In the last month, Worcester Swimming Club has contested two League Finals, winning the PGL and finishing a highly creditable 5th in the Mercian.
The PGL Final was a highly memorable gala, with little to choose between all 8 teams. However, Worcester got off to a flyer winning 3 of the opening 6 events Daniel Clark 13/14 50m Butterfly, Chloe Allaway 12/U 25m Backstroke and Leah Rowe 11/U 25m Breaststroke and never relinquished the lead.
The final points were: Worcester 298, Oldbury 278, Stourbridge 268, Cheltenham 262, Haden Hill 258, Redditch 247, Evesham 240 and Wyre Forest 236.
This was very much a team performance with Worcester swimmers finishing in the top three in over half of the races and Head Coach Mark Stowe was thrilled: "Only 5 of the 36 swimmers in the team have swum at County level so this was a victory for strength in depth. The swimmers were brilliant, showing terrific enthusiasm and commitment".
The full team was: Kate Sudworth, Nemi Edwards, Phoebe Sanders, Elizabeth Moyden, Charlotte Yates, Hannah Matthews, Ellie Cope, Freya Lines, Hannah Bridge, Josie Morris, Georgia Lambert, Leah Rowe, Annie-Rose Kent, Emma Brereton, Lizzy Vizard, Chloe Allaway, Chenka Daniels, Katie Sharratt, Eleanor Sheldon, Adam Smith, Chris Vizard, Josh Sharratt, Matthew Patrick-Rivers, Jack Nawarycz, Ben Pye, Jack Raine, Jensen Beard, Zak Gilchrist, Toby Elston, Callum Sheldon, Alex Hughes, Josh Smallman, William Hadley, Dan Clark, Yannick Pakeeree.
The Mercian League Final proved a bit tougher, with Worcester unable to defend the title they won in 2010. Whilst the team was without 6 key swimmers, nothing should detract from the impressive win of local rivals Halesowen who romped home, well done to them.
The final points were Halesowen 228, Nuneaton & Bedworth 185, Solihull 182, Leamington Spa 168, Worcester 159, Perry Beeches 127.
The standard was very high and first places were hard to come by with Worcester only picking up four wins.
Drew Jones and Emma Lovesey were exceptional, their 1.30.48 and 1.04.86 to win the 12/u 100m Breaststroke and 14/u 100m Freestyle the highlights of the evening.
However, there were also victories for team captain Jonathan Edwards who led by example winning the Open 100m Backstroke (to go with his narrow 2nd place in 100m Butterfly) and the Open Medley Relay team of Emma Thompson, Nicole Gasic, Caitlin Clark and Becky Hodson.
The swimmers notched up 23 PB's between them and despite only finishing 5th overall, Head Coach Mark Stowe was still very pleased with the performance: "Everyone gave 100% and the team spirit was terrific, the swimmers couldn't have done any more to retain the trophy".
The full team was Ellie McGinnes, Beth Hill, Yasemin Tayar, Sophie Davis, Olivia Roberts, Emma Brereton, Anna Tainty, Chloe Allaway, Nixie Turner, Kate Lovesey, Emma Lovesey, Beth Allen, Caitlin Clark, Emma Thompson, Nicole Gasic, Becky Hodson, Jack Raine, Isaac Elliott, Josh Sharratt, Simon Sweatman, Josh Smallman, Drew Jones, Jack Betteridge, Toby Elston, Matthew Rochell, Angus Jones, Chris Edwards, Fred van Vuren, Sam Allen, Paul Tainty and Jonathan Edwards.
Worcester's swimmers have been in fine form over the last couple of weekends competing in both the Stourbridge "B" Grade and Sheffield "No Frills" Open Meets.
At the Stourbridge gala on Sunday 22nd May, there was Personal Best after Personal Best after Personal Best!!! And no small number of medals either...
Leading the way was Matthew Rochell. In the 14-year old age group, he won Gold in the 50m Butterfly and Backstroke plus Silver in the Breaststroke, as well as picking up a "Speeding Ticket" for his 100m Individual Medley i.e. swimming quicker than permitted at a Level 3 Meet.
Dan Clark had a fine meet too, with his 3 medals coming in the 13's Breaststroke, Freestyle and IM. However, it was the performances of the 9-year old boys that impressed most. Competing in their first ever Open Meet, Sam Clayton and Jack Nawarycz were awesome. Sam was a superb winner of the 50m Butterfly while Jack just pipped him in terms of total medals won, 4 vs 3!
Not to be outdone, the Girls were on fire too. In the 9's, Beth Hill swam a stunning 50m Breaststroke to grab Gold while in the 10-year old age group, there were medals for Daisy-Mae Ellis and Yasemin Tayar - both of whom also picked up Speeding Tickets for their brilliant IM performances.
In the 11's, Worcester dominated with Lucy Clayton, Mia Tranter, Hope Rochell & India Fern bagging 7 medals between them. Breaststroke specialist Lucy also picked up a ST in the 50m Backstroke!!!
Without exception, though, everyone swam well with PB's for Oscar van Vuren, William Hadley, Freya Lines, Ellie Cope, Sophie Davis, Chloe Davis, Chloe Allaway and Rosie Lewis.
Overall, Worcester won best visiting Club - the impressive team score of 250 just edging out Bilston (247) and Redditch (208). Matt Rochell collected the prize from Stourbridge Club Captain and GB junior international Becky Cole, check out the Stourbridge website for the photo!!!!
The following weekend (Sat 28th & Sun 29th May), 11 Worcester swimmers travelled to Sheffield for the Level 1 "No Frills" Open Meet.
Although the standard was exceptionally high with multiple GB swimmers on show, the Worcester swimmers fared very well.
Tabitha Monkhouse was back to her best and recording Personal Best Times in everything! In the 200m Breaststroke, she recorded a time faster than she did at last year's National Championships but it was in the 100m event that she picked up a Bronze medal, her 1.18.39 a big PB and just 0.7 seconds outside the National Qualifying Time.
Also winning medals in their Age Groups were Jack Weston and James Marsh. Jack's 100 Backstroke was the pick of his many fine performances, his 1.11.6 earning him Bronze in the 13-year old age group. James had a fantastic Meet, impressing greatly in the Breaststroke and Butterfly events, with his 1.06.73 in the 100m Butterfly good enough for Bronze in the 14's age group - just 0.12 seconds ahead of team mate Mike Adair!
Worcester's swimmers enjoyed an excellent weekend at the Gloucester Open Meet on 7/8th May with the Club winning the prestigious trophy for the best visiting team.
Alice O'Toole provided the highlight with a magnificent 1.05.06 in the 100m Backstroke to record her first National Qualifying Time. Winner of the 14 & under 50m Backstroke and 100m Freestyle as well, this was reward for all her hard work and dedication.
There were also 9 new qualifying times for June's Midland Age Group Championships, with Jack Weston (4), Francesca Daniels (2), James Marsh (2) and Mike Adair (1) all in scintillating form.
Jack recorded some "monster" Personal Best times, winning a hat trick of Gold medals in the 13/U 200m & 400m Freestyle plus the 200m Backstroke.
James Marsh and Mike Adair were equally impressive, notching up 11 PB's and 15 medals between them in the 14/u age group! This included a spectacular 1-2 in the 100m Butterfly, Mike just edging James out, with both boys comfortably inside the Midland qualifying time.
In the 12/u age group, Francesca Daniels stormed to victory in her favoured 200m Backstroke but it was the Midland QT she achieved in both the 200m & 400m Freestyle that gave the greatest satisfaction, proof positive of her continuing improvement.
A further 15 Worcester swimmers won medals, 89 in total, the whole squad therefore contributing to the overall team win.
In the 10-year old age group, Harry Bamforth was in sparkling form, proving himself a real all rounder by winning 6 Gold medals in events as diverse as 50m Backstroke and 400m Freestyle, while Sophie Monks swam beautifully to win 5 medals including 2 Golds in the 50m Butterfly & 50m Backstroke.
In the 11's, Lucy Clayton had to settle for Silver in the 50m & 200m Breaststroke but swam a brilliantly paced race to beat her Halesowen rival in the 100m event, only narrowly missing her National QT.
Sophie Groves was invincible on Butterfly, outclassing the other 12/u girls to win Gold in the 50m & 100m events. She then produced a superb PB to also take the 4x50m Individual Medley, with team mate Caitlin Adair then winning the longer 4x100m IM for Worcester!
In the 15-year old age group, Daniel Adair and Tabitha Monkhouse won 8 and 7 medals respectively. Both did the 100m & 200m Butterfly double. Dan also won Gold in the 400m IM while Tabby dominated the Breaststroke, winning the 50, 100 & 200m races.
In the 16 & over age group, Joel Smith proved himself the fastest man in the pool with victory in the 50m Freestyle whilst Hollie Horton won 4 Gold medals including a Backstroke clean sweep in the 50m, 100m & 200m events.
There were also medals for Josie Morris, Emma Lovesey, Matthew Rochell and Fred van Vuren whilst Bethany Hill, India Fern, Mia Tranter, Hope Rochell, Carmen Elliott, Kate Lovesey and Dan Clark all deserve special praise for their PB performances.
However, besides Alice's 1.05 NQT in the 100m Backstroke, the most eye catching performances came from Eloise van Vuren and Rupert Monkhouse who both broke the 60-second barrier. Eloise recorded 59.55 in the Ladies 100m Freestyle, a major milestone for any female swimmer, whilst Rupert swam a magnificent 59.65 for his 100m Butterfly.
Worcester "A" & "B" teams put in sterling efforts in their respective Winter League Finals on Sunday 17th April but ultimately, both had to settle for finishing as runners-up.
The B team "enjoyed" an early start at Droitwich. However, the 9am warm-up didn't stop the swimmers putting in some tremendous performances....
The Open girls were very successful with Emma Thompson, Felicity Hunter and Chloe Naughton comfortably winning their Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly races.
In the 13-year old age group, Bethany Allen (Butterfly) and Francesca Daniels (Freestyle) also recorded impressive first places while Toby Elston produced another excellent performance to win the 11/U 50m Freestyle in 33.67.
In total, there were 16 Personal Best times achieved by the "B" team swimmers, a remarkable haul that enabled the team to run winners Stourbridge "B" very close.
Inspired by their team mates efforts earlier in the day, the "A" team rose superbly to the challenge of missing several key swimmers with 14 PB's of their own.
Congratulations go to Halesowen - they were worthy winners, successfully defending their 2010 title - but Worcester didn't make it easy for them!!!
The final points were Halesowen 192, Worcester 173, Stourbridge 167, Redditch 160 and Haden Hill 108.
Star of the show was probably Alice O'Toole. In addition to a splendid 1.01.15 to win the 15/u 100m Freestyle, she recorded a stunning 1.05.80 to win the 100m Backstroke, closing in on her first National Qualifying Time, now just 0.42 seconds adrift.
The other double winner was Tazmin Pugh, simply brilliant in the 11/u 50m Freestyle and Butterfly events, whilst fellow Pershore-based swimmer Tyler McLean underlined his potential by winning the 11/u 50m Breaststroke
Luke McCluskey typified the team spirit on show, filling in magnificently for Dan Adair in the 100m Butterfly before storming to first place in the 15/u 100m backstroke.
The Worcester girls dominated the Breaststroke events with Tabitha Monkhouse and Katherine Rollins winning the 15/u and Open races respectively - Katherine getting just the better of their personal duel this time, her 1.16.67 fractionally quicker than Tabby's 1.17.13!
The highlight of the Finals however came in the Open Medley Relay. In the absence of Sergey and Ivo, it was an awesome effort from Alice, Katherine, Eloise van Vuren, Rupert Monkhouse, Joel Smith and James Allen - and truth be told, I got a bit excited!!!
Mark Stowe
Head Coach
The full teams were....
B - India Fern, Josie Morris, Mia Tranter, Hope Rochell, Anna Tainty, Helen Rimell, Bethany Allen, Chenka Daniels, Alice Hall, Caitlin Clark, Becky Hodson, Emma Thompson, Fizz Hunter, Chloe Naughton, Hayley Weaver, Jospeh Doyle, Josh Smallman, Jack Betteridge, Toby Elston, Drew Jones, Thomas Wong, Angus Jones, Matthew Rochell, Yannick Pakeeree, Sam Allen, Greg Everest, Jonathan Edwards
A - Alison Seward, Lucy Clayton, Tazmin Pugh, Chloe Mabbett, Caitlin Adair, Sophie Groves, Emma Lovesey, Kate Lovesey, Alice O'Toole, Tabby Monkhouse, Lydia Tainty, Hollie Horton, Katherine Rollins, Eloise van Vuren, Charlie Waites, Tyler McLean, Harry Bamforth, Jack Weston, Harry Sykes, Lewis Bradley, Luke McCluskey, Fred van Vuren, Mike Adair, Rupert Monkhouse, Joel Smith, James Allen
Worcester Swimming Club enjoyed a very successful County Championships, winning 96 medals!
Of these, 16 came in the prestigious Senior Championship events - all age groups - with Sergey Mandradzhiyski and Tabitha Monkhouse leading the way.
Sergey was unstoppable in the sprint Freestyle events, recording hugely impressive times of 23.67 and 51.89 to win the 50m and "blue riband" 100m events. In both races, team mates filled the Bronze medal positions - Joel Smith in the 50m event and Sergey's older brother Ivo in the 100m. Ivo also showed his versatility, winning a further 3 Championship medals: Silver in the 50m Butterfly plus Bronze in both the 100m and 200m Individual Medley.
Tabby won 3 senior titles. She successfully defended her 200m Breaststroke crown but added the 200m Butterfly this year with a breathtaking performance that left her rivals for dead - and then shortly after, sprinted to the 50m Breaststroke title too. She also picked up Bronze in the Senior 100m Breaststroke plus a further 7 medals in her 15/16 age group, across events as wide ranging as 800m Freestyle and 400m Individual Medley.
Three other Worcester girls also won Senior Championship medals.
Alice O'Toole was in sparkling form throughout the Championships, winning 8 medals in the 14-year old age group. Like Tabby, these came in a wide range of events from 50m Butterfly to 200m Individual Medley. However, it was in the Backstroke events that she really made her mark, showing real class to win a Silver medal in the Senior 50m Backstroke final, together with Bronze in the 100m and 200m events.
The other swimmers to pick up Senior Championship medals were Lydia Tainty and Eloise van Vuren.
Lydia's Bronze in the 50m Butterfly Championship Final was slightly unexpected. However, a much improved swimmer over the last 12 months, she rose to the occasion magnificently and produced a stunning race to grab third and propel herself into the top flight of swimmers in the County.
Eloise won a barrel full of medals in the 17/over age group but it was in her favoured sprint Freestyle events in which she excelled. Despite a PB of 27.63 in the heats of the 50m Freestyle, just 0.34 seconds outside a National Qualifying Time, she couldn't quite replicate this in the Final and had to settle for fourth. However, showing great character, she bounced back in the 100m event, recording another PB and winning Bronze in the Senior Championship Final.
In the age group events, the clear star of the show was the Club's youngest swimmer at the Championships, Josie Morris. In the 10-year old age group, she won an astonishing 10 medals! She won Bronze in the 50m Butterfly, 100 Breaststroke, 200m Breaststroke, 200m Freestyle and 400m Freestyle; plus Silver in the 50m Backstroke, 100m Backstroke, 200m Backstroke and 200m Individual Medley. Her Gold medal came in the 100m Individual Medley, a text book demonstration of technique, turns and pacing.
In the next age group up, there were also medals for Lucy Clayton and Caitlin Adair. Lucy won a brilliant Bronze in the 50m Breaststroke, just ahead of Caitlin who then turned the tables in the 100m & 200m Breaststroke events to collect Bronze and Silver herself - before adding another Silver in the 1,500m Freestyle. The 11/u age group was by far the most competitive of the Championships with a stunning array of talent on show - so the performances of team-mate Carmen Elliott, competing in her very first County event, also deserve special mention: 6 top-eight finishes including 5th in the 100m Freestyle in a splendid time of 1.08.50.
In the 12-year old girls events, Sophie Groves and Francesca Daniels were in fine form. Sophie won 5 medals, the highlight of which was her two Golds in the 50m and 100m Butterfly events - the latter by just 0.09 seconds after a stunning last length finish. Francesca recorded multiple PB's, the best of which came in the 200m Backstroke, her 2.34.64 earning a thoroughly deserved Silver medal.
In the 17/over age group, Hollie Horton added to the medal haul with 4 silver and 1 Gold, her gutsy victory coming in the 50m Backstroke.
In the boys events, James Marsh again demonstrated his potential, picking up medals in the Butterfly and Breaststroke events. His 1.07.56 to win the 14/u 100m Butterfly was very special whilst Gold in the longer 200m event was reward for all his hard work. In the same age group, Michael Adair, in his first competition back after a broken leg, showed glimpses of what he can do when he gets back to full fitness, winning Silver medals in the 50m Freestyle plus the 50m, 100m & 200m Backstroke events.
Michael's older brother Daniel was also in the medals, bagging seven in the Butterfly, Backstroke and distance Freestyle events. In the same 15/16 age group, fellow Worcester swimmers Jonathan Edwards, James Allen and Greg Everest also enjoyed a profitable Championships, their 1-2-3 in the 50m Backstroke a stand-out moment for the Club.
Other swimmers to excel without winning medals included Jack Weston (Midland Qualifying Time on 100m Freestyle), Sophie Monks (5 top-eight finishes in the 10/u age group), Kate Lovesey (four times finalist) and Emma Lovesey (splendid swim in 100m Freestyle Final, narrowly outside her Midland QT).
Head Coach Mark Stowe was very satisfied: "We were a tad down this year in terms of age group medals won but we enjoyed far greater success at championship level - clear evidence of how the Club's long-term development programme is delivering the results that really matter".