Winsford Swimming Club

Over the weekend of the 18th and 19th November Winsford Swim Team had a small number of swimmers travel to Nottingham to race at the Nova Centurion Meet. Originally we were taking a large team to Stockport however due to the pool boom being stuck, and the pool floor not moving any deeper than 0.9m the Stockport Metro meet had to be cancelled. So after some quick thinking we made the decision to go to Nottingham and give our swimmers the opportunity for one final chance of attaining Winter National Qualifying Times.

Due to the quick time frames to get our entries in, and the distance we all had to travel, we had a smaller team than usual making the journey, however all our swimmers were in determined mood to race fast at a venue we have not visited before. Nottingham was a nice pool being newly built, so it was light, airy and plenty of parking but it was mightily hot on poolside and with the large number of swimmers from all over the Midlands and the North and South in attendance pool deck was certainly hot , sweaty and very busy. 

We were in attendance on the Saturday only, but all swimmers gave their very best and came away with lots of new life time best swims. Special mention for Molly Brennan who achieved a new Winter National Qualifying Time in the 16 Under 200 Backstroke, taking our total number of winter national qualifiers to 5, add to this she also picked up the GOLD medal. Amy Kenworthy also fought hard as always picking up the SILVER medal in the ladies 800 Freestyle. We also had Izzy Fletcher, Freya Querelle, and Carys Roberts gaining a top 8 placing which is fantastic being up against some of the best swimmers in the country. Serena Standring also had some great swims, with the highlight being the 50 Breastroke achieving a new life time best swim.

Overall a great day of racing at a brand new venue which was wonderful to visit. It is amazing how much travel sport can give you, seeing lots of different places, and lots of different pools. Definitely a meet we will consider in the future. Also a massive shout out to the driver who decided it was a good idea to reverse up the dual carriage way after missing their junction, beyond belief it was!

Amy Kenworthy, Molly Brennan, Carys Roberts, Izzy Fletcher, Serena Standring, Freya Querelle.

Now that the Winter National qualifying window has closed I am pleased to announce our Winter National Qualifiers for 2023.

Kate Schillinger (16 Under): 50 Butterfly, 50 Backstroke, 100 Backstroke.

Amy Kenworthy (17 Over): 200 Butterfly, 400 Individual Medley, 1500 Freestyle.

Lois Inch (16 Under): 100 Breastroke, 200 Breastroke.

Molly Brennan (16 Under): 200 Backstroke.

Adam Wright (17 Over): 1500 Freestyle.

We now look forward to the Warrington Percy Mason Meet next weekend, and the Cheshire Junior Meet on the Sunday. A busy weekend ahead for our club with 65 swimmers in action over the two meets. We then have our Christmas Meet, followed by the Arena League finals and then the final weekend before Christmas we will go to Satellites and the Winter SC Nationals. Very busy for our club and swimmers, please optimise all training before Christmas and of course the lead up into the Cheshire County Championships, which are now just 9 weeks away.

There are no short cuts to success, see you at the pool.

Dan.