We had a rushed arrival after a long coach journey to Canterbury so the Orpington Ojays Arena League team quickly jumped in the pool to warm up and then the races began. Every swimmer gave 100%, as always, in their races and a special thanks must go to Matt Steere and Mike Bond to complete the Men's Open team.
Overall Orpington Ojays placed 6th but nevertheless we managed to stay in the middle group of Division One, meaning that we are certain to stay in Division One next year. Thank you to coaches, team managers, parents and swimmers for bringing our great team spirit all the way to Canterbury, we look forward to continued successful swims in next years Arena League!
Bexley Open
Wednesday 9th December 2015
A number of our swimmers spent the other weekend competing at the Bexley Open Meet at the Crook log Centre. It's great to see the commitment of our swimmers choosing to spend their weekend racing at the pool. We saw many gigantic personal best times thanks to the help of our coaches and the work ethic of our squads in training.
Congratulations to all who entered and a special note to Jessica Herbert for finishing 3rd in the 10/11 years 50m Fly the 200m Backstroke; Amy Jeffreys for finishing 3rd in the 14/15 years 200m Breaststroke; and, Daniella Shipley for finishing 2nd in the 16+ years 50m Breaststroke and 100m IM and 3rd in the 100m Backstroke.
Thank you also to Bexley SC for a great meet.
Kent Junior League
Wednesday 25th November 2015
Orpington Ojays set off for the final round of the Kent Junior League at the weekend with the extra excitement of the team travelling together to Dover by coach. Unfortunately, the excitement was reduced a bit as there was no heating on the coach and everyone arrived absolutely freezing! Despite the journey, our swimmers once again put in some of their best swims resulting in some great position finishes. Sadly though, we suffered some DQ's and there were some technical issues with the electronic timing on our lane but this didn't dampen our spirits.
A big well done to the entire team. It was great to see our younger swimmers coming into competitive swimming, and we hope to see you soon!
November Jack Petchey
Wednesday 25th November 2015
Congratulations to Katie Gough on winning the November Jack Petchey award. Katie who was nominated for her great effort and determination in training as well as her all important good attendance.
Kent Junior League
Tuesday 24th November 2015
Orpington Ojays set off for the final round of the Kent Junior League at the weekend with the extra excitement of the team travelling together to Dover by coach. Unfortunately, the excitement was reduced a bit as there was no heating on the coach and everyone arrived absolutely freezing! Despite the journey, our swimmers once again put in some of their best swims resulting in some great position finishes. Sadly though, we suffered some DQ's and there were some technical issues with the electronic timing on our lane but this didn't dampen our spirits.
A big well done to the entire team. It was great to see our younger swimmers coming into competitive swimming, and we hope to see you soon!
November Jack Petchey
Tuesday 24th November 2015
Congratulations to Katie Gough on winning the November Jack Petchey award. Katie who was nominated for her great effort and determination in training as well as her all important good attendance.
Amazing success for Billy
Monday 16th November 2015
Billy Birchmore finished with a total of 7 individual Golds, 1 Silver and 2 European Records at the DSISO European Open Championships in Italy. An amazing achievement and a great haul of medals resulting in being the overall Top Male on points. He was also awarded the Achievement Award voted for by the 25 competing countries.
Well done Billy. Absolutely fantastic!
Officials
Monday 16th November 2015
Congratulations and a huge vote of appreciation to Yvonne and Mandy who this weekend achieved J2 official status. Without officials we cannot run licensed meets so well done Mandy and Yvonne, and to all our officials who help out at these events.
Arena League
Monday 16th November 2015
On Saturday at Medway Park our top swimmers were competing in the fiercely competitive Arena League, finishing a respectable 4th. This means we go into the final round knowing that our position in the First Division is secure. We saw some great individual swims and a great team effort across all of the relays.
Well done everyone!
DDSC & EDSC Halloween Weekend Open
Monday 9th November 2015
Another great weekend for Orpington Ojays swimmers who attended the Dartford District and Erith and District Halloween Open. It was an early start for our 27 swimmers who despite the long weekend managed to swim a total of 68 events achieving pbs in 34 events.
Well done to the swimmers who participated in this event:
Matilda Barrett, Billy Birchmore, Billy Boyd, Jessica Bridge, Ellie Brown, Lee Carew, Leah Collier, Anna Cvjetan, Sam Gaster, Emily Goff, Anna Hawkins, Jessica Herbert, Alice Howe, William Magee-Brown, Nam Nguyen, Isabella Niven, Ella Norwood, Maria Phillips, Michael Phillips, Noah Saunders, Alessio Tutt.
Congratulations to our swimmers who achieved top 3 places:
Matilda Barrett 3rd in 100 IM
Billy Birchmore 2nd in 200 IM, 3rd in 50 fly and 100 back
Billy Boyd 2nd 100 breaststroke
Lee Crew 3rd 100 breaststroke
Anna Cvjetan 1st 100 back
Sam Gaster 3rd 400 free
Jessica Herbert 1st in50 and 400 free
Alice Howe 2nd in 50 Breaststroke
Nam Nguyen 1st 200 Back
Michael hillips 3rd in 50 breaststroke, 50 free and 100 IM
Noah Saunders 3rd in 200 breaststroke
Alessio Tutt 1st in 100 breaststroke and 100 free, 2nd in 50 backstroke.
A big thank you goes also to coaches, helper, judgers, parents who helped in making this a great weekend.
September Jack Petchey
Friday 6th November 2015
Congratulations to Billy and Zoe for receiving the September Jack Petchey award. Zoe won the award for her continuous improvement at galas and competitions and Billy for his excellent attitude and commitment to training.
Billy to enjoy La Dolce Vita this weekend
Wednesday 4th November 2015
On Thursday Billy Birchmore will by travelling to Loano, Italy to take part in the 3rd DSISO European Open Championships. The Open is the biggest competition outside of the World Championships. It is not only Europeans competing, Australia and the rest of the world are also competing - so no pressure Billy - fly the flag for the UK and bring home some bling!
Billy won’t just be flying the flag for the UK he has been chosen to be the flag bearer in the Opening Ceremony and to captain the side in Italy. Good Luck Billy, we are sending you on your way with lots of Orpington Ojays best wishes.
PBs, Wins and Club Records
Thursday 22nd October 2015
Saxon Crown held an open meet at the weekend consisting of 800m swims for the girls and 1500m swims for the boys. Five of our swimmers raced, Ellie Harden, Alice Bennett, Edward Sellar, Ben Strover and William Magee-Brown. In a 25m pool that is racing for 32 and 60 lengths. Thankfully these distances have officials blowing whistles to let swimmers know when they are 50m from finishing.
Congratulations to all the swimmers. There were big PB's from Ellie and Will, Edward Sellar won the 11 years age group with a time of 19.42.66 seconds and Ben smashed the club's 15 years and Open records with a time of 17.23:53!
Top of the Open
Tuesday 6th October 2015
Congratulations to Samantha Jackson and Ben Strover for winning the Top Girl and Top Boy awards at our Season Starter open over the weekend.
A huge thanks to all those who volunteered for the myriad of tasks required to host such a successful event for the swimmers, ours and all those from the other clubs. This includes the medals; organizing food for officials; poolside support; taking money on the door and to officiating, to name but a few. Thank you.
Masters Championships 2015
Tuesday 6th October 2015
Congratulations to Masters swimmers Kayleigh Knocker, Iain Jameson and Nick Bunclark who traveled to Guildford on Saturday to compete in the Regional short course Masters Championships 2015.
Kayleigh finished 3rd in the 18/24 years 50m Backstroke, 3rd in the 50m Freestyle and 3rd in 100m Freestyle.
Iain finished 3rd in the 45/49 years 100m IM and 4th in the 50m Butterfly.
Nick finished 4th in the 40/44 years 50m Backstroke.
Well done to you all.
Matt goes the distance in Berlin
Monday 28th September 2015
Congratulations to Matt Steere who completed his first Marathon in Berlin on Sunday. Matt who has never run further than a half marathon before finished the course in an extremely impressive 3 hours 40 minutes. Averaging a 5:09km pace Matt did a negative split on the half. Burning off around 3,700 calories during the race he well deserved his Dairy Milk treat.
Well done Matt!
Hever Castle Tri Weekend
Monday 28th September 2015
Congratulations to all our swimmers who raced at Hever Castle at the weekend.
We had a number of youngsters entering their first triathlon, the Childrens Triathlon for 8-10 year olds. The race is made up of 100m swim, 4km bike and finishes with 1.3k run with 641 racers and is considered the worlds largest children’s triathlon.
Competing were:
Alessio Tutt finished 30th in 33mins 9secs (3rd fastest swim);
Fraser Lile finished 48th in 33mins 59secs;
Cara Gould finished 119th in 37mins 24secs;
Matthew Bryant finished 151st in 38mins 37secs;
Abby Lile finished 247th in 41mins 14secs;
Amie Gould finished 316th in 43mins 30secs;
Anais Van Rooyen finished 623rd in 1hour 2mins 25secs.
Will Dennis entered the children’s 11-12 years and finished 200m swim 4k bike and 2krun in 48th from 339 in 38mins 2secs.
Racing in the Super Sprint, 400swim 20k bike and 4k run, was Julie Lile who finished 762nd from 1049 in 1hour 47mins and 58secs.
Ben Cockburn entered The Gaunlet which is a half ironman, consisting of 1.9k swim a 90k bike and 21k (half marathon) run. Ben finished an amazing 7th from 496 in 5 hours 7 minutes and 49 seconds.
Well done to all who entered the events. We hope you had a great day and enjoyed yourselves. Special thanks to Alessio and Ben for entering under the Orpington Ojays banner.
WHITE HORSE LEAGUE - FINAL ROUND
Monday 21st September 2015
Last Saturday Ojays returned to the London Aquatic Centre for the last round of white horse league. After unfortunate technical issues that resulted in numerous false starts and two race redos, the team performed their best with a new club record and plenty of pb's. A huge congratulations to Jess Sellar who broke the 50m fly record in a time of 31.48 seconds. The team relays also generated massive support despite having people swim up! We held our own against clubs twice the size and age of our own swimmers. Ojays came 4th in this last round which resulted in an overall place of 5th. Congratulations once again to all the swimmers and bring on the next gala!
Kent Junior League - Round 1
Wednesday 16th September 2015
Congratulations to the loud and proud Kent Junior League team for some excellent results on Saturday evening at Sevenoaks Leisure centre, with a ten point improvement on the last Kent Junior League gala. The overall result was 5th place, missing out on 4th by just one point to Saxon Crown. There were some great swims and lots of pb’s despite several people feeling under the weather and a special mention goes to Rachel Langdown for stepping in to do the 200 IM once again, and also Lilli Cutajar for stepping up for the 100m Butterfly. The squadron relay is always an exciting race and Ojays’ team spirit must be commended as we took the roof off, with everyone up and cheering for the 8 swimmers racing. Looking forward to the next Kent Junior League where we hope to get that 4th place!
Captains Gala 2015
Sunday 6th September 2015
Congratulations to the joint winners of this years Captains' Gala: Ben Strover with his team Ben's Bananas, and Samuel Gaster with his team Samuel's Mackerels. Well done also to the runners up Kate Ridley with her team Kate's Krew and Katie Napier with her team Napier's Nemos. Thank you to all parents and swimmers for supporting this years Captains' Gala. Also a big thank you to outgoing captain Chloe Ashley, coaches Dave and Gina and team managers for organising today's event so well.
Summer Barbeque
Wednesday 26th August 2015
On Sunday, despite the Great British weather doing its best to put a dampener on the afternoon, the summer BBQ was a great afternoon of indoor and then outdoor games. We had delicious BBQ food cooked to perfection by Malcolm and Neale, and a great season starter social event.
Heavy rain meant indoor games including a card school and table tennis were the order of the day. After hot dogs and burgers were eaten the sun shined upon us and outdoor games started including an adults vs kids football game and finishing with the notorious "egg throwing game". Many finished the day with literally egg on their faces!!!
Great fun afternoon - thanks to all who supported the event.
The new 2015/16 captains were announced on Sunday at the summer BBQ - congratulations to : Girls Captain: Kate Ridley, Vice captain Katie Napier, Boys Captain : Ben Strover and Vice Captain Samuel Gaster. We wish them all the best for the new season and thank our out going Captains Chloe Ashley, Issie Minter-Paye and Louis Goff.
Please do support your new Captains by signing your name on the notice board for the fun Captains gala on 6th September.
IronMan number 2 for Siobhan
Monday 17th August 2015
Congratulations to Siobhan Curtis, Masters squad swimmer and Top Squad land training instructor, completing her second IronMan! This time Siobhan travelled to Sweden for the Kalmar event. With the experience gained from her first in Brazil Siobhan was able to take over an hour off her previous time and finished the course in 11 hours 53 minutes.
An IronMan consists of a 2.4 mile swim, then a 112 mile bike ride, then a 26.2 mile run!
An amazing achievement Siobhan, well done!
London Youth Games
Monday 17th August 2015
Orpington Ojays were well represented at this year’s London Youth Games. This high profile competition sees all 33 London Boroughs entering teams across a wide range of sports, including swimming. Eddie Sellar took part in the mini games swimming event where Bromley came an impressive 2nd. In the secondary school age groups top squad swimmers Niamh Laker, Kate Ridley and Katie Napier all swam for the Bromley girls team contributing to a fantastic second place overall.
Top squad swimmer Jess Sellar also took part in the games, playing hockey for the Bromley team who came an impressive third overall. Justin Strover, Jess & Eddie Sellar also competed in the first event of the LYG events back in November in the Cross Country Running event at Parliament Hill. All ran well helping Bromley achieve 1st place in boys u13, 2nd place U11 boys and girls U15 3rd.
Well done all!
Ben defends his title
Monday 10th August 2015
On Saturday Ben Cockburn was defending his title in the Standard Triathlon at Bewl Water Reservoir. The standard is made up of a 1500m swim (45 lengths of The Walnuts), a 40k bike ride and finishes with a 10k run. Ben was successful in his defence and won the event in 2:09:42.50, almost 2 ½ minutes clear of 2nd place.
His splits were
Swim - 26:24.35
Transition 1 - 1:42.10
Bike - 1:02:34.20
Transition 2 - 00:50.60
Run - 36:52.60
It was a tight tough race and a hilly course. After the swim Ben fought hard to get back to the front on the bike section and then it was a close neck and neck run for 3 or 4k but on the second climb of the dam Ben managed to pull away to bring the win home.
Congratulations Ben on another fabulous win!
Matt wins at Bewl Water
Monday 10th August 2015
On Sunday, three Masters swimmers, Matt Steere, Niki Herbert and Meg Forbes, also competed at Bewl Water Reservoir in the 3.8k open water event. With wetsuits optional the Masters girls once again chose to swim in just costumes!
A beautiful morning for a race and Matt went out fast and with one aim, no doubt spurred on by Ben’s win the day before, to take the top position and win the event. Matt was successful and finished the race in 47:59.95 over 5 minutes ahead of 2nd place! Niki finished in 18th overall and was the third female in a time of 1:10:23.15 with Meg finishing 23rd overall and the 5th female in a time of 1:12:52.90.
Although it’s an early start, 07:00 on a Sunday, the event is a fun and friendly race with warm water and no currents so is a great event to try out open water racing, especially as there is a 1.9k race as well.
Congratulations to Matt and the girls; fantastic results. Podium finishes mean that Matt and Nicki are automatically entered into next year’s race.
Splashtastic
Wednesday 22nd July 2015
Monday saw a change to the normal training programme as we are fast approaching the end of season. Before heading off for a short break the evening was handed over to the type of relays you don't get in normal galas and open meets. A fun, competitive and noisy evening for all.
Well done to the swimmers for all the training and racing this year and thank you to all the coaches, parents and committee members (past and present) for all the work, taxiing, volunteering etc. that are essential to keep the club running for those lucky youngsters who love swimming. Enjoy the break everyone.
Billy takes a WORLD RECORD!!!
Monday 20th July 2015
Congratulations to Billy Birchmore, from Platinum squad, who swam the T21 Short Course 100m Backstroke at the Beachfield Summer Open Meet in a new World Record time of 1:17.52
This is Billy's second world record; he still holds the junior T21 200 Individual Medley which he set in 2012 with a time of 3:07.04
An absolutely fantastic achievement Billy; very well done indeed from all of us.
Please see the link in the twitter feed about a new classification for Down syndrome swimmers, so that they too, can compete in the Paralympics.
(If anyone has a photo please email it to steve@orpingtonojays.com so I can add it, thanks)
Orpington Ojays were one of the biggest groups collecting their Jack Petchey Medals at a ceremony held at the Civic Halls in Bromley. The evening was a great celebration of young peoples achievements and the audience were treated to entertainment by some very talented young singers and dancers and the award winners were presented their medals by Danny Crates a Para- Olympic athlete.
Many congratulations to the following swimmers who received their medals :
William Magee-Brown, Samuel Gaster, Callum Baronti, Justin Strover, Beth Marsch, Michael Phillips, Edward Sellar, Max Peel, Jessica Herbert, Lucy Glossop. Head Coach Sergio was also presented his Leader Award.
Big thanks to Gina Fazzini who works very hard as our Jack Petchey co-ordinator arranging the nominations, funding and award nights.
On Saturday 11th July, 19 swimmers represented Orpington at the inaugural Beachfield Summer Open at Medway Park.
The event was well run with a good programme of events and the "fast" pool lived up to its expectations with swimmers achieving some huge PBs and almost every swimmer achieving a top three placing. Congratulations to all swimmers: Samuel Gaster, Callum Baronti, Samantha Jackson, Niamh Laker, Lauren Gough, Joshua Crawford, Noah Saunders, Alessio Tutt, Thomas Bennett, Katie Gough, Ellie Harden, Lilli Cutajar, Katie Napier, Thomas Magee-Brown, William Magee-Brown, Billy Birchmore, Amy Jeffreys, Anna Cvjetan, and Jessica Herbert.
At the end of the day there were lots of smiling faces as they left the pool resplendent with the jangling of medals around their necks - a great days work!
Thanks to coach Sergio, Trish, Gina and Mandy for poolside support and officiating.
3rd from Padstow to Rock
Sunday 12th July 2015
Well done to Steve Morris from Masters squad who took part in the Padstow to Rock 1 mile swim across the Camel Estuary whilst on holiday. A fast sprint race from start to finish Steve finished in approximately 15 minutes behind two teenagers. As it's Padstow in Cornwall the swimmers were treated to a pasty after the race courtesy of Rick Stein. Nice.
Sevenoaks Junior Aquathlon
Sunday 5th July 2015
7 Orpington Ojays swimmers competed in this really well run event on Sunday at Tonbridge school. Competing were Hannah, Justin and Ben Strover, Jess and Eddie Sellar, Will Dennis and Callum Baronti. Fantastic results with Eddie Sellar taking 2nd place and Justin Strover not happy to just win the Tristar 2 category he also set a new course record!
In the youth event Ben Strover picked up 2nd place and Jess Sellar took first place - really fantastic results! Local and national hero Dame Kelly Holmes was on hand and presented our athletes with their medals.
Warren Road Primary Tri
Sunday 5th July 2015
Warren Road Primary School held their first ever school triathlon yesterday in memory of a father who's sons are both members of Orpington Ojays. With the help of top squad swimmers the day was a huge success. The race consisted of 4 lengths of the on site pool, totalling 40m followed by 4 laps of the playground on the bike before heading out onto the school playing field for a 2 lap run around the perimeter.
Top squad swimmers, Ben Strover, Justin Strover, Callum Baronti, Daniella Shipley, Anna Cvjetan, Samuel Gaster, William Magee-Brown, Alice Bennett and Ellie Harden, gave up their Saturday afternoon to help and got stuck in to racking bikes, helping children with transitions, transporting bikes, marshalling and cheering. The club has received many compliments from members of school staff and parents at the event saying how brilliant our swimmers were: behaving like young adults; showing initiative; working as a brilliant team and doing the club extremely proud.
The event really was a huge success thanks to our members help and on behalf of the club we would like to say a massive thank you to all involved who made a huge difference.
Special thanks to Masters squad swimmer and world duathlon champion Ben Cockburn who also attended to inspire the young athletes, hand out prizes at the end and speak to the athletes about the sport.
White Horse League Rnd 3
Sunday 5th July 2015
On Saturday evening Orpington Ojays were at Eltham pool for the third round of the White Horse League.
The team were up against 7 other clubs and after finishing 5th in the previous round were full of determination to improve on that result. Cheered on by their team mates, swimmers pulled out some great swims out of the bag and after a very close battle with Erith for second place, Orpington finished in a very respectable 3rd place. Congratulations to the team - you were phenomenal!
Thanks to coaches Sergio and Dave, poolside management from Gina and Julie and officials Sandra M, Sandra G, Steve and Mandy and of course to our parents who as always provided vocal support from the gallery.
Looking forward to the final round which is being held at the London Aquatic Centre on 19th September - it's going to be exciting!
2.8k from Boulter to Bray in The Thames
Saturday 4th July 2015
After the late night swim on the Friday, Matt and Steve were joined by Niki from Masters for a 06:15 start for 2.8k swim from Boulter to Bray down The River Thames. A great way to start the day Matt finished 1st for the Open Men's and 3rd overall although (actually 2nd out of the water but the timing mat was a bit up the bank) in 31:47. Steve wasn't too far behind finishing 4th for Open Men's and 8th overall in 35:25. Niki came in on 44:15 which placed her 41st overall and 8th in the Women's Open.
A great event and a lovely place to race.
Moonlight Swims
Saturday 4th July 2015
Matt and Steve from Masters competed in a night swim late Friday evening at the Reading Lake Hotel in Berkshire. The race started just gone 21:40 in a quite dark lake. Two laps for the 1.5k race with weeds and barely visible buoys. With glow sticks everywhere Matt led from the front to bring home a well deserved win. Steve, sadly, wearing the wrong goggles for a night swim (polarised dark tints) had virtually zero visibility and on the 2nd lap turned for home a buoy too early and therefore didn't complete the course.
A great evenings swimming for all who entered, thankfully everyone was out before the rain.
Race Night
Monday 29th June 2015
On Sunday afternoon swimmers from Tadpoles to Silver squad headed to Eltham College pool to take part in our summer Race night. The turnout was high, as was the support from top squad swimmers, parents, officials and coaches.
The idea of race night is for the younger swimmers and their families to gain experience of racing in a formal, but friendly and welcoming environment. For others it is an opportunity to achieve times to enter Open Galas. Top squad swimmers were on hand to marshal our swimmers for their heats and to reassure, remind, and answer questions about the legal aspects of racing.
As always our officials were judging according to ASA laws on the starts, strokes, turns and finishes ensuring that all races are always judged fairly. Disqualifications are expected, it happens at all levels and usually to all swimmers at some point as it is part of the sport. Inevitably there were some tears after disqualifications and some confusion but this gala is about learning and a gala amongst friends is a great place to learn.
Congratulations to all the swimmers who took part and enjoyed the event and thank you to all those who planned, organised and helped to ensure the afternoon was another success for the club. Ribbons will shortly be handed out to swimmers achieving a top six place in the 9/under, 11/under and 13/under age group.
Dartford's Big South East Swim
Sunday 28th June 2015
Early Sunday morning five Master swimmers made their way to Dartford for the Big South East Swim. The event consists of 1k, 2k, 4k, 5k swims and a 2k swim with a 10k run. A relaxed and enjoyable event for competitors and spectators and the weather conditions were very kind.
Nick Bunclark entered the 2km swim which he won in 27:38. Steve Morris, Iain Jameson and Etienne Stander all entered the 4km race, with Steve leading the swimmers in with a 55:15 and Iain close behind on 56:56 for 2nd place. Etienne finished the four lap course in 1.16:34. Matt Steere entered the 2km swim and 10km run which he won in an overall time of 1.05:55 after finishing the 2km swim in 24:13.
3 wins and a 2nd; well done lads!
Saxon Crown Future Champs Gala
Saturday 27th June 2015
It was an early start on Sunday morning for those competing in the 200 IM but nonetheless there were some incredible swims all in the top six in their age groups. 1st places where achieved by Ellie Harden and Samantha Jackson, Michael Phillips took 2nd and Jessica Herbert 3rd place.
The remainder of the day saw a huge number of pb swims which led to a storm of Ojays in the finals. Ojays were represented in almost every final by Lilli Cutajar, Michael Phillips, Beth Marsch, Alicia Foreman, Jessica Bridge, Maria Phillips, Alessio Tutt, Lili Jones, Matilda Barrett, Blythe Jolley-Ellis, Noah Saunders, Katie Gough, Lucy Glossop, Ellie Harden, Thomas Magee-Brown, Alice Howe and William Dennis.
A massive congratulations to those swimmers that took medals home with them; Lili Jones (3rd, 50 backstroke and butterfly), Jessica Herbert (1st, 50 freestyle and 50 butterfly), Blythe Jolley-Ellis (2nd, 50 backstroke and 3rd, 50 freestyle), Ellie Harden (2nd, 50m breastroke and freestyle), Eddie Sellar (2nd, 50 freestyle and 1st, 50 backstroke and breastroke), Beth Marsch (1st, 50 butterfly) and Matilda Barrett (1st, 50 backstroke).
Well done to all swimmers that competed for a very successful day making Orpington OJays top visiting club.
Will's a Tri Star
Tuesday 16th June 2015
On May 24th Will Dennis (Gold Squad) participated in the Human Race Mixed Distance Children’s Triathlon at Eton Dorney Lake.
The event consisted of a 200m open water Swim, 5.3km Bike, 2.5km Run which he completed in a time of 27.02 placing him 4th overall and 1st in his age group.
Many congratulations Will and we wish him well for his first open water swim event at the SE Region Open Water Competition at Chichester
Ben goes sub 2hrs at Eton Dorney Olympic Tri
Monday 15th June 2015
Congratulations to Ben Cockburn from Masters squad who finished in 2nd place overall, just 9 seconds from 1st, in the Olympic Triathlon at Eton Dorney on Sunday. Fellow Masters swimmer Matt Steere also competed and was first out of the water by an impressive 45 seconds and finished 30th overall out of the 169 entries.
The Olympic Triathlon takes the format of 1.5km swim / 40km bike / 10km run
The boys splits were as follows (with transition times)
Ben swim 23:18 / T1 1:18 / Bike 1:00:34 / T2 48.0 / Run 33:55
Matt swim 18:08 / T1 1:54 / Bike 1:19:38 / T2 50.0 / Run 42:51
Ben's finishing time was 1hr 59 mins and 53 secs with Matt 2hrs 23mins and 21secs
A great result for the boys and the club.
Maritime Gala
Friday 12th June 2015
Returning to the Sevenoaks Maritime gala as reigning champions, Orpington Ojays were in high spirits. With the White Horse League on the same night, we had a slightly depleted team but this did not dampen efforts. With some swimmers making their debut for Orpington Ojays we did incredibly well. Orpington Ojays were in the top 3 the whole way through the gala battling it out with Sevenoaks and Edenbridge right until the end. We finished on a high and won the last squadron event and were definitely the loudest club there! After an anxious wait for the results we were just pipped to second by Sevenoaks by only 10 points!
Well done to the whole team, you did the club proud and especially to the swimmers who were experiencing their first gala.
Dartford and White Oak Sprint Tri
Monday 8th June 2015
Well done to Jo Barker and Mandy Baronti who competed in the Dartford and White Oak Sprint triathlon on Sunday. This was Jo's first sprint distance triathlon and she thoroughly enjoyed herself, finishing a very respectable 12th in her age category. Mandy finished 9th in her age category. A great event in the sunshine !
Masters win Jubilee River 10k Relay Swim
Monday 8th June 2015
A beautiful Sunday morning saw 5 swimmers from Master Squad compete in the Jubilee River 10k swim. The Jubilee River is a man made Thames over-flow river constructed in the late 90's in the Maidenhead and Windsor area.
The relay team consisted of Katie Coad, Matt Steere, Stephen Morris and Ben Cockburn. The river has natural breaks at 3 weirs where the relay take overs occurred, using an ankle timing chip as the baton. The swimmers aren't allowed to body surf the weir so a short run on the tow path is necessary.
Katie was the leading lady for the 1.9km start and swum her leg of the race in 25:48, without a wetsuit, coming in an impressive 2nd relay race place and 10th overall! Matt took over for the longest leg of 3.5km and took the overall lead in 41:37. Steve was up third for 2.6km in 35:33 and Ben bought the team home with the 4th 1.5km leg in 19:59. The overall time of the team was 2hrs 2mins and 59secs with the 2nd place relay over 5 mins behind. (Amazingly though the relay time was just beaten buy a very impressive solo swimmer who completed the 10k in 2:01:43)
Niki Herbert swum the entire 10km herself, like Katie, without a wetsuit! (All three fragile chaps wore wetsuits). Niki's, splits were 31:35, 1:04:59, 53:29 and 29:21 for a sub 3 hour finishing time of 2:59:26 placing her in 6th place for female solo skins!
A great day and great results! Thanks also to Kerry and Mark for all their support and of course for their help in carrying the kit bag for the 10k along the tow path. (Extra pics are in the photo gallery)
Saturday 30th May was the final day of the summer Regional championships held at the London Aquatic Centre. The day primarily consisted of 50m events with a few relays thrown in for good measure.
11 swimmers were representing Orpington Ojays, they were : Ladies 400medley team - Clio Bacon, Alice Bennett, Jessica Sellar and Niamh Laker; ladies 50m freestyle - Lilli Cutajar and Niamh Laker; boys 50 fly - Callum Baronti; ladies 50 fly - Jessica Sellar; mens 50 free - Billy Birchmore; girls 50 breast - Clio Bacon; boys 50m backstroke - Callum Baronti and Justin Strover; boys 50 breast - Callum Baronti; girls 50m backstroke - Ellie Harden, Niamh Laker, Clio Bacon and Anna Cvjetan; boys 50m free - Callum Baronti; mens 50m backstroke - Ben Strover.
Congratulations to all - the team posted some new pbs, a couple of finalist places and a great day racing was had by all - which is always a pleasure at this iconic venue.
This weekend it was an all girls Orpington Masters team that headed to the pool for the Erith & District Masters Meet. The youngest of the team was Kayleigh Knocker who had a trilogy of third places in the 50m Backstroke and Freestyle and in the 100m Freestyle. Coach Gina Charleton set the pace with a 1st in the 50m Freestyle and followed that up with 2nd in the 100m and 200m Freestyle. Amanda Foster was 2nd in the 100m Backstroke, 3rd in the 100m Breastroke, 4th in the 100m Individual Medley and 5th in the 50m Butterfly. Amanda Jackson was on top form bring home three 1st places in the 50m Breastroke, 100m Breastroke and the 100m Individual Medley.
Congratulations ladies on a great meet!
Eton Dorney Open Water
Monday 25th May 2015
Steve Morris, Matt Steere, Ben Cockburn and Iain Jameson all travelled to Eton Dorney lake on the Bank Holiday to compete in the Human Race open water event. Matt, Ben and Iain entered the 3k whilst Steve went for a third go at the swimming marathon of 10k.
Steve was first off with a 9am start and was home in 2hrs 38mins and 35secs. A tough race with Steve receiving a couple of light hits and one wetsuit unzipping attempt on the second lap. Steve came 2nd in his age group and 26th overall out of 203 finishers.
The 3k setoff at 11am and was a very tough sprint race for Matt from start to finish. Matt finished in 38mins 33secs which gave him 2nd in age group and 4th overall. A very tight finish with the first six swimmers crossing the line all within 10 seconds of each other. Iain was our next swimmer out of the water for the club in 42mins 40secs winning his age group and coming 12th overall. Ben finished in 51:20 also winning his age group and coming 38th out of the 215 finishers.
A tough but enjoyable dayin relatively warm 16c choppy waters. Well done to the four Masters squad chaps.
London Swimming Champs
Monday 11th May 2015
Congratulations to Clio Bacon, Ben Strover, Billy Birchmore, Alice Bennett, Niamh Laker, Katie Napier and Jessica Sellar who all spent the weekend at The London Aquatic Centre competing in the London Swimming Championships sessions 10 to 15.
Clio started the weekend off with 200m Breastroke making the final and finishing 4th in 2:58:51. The girls Katie Napier, Alice Bennett, Jessica Sellar and Niamh Laker the raced a 100m each for the 400m Freestyle relay finishing 17th. Ben Strover and Billy Birchmore then stepped up for the boys in the 200 Individual Medley with Billy finishing 4th in the Multi-Disability by British Disability Points. In the long distance events Ben finished the 1500 metre Freestyle in 18:20.14 whilst Alice finished the 800 metre Freestyle in 10:13.56. Finishing off the weekend with 100m Freestyle Ben was just over the 60 second mark with a 60.03, Billy came in 1:11.86 and Niamh Laker a 1:05.66
Well done to you all. The next sessions in the championships are at the end of the month.
Triathlete Sunday
Sunday 10th May 2015
Massive congratulations to Ben Cockburn for finishing an impressive 8th in the British Triathlon Championships. He finished the 750m swim in 12 minutes, 36 minutes for the 25k bike ride and 15 minutes for the 5k run. A big thank you to his sponsors VO2 Cycling for providing new wheels for his race.
Congratulations also to Mandy Baronti who was competing at the triathlon in Crystal Palace and to Justin and Hannah Strover who competed in the Tri Star event for the youngsters.
Siobhan pushes herself again
Saturday 9th May 2015
Congratulations to Siobhan Curtis for completing a half ironman in the Spanish island of Mallorca. Siobhan finished in 5 hours 53 minutes and 36 seconds. Her splits for the event were as follows
1.9k Swim 36:51
90k Bike 3:04:51
Half Marathon Run 2:00:22
Amazing times Siobhan, well done!
Double Win for Masters
Saturday 9th May 2015
Congratulations to Matt Steere and Niki Herbert for not only entering and taking part in an early season open water race this morning but for winning the men's and women's each.
Matt was first to complete the Dinton Uber Swim in 41 minutes and 22 seconds and Niki was the first lady out in 55 minutes and 40 seconds with only 18 men ahead of her.
With the water being a chilly 13.5C at 8am, pretty much half the temperature of a training pool, the race starts with a 700m swim followed by a 40m run, then a 230m swim and 60m run, then an 870m swim and another 60m run, then a 500m swim followed by a 40m run and then 700m swim to the finish.
Justin competes in mini marathon
Monday 27th April 2015
Justin Strover was invited to compete in the mini marathon on Sunday morning as part of the Bromley team. Justin did a great PB and came 16th in his age group. Bromley came 1st out of 13 London boroughs - fantastic achievement !
Ben takes 3rd in European Duathlon
Sunday 26th April 2015
Congratulations to Ben Cockburn from Masters squad for finishing a fantastic 3rd place in his age group (11th overall) in the European Duathlon competition in Madrid this morning. Ben says he had a pretty average first run and was pulling the front runners back on the bike enough for the second run and then got a puncture about 3-4km from the finish of the bike.
Very well done indeed Ben. Back in the pool soon training for the European Triathlon in July.
Swimathon 2015
Sunday 19th April 2015
This weekend was the annual Swimathon event in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care and Orpington Ojays were doing what they love at the pool and raising money for this great charity. Swimmers were completing 1.5km, 2.5km and 5km individual swims and team events.
Pictured at the Walnuts in the photo gallery are the Bryant family, the Barker family, Callum Baronti, Matilda Barrett, Sam Kitchener and Masters swimmers: Mandy, Andrea, Meg, Jay, Amanda & Maria. Ellie Harden completed her swim at Sidcup (pictured).
Well done to everyone on a great achievement with thanks to staff at the pools for organising fun and efficient events and to spectators for their support!
Ben Cockburn takes 2nd in European Duathlon Qualif
Sunday 19th April 2015
Congratulations to Ben Cockburn from Masters squad for finishing second in the European Duathlon qualifier held at Grafham Water in Cambrigeshire. The event was the Sprint:- 5km run / 20km bike / 5km run. Unofficial times were 16:30 / 30:00 / 17:00
Well done Ben; we are looking forward to hearing how you get on at the Europeans next weekend in Madrid.
Gina runs the Brighton Marathon
Tuesday 14th April 2015
Congratulations to coach and Masters Swimmer Gina who ran the Brighton Marathon on Sunday to raise money for Diabetes UK. After many months of hard training Gina finished the 26 mile course in 4 hours 38 minutes. On target for a 4 hour finish up until 20 miles Gina sadly took on too many energy gels and was feeling quite unwell by mile 21 and unfortunately was walking by mile 25. Gina has raised over £280 for Diabetes UK and would like to thank all who have sponsored. If you'd like to donate; click the link below.
Well done Gina on finishing a tough race.
Ex Club Captain, long time member Sam Harvey has been made Captain Of Exeter University Swimming Club. This is a fantastic achievement, and we are sure Sam will be an excellent captain and team leader. Well done Sam!!!
Kents 2015 - Week 3
Wednesday 4th March 2015
Another weekend spent at Medway Park - and the atmosphere was still buzzing at the start of the third weekend of the County Championships and another successful weekend for team Ojays. There were some fantastic swims with new pbs being set in almost every race and great camaraderie poolside.
Session 6 started on Saturday with the girls 50 fly - competing were: Samantha Jackson, who won herself another silver medal in the 9 year age group, Jessica , Lilli, Clio, Anna, Jess, Katie, Kate, Issie and Niamh - delivered some really fast & furious swims - well done ladies. This event was swiftly followed by the girls 400 free in which Ojays were represented by Lilli, Daniella, and Kate who won a silver medal in the 16 year old age group - well done girls in this tough endurance event. The last event of this session was the boys 200 breast: Eddie, Callum and Ben competed posting some great times. After a brief break session 7 started with the boys 50 fly with our two younger boys Eddie and Callum competed in the 10 & 11 year age groups. Next up was the boys 400 free and Eddie was swimming again and smashed his PB earning himself a silver medal in the 10 year age group. Ben competed in the 14 year age group and again achieved a great PB - well done boys. The last event of the day was Clio competing in the ladies 200 breast.
Session 8 started on Sunday morning with the ladies 200im with Clio, Daniella and Katie representing Ojays. Next up was the boys 100 fly with Callum, Ollie and Billy - good swims all round - the boys are pictured relaxing poolside before their event. Last event of the session was the ladies 50 back and the team had lots of entries - they were: Samantha, Matilda, Ellie, Rachel, Lilli, Anna ( who won a finalist medal) Clio, Niamh, Issie, Katie and Daniella.
The final session of the weekend started with the boys 200im - Eddie, Callum, Justin, Billy, Ben and Ollie all competed with lots of new pbs being achieved. Ladies 100 fly saw two medals being won by Katie and Kate who both received finalist medals for their 6th and 4th respective places. Also competing with great times were Clio, Niamh, Anna, Jess, and Molly. The weekend wrapped up with the boys 50 backstroke - with the threesome of Eddie, Callum & Justin representing the younger boys and Ben, Josh & Ollie the older boys all with some very exciting swims.
Thanks to Sergio & Simon for their poolside support, to Mandy for officiating and of course to parents for their unflagging support from the balcony for hours on end .....!
Well done team Ojays - one more exciting weekend to go!
Kents 2015 – week 2
Sunday 1st March 2015
Medway Park was buzzing on Saturday morning - the car park was full, poolside was a mass of team colours, the gallery was packed to the rafters and excitement was mounting - it must be the inaugural day of the full Kent programme !!!
Despite being very long days for competitors, coaches and spectators it was worth it to witness our team post so many PBs, medals, regional times and even a European record - just reward for the hours of training and dedication that swimmers all put into their sport.
Sergio was a very tired, but happy, Head Coach on Sunday evening and was very impressed by everyone's behaviour and fantastic achievements in the pool and is looking forward to more of the same over the next two weekends!
Thanks to Sergio and Simon for their poolside support and to parents and supporters who cheered loudly despite the long days and cramped conditions in the gallery. A detailed report below:
Saturday 21st Feb
Session 2 finally got under the starter's gun after a prolonged warm up with the girls 200 fly - competing were Anna Cvjetan, Katie Napier and Kate Ridley - all finished in the top 7 with Kate achieving the first gold medal for the club and 1st place in the 16 years age group.
Next up were the boys in the 200 free - Eddie Sellar, Justin Strover, Ben Strover and Joshua Martin - some great pbs from the boys and finalist places for Eddie and Ben. Clio Bacon represented the girls in the 100 breast and finished 2nd with a shiny silver medal.
Competing in the boys 50m breast was Eddie Sellar, Callum Baronti and Ben Strover - Callum finished 3rd with a bronze medal.
Session 3 started with the boys 200 fly with Ben Strover representing the club and achieving a good PB.
Girls 200 free was next with Matilda Barrett, Niamh Laker and Daniella Shipley - Niamh achieved a 4th place and finalist medal. In the mens 100 breast we had Callum Baronti and Ben Strover with Callum achieving a finalist medal.
Women's 50 breast saw our youngest girl 9 year old Samantha Jackson swimming in her first Kent's event - and winning a bronze medal ! Clio Bacon also won a second silver medal in the 13 year age group. Anna Hawkins, Jess Sellar and Daniella Shipley also delivered great swims.
Sunday 22nd Feb
Session 4 got underway with the boys 400im - a tough race even for the bravest swimmer and our Ben Strover was up for the challenge bringing home a very nice PB for his efforts! Girls 100 backstroke was a popular event with Jessica Herbert, Clio Bacon Ellie Harden Rachel Langdown, Lilli Cutajar, Anna Cvjetan, Daniella Shipley, Katie Napier, Lizzie Bennett, Chloe Ashley and Jess Page all competing with some great Pbs and regional times being achieved.
Boys 50 free was next with Eddie Sellar, achieving a 4th place, Callum Baronti, Justin & Ben Strover, Ollie Randall, Jake McDonnell and Billy Birchmore – some very fast and furious heats in this “splash and dash” event.
The Final session of the weekend started with the 400im for the girls with Katie Napier representing us – pulling off a great and well deserved pb in this tough event. Boys 100 backstroke competing were : Justin, Eddie, Callum, Nam Nguyen, Ben, Josh, Ollie and Billy great swims and a European Record for Billy “the Bullet” Birchmore!
Orpington Ojays were well represented in the girls 50 free with a swimmer in each age group they bagged a few medals between them – they were : Samantha Jackson (winning another bronze medal) , Matilda Barrett, Jessica Herbert, Lilli Cutajar, Niamh Laker (winning a bronze medal), Jess Sellar, Daniella Shipley (winning a finalist medal), Katie Napier and Issie Minter-Paye.
Kents 2015- week one
Thursday 19th February 2015
Well done to Ben Strover and William Magee-Brown who opened up the Kent county championships with a great start for Orpington Ojays in the 1500m boys long course event. First on the blocks was William, his first time at the Kents. William paced himself very well from the beginning achieving a 24 second pb. Soon after Ben was on the blocks pushing every single bit of the race setting a new long course pbs in 200m and 400m, finishing 10 seconds faster than his previous pb and 5th place in his age group. Congratulations boys for the achievements and first of many pbs.
Good luck to all swimmers at Medway Park this weekend - Go Ojays!
Kents 2015 kick off this weekend!!
Friday 13th February 2015
It's that time of year when the next few weekends will be spent at either Crystal Palace or Medway Park for the County Championships.
Ojays has 31 swimmers plus relay teams competing against the best swimmers in the County - the competition starts on Sunday 15th February at Crystal Palace where Ben Strover and William Magee-Brown will be taking on the marathon 1500m free event.
We wish them lots of luck for Sunday and to all our other competitors in the coming weeks - Go Ojays !!!
Billy misses world record by 8/100ths of a second!
Thursday 12th February 2015
Billy 'there's no stopping me now' Birchmore swam at the weekend at his first meet of the year in Southampton in the DSE South East Regional Open and got a European Record in 50m Back at 36.86, only 0.08 second from getting a World Record! Well done Billy on a fantastic achievement.
ORPINGTON OJAYS SPRINT TO SUCCESS AT JUNIOR GALA
Thursday 5th February 2015
Our up and coming younger swimmers were out in force on Sunday 25th January at Beckenham Spa at our own Junior Sprints home gala. Over 40 Ojays attended this open event which is aimed at our 12 years and under swimmers and provides a great opportunity to gain all important gala experience.
The day ran smoothly, with the exception of an impromptu fire evacuation mid-afternoon, This, however, did not deter swimmers and Ojays swam well, cheered loudly and proved that hard work does pay off with the resulting, and rather a satisfying, jangling of medals around the necks of our happy swimmers.
Special congratulations to the following swimmers who gained the most points during the day and won Top Boy and Top Girl trophies:
Boys 12 years - Michael Phillips
Boys 11 years - Callum Baronti
Girls 10 years - Matilda Barrett
Boys 9 years - Alessio Tutt
Girls 9 years - Samantha Jackson
Finally, as always, we cannot provide these opportunities for our swimmers to compete without the vital support from parents, coaches and officials. So a big thank you to everyone who volunteered their time to help things run so smoothly on the day - Team Ojays pulls it off again!
Anna qualifies for the Zonals
Thursday 15th January 2015
Congratulations to Anna Cvjetan from Top Squad who has qualified to compete at the Southern Zonal meet which will be held at the iconic Aquatic Centre in East London. She will be competing in the 200m backstroke event which will be held on January 31st.
Zonals are the penultimate event for a competitive swimmer - the stepping stone to Nationals - so this is a great achievement for Anna and Ojays - we will all be routing for you - fast swimming!