PGL Round 3
On Saturday 24th April 2018 we took 30 swimmers to West Bromwich to compete in the 3rd Round of PGL. Although we were considerably light on the ground in each age group we competed exceptionally well. With a good 125 points we finished in fourth place and witnessed some great swims.
Throughout round three we recorded 20 Personal Bests (PBs), which is 50% of all individual races, and achieved 7 first place finishes.
In the 10 Years age group Daisy Gregg won the Girls 25m Freestyle in a new PB of 17.69, Tallulah Brown won the 25m Breaststroke and 25m Backstroke in new PB times of 24.31 and 22.72 respectively. In the 11 Year age group Sammy Aldridge won the Girls 25m Freestyle in a new PB of 18.25 and the 12 Year age group saw Scarlett Begley win the Girls 50m Breaststroke in a new PB time of 47.06. Jaden Matthews won the 12 Year Boys 50m Freestyle with a PB time of 33.57. In the 13/14 Year age group Abi Tustin won the Girls 50m Backstroke in a PB time of 37.19.
Further PBs were recorded by Jonathan Plane (50 Back), Kiera Anderson (25 Breast), Will Mullen (50 Back), Kai Webb (25 Free), Sammy Aldridge (25 Free), Daisy Gregg (25 Fly), George Hirst (25 Breast), Elissa Clutterbuck (25 Breast), Amber Cape (equal PB – 50 Breast), Sophie Norman (50 Free), Dan Jones (50 Free), Toby Baker (25 Breast) and Emily Byrd (25 Fly).
The event saw 3 disqualifications (DQs) for ESC which were awarded for take overs on a couple of relays (swimmers leaving the block too early) and in one individual race the swimmer moved too early on the block. I feel that these can be easily be eradicated. Although we aim to be explosive off the block we still need to be disciplined to hold fire until the right moment.
After Round 3 ESC sat in a healthy 7th place in the table. Qualification for the final was still going to be tough as we were due to meet some strong clubs in the final round who are below us in the table.
PGL Round 4
39 swimmers attended the Final Round of PGL on Saturday 5th May 2018, held at Leisure@Cheltenham. The event saw us achieve 17 Personal Bests and clocked up 4 first places and 11 2nd placed swims.
Lissy Henly won the Girls 13/14 age group 50m Backstroke recording a time of 37.62, Nathan Gilbert recorded a new PB time of 39.41 to finish first in the Boys 50m Breaststroke, Daisy Gregg also recorded a new Personal Best of 17.35 to win the Girls 10 Years 25m Free and Louis Clifford finished in First place in the Boys 9 Years 25m Breaststroke in a Personal Best time of 28.37.
The 9 Years age group our swimmers fared extremely well with George Hirst, Emily Byrd, Elissa Clutterbuck and Zoe Nicholson all finishing in 2nd place. Elissa Clutterbuck recorded a new Personal Best of 29.66 in the 25m Breaststroke. All of the 9 Year age group swimmers have improved considerably throughout PGL.
In the 10 Years age group Seven Stedman and Tallulah Brown finished in 2nd place in their individual race with Seven recording a new PB of 19.85 in the 25m Freestyle.
In the 12 Years age group Joshua Hennessy and Jamie Gilbert finished in second place. Both swimmers recorded new PBs. Â Joshua recorded a 42.40 in the Boys 50m Backstroke, narrowly missing out on first place. Jamie Gilbert, swimming up an age group, recorded a 45.75 in the Boys 50m Breaststroke.
Theo Rodgers recorded a new PB in the 13/14 Years age group with a 40.50 in the Boys 50m Backstroke finishing in second place.
Further PBs were recorded by Ivan Atanasov (25 Fly), Rhys Tombs (25 Breaststroke), Sian Sims (50 Backstroke), Fin Warren (50 Free) and Sophie Norman (50 Free). PBs were significantly slashed by Will Mullen (a three or so seconds PB in the 50m Fly), Cameron Brydon (around a three second PB in the 50m Fly) and Olivia Kubajek (smashing her previous PB by around 7 seconds in the 25m Fly).
One swim resulted in a disqualification (DQ). This highlights the importance of maintaining focus through each swim as the DQ occurred from a swimmer who finished in 1st place in the same event in the previous round.
I am extremely pleased that, as a club, we have eliminated the errors which have been far too common in previous years at PGL. We are now doing the basics right and I am excited to see the results of each swimmers’ progress (club wide) at the Summer Champs.
Once again we finished in fourth place but still generated a healthy points score of 121. With the points we have accumulated over the four rounds, we are likely to finish in 9th place. This means we just miss out on the 8 team final that takes place at the City of Gloucester Swimming Club next month. That being said I feel we have gained valuable experience, developed key skills and have united as a team that will make us considerably stronger for next year’s event.  I’d like to say a big thank you to all swimmers that have represented the club in any of the four rounds. A massive thank you also goes out to the parent(s)/carer(s) too who give up their Saturday evenings to sit on a hot poolside.
Finally the team support has been exceptional this year with copious amounts people giving up their time to support the club with coaching, team managing, officiating and running things behind the scenes (particularly when we hosted round 2). A particular thank you must go to Sue Watt who has given up her evenings for the club to judge at each gala. Without this support, and kind generosity of people’s time, the children would not get the opportunities and support that they do.
I look forward to next year and what we can achieve.
Graham Begley.
ESC Head Coach
Comments