Winsford Swimming Club

On Saturday 9th July Winsford Swim Team travelled to the Sale Water Park to compete in the North West Regional Open Water Championships 2022. This year we were not at our usual venue of the Salford Quays but in a lake in Sale just off the M60. Sale was a nice venue, as the water was cleaner than the Salford Quays with no shopping trolleys to navigate. The lake had lots of Canada geese which from time to time wanted to join in on the racing action, but that was fine because who doesn’t enjoy racing. Under foot for the spectators the conditions were treacheries with an abundance of bird muck around eager to get stuck into our shoe grip, but a part from that Sale was a nice change. Oh and Sale had the best Ice cream van which I am sure made a killing today.

In previous years we have had a super number of swimmers competing at the regional championships, and this year was no different with 12 club swimmers plus 5 masters. Out of all North West clubs competing in Sale, Winsford Swim Team had the largest contingent which is fantastic, and shows again that our swimmers love to try something new, exciting and different. Open Water racing is such a wonderful opportunity and in my opinion should be tried by all competitive pool swimmers especially those who are more distance orientated.

With a large team from Winsford taking part, the day was sure to be very exciting for all our competitors. The weather conditions were good with warm conditions and beautiful sunshine, it was a day for suncream and hats that was for sure, and possibly a 99 from the ice cream van. In terms of race conditions the main challenge when swimming was battling against the stiff breeze and the waves produced by the jet ski powering up and down the other side of the lake. Some swimmers even commented on tasting jet ski fuel which wasn’t ideal for our taste buds. But as always our swimmers got stuck into the challenge ahead, with everyone giving their all.

The day begun with the youngest age groups of which they were swimming 2k, then the 14-15 years for the 3k and then finishing off with the 5k. Our Masters swimmers were racing in either the 1.5k or 3k, with the 3k going out last. The results over the day were outstanding especially considering for the vast majority of our swimmers it was their very first taste of Open Water racing. We had numerous swimmers gain medals at County and/or Regional level and we also had many Champions. 

The top 3 in the NW Region qualify for the National Open Water Championships 2022 at the Thryberg Country Park in Rotherham. Congratulations to Jessica Goldsmith, Jasmine Lloyd, William Line and Ross Hanley who will be representing Winsford Swim Team at the premier Open water championships of the season.

Jessica Goldsmith: GOLD Cheshire, GOLD NW Region.

Jasmine Lloyd: SILVER Cheshire, BRONZE NW Region.

Molly Lloyd: BRONZE Cheshire, 4th NW Region

Amelia Fitzgerald: 3rd Cheshire, 4th NW Region.

Penelope Harrison: 6th Cheshire, 5th NW Region.

Scarlett McMahon: SILVER Cheshire

Conor Jackson: SILVER Cheshire, 4th NW Region

William Line: SILVER Cheshire, SILVER NW Region.

Megan Rickels: SILVER Cheshire, 4th NW Region.

Evie Henshall: 4th Cheshire

Ross Hanley: GOLD Cheshire, GOLD NW Region

Sarah Calvert Dunne: GOLD Cheshire, GOLD NW Region

Ross Harrison: GOLD Cheshire, GOLD NW Region

Grant Shuttleworth: GOLD Cheshire, GOLD NW Region

Andrew Day: GOLD Cheshire, GOLD NW Region

Molly James: GOLD Cheshire, GOLD NW Region

Congratulations to all our swimmers a great day of racing for all our swimmers. I am sure more of our swimmers will be wanting to take on a new exciting challenge next year and go racing at the NW Regional Open Water Championships.

See you at the pool.

Dan.