For the third time this season Orpington Ojays took part in the Arena League; when on 14th of December our team travelled to Crawley for the final round of the competition.
We had a reduced team due to illness and injuries, but those that were fit swam fast and achieved many PBs and points for the club. Several top-three places were achieved by our swimmers, competing in their own age groups as well as in higher age groups. All their great efforts saw Orpington Ojays finish third place in the gala and ninth overall; an improvement of one place on last year.
Well done to all our swimmers for the hard work put in during the three events. A big thank you also goes to the parents and officials who helped make this competition a great success.
Kent Development
Thursday 5th December 2019
Every spring Kent Swimming run a development camp for swimmers who performed well at the development meet in October. To be selected, swimmers have to finish in the top five in the FINA points table in each age group at the meet, but have not qualified for the KCASA Championships in 2019.
We are delighted to say that eight of our swimmers have been selected for the development camp.
They are:
• Aaron Magcanan
• Andrew Magcanan
• Charlotte Bloodworth
• Grace Tume
• James Yuen
• Joella Binns
• Lily-Mae Cooper
• Xian Ming Li
Congratulations to those swimmers; it is a great achievement and we know you are going to learn a lot at and enjoy the development camp.
Race Night
Wednesday 4th December 2019
On Sunday 1st December Orpington Ojays held a race night for all the swimmers in our Tadpoles squad.
Race Night is an event for the younger and the new to racing swimmers. Most of the swimmers, and their parents, have never been involved in a swimming gala so this is an exciting and friendly way to get familiar with this part of club life.
By 5.00pm all the swimmers were signed in and ready by the poolside raring to go with the anticipation and excitement in the air. After a short warm-up, 32 swimmers lined up ready to be marshalled for their events. There were seven events in total, 25m backstroke, 50m backstroke, 25m breaststroke, 50m breaststroke, 25m butterfly, 25m freestyle and 50m freestyle. Everyone swam amazingly, and it was fantastic to see the enthusiasm and eagerness from all the swimmers and so many smiling faces. Everyone who raced will be rewarded for their efforts with a ribbon for each race they participated in with their time recorded on the back.
A massive well done to all the swimmers who should be really pleased with themselves and thank you to all the parents for their support. A big thank you also to the volunteers who gave up their time to make this event a success:
Dave Ryan; Myra Brown; Lorraine Harden; Myra Brown; Mandy Jackson; Mark Bond; Janet Brown; Alice Leng; Clio Bacon; Rachel Langdown; Nam Nguyen; Ellie Harden; Ben Langdown; Samantha Jackson; Sam Ryan and Ellie Brown. Thank you also of course to our Tadpoles Co-ordinator, Heidi Langdown. We hope everyone will agree it was a very successful Race Night and we hope that another one will take place in the very near future.
Black Lion Winter Open
Tuesday 26th November 2019
On the last weekend of November we had 60 swimmers representing Orpington Ojays at Medway Park for the Black Lion Winter Open Meet. A well run event with many great swims, P.B. times, top three medals and Kent times.
Well done to all our swimmers for the great individual effort in the pool and team effort out of the pool. A big thank you for the time and effort to our ten officials who helped on both of the days; without them the event could not have been possible.
Our new Trophy Cabinet
Wednesday 20th November 2019
We have been without a trophy cabinet for what seem like a very very long time. That time is up now though and thanks to Mytime and the Walnuts Team (Matt Burns & Elaine Potter), for working with us and agreeing a space we could use to show off our silverware, a lovely new cabinet is now present at the Walnuts.
A big thank you also goes Richard Jenkinson of Shop Displays LTD who built and installed it for us.
Our past achievements can now inspire us to train hard for future glory.
Kent Junior League - Final Round
Wednesday 20th November 2019
Well done to our swimmers who travelled to Beckenham Spa for the last round of the Kent Junior League. Despite the delayed start our swimmers performed incredibly well achieving team points and swimming pbs. Well done to all for the great effort they put in competing in this event and thanks to all parents/officials who helped on the day.
Arena League
Monday 11th November 2019
On Saturday 9th November our team travelled down to Margate to swim in the second round of the Arena League against some strong teams. As always, our swimmers swam well achieving numerous pbs.
It was a close competitions where Orpington Ojays managed to keep a consistent 4th place. We had 5 first places, 8 second places and 13 third places which gave our team 173 points. Well done to all swimmers and congratulations to our swimmers coming 1st : Charlotte Bloodworth in 50m back, Sam Ryan in 100m back, Samantha Jackson in 100m fly and to Ben Langdown and Clio Bacon in 100m free.
Thanks to swimmers, parents and officials who helped to make this another successful event.
Bronze for Samantha at Regionals
Thursday 7th November 2019
Last weekend some of our best swimmers competing in the Winter Regionals held at the London Aquatic Centre. It was a long meet with the strongest clubs in London and surrounding area attending.
Once again our swimmers swam well on PB with some breaking their PB's in the longer events.
Congratulations to Samantha Jackson, who won a Bronze medal in the 100m IM. Samantha was also 9th in the 200m IM and Sam Ryan was 8th in the 100m fly.
Rocket Speed Swims
Tuesday 5th November 2019
This weekend saw twenty seven Orpington Ojays swimmers attend the Firework swim meet at Crook Log. All our swimmers were in good spirits looking for PBs and trying to achieve Kent times. There were also heat winner wrist bands to aim for as well. Overall we had a total of 75 PBs which is a great achievement and we racked up a good few medals; nine 1st places, twenty 2nd places, nine 3rd places and twenty two top 4-6 places for the 13 and unders.
Well done to all the swimmers that competed this weekend, keep training hard to achieve more PBs in the upcoming events. Thank you to all the parents that were supporting all the swimmers. Thank you to Sarah and Sam for helping on poolside and our Vice Captain Abby Leeves (Shabs) for making sure swimmers were going up for there warm ups.
Kent Development Meet
Tuesday 29th October 2019
On Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th our team made their way to Medway Park for the Kent Development Meet. We had lots of strong swims from our Silver, Chrome and Gold swimmers with many new PBs.
Andrew was the Number One swimmer in the meet whilst Aaron placed thirds overall swimming in only five events. Aaron wasn't swimming on the second day but went back to the pool to assist Will.
Congratulation to everyone who attended and raced at such a great meet.
Jack Petchey Awards
Friday 18th October 2019
On Monday 15th of October Sergio awarded three Jack Petchey awards. The April award was given to Joella Binns for always training hard and trying her best and to top it all, she is always smiling and happy. The June award was awarded to Vatsalya Sidarth for working very hard at training and seeing that work pay off in his performance in competitions. Vatsalya always looks out for the younger swimmers at galas and is a valuable member of the team. The September award was given to Louis Taylor for focusing hard at training and achieving some great times in competition. He has kept going even when he found it hard, and is seeing his commitment pay off.
Arena League
Tuesday 15th October 2019
The 12th of October was the first round of the Arena League and Orpington Ojays travelled to Horsham to compete with some of the best teams in the South Division 1 League.
The races were exciting with all the teams fighting for points from the start and it was great to see our swimmers piling up pbs and points. Half way through the gala Orpington Ojays was 4th but the best had yet to come. With increased cheering from swimmers and parents we managed moved up to and hold second place for most of the second half of the event.
As always we put in many great swims and our swimmers gave all they had to achieve points for the team. Orpington Ojays finished 3rd by 2 points after putting up a great fight. From start to finish this was a great event full of excitement seeing many first places such us Charlotte Field in the 50 breaststroke, Amie Lawrence in 100 fly, Sam Ryan in one of his many 100 fly swims, Alice Leng 100 breaststroke, Sophia O’Neill 100 free. We also an incredible 4x50 medley relay from our 11 years girls relay team with Charlotte Bloodworth, Charlotte Field, Ava Hickey and Nabilah Ismail who lead the race from the start.
Well done to all swimmers for giving their best for the team. Also thank you to our Team Managers, officials and parents who helped making of this gala such a great event.
Following on from the Season Starter Open Meet we had the Captain's Gala which is all together a less serious event. With the swimmer split into four teams we had Max's Mako Sharks, Shabs Crabs, Alice's Angelfish and Ben's Belugas.
The entire gala is relays with props and a lot of noise and was as always great fun, not just for those swimming but also for everyone watching the swimmers let loose. After many lengths and no disqualifications allowed it was Max's Mako Sharks who finished top, followed jointly by Alice's Angelfish and Ben's Belugas and then Shabs Crabs.
At the end of September Orpington Ojays moved to Medway Park to host our annual Season Starter Open Meet. We had 50 swimmers entered across the events alongside many swimmers from the other clubs who came along to race and chase those qualifying times and PBs.
It was great to see a busy poolside with experienced swimmers and those who were experiencing the buzz of an open meet for the first time. The friendly atmosphere created by everyone involved made for a very enjoyable day for all the ages and we hope that the many officials who gained qualifications found the experience rewarding.
Congratulations and thank you to all those swimmers who joined us for the day. We hope that the training paid off this time and that you swam well. If you were off your PB there will be another chance soon. As always it was lovely to see swimmers on poolside with medals jingling around their necks sounding like a Christmas sleigh.
Great work from all parties involved in our open (those from our club and of course those from visiting clubs) from reading the safety announcement, ordering sandwiches, running stopwatches, starting races, organising the heats, watching the strokes, compiling the programme, racing the races, cheering the races etc etc. Everyone worked together as a team brilliantly to ensure another success for our club; thank you.
Photo credits and thanks to Richard Westlake who was on poolside and took hundreds of photos on the day. All the photos are in the gallery from the Photos menu item.
It's Official
Monday 30th September 2019
With the conclusion of another smooth running and successful open meet at Medway Park we have many new officials.
Congratulations to Mandy Jackson, Eoin Hickey, Jeremy Ellis, Sophie Fields, Mark Bond, Michelle Blaney, Rid Steens (Ismail), Nicola Donne, Dave Ryan, Andre Magcanan, Justin Somerville Cotton, Gary Spicer, Janet Brown and Gina Charleton are now all signed off of Timekeeping at J1 and are now ready for their second classroom session.
Congratulations also to Helen Magee-Brown, Paul Leng and Ellen Hill who all passed the J1 and are now fully qualified officials.
Without our officials the club cannot operate galas for our swimmers and the swimmers of other clubs. Also, thank you to all the volunteers helping on poolside and in the spectator gallery, doing numerous jobs to ensure that our Season Starter was a success. We do recognise and appreciate the time and commitment to Orpington Ojays that the officials and referees give despite quite a few no longer having family members swimming at our club.
You are all vital to the continuing operation of the sport and our club so from all the swimmers; thank you so much.
Photo credits and thanks to Richard Westlake
Super Sunday Sprints
Friday 27th September 2019
A great start of the season with 50 of our best swimmers travelling to Erith to compete in the Super Sunday Sprints. With a busy poolside and a literally warm atmosphere our group of swimmers gained competitive experience swimming as fast if not faster than the past season despite the reduced training over the summer. There were many clubs participating in the competition and our swimmers had 79 top six palace and countless ducks given to the Winner of each heat bringing us up to 2nd place overall.
Well done to everyone and congratulations to our Super Sunday Sprinters Aaron Magcanan, Sophia O'Neill (who won overall 13 year old), Sam Ryan and Blythe Jolley-Ellis.
A great thank you goes also to parents, coaches and officials who made this a great event.
Billy Birchmore from Top Squad is currently in Sardinia, representing GB at the DSISO European Championships.
Billy won the Gold in all seven races he was competing in as well as claiming the European Record in the 400m IM.
Congratulations Billy on all your swims and on be prsesnted with the Best T21 Male for Individual Performance and the European Champion 2019.
Kent Junior League
Friday 13th September 2019
Last Saturday Orpington Ojays competed in the second round of the Kent Junior League, coming an amazing 4th place overall, considering the tough competition due to our promotion into League 1 at the end of last season, with many swimmers achieving PBs and showing great teamwork and cooperation as they cheered on their teammates throughout the evening
There were some fantastic swims with Sophia O’Neill, Sam Ryan and Aaron Magcanan winning their races, and several other second and third successes.
Along with our new Club Captains were several of our older swimmers, Ellie Brown, Ellie Blainey and Samantha Jackson, who helped with the organisation of the swimmers and were a great source of support. As well as our non-swimmers, a huge thank you to all of the first-time volunteer parents who helped this weekend making such a difference and allowing everything to run smoothly.
After a long evening of draining races, it came to the final event. The 8x50 Mixed freestyle relay. This event shows where teams come together to support the final swimmers of the night where each age group has two swimmers sprinting to do their best times and try to win the race! All of our swimmers gathered round the end of our lane preparing to break their vocal cords screaming and cheering for our final relay. Carys Bond started our relay and as the race started a cacophony of cheers were released from everyone in the building helping spur the swimmers. Carys finished her 50m brilliantly as Joshua Hill dived off the block to swim his leg. He was followed on by Charlotte Field and Xian. By this time, you would think the cheering has become a lot quieter and calm but it was louder than before as all our swimmers supported the relay team the entire time making sure they were screaming constantly and remember, we were only half way through! Joella Binns swam the 5th leg and fought hard to keep our positioning in the top three. She was followed on by Louis Taylor and Sophia O’Neil. Sam Ryan was up on the block for the final leg and took over from Sophia like a bullet as he sprinted down the pool and back to finish the relay in an incredible 3rd place! Well done to all of the swimmers who took part!
Billy Passes
Thursday 12th September 2019
Congratulations to Billy Birchmore of Top Squad who has passed his Swim England Assistance Coach Course!
Good luck also from us all in his up coming competitions in Sardinia, representing GB at the DSISO European Championships.
Gina Returns
Monday 9th September 2019
Congratulations to Gina from Masters squad who as back racing this weekend after a nasty cycling accident on her work commute three months ago.
Gina was racing in the Clash of the Tritons Aquathlon at Charlton Lido. A 750m swim in a snake format (up one lane, down the next lane) and the a 5km run around Hornfair Park and the flower garden.
Gina finished 10th out of 41 women and was 3rd from 9 in her age group.
A fantastic come back Gina!
Club Captains 2018/20
Sunday 1st September 2019
At the club picnic in High Elms Country Park our new Captains were announced.
Congratulations to Alice and Max who are our Club Captains and to Abby and Ben who our Vice Captains for the coming season.
Sam at The Nationals
Thursday 1st August 2019
After a long wet drive up to Sheffield Sam Ryan started August 2019 off by competing in the 100m Fly this morning at the English Nationals at the Ponds Forge pool. Sam had a good swim and finished 20th in 1:04.55, just off his PB.
On Friday swam in the 50m Backstroke. With a centre lane swim he came home in 30.84 and finished 17th.
Sunday was Sam's last event, the 200m Backstroke. Four lengths of the pool which Sam swam in 2:26.01 placing him 18th.
Congratulations Sam on a great Nationals meet!
At the end of the season, the last Monday night is fun night. Swimmers from all the squads are in the pool together for very different relays and races. As usual the evening finished with the coaches in the water and a free for all with platform floats and balls. A small number stayed in the pool for three hours and finished up with a game of volleyball over the backstroke flags.
Have a great break everyone. With the normal training timetable suspended for two weeks from 5th August, keep an eye on our twitter feed for any impromptu public swimming sessions. If you are heading to water for some swimming and would like some company then tweet @OrpingtonOjays for a retweet to let others know where and what time. Please don't forget that you will need to buy a swimming ticket from reception and these are not club sessions.
Nuel Open
Monday 29th July 2019
For the last weekend in July we managed to make a big presence at the Nuel open meet with over 30 swimmers competing in many different events. It was great to see a mix of old and new faces amongst our swimmers. Their performance in the pool was great with lots of personal bests, medals and early kent consideration and qualifying times achieved. Also our veteran swimmers set a great example of enjoyment, team spirit and fun during the whole weekend.
Well done to all our swimmers and thanks to organisers, officials, parents and coaches for helping and cheering our team once again.
Max and Ellie pass their Qualifications
Sunday 28th July 2019
We have recently had two more Top squad swimmers pass the courses they have been attending. Congratulations to Max Peel who has passed the National Lifeguard Course which includes First Aid and integrated AED (Automated external defibrillators) and to Ellie Harden who has passed the Level 1 Swimming Teacher.
The training of our swimmers in multiple disciplines, as well as our parents who often pass the range of Officials courses is vital for the continued and future operation and success of our club.
200m Back DSISO World Record
Thursday 25th July 2019
Congratulations to Billy Birchmore from Top Squad who competed in the Basildon End of Season Long Course Open Meet and broke the 200m Backstoke DSISO (Down Syndrome International Swimming Organisation) World Record and picked up two other PBs!
Excellent swims Billy.
London Youth Games
Tuesday 9th July 2019
On Saturday 6th July the first day of the London Youth Games Finals took place at Crystal Palace. Charlotte Field and Ava Hickey were up early to compete for the Minis. Charlotte swam in the freestyle relay and Ava in the freestyle and medley relays. They both had fantastic swims and both relay teams won gold.
Next up were the Juniors and Seniors. Sam Ryan and Samantha Jackson were swimming for the Junior team and Ben Langdown for the Senior team. Ben swam in 50m backstroke individual, medley relay and freestyle relay, narrowly missing out on medals. Sam swam in 50m backstroke individual winning silver, medley relay winning gold, and freestyle relay winning bronze. Samantha swam in 50m freestyle individual, medley relay winning gold, and freestyle relay - also gold.
Bromley boys and Bromley girls teams both won swimming gold with Bromley winning overall. As Nike are the new sponsors for LYG, all gold medal winners were also awarded with an exclusive Nike jacket. Well done to the whole Bromley team for excellent swims and the Team Manager, Joe Dobb from Bromley Swimming Club who did a great job organising everyone.
Ellie Harden swam for Bexley in 50m Back achieving 10th. Also in the medley team relay narrowly missing 3rd by 0.04 seconds and achieving Bronze in the freestyle relay.
The final day of the LYG, Sunday 7th, had three of our swimmers selected to compete for Team Bromley in the Aquathlon event. The event consists of a swim, transition and then a run on a hilly course. Hannah Strover swam 200m followed by a 1km run and finished a strong 10th. Zoe White and Justin Strover Swam both swam 400m followed by a 3km run with Justin taking the Bronze and Zoe winning the Gold. Triathletes from around London competed and our swimmers did very well. All the swimming training under dedicated swimming coaches gives our athletes a great start to the multi-discipline event despite the comparatively short distance of the swim in relation to the run.
Justin and Zoe were both greeted across the line by the onsite broadcaster, which was being shown live in the village, reporting on the events covering all areas of Crystal palace. They gave breathless interviews, which in short form, they agreed it was tough, the hill is not fun, but the event is great and hope they’ve done enough to get on the podium.
Bromley fielded a strong team with Master squad swimmer Jess Sellar organising the team. Sadly due to a clash of dates her dad, Graham, stepped in and managed the team on the day. The team ranging from year 7 to 11 finished in Gold position and collected their medals and gold medal winners jacket from the Nike sponsor.
The atmosphere at the games generally is amazing and this year’s medals were extra impressive as you can see in the photos. Samamtha commented how heavy they were when back at training on Monday. Team Bromley have manged to secure a fourth consecutive win and 10th win of the Jubilee trophy. The Jubilee is the trophy given to the team with most points from all the events that run from Cross country in the Autumn to the finals weekend covering every possible sport you can think of.
If you get the opportunity to complete for your borough enjoy the experience. Well done everyone.
Congratulations to our Master swimmers who competed in the 3.8km race at Hever Castle. The water conditions were, as always, terrible. Visibility when looking forward under water was about 18mm, and when looking directly down it was zero. It was however quite warm at 20°C and thankfully the sun was behind clouds and the rain had stopped for the start so all the buoy markers were easily identifiable.
Matt Steere won the event overall in 51 minutes and 52 seconds. Steve Morris was 5th overall, 4th male and 3rd in category in 58 minutes and 23 seconds. Niki Herbert was 22nd overall, 12th female and 5th in category in 1 hour 8 minutes and 43 seconds.
Congratulations to Abi, Callum, Justin and Max for passing the ASA Level 1 Swim Teaching course.
Whitehorse League - Round 4
Tuesday 2nd July 2019
The last of the team events of the season was the fourth and final round of the Whitehorse League where our swimmers performed at their very best. The event ran quickly with many 50 meter events and either 200m IM or 200m Freestyle in each age group. We had high motivation and loud support throughout the gala and were competing for 2nd place from the start. Many of our swimmers posted pb times and top three places. We did have a few speeding tickets along the way but we had a great competition resulting in Orpington Ojays finishing 3rd by just 15 points on the night which placed us 3rd overall.
Well done and thank you to all swimmers, parents, officials and coaches who together made this and the previous rounds so successful.
KCASA Para Swimming Club of the year 2019
Tuesday 25th June 2019
We are very pleased and proud to once again be named the Para Swimming Club of the year by Kent Swimming at the Annual Council Meeting. Here is Club Secretary Paul Leng receiving the shield.
Tudor League
Tuesday 25th June 2019
Once again our team travelled to Eltham pool to compete in the last round of the Tudor League. This league has been a great experience for our young swimmers to gain competitive experience. The gala ran smoothly in the friendly environment that always accompanies this league and our swimmers had many good swims, pbs and top three places. When all the points were counted we finished 7th in the league.
Well done to our swimmers and thanks to parents, team managers and officials for making this another fun afternoon of competition.
Kent Junior League - Round 1
Friday 14th June 2019
On Satuday evening, with some of our team at Crystal Palace, others travelled to Maidstone for the first round of the Kent Junior League. Last year we achieved promotion to League 1 so are now competing against bigger and stronger teams. Continuing the outstanding efforts to get into League 1 our swimmers swam numerous pbs as those on poolside showed our team spirit cheering and supporting their team mates. The gala ran smoothly and quickly and at the end of it Orpington Ojays came 6th managing to score 2 first places, swam by Sam Ryan, as well several 2nd and 3rd places.
Well done to all our swimmers and everyone in attendance for making our club proud once again.
White Horse League - Round 3
Sunday 9th June 2019
WOW what an enthusiastic team that arrived at Crystal Palace for the third round of the White Horse League; looking fantastic in the new club kit. A mix of experienced senior swimmers and excited but nervous younger swimmers arrived to race their hearts out.
We stayed a constant 6th place throughout the night, a credit to the determination of the whole team. For so many of the younger girls and boys this was their first time representing the club at WHL and many have never swum before in a 50m pool. Those that have will understand how tough those first races in an Olympic sized pool can be!
Quite a few swimmers had to raise their game to another level, swimming their own age group and up to an older age group too. At the end of the night, the team screamed the Ojays cheer, again a new experience for some, and went home having had fun, exhausted and proud of themselves
Thanks as always to the parents for their support, our Officials (Paul Leng), Coaches (Sarah Jolley and Sam Gaster) and Team managers (Heidi Langdown and Julie Strover)
Great North Swim
Saturday 8th June 2019
Congratulations to Jess P from Masters Squad who competed in the Great North Swim at Lake Windermere in the Lake District on Friday. The lake is the largest in England with a surface area over 14m² and a depth over 66m.
Jess entered the 5k swim and the weather was bad enough that the organisers had issued a cancellation warning. Thankfully at the start time is was decided that the event could go ahead. With her wetsuit and goggles on Jess entered the lake ready to race. The great lake and atmosphere brought out a great performance from Jess and she finished the 5k course with a pb and she was the first female finisher.
To make open water swimming accessible to as many swimmers as possible there are a selection of distances on offer all the way up to the marathon 10k event. Jess' parents and boyfriend took full advantage of this opportunity. Her mum, in her first open water swim, and Matt swam in the 2 mile (3.2k) event and her dad in the 1 mile (1.6k) event.
Congratulations Jess on a great swim up north and of course congratulations to your family!
Ocean Lake Sprint Tri
Monday 3rd June 2019
Congratulations to Steve Morris from Masters Squad who competed in the first Ocean Lake Triathlon of the season at Leybourne Lakes on Sunday morning. With a 6am registration time it was an early start but the day was already warming up. The lake was 20° C so Steve was one of the few who opted to swim the 750m triangular course without a wetsuit. (A wetsuit gives a performance boost but makes transition slower.) There were 77 competitors in the water and Steve positioned himself at the front on the pack for the start. It was a fast race to the first buoy. Steve had the inside position for the first turn and escaped a competitor who he had been shoulder to shoulder with from the start. Swimming back across the lake in clear water Steve was in 6th position. After turn two it was back to the exit and the swimmer in 5th position was tiring. With 20 metres to go, Steve was alongside and again on the inside track for the exit. A sprint to the line followed but the inside track was crucial and allowed Steve to swim straight into the exit and out of the water, taking 5th in the swim in 11mins 37secs.
After transition, it was onto the bike for the 21km course and Steve hit a top speed of 44km/h but sadly lost many places, and his water bottle on the second lap, and completed the course in 39min 11secs. After a change of shoes, it was time for the 5km run. Steve picked up a position on the run and completed the course in 22mins 53secs placing him 24th overall and 13th in age group.
The final weekend of the London Regional Age groups was held at Crystal Palace on the 18th and 19th of May. Three swimmers represented OOJSC in the first session. First on the starting blocks racing in the girls 100m Backstroke was Sophia O’Neil who swam on PB qualifying 4th in the heats and final. Following soon after was Hannah Strover who also finished on pb and 7th in the heat but improving to 6th place in the final. Tom Barrett swam next in the 100m Breaststroke and achieved a pb.
The second session of the day opened with the 50m Breaststroke. Well done to Charlotte Field, Lilli-May Cooper, Samantha Jackson and Thomas Barrett who all swam pbs. There was another pb for Amy Lawrence in 50m Fly and in the 200m Freestyle both Sam Ryan and Samantha Jackson achieved pbs and a place in the final and both finished 5th.
The final day of the championship opened with boys 100m Backstroke and Thomas Barrett improved his entry time and Sam Ryan achieved first place in both the heat and the final winning gold in his age group.
For the girls 100m Breaststroke we saw good efforts from Charlotte Field, Sophia O'Neill and Samantha Jackson. Sam Ryan made the final in the 50m Butterfly improving his pb in both the heat and the final finishing and placing 5th in his age group. The girls 200m Freestyle was the last event of the competition and a good performance was swum from Samantha Jackson and Sophia O'Neill swimming around pb and Amie Lawrence who improved her time by 3 seconds.
At the end of the championship we had a great number of personal best swims, along with 16 finals, 4 golds, 2 fourths, 3 fifths, 3 sixths, 3 sevenths and 1 eighth place. The great effort put in by our swimmers at this championship ranked OOJSC 20th team overall improving our position from last year.
Well done everyone!
(Photo used with kind permission from the owner @westlar)
Eton Dorney SuperSprints
Monday 20th May 2019
Congratulations to Gina from Masters squad who competed in the SuperSprint Triathlon at Eton Dorney at the weekend. The SuperSprint event is a 400m swim, a 21.2km ride and 5km run. Gina was the 2nd female home, 1st in her age group and 20th overall, despite get tangled up in reeds during the swim in a total time of 1h 16mins 13s. A very impressive result Gina.
Ocean Lake Tri Aquathlon No. 1
Sunday 19th May 2019
Congratulations to Matt Steere and Steve Morris from Masters squad who competed in the first Aquathlon hosted by Ocean Lake Tri at Leybourne lakes on Wednesday evening. To try and make the event more accessable some shorter distances were added to the evening for those who fancy a go but are put off by the thought of swimming to the middle of a large lake,
The choices were 400m, 750m or 1500m swim followed by either 2.5km or 5km run. Out of the 36 competitors only four opted for the 1500m swim, which of course included Matt and Steve.
Matt was first out of the water in 19m 25s followed in second place by Steve in 22m 21s. Next out was Great Britain age group (25-29) triathlon squad member Matthew Latham in 24:28. Matthew's transition time (getting his wetsuit off and shoes on) was an incredible 42 seconds. In comparison, Steve took 1m 28s and Matt 1m 47s. Matt (our Matt from Masters) was nursing an injury so decided to switch to the 1500m/2.5k event during the run and finished in first place as the only competitor on that distance in 32m 6s having put in a run time of 10m 53s. Steve stayed on the 1500m/5k event and held his lead from GBR Matt for the entire first lap of the run. Sadly Mathew's run time of 19:46 was enough when combined with his transision gain to reel Steve in who finished 2nd in 44m 58s having put in a run of 22m 21s. Mathew's overall time was 44m 58s.
Well done chaps.
Regionals
Wednesday 15th May 2019
Following on from the Youth Regionals last weekend, it was time for some of our 9 - 14 year old swimmers to show us their best. The team travelled to the LAC for the first of two weekends of competition. Our younger swimmers swam well with many great swims in heats and finals, achieving pb after pb. Congratulations to our swimmers for achieving their times and taking part in this prestigious event: Amie Lawrence, Thomas Barrett, Charlotte Field, Samantha Jackson, Sam Ryan, Sophia O'Neill and Hannah Strover.
Well done for making finals to: Charlotte Field finishing 7th in the final of the 200 Breaststroke; Samantha Jackson finalist in 100m Fly and 100m Free improving her final position to 6th place in both races; Sophia O'Neill finishing 7th in the final of 100m Free and 6th in 200m Backstroke; Hannah Strover finishing 5th in 200m Back final and Sam Ryan 8th in 100m Free, 6th in 50m Free, and Gold in 100m Fly, 50m Back and 200m Back.
It was a very successful day with 29 races 11 finals, 3 golds and 42 points in the bag - ranking OOJSC 18th at the moment. Good luck to our swimmers for the last weekend of events at Crystal Palace next weekend.
Youth Regionals
Wednesday 8th May 2019
The first weekend of May saw 11 of our swimmers travel to the London Aquatic Centre to compete in the London Regional Youth Championships (15 years plus). With 88 events Orpington Ojays looked sharp in their new kit and ready for the challenge.
With our swimmers in competition mode, stopwatches recorded PB after PB making finals; which for the open age group were swam in A and B finals to give more swimmers another chance to swim. Well done to our swimmers competing in this prestigious event: Clio Bacon, Matilda Barrett, Lilli Cutajar, Ellie Harden, Blythe Jolley-Ellis, Ben Langdown, Alice Leng, Max Peel, Michael Phillips and Justin Strover.
Congratulations to our many finalists: Alice Leng - Bronze in the 200m Breaststroke, 8th in 200m IM, 10th in 100m Breaststroke, 12th 50m breaststroke; Ellie Harden - 15th 100m Back, 12th 50m Back, 10th 200m Back; Max Peel 9th 50m Back, 6th 200m Back; Ben Langdown 8th 50m Back and Clio Bacon 10th 50 free.
It was a great weekend where OOJSC showed determination and team spirit in and out of the pool which wouldn't have been possible without the great effort of the organisers, officials, parents and swimmers and of course Matilda's cake.
Cold Tri
Wednesday 8th May 2019
Congratulations to Gina from Masters squad who travelled to Cambridgeshire for the Anglian Water Triathlon. Gina dipped into 12.5ºC waters at the weekend to compete in her second triathlon of the year. A 1km swim, followed by a 40km ride and a 10km run. Gina finished 13th in age group in 2 hours, 38 mins and 53 seconds.
Tudor League - Round 4
Sunday 5th May 2019
On the last Saturday of April, we were back at Eltham pools for Round 4 of the Tudor League. We had some amazing swims from all our swimmers and some exciting races throughout the evening. The highlight of the evening was the Front Crawl squadron relay at the end. We finished Round 4 in 4th and are now in 5th in the League with 2 rounds to go.
Orpington Ojays were joint hosts for the evening so special thank yous to our Captains, Rachel Langdown and Ellie Harden, for all there support and help on poolside; all the helpers and club officials that ensured the smooth running of the gala. Round 5 is on the 18th May 2019 so not many hard training sessions to get our team ready.
SwimMark Accrediation
Thursday 2nd May 2019
Orpington Ojays SC is very pleased to confirm that the club has been awarded the SwimMark accreditation for the next 2 years.
SwimMark accreditation is Swim England’s quality standard for clubs. It is awarded to clubs that maintain high standards of coaching, welfare, equity and management. It confirms that a club provides the right environment that ensures the welfare of members and encourages everyone to enjoy their chosen sport.
Farewell Rebecca
Wednesday 1st May 2019
The last Monday of April was Rebecca's last session coaching Gold squad. Rebecca has been coaching at Orpington Ojays for eleven years and first joined the club as a swimmer aged 8. A big thank you to Rebecca from all of us and good luck pursuing your physio career.
Black Lion Open
Wednesday 10th April 2019
Well done to our swimmers who spent the weekend at Medway Park to participate in the Black Lion Open over the 7th and 8th of April. Another well-run meet and our swimmers showed how strong a team we are entering many races and achieving personal bests and top 3 places.
Congratulations to our age group winners Louis Taylor (50m breast, 100m fly, 100m back, 200m breast, 100m breast), Samantha Jackson (50m fly, 100m free, 50m free, 100m breast, 50m breast, 100m fly, 200m IM), Lilli Cutajar (50 fly), Samuel Ryan (200m back, 100m fly, 50m back, 200m free, 100m back, 50m fly, 100m free, 50m free, 200m fly), Max Peel (200m back, 200m free, 100m back, 50m fly, 50m free, 200m IM), Ben Langdown (100m fly, 50m back), Matilda Barrett (100m free, 50m free, 400m free, 200m back, 50m back, 200m free, 100m back), Alethea West (50m free), Lily-Mae Cooper (100m breast, 50m breast), Michael Phillips (400m IM), Sophia O'Neill (50m breast, 200m back, 200m IM, 50m back, 100m back), Charlotte Bloodworth (200m back), Ellie Harden (200m back, 50m back, 100m back) and Leah Collier (200m IM).
Also congratulations to our outright event winners Samantha Jackson (50m fly, 100m free, 50m free, 100m breast, 100m fly), Max Peel (200m back), Michael Phillips (400m IM) and Ellie Harden (100m back)
Thanks to all our swimmers for participating and make parents and coaches proud once again.
Southampton hosted the Downs Syndrome (DSSF) European Open at the weekend. Billy from Top Squad was on top form and achieved a clean sweep with 7 Gold Medals and a European Record in the 50 back. He was also part of the winning team in the fun relay, DS DUDES, beating the elite of DS British Swimming.
Congratulations Billy on some excellent swims.
Kent v Sussex
Wednesday 3rd April 2019
Congratulations to Tracy, from Masters Squad, who on Sunday 31st March joined the Kent team for the relays in the annual Kent vs Sussex competition. Kent won this year and Tracy was in four winning relays 2 x free and 2 x back 50m. She says she still finds the backstroke starts tricky but I managed by being last to hold and quickest off 😅
Swimathon
Wednesday 3rd April 2019
On Friday 29th March was the annual swimathon for Cancer Research and Marie Curie. We had swimmers at West Wickham, due to the Walnuts main pool closure and at Crystal Palace,
Nora from Bronze squad completed 1.4k as part of a team effort with Christy from Gold and Jo from Masters swimming the other 3.6k. Agata, also from Gold squad, headed to Crystal Palace and swam the whole 5k herself.
Congratulations to all of you. Your outstanding efforts and fundraising helped the Swimathon raise £1.7 million for these charities.
On Saturday 30th March Orpington Ojays travelled the short journey to Eltham Pools to host the Second Round of the White Horse League.
We had a lot of great swims from all our swimmers having ten 1st places eights 2nds and eleven 3rds. The team support was good as always with everyone cheering on everyone and getting behind the team. At the end of an exciting evening we finished 2nd to winner Bromley; congratulations to them.
Thank you to all the team managers and Dave Langdown for their help on poolside. Also a massive thank you to all the parents that helped to host the gala. The next round, 3, will be at Crystal Palace on 8th June where we once again look forward to more great swims.
Tudor League Round 3
Saturday 30th March 2019
On Saturday 23rd of March Orpington Ojays travelled to Eltham pools for Round 3 of The Tudor League We came 3rd, our highest finish this so far this, thanks to so many good swims from all our swimmers. There was a total of six 1st places ten 2nd and ten 3rds. We are 7th overall in the league, but after that rounds performance we are catching back up. It was good to see our club captains, Nam and Max, swim well and helping with all the younger swimmers encouraging everyone to do their best.
Thank you to all the parents for getting the swimmers there and for their support in the gallery. Spirits are high going into Round 4. Well done everyone.
Kent Parade
Wednesday 20th March 2019
Monday 18th March was the evening for our traditional Kent Team Parade. Kent is one of the largest counties in the UK, so proportionally there are more swimmers aiming to qualify for the championships. This creates some of the toughest county QT's in the country. It's a great achievement, to gain a consideration time for Kents. It means you are at the top end of your age group in the whole of Kent, a population of nearly 2 million.
If you have then made the cut and are accepted for the championships, that then puts you in the top 10/16/24/28 (depending on the event). If that was a Kent age group sports(football or netball) team, you would likely be in the team or the squad.
If you then make the top 8 and win a medal, that puts you at a very high level. Top 3 will likely put you in a strong position in the south-east.
Congratulations to all our swimmers who made it to the blocks, something you will never forget.
After the parade, training was replaced with what can only be described as a free for all water polo match. Just like the races the competition was fierce with some superb shots, some sensational saves and many glorious goals. At half time it was estimated the score was 31-7 to hats but with an outstanding comeback skins brought it back in the second half and took the lead making it 31-38. Playing right up to the end though hats put some more scores on the board to finish it on a draw 38-38. 😉
The final weekend of the Kent County Championships 2019 has come to the end with Orpington Ojays travelling to Dover for the Kent Relays. We came 6th overall out of 20 which is fantastic.
We started off with the Girls open Medley which saw the girls come 4th with some great swims. They finished off coming 5th in the Freestyle Relay. For the 12/u we came 16th in the Medley and 17th in the Freestyle. The Junior Medley team just missed out on a final coming 9th but made the Freestyle final where they went in 7th fastest and end up coming 4th. We saw some very impressive swims and they had some extra meaning as it was Jess Herbert's last Competitive Race for the club. The last of the girl's relays saw 2 finals for the 13/14-year-old girls who came 7th in the Freestyle relay and 8th in the Medley.
The afternoon saw the boys take to the pool which we started of with the men's open Freestyle relay where we came 8th overall and finished 9th in the Medley. 12/u came 9th in the Medley and 11th in the Freestyle with some more good swims from the younger ones. The 13/14 age group came 13th in the Medley and 14th in the Freestyle. Our Junior team, which saw Callum Baronti swim his last competitive county championships, made 2 finals coming 4th in the Freestyle and 5th in the Medley. There were some amazing swims from the boys as they all really swam their hearts out as they didn't want to let Callum down.
Congratulations to the Kent 2019 relay swimmers who all swam superbly to finish off a great championship. Thank you, as always, to all the parents for their fantastic amazing support.
We would like to wish Jess and Callum all the best in the future and to thank them for all their hard effort and commitment to the club, both in and out of the water.
White Horse League - Round 1
Tuesday 12th March 2019
The first round of The White Horse League was held on Saturday 9th March at Dagenham. Well done to all our swimmers who participated. There was a great atmosphere on poolside and our swimmers did not miss an opportunity to make us proud. They all swam extremely well again with pbs and top 3 places. We finished second overall despite some speeding tickets. The evening concluded with happy faces and a louder than ever chant!
Thank you to all parents officials, helpers and coaches for a great evening.
Orpington Ojays and Eirth District hosted the Spring Charity Meet, which saw an amazing turn out from our team with a total of 70 swimmers. We had many personal bests and a lot of top three swimmers in the older age groups and top six in the younger age groups which was great to see, but the main aim for most of the swimmers was to win a duck. This was achieved by winning the heat, so captain Nam went to all the swimmers urging them to swim for the duck that got a great reception from all the swimmers. With this immediate aim in sight, many ducks were won so well done to all the swimmers that won a duck.
A big thank you goes to all the volunteers that helped over the weekend; without you meets such as this wouldn't run, and to all the parents that were supporting in the spectators gallery.
Presentation Evening
Saturday 2nd March 2019
On Friday 1st March we celebrated with our annual presentation evening. Thank you to our Social Secretary Michelle O'Neill for organising another great event and of course, thank you to all those who help make the evening a smooth running enjoyable success.
Congratulations to all who received awards, no doubt they are already up at home in pride of place. Keep them shiny, they are all well deserved.
Saturday 23rd February saw Orpington Ojays swimmers Travel to Eltham Pools for the Second round of the Tudor League. We came in 8th place, and are now placed 7th in the league, but we had some very good swims from our swimmers and it was good to see some new faces on the starting blocks. We had great support from all the swimmers throughout the gala cheering each other on. We had a total of 4 1st places from the 9/10yrs Boys Freestyle and Medley Relay, Andrew Magcanan in the 9/10yrs 50m Freestyle and Joella Binns in the Girls 12u 50m Freestyle.
Thanks to the Team Managers Gina and Club Captain Ellie Harden for all there hard work making sure the swimmers are up for their races on time. Also for all the support from the parents cheering the team on during the gala.
Joe drops in
Tuesday 26th February 2019
On Monday 25th of February, Platinum squad had a visit from their former coach Joe Gaster who was invited down so that the swimmers could present him with some gifts.
Joe thanked his swimmers for their continued dedication to swimming and for all they had taught him about coaching and leadership. Unfortunately, his new job in London means that he is unable to make the training times. Whilst working though he will now be reminded of his swimmers as, along with a canvas photo of the some of the squad, he was presented with a set of cufflinks with Pt 78 engraved on them. Platinum is a chemical element with symbol Pt and atomic number 78.
Congratulations on your new job Joe and we look forward to your return one day when your schedule permits.
At our Sprints Gala held at the end of the Club Championships in December, we raffled a hamper for charity. Thank you to all who entered; your donations raised a wonderful £186.90.
Our Club Captains chose this year’s charity, Greenwich & Bexley Hospice, and Ellie (Vice Captain) presented Jack with the money on behalf of the club.
Kents 2019 Weekend 4
Tuesday 12th February 2019
For the last weekend of this years individual races, our swimmers again headed to Crystal Palace. The first event was the girls 100m Breaststroke. Charlotte Field started the proceedings and made the final coming 4th with a 6 second PB. Alice Leng also made the final and came 5th improving on her heat time. Samantha Jackson just missed out on a final position as did Abigal Leeves. The boys had the 200m Backstroke that was heat declared winner. Thomas Barret finished 6th, Samual Ryan got the Silver position, Max Peel was also 6th with Justin Strover 12th and his brother Ben 5th.
The afternoon continued with boys backstroke but the distance was now 100m. Joshua Hill raced a 3 second PB and Thomas Barrett a 2 second PB. Sam Ryan swam a 1 second PB in the final and won the Gold. Justin Strover swam a long course PB and Billy Birchmore swam just off PB. Ben Langdown qualified 6th for the final and swam a PB to get 5th in the final. Max Peel qualified for the final and finished 6th, Ben Strover qualified 6th and finished 5th.
The afternoon session for the girls was 200m Breaststroke. Charlotte Field won the Silver, Samantha Jackson swam a PB for 4th as did Alice Lang for 6th.
On Sunday, the girls started with 100m Butterfly. Ava Hickey swam a 4 sec pb and Charlotte Field was a moment behind her with a 2 second pb. Amie Gould, Blythe Jolley-Ellis, Samantha Jackson, and Lilli Cutajar also competed and swam well. The boys followed in the 200m Freestyle with Billy Birchmore just off pb, while Thomas Barrett, Callum Baronti, Nam Nguyen and Sam Ryan all swam pb's and Sam came 6th. There were also good swims but just off pb for Justin and Ben Strover.
The last session was the 100m Freestyle for the boys and the 200m Butterfly for the girls. Callum Baronti swam a 2 second PB putting him into the 58 point group, Billy Birchmore was again just off pb, Louis Taylor, Thomas Barrett, Max Peel, Michael Phillips Ben Strover were on pb. Sam Ryan improved his time and position from heat to final and won Bronze. For the girls 200 Butterfly Ava Hickey finished 4th with a PB. Amie Lawrence also swam a pb, and Lilli Cutajar and Jess Herbert were just off pb.
Congratulations to all our swimmers, not only for this weekend but all four weekends and for the training put in to achieve the results.
(If you have any photos from the sessions you would like to share, please email steve@orpingtonojays.com)
It is with great sadness that we hear that our former Masters Squad swimmer Meg Forbes has passed away at the age of 28.
Meg was an amazing athlete; among her many accomplishments was swimming the English Channel at the age 16 in a time of 14 hours and 27 minutes. Last year, 2018, she completed Ironman Wales at her second attempt, the Ride London 100 miles and on August 29th, Meg was in Dover to swim alongside Lewis Pugh in the last section of his Long Swim challenge, which was to swim from Land’s End to Dover. Towards the end of the year, she had joined the diving club at the London Aquatic Centre to learn another discipline. Away from sport, she also appeared on the TV Quiz show Eggheads and had recently been engaged.
Her last tweet at the start of this year shows how she was always caring for and thinking of others.
“With many of us returning to work today for the start of 2019 this is a helpful reminder to look after ourselves, and to recognise the symptoms of burnout in time to do something about it.”
Her fiancé, Clive Meyers, has said on Facebook that there will be a celebration of her life at Barham Crematorium (Canterbury Road, Barham, Canterbury CT4 6QU) on Thursday 28th February at midday and then moving to Dover Marina Hotel (Waterloo Cres, Dover CT17 9BP). There is no dress code for those wishing to attend.
On behalf of everyone at our club, we offer our sincere condolences to her fiancé, her family and her friends.
More Podiums in Kents Third Weekend
Tuesday 5th February 2019
The third weekend of the Kents was agina at Crystal Palace. The girls had freestyle and backstroke events and the boys were racing fly and breaststroke.
The first session was the boys 100m Fly and the girls 200m Freestyle. For the boys we had Joshua Hill 12th, Sam Ryan, Callum Baronti and Billy Birchmore. Sam was seeded 2nd for the final and improved his heat time by over 2 seconds to take another Gold medal with a PB. Billy Birchmore also swam a PB earning him another Gold medal also. Callum Baronti also swam a PB in his final earning himseld the 4th place. The girls 200m Freestyle was heat declared winner and we had Charlotte Field 10th, Ava Hickey 13th, Sophia O'Neill 6th, Amie Lawrence 16th, Samantha Jackson 9th, Jess Herbert 11th and Matilda Barrett 14th.
We had great swims also in the 100m free for Charlotte Field, Ava Hickey, Jess Herbert, Matilda Barrett and Blythe Holley-Ellis and Clio Bacon. Congratulations to Sophia O'Neill and Samantha Jackson for making the finals for their age group and improving their positions. Sophia finished 5th and Samantha won the bronze.
Great efforts and massive one for Sam Ryan finishing 3rd and Callum Baronti 4th in the last event of the day boys 200 butterfly.
On Sunday the Kents started with the boys 100m Breaststroke. Callum made the final and came 7th with a good swim. We also had pbs from Thomas Barrett and Louis Taylor, just off his pb but with a good swim was Billy Birchmore. In the girls 200m Back we had a 4th from Sophia O'Neill with a Long Course pb and a 7th from Ava Hickey. Charlotte Field also swam a PB, Hannah Strover swam a LC PB and Jess Herbert was just outside hers.
For the final session of the third weekend our girls raced the 100 Backstroke. We had 2 finalists Sophia Oneill in the 13yrs coming 3rd with a awesome swim and a Pb and Hannah Strover in the 14yrs coming 8th with a pb in the heat. We also had some great pbs and swims from Samantha Jackson, Ava Hickey, Blythe Jolley-Ellis, Shabs Leeves and we had a good effort from Ellie Harden feeling under the weather but giving it her best. In the boys 200m Breaststroke Louis Taylor came 6th with a big Pb.
Well to all our swimmers on another fantastic weekend of top quality racing.
Kents 2019 Weekend number Two
Tuesday 29th January 2019
The second weekend of Kents 2019 moved to Crystal Palace for the longer distance events. Once again our swimmers produced some fantastic swims resulting in many personal best times and finals.
Sophia O'Neill started us off with a massive 18 second PB in the 400m IM placing her 7th. Max Peel and Justin Strover followed in the 400m Freestyle, both with PBs and finishing 8th and 7th respectively. In the youngest age group for the girls event Charlotte Field finished 8th with a 10 second PB and Eva Hickey who finished 12th with a converted PB. Samantha Jackson followed suit finsihing 4th with a massive PB and Jess Herbert finished 9th and Matilda Barrett came back from injury with a PB and finsihed 13th.
Sunday started with the girls 200IM and Samantha Jackson swam another 6 second PB winning a Bronze Medal. Charlotte Field and Alice Lang also swam strong just off their pb's. For the boys Thomas Barrett just missed 8th place despite a 3 second PB and Ben Langdown finished just off his converted time. Billy Birchmore pulled out a 50m fly PB to start the 200IM and kept going to finish just off PB. What Billy did also was finish in 8th position in regular classification which is quite an achievement.
Justin Strover was our sole swimmer in the last session which was 1500m for the girls and 800m for the boys. A long tough race Justin started with a 1:03 for his first hundred and swam his last on 1:10 to finish in 4th.
Congratulations to all our swimmers for another great weekend of racing.
Two Kent Champions in the first Weekend
Tuesday 22nd January 2019
The weekend of 19th and 20th of January was the start of the Kents 2019. Our team headed to the London Aquatic Centre to race in arguably the best pool in the country. With their named hats arriving just in time thanks to Julie Strover, our swimmers showed that all the hard training in their respective squads each week pays off.
Sam Ryan powered down the 50m pool in both the Freestyle and the Butterfly to claim the title of Kent Champion in both events. Billy Birchmore was also leading the way and he to took the title of Kent Champion in the 50m Freestyle. Max Peel and Clio Bacon won Silver medals and we had five other finalist swimmers. Justin Strover and Alice Leng finished 4th in their events, Samantha Jackson got a two 5th places, Callum Baronti got two 6th places and Ellie Harden got an 8th.
Our swimmers produced excellent swims and lots of PBs. This is an incredibly high standard championship and just achieving qualification is something to be extremely proud of. Well done everyone.
Swim South East LC Masters 2019
Tuesday 22nd January 2019
Congratulations to Kayleigh Knocker and Gina Charleton who competed in the Swim South East LC Masters 2019 at the weekend. Both girls competed in the 50m, 100m Freestyle, Gina in the 200m Freestyle and Kayleigh in the 50m Backstroke
Gina swam a PB in the 50 Freestyle and won Silver in the 400m Freestyle.
A Dozen Gold Medals at KWSS Open
Monday 14th January 2019
Along with the Cantebury Icebreaker we also had swimmers at the KWSS Open where 28 of our swimmers competed for their last chance to gain their Kent Championship times.
The swimmers who took part include Christy Barker, Thomas Barret, Charlotte Bloodworth, Lauren Bond, Alice Brown, Ellie Brown, Alexandra Cioran, Olivia Cioran, Lilli Cutajar, Charlotte Field, Pranav Garg, Katie Gough, Lauran Gough, Ellie Harden, Jessica Herbert, Ava Hickey, Blythe Jolly-Ellis, Agata Kuszneruk, Amie Lawrence, Alice Leng, Nam Nguyen, Samuel Ryan, Hugo Tonks, Neve Tooby, Grace Tune, Alethea West, Zoe White and Milly Whitehead,
At the end of the weekend our team had 61 medals in the top 6 positions including 12 Golds, 14 Silver and 10 Bronze; lots of PB's and many with those all important Kent Times. Congratulations to you all.
Canterbury Icebreaker
Tuesday 8th January 2019
As always the year starts off with the popular Canterbury Icebreak meet and our team were in good spirits aiming for those Kent Times and Personal Bests. The swimmers we had participating over the weekend were the Girls Club Captain Rachel Langdown, Boys Vice Captain Max Peel, Abigail Leeves (Shabs), Eve Peel, Sophia O'Neill, Ben Langdown, Samantha Jackson, Amelia Frisby, Niccolo Cavasino and Annabelle Robinson. Overall we had a total of 13 medals and 12 Personal Bests. Gold Medals went to Sophia O'Neill in the 200 Backstroke and Samantha Jackson in the 50 Backstroke. Silver Medals went to Rachel Langdown in the 200 IM and 50 Backstroke and her brother Ben in the 100 Free, 200 IM and 50 Free, Amelia Frisby 200 Breaststroke, Sophia O'Neill in the 100 Breaststroke, Samantha Jackson in the 400 IM and 100 Backstroke. Bronze Medal to Samantha Jackson in the 100 Butterfly and Sophia O'Neill in the 200 Free. Personal Bests came from Max Peel in the 50,100 and 200 Free, Ben Langdown in the 200 IM, 50 and 100 Free, Rachel Langdown in the 200 IM and 50 Backstroke, Abigail Leeves in the 50 Free, Samantha Jackson in the 50 Backstroke and Amelia Frisby and Sophia O'Neill in the 100 Breaststroke.
A wonderful start to 2019 both in the pool, on poolside and in the spectator gallery. We received some very nice feedback on our entire team and as always our thanks goes to everyone representing our club in every capacity.