Winsford Swimming Club

It had been a year since our swimmers had last been at Orford Jubilee Leisure Centre. The weekend started with the long-distance events in the form of the 800m and the 1500m, in which we had four of the swimmers enter. The night started off with the mixed 800 in which we had Toby Latimer come in third for his heat. We carried the night on with the 1500 the longest distance of the weekend. All three of the swimmers (Daisy Skimming, Jessica Goldsmith, and Charlotte Peel) performed exceptionally well during this event, especially at the start of what was a long weekend.

The second day came around and as we all walked onto the poolside it was busy. This could only mean that there was some fierce competition and all of the Winsford swimmers knew this. The morning started out smoothly and our swimmers showed the other teams that they were a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, disaster struck, and the gala came to a halt with quite a few delays. This wasn’t the best circumstance for the swimmers, and we all knew that. However, all of them pushed themselves in the rest of their events. We had swimmers in different heats with different age groups to ensure that they still had a chance to swim and despite all of the adversity that they faced this did not stop them from doing what they turned up to do. It was a long day for all who attended, and we still had one more day to go.

The third and final day came around and after a long day, we could only hope that the previous day didn’t repeat itself. The morning started and it was just as busy and there was little space on the pool deck. The swimmers started and they were tired after a long weekend, and they were hoping for a better day and that’s what happened. The swimmers pushed themselves to prove that they were a force to be reckoned with and this could be seen by all of the other clubs attending. Over the whole weekend, each and every swimmer's behaviour and support for one another was a thing to be proud of and showed why we have such a great team.

In the face of all the challenges that each swimmer faced, you should be exceptionally proud of your performances (even if we didn’t always come out with the outcome we wanted) you pushed through and focused on the next race. That is a skill that is extremely valuable and will help you in your future swimming career.

Swimmers that attended the Percy Mason Gala:
Toby Latimer, Daisy Skimming, Jessica Goldsmith, Charlotte Peel, Chloe Hancock, Holy Buckley, Holly Cuthbert, Penelope Harrison, Scarlett McMahon, Sophie Brennan, Cole Staley, Conor Jackson, Freya Querelle, Harry Jones, Holly Grant, Jessica Barnett, Katarina Ragbirsingh, Ruby Stonier, Toby Jones, Aston Broomhall, James Lee, Jasmine Lloyd, Molly Lloyd, Charlotte Lloyd, Phoebe Lloyd, Lily Hadingham, Alice Gooding, Ava Rose Lunt, Isla Anderson, Edward Land, Eban Cowell, Eleanor Lee, Eris Coxon, Holly Venning, Elsie Hitchmough

A gigantic thank you also has to go out to our fantastic team managers (Andy Jones, Petra Hadingham, Ali Brennan, and Gemma Barnett). Without your help, an already frantic gala would have been hectic. I am extremely thankful for the support on both days taking tasks that needed to be sorted so that the races could be focused on.

Well done to all of the swimmers that attended, if you left before the end of the gala either day please come and see one of the coaches as we have some medals left for some of you and make sure you are ready for the Christmas gala next weekend.

See you at the pool!

Reece.