.53. Jordan Heaney 14yrs had the most swims during the gala clocking up 10 swims, even with this gruelling schedule he was rewarded with a personal best in the 100m fly and had a good swim in the 200m freestyle and made several age group finals. Emily Blenkinsopp 13yrs won silver in 200m butterfly and a bronze in the 100m butterfly in her age group, with several personal best times on the way. The only 16 year old was Stephen Loughran who had a very positive weekend making the A final of the 200m butterfly and reaching the B finals in the100m butterfly and 200m individual medley. Ellie Stephenson and Chloe Willmott represented the 14yrs old girls and had a successful weekend between them. Ellie qualified for the last heat in the 800m freestyle and made the 400m freestyle A final and the B finals in 200m freestyle and 50m butterfly. Chloe made the A final in the 200m fly and B final of 200m individual medley. Paul Davis 15 yrs old swam in two finals, the gruelling 1500m freestyle and the 200m breaststroke. Katy Templeman, also 14yrs made B finals in the 50m and 200m butterfly and twin sister Liz made the B final of 50m butterfly. Beth Feeney, 13yrs just missed out on the final of the 200m backstroke and did several PBs, whilst two other 13yr olds, Steph Hooper and Megan Urwin, swam well throughout the gala. Sally Willis and Abigail Konya both 12yrs also had a steady gala and did a number of PBs between them. 11 year old team mates Rebecca Maude and Eve Chinnock were both rewarded with a number personal best times gaining some great experience being with the older members of the squad. Youngest member of the squad was 10yr old Samuel Fisher who recorded several massive personal best times and his support for his team mates was outstanding. For most of the swimmers this was their first experience of travelling and competing without being accompanied by their parents, they were a credit to the club and hopefully this will be the start of many more to come. 
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