Swim Wales E-Newsletter No Images? Click here Welcome to Swim Wales E-newsletter 'Making Waves in Wales'March 2017 Making Waves in Wales is designed to inform and keep you updated on all news relating to Welsh Aquatics. Please send us any feedback, suggestions or ideas as well as any articles or information you would like including in the next edition of Making Waves in Wales LATEST NEWSSwim Wales MembershipDon't forget to renew your Swim Wales membership which is due by Ist APRIL Important reminder for SwimmersAll swimmers should note that when identifying qualifiers for the Home Nations meets, the system will assume that athletes wish to be ranked by the country of their ranked club. If swimmers wish instead to be invited on the basis of country of representation then individuals must email HNMeetChoice@swimming.org with their name, date of birth, membership number, and current ranked club and registered Country of representation, and then clearly state their wish to be ranked by their Country of International Representation in relation to the Home Nation Summer Meets. This needs to be done no later than midnight on 1st May 2017. Anyone who notified us of a change to the default in either 2015 or 2016 does not need to do this again this year. Athletes can check their ranked club and country of international representation via our Home Nation Check page. The 2017 British Summer Championships will be held from 25th to 30th July at Ponds Forge in Sheffield. Tickets are now on sale for the upcoming Swim Wales Long Course Championships which take place over the Easter weekend (14 - 17th April) at Wales National Pool Swansea Tickets can be purchased from the Swim Wales shop via the website (Link below) *Please ensure that you bring with you your receipt to the event to collect your wrist bands, you will not be able to collect any wristbands or programmes without a valid receipt. You will still be able to purchase your entry tickets on the day at the pool. Safeguarding StandardsFollowing a recent assessment to maintain L3 in Safeguarding Standards undertaken by Sport Wales and The CPSU, Swim Wales are delighted to announce that we have maintained Level 3. The evidence submitted related to case management, action plans for 2017/18 membership year, providing an inclusive pathway and involving children to ensure they have a voice. Moving forward club development plans will support key safeguarding measures for clubs thus providing a safe fun environment for children to participate in our sport. Swim Wales look forward to sharing these plans with clubs through a variety of mediums. All clubs are required to have a Welfare Officer, this is a standalone role. The role/responsibilities of the Welfare Officer can be found in the current Safeguarding Policy, Y Plant. All Welfare Officers are required to embed good safeguarding practises. The Welfare Officer should advise committees on current matters and make sure all those who are involved with children attend appropriate training and keep up to date with learning. Best Practise tip; Coaches log books allow coaches to note down any concerns and the welfare officer to keep abreast of any concerning behaviour coaches have logged by reviewing these monthly. Often most matters can be addressed informally and agreeing an amicable resolution. However on some occasions more formal procedures may be required. DBS – newsWe are now well underway with the new process of every club managing their own DBS checks – every club was asked to nominate a responsible person/s to undertake the DBS checks. If you have not done this please do so and advise Swim Wales so we can register those who will undertake this role. Simple guidelines have been produced to support those new to role. These are available on request from Swim Wales. The past few months have seen the costs for these checks supported by Sport Wales – this funding finishes on March 31st 2017 and for those of you who have not been advised these costs will now be met by Swim Wales. DBS checks are required every 3 years by anyone working with children. The simple tool available helps clubs ascertain which level of check should be done; https://www.gov.uk/find-out-dbs-check/y DBS checks through this service are for registered members only. Audits will take place and Swim Wales will invoice anyone who has been checked who is not a registered member for the full amount applicable to the level of check plus administration fees. Swim Wales North Club ForumsWe would like to invite you to the Swim Wales North Forum The purpose of these meetings will be for sharing information to clubs that will be of use to everyone as well as the opportunity to put a face to new names. We urge each club to send representation. There are no limits of who can come, but we do hope that at LEAST your chairperson attends. Considering the speakers at this forum it may be useful to send a coach if they are available and can be spared from poolside. Agenda: 6:45pm Coffee & Sign in 7:00pm 1. Welcome by SWN Chairperson 7:05pm 2. Lowri Tynan- Swim Wales Office Appointment Updates 7:15pm 3. Ross Nicholas -The Swim Wales Performance Plan – Mission, Key Objectives and Strategies 7:35pm 4. Graeme Antwhistle -The Swim Wales Coach Development programmes 7:55pm 5. Ross & Graeme Q&A 8:15pm Close of Meeting Swim Wales North Forum (East)DATE AND TIME Wed 5 April 201718:45 – 20:15 BST LOCATION Cambrian Aquatic Sports Centre Wepre Lane, Connah's Quay. CH5 4HA
Swim Wales North Forum (West)DATE AND TIME Thu 6 April 2017 18:45 – 20:15 BST LOCATION TBC Inter Regional'sWelsh under 18's girls attended the Girls' U18 Inter Regional's in Blackpool at the end of last month where they came 7th overall. Well done girls! Upcoming eventsEU Nations Tournaments U18s boys - Brno Czech Rep - 14/16 April U18s girls - Prague Czech Rep - 21/23 April Senior Men - Sczeczin, Poland 19/21 May Senior Ladies - Pilsen Czech Rep 14/16 July Wales u18s boys waterpolo team took part in the recent Inter Region Competition in Watford in preparation for the EU Nations tournament in Brno Czech Rep at Easter, they played against North East, London, South East and Ireland. There preliminary round matches in Czech Rep will be against Poland and Lithuania on Good Friday Good Luck to you all! Upcoming eventsEU Nations Tournaments U18s boys - Brno Czech Rep - 14/16 April U18s girls - Prague Czech Rep - 21/23 April Senior Men - Sczeczin, Poland 19/21 May Senior Ladies - Pilsen Czech Rep 14/16 July South Wales Development GalaNext month sees the South Wales Development meet in partnership with Swim Wales for children and adults with Cerebral Palsy or a physical disability. The event takes place on April 15th at Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Centre For more information, click HERE CYG2018 Training CampSwim Wales begins its training camps for all potential swimmers at Wales National Pool at the end of last month in preparation for the Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas next year. The week long camp put the swimmers through their paces in the pool and classroom. A fantastic experience for the youngsters! Thank you to Team Wales, coaches, staff and swimmers for all your hard work throughout the week. Good luck to all the swimmers and coaches for selection. New Season At Lido PontyLido Ponty, the National Lido of Wales, is all set to launch its 2017 season, opening to the public on Saturday, April 8. Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is delighted to announce that its fantastic £6.3m outdoor family attraction will open in time for the Easter holidays for a special two-week period. Lido Ponty is set to re-open to the public on Saturday, April 8 until Sunday, April 23. It will then be open fully for the 2017 summer season from Saturday, May 27, to Sunday, September 10. To read full article, click HERE Swansea Sports AwardsThe Swansea Sports Awards took place on March 16th at the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea. Congratulations to Aaron Moores MBE who won Sportsperson of the Year and to Chloe Davies who won Junior Disabled Sportsperson of the Year Also well done to Lewis Fraser & Stuart McNarry for being finalists. Stuart McNarry collected the award for Sports Person of the Year on behalf of Aaron. Congratulations and well done to you all, well deserved! Copenhagen 2017 World Para Swimming World Series6 swimmers took part in the Copenhagen World Series
Chloe Davies takes Gold in the 100BK Aaron Moores takes Gold the 100BR with a time of 1:08.3 2x4th places for Cardiff swimmer Jonathan Eke in the 400 and 50 Free
2017 Arena Pro Swim Series - IndianapolisThe start of the month saw three of Wales' top swimmers, Calum Jarvis, Jazz Carlin and Chloe Tutton take part in the Arena Pro series. Also joining them were Rebecca Sutton and Hanna Sloan who were part of the Home Nations Performance Foundation Project
Well done also goes to Hannah Sloan and Bex Sutton who joined the team as part of the Home Nations Performance Foundation Project. Swim Wales sent a team of over 30 swimmers to Marseilles, France for the FFN Golden Tour. They came away with some fantastic results including a win for Alys Thomas in the 200 Fly in a time of 2.09 and beat the current Olympic champion & European record holder. Georgia Davies, gold medal in the 50m Backstroke. Dan Jervis gold in the 1500m. Golds in B finals for James & Harriet. Cerys Coley takes bronze in 200m Breast Well done to all the swimmers who took part! Edinburgh International Swim Meet 2017Swim Wales took a group of Youth Development/ Academy squad to compete in the Edinburgh International Meet during this month. As part of our Athlete Development racing strategy the Edinburgh International 2017 was a perfect opportunity to expose our junior athletes to a trip that was going to challenge them in many ways. The swimmers had to practice being part of a large Swim Wales team, time management, race time lines, race processes, morning heats / evening finals, recovery strategies to maintain performance over a 3 day meet, all of which you would expect at a senior competition. There was no expectation on our athletes to perform above their level, but to try and hold their own without all of the added distractions, with great technical skills and control of nerves. With that in mind, swimmers acquitted themselves very well and learnt session by session / day by day, not only in their own performance but by being able to observe the very best in the world with the likes of Ross Murdoch & Hannah Miley (Scotland), Swedish 100 breaststroke world champion Jennie Johansson, and Danish Olympic 50m Freestyle champion Pernille Blume. From the junior squad we managed to achieve 15 junior finalist positions which was a great testament to how the swimmers faired. I hope this experience can help them progress towards their seasons goals and give them confidence and the knowledge of what it takes to compete at a higher level. The Team showed great spirit and there was a nice atmosphere within, I look forward to seeing how they progress on their individual journeys. By Graeme Antwhistle Heads of the Valley Master SwimmingThe Heads of the Valley Masters swimmers showed that it is never too late to start swimming or to continue competition. The mixed relay team of Phil Norman on backstroke, Gwenda Dinsdale on Brst. Walter Syrett on Butterfly and Caroline Hunt Cosh on frontcrawl competed in the 240 age group and above to not only gain gold medal but also a new Welsh record. Walter Syrett already holds the brst. Welsh records for 50 brst. in 35 right up to 54 year age group, 100 brst 35 right up to 54 age group and 200 brst. 45 up to 54 age group what a team! Well Done all Blaenau GwentIt was lovely to see at the end of February, all Blaenau Gwent swimming teams working together for the benefit of swimming. Ebbw Vale Leisure Centre hosted a Timekeepers course with Luke Hart from Abertillery Piranhas delivering the course to officials from Heads of the Valley swimming club and Tredegar Torpedoes swimming club. I hope this is the initial journey for young and old to move through the officiating route and stay involved in swimming. It is also nice to see clubs working so well together. by Jacqueline Gwillim Head of Aquatic Development joins Swim WalesSimon Clarke joins Swim Wales as the new 'Head of Aquatic Development'. Simon brings a wealth of experience to our organisation having held management roles at Tennis Wales, and more recently as General Manager of Canoe Wales.. I'm sure many of you will see Simon out and about in the coming months. Welcome to the team! Jazz mentors key group on US campA group of 17 promising British swimming talents is being mentored by double Olympic medallist Jazz Carlin as an integral part of a partnership project designed to enhance future careers within the sport British Swimming, UK Sport and the home nations of England, Scotland and Wales have combined for the Performance Foundations Pilot Programme which looks at ways to improve and increase the transition rate along the performance pathway - from home nations to podium potential to podium success. To read full article, read HERE Swim Wales Open Master Champs 2017Swim Wales held its annual Open Masters Champs at the start of this month where we saw over 250 competitors take to the pool. 34 British and 3 European records were broken (Subject to ratification) during the 2 day meet. A big thank you to all the competitors, officials, volunteers and also to Aaron Moores MBE who was in attendance to present the winners with their medals Martin Noble selected for IPC meet in Mexico CityThe Para World Championships takes part in Mexico City this September and one of the Swim Wales national events Technical Official, Martin Noble has been selected to join the technical team poolside. He will take with him vast experience of high level local, national and international competitions. Well Done Martin! Edinburgh City Of Swansea Aquatic Club had a handful of swimmers making the team to represent Swim Wales in Edinburgh early this month. The team consisted of Jack Llewellyn, Llew Davies, Chloe Pritchard, Daniel Marotta, Brandon Budd-Thomas and Josh Loney. Congratulations to you all, well done. While in Edinburgh, swimmers swam fast and achieved best times, 200m fly for Llew, 100m Freestyle and 50m Fly for Jack, 100m Backstroke and 50m Backstroke for Brandon Budd-Thomas, 100m Fly and 400m Freestyle for Chloe and finally 400IM for Daniel Marotta, nothing short of outstanding, well done. Llanelli Open Meet This was a long and rewarding weekend for the Swansea Aquatics team, at the Llanelli Open Meet. They swam hard and fast dominating most of the finals and achieving many best swims and picking up many medals on the way. Total for the weekend were 39 Gold, 34 Silver and 26 Bronze. As an added bonus we had three of our swimmers picked for Top Boy and Top Girl. Well done to Top Boy Antonio Rodriguez, Top Girls Nia Bailey Jones and Porsche Demery with a joint tie. Swansea Sports Award Swansea Aquatics would like to say a big Well done to Aaron Moores, Chloe Davies, Lewis Fraser and Stuart Mcnarry for being shortlisted to the final of the Swansea Sports Awards that was being held at the Brangwyn Hall on Thursday 16th March 2017... A super big Congratulations to Swansea Aquatic swimmers Chloe Davies for winning Junior Disabled Sportsperson of the year and Aaron Moores for winning Sportsperson of the year, well done both we are proud of you. Copenhagen Earlier this month Chloe Davies and Aaron Moores travelled to Copenhagen to represent Swim Wales. Both swimmers swam extremely well with Chloe doing a best time in her 50m Freestyle. Marseille Swansea Aquatics had 8 swimmers selected to represent Wales at the FFN Golden Tour Meet in Marseille. Ellena Jones, Alys Thomas, Sophie Evans, Daniel Jervis , Daniel Jones, Daniel Davies, Cameron Croot and Lewis Fraser all performed well after a tough weeks training. Daniel Jervis swam the 3rd best time in the World this year in the Men's 1500m Freestyle, his time of 15.08 won the Gold. Alys Thomas also produced solid swims in the 50m, 100m and 200m Butterfly placing her 2nd in the B final of the 50 , 4th in the final of the 100m Butterfly and winning the gold in the 200m Fly, beating the current Olympic Champion. Ellena Jones swam her 200m, 400m, 800m freestyle at the meet. Ellena -plagued by injuries and illness over the last few years was almost back to her best, which saw her place 9th at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Ellena won the B final in the women's 400m Freestyle producing her best time for 3 years. Daniel Jones swam solid un-rested times in the 50m, 100m and 200m Freestyle. In the meantime Lewis Fraser finished 7th in the B final of the 100m Fly, and 1st in the B final in the 200IM. All swimmers went into this meet un-rested and using it as preparation for the 2017 British Championships being held in Sheffield in April. Swansea Aquatics’ would like to say a big well done and good luck in April. Indianapolis Our Swansea Aquatics head coach Hayley Baker lead the British team as ETS (Enhanced Transitional Support) for a swim camp and then to compete in the Indianapolis Grand Prix Tiger bay Meet Swansea Aquatics Para swimmers had an amazing weekend in the Tiger Bay Meet, Alex Rosser and Cerys both competing; they had an amazing day and fantastic swims. Alex winning 3 gold medals achieving 2 season best and 1 personal best. Cerys Jones wins Gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medal also achieving 2 personal bests and came 3rd in the Para pentathlon. Both Alex and Cerys came 3rd overall, what a fantastic day well done to you both coached by Chris Whelan Junior Development Squad Swimmer of the Month March 2017 Every Month after careful monitoring and lots of observation Paul Bourne, coach for the Junior Development Squad chooses a swimmer that he feels has gone that extra bit in training. This is what Paul has to say about Swimmer of the Month Ellie Gallagher. “Ellie has so many qualities I look for in a swimmer. Her attendance is excellent. She tries hard to achieve everything I ask of her. She works hard when I push her and has a good work ethic. All these are valuable assets for her personal progression, but she has more. She always comes to training with a smile on her face and a bubbly personality. She has a positive attitude and is always ready to support and praise other swimmers in the squad. These qualities and more combined with a natural talent. Well done Ellie”. 😊 Swansea Sports Award Swansea Aquatics would like to say a big Well done to Aaron Moores, Chloe Davies, Lewis Fraser and Stuart McNarry for being shortlisted to the final of the Swansea Sports Awards that was being held at the Brangwyn Hall on Thursday 16th March 2017... A super big Congratulations to Swansea Aquatic swimmers Chloe Davies for winning Junior Disabled Sportsperson of the year and Aaron Moores for winning Sportsperson of the year, well done both we are proud of you. Copenhagen Earlier this month Chloe Davies and Aaron Moores travelled to Copenhagen to represent Swim Wales. Both swimmers swam extremely well with Chloe doing a best time in her 50m Freestyle. Marseille Swansea Aquatics had 8 swimmers selected to represent Wales at the FFN Golden Tour Meet in Marseille. Ellena Jones, Alys Thomas, Sophie Evans, Daniel Jervis , Daniel Jones, Daniel Davies, Cameron Croot and Lewis Fraser all performed well after a tough weeks training. Daniel Jervis swam the 3rd best time in the World this year in the Men's 1500m Freestyle, his time of 15.08 won the Gold. Alys Thomas also produced solid swims in the 50m, 100m and 200m Butterfly placing her 2nd in the B final of the 50 , 4th in the final of the 100m Butterfly and winning the gold in the 200m Fly, beating the current Olympic Champion. Ellena Jones swam her 200m, 400m, 800m freestyle at the meet. Ellena -plagued by injuries and illness over the last few years was almost back to her best, which saw her place 9th at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Ellena won the B final in the women's 400m Freestyle producing her best time for 3 years. Daniel Jones swam solid un-rested times in the 50m, 100m and 200m Freestyle. In the meantime Lewis Fraser finished 7th in the B final of the 100m Fly, and 1st in the B final in the 200IM. All swimmers went into this meet un-rested and using it as preparation for the 2017 British Championships being held in Sheffield in April. Swansea Aquatics’ would like to say a big well done and good luck in April. Indianapolis Our Swansea Aquatics head coach Hayley Baker lead the British team as ETS (Enhanced Transitional Support) for a swim camp and then to compete in the Indianapolis Grand Prix. In recent years, Hayley’s star has continued to rise within British Swimming Tiger bay Meet Swansea Aquatics Para swimmers had an amazing weekend in the Tiger Bay Meet, Alex Rosser and Cerys both competing; they had an amazing day and fantastic swims. Alex winning 3 gold medals achieving 2 season best and 1 personal best. Cerys Jones wins Gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medal also achieving 2 personal bests and came 3rd in the Para pentathlon. Both Alex and Cerys came 3rd overall, what a fantastic day well done to you both coached by Chris Whelan Junior Development Squad Swimmer of the Month March 2017 Every Month after careful monitoring and lots of observation Paul Bourne, coach for the Junior Development Squad chooses a swimmer that he feels has gone that extra bit in training. This is what Paul has to say about Swimmer of the Month Ellie Gallagher. “Ellie has so many qualities I look for in a swimmer. Her attendance is excellent. She tries hard to achieve everything I ask of her. She works hard when I push her and has a good work ethic. All these are valuable assets for her personal progression, but she has more. She always comes to training with a smile on her face and a bubbly personality. She has a positive attitude and is always ready to support and praise other swimmers in the squad. These qualities and more combined with a natural talent. Well done Ellie”. 😊 TIGER BAY OPEN MEET City of Cardiff Swimming Club hosted their 8th Tiger Bay Open Meet at the Cardiff International Pool on 18/19 March. A chance for younger swimmers to race in a 50m pool and this year para swimmers were fully integrated into the event programme. It was a long weekend with 44 Clubs & 800 swimmers taking part achieving numerous personal bests and medals, not forgetting all the speeding tickets were awarded to those swimming beyond the upper cut off times! Everybody gained valuable experience and were able to show their coaches what they had learned in training. Out of the pool Sascha & Nyree Kindred were on hand to present medals on Saturday and fellow Olympian Jemma Lowe presented the various raffle & spot prizes awarded as well as signing many T shirts and hats. We are grateful to all three for sparing their time and inspiring the next generation of swimmers. Congratulations to the Top Visiting Club; City of Oxford. The Top Girl award went to Ayanna Fulga of City of Oxford and Top Boy to Cameron Phillips of Aberystwyth. In the Para Swimming Pentathlon Molly Hopkins of Neath and Chris Currie of City of Oxford came first and each won £50! City of Cardiff Coach Dale summed up: F ast A ction B elievers Coach Adam felt “Profound progress proven!" brilliantly sums up the superb swims from so many swimmers. EDINBURGH Swim Wales took an Age Group and Youth Team to Edinburgh to compete in the Edinburgh International Open Championships. Four City of Cardiff swimmers represented their country; Kyle Booth, Bradley Newman, Morgana Moretti and Rebecca De-Torres. It was a great experience and they were even exposed to racing in the Youth Finals. Even though the main focus was to perform with set process goals, they still managed to set best times and executed great race plans with the Team Coaches. COPENHAGEN City of Cardiff swimmers Jonathan Eke and Bethan Eckley were also representing their country as part of the Swim Wales team competing at the World Para Swimming World Series in Denmark. Bethan came 5th in her 50m freestyle final and was just outside a new pb. Jonathan Eke also made the finals and finished 4th in 400m & 50m freestyle. MAGNIFICENT SEVEN IN MARSEILLE The City of Cardiff Swimming Club had seven swimmers selected to represent Wales at the 2017 Meeting Open Mediterannee in Marseille. This prestigious meet is part of the “Golden Lanes” series of events that take place across France, aimed at providing quality racing opportunities for the best swimmers. The Welsh team was a mixture of established senior competitors as well as a group of youth swimmers who were there for the experience. The Cardiff swimmers were in fine form, setting best times as well as qualifying for finals. There were 3 finals for each event – an A final for the top 8 qualifiers, a B final for the next 8 qualifiers as well as a separate junior final for swimmers aged 14-18 years old. Xavier Mohammed was agonisingly close to getting on the podium in the A final of the 100m Backstroke event where he placed fourth, a mere 0.01 off the third placed finisher. He backed up this solid display with a 6th place in the A final of the 200m Backstroke and 7th in the A final of the 200m IM. Bethan Sloan was unlucky not to pick up a medal in the 200m Breaststroke where she placed 5th in the A final, but she was delighted to take nearly 2 seconds off her previous best time. She also set a new best time in the A final of the 50m Breaststroke where she also placed 5th, and rounded off her competition with a 6th place in the 100m event. Harriet Jones and James Lewis were both also in fine form, both winning the B final in their 100m races – James in the 100m Breaststroke and Harriet in the 100m Butterfly. Harriet made the A final of the 200m Butterfly where she placed 5th, while James made the A final of the200m Breaststroke where he placed 7th. Annaliese Beynon, Tegan Frizelle and Ioan Evans also swam well at this meet; especially given it was the first time they had been exposed to this level of racing in Europe. Ioan placed 4th in the junior mens 1500m Freestyle, where he swam a very gutsy race to take a massive 15 seconds off his previous best time and in the process set a qualifying standard for the British World Championships Trials in March. He also swam a best time in the 200m Backstroke where he placed 7th in the B final. Tegan swam in the 200m IM, and made it through to the B final where she was 6th, while Annaliese swam in the junior final of the 50m Freestyle where she placed 3rd. It was a very good racing opportunity for the swimmers, and they raced with great skills and determination. CHLOE AND HANNAH REPRESENT GB IN INDIANAPOLIS Chloe Tutton and Hannah Sloan from City of Cardiff Swimming Club, were on international duty for Great Britain at the recent Arena Pro Swim Series meet in Indianapolis. Chloe was there as part of the British Podium team, while Hannah was there as she has been identified as a young female swimmer who has the potential to represent Britain with distinction in the future. Chloe looked to set a good early season marker in her preferred Breaststroke events following on from her breakthrough year last year. Despite being up against the top American swimmers, she was in scintillating form in the 200m race. With the pack to the halfway point, Chloe put the pressure on over the closing stages to destroy the field by 2 seconds, and set the second fastest time in the world this year. She followed this up with another strong swim in the 100m race where she placed 5th. Hannah had been unwell in the lead up to this meet, but did not let that, or the occasion get to her. She raced a tough heat to qualify for the C final of her favourite 400m Freestyle event, and then in the final she took the race to the field and showed her class in winning the final in a new personal best time. She also raced in the 200m event, and was able to train alongside and observe some of the top swimmers in the world. Both girls were very happy with their races and are looking forward to building on these performances as we get further into the long course season. EDINBURGH Swim Wales took an Age Group and Youth Team to Edinburgh to compete in the Edinburgh International Open Championships. Four City of Cardiff swimmers represented their country; Kyle Booth, Bradley Newman, Morgana Moretti and Rebecca De-Torres. It was a great experience and they were even exposed to racing in the Youth Finals. Even though the main focus was to perform with set process goals, they still managed to set best times and execute great race plans with the Team Coaches. COPENHAGEN City of Cardiff swimmers Jonathan Eke and Bethan Eckley were also representing their country as part of the Swim Wales team competing at the World Para Swimming World Series in Denmark. Bethan came 5th in her 50m freestyle final and was just outside a new pb. Jonathan Eke also made the finals and finishing 4th in 400m & 50m freestyle. MAGNIFICENT SEVEN IN MARSEILLE The City of Cardiff Swimming Club had seven swimmers selected to represent Wales at the 2017 Meeting Open Mediterannee in Marseille. This prestigious meet is part of the “Golden Lanes” series of events that take place across France, aimed at providing quality racing opportunities for the best swimmers. The Welsh team was a mixture of established senior competitors as well as a group of youth swimmers who were there for the experience. The Cardiff swimmers were in fine form, setting best times as well as qualifying for finals. There were 3 finals for each event – an A final for the top 8 qualifiers, a B final for the next 8 qualifiers as well as a separate junior final for swimmers aged 14-18 years old. Xavier Mohammed was agonisingly close to getting on the podium in the A final of the 100m Backstroke event where he placed fourth, a mere 0.01 off the third placed finisher. He backed up this solid display with a 6th place in the A final of the 200m Backstroke and 7th in the A final of the 200m IM. Bethan Sloan was unlucky not to pick up a medal in the 200m Breaststroke where she placed 5th in the A final, but she was delighted to take nearly 2 seconds off her previous best time. She also set a new best time in the A final of the 50m Breaststroke where she also placed 5th, and rounded off her competition with a 6th place in the 100m event. Harriet Jones and James Lewis were both also in fine form, both winning the B final in their 100m races – James in the 100m Breaststroke and Harriet in the 100m Butterfly. Harriet made the A final of the 200m Butterfly where she placed 5th, while James made the A final of the200m Breaststroke where he placed 7th. Annaliese Beynon, Tegan Frizelle and Ioan Evans also swam well at this meet; especially given it was the first time they had been exposed to this level of racing in Europe. Ioan placed 4th in the junior mens 1500m Freestyle, where he swam a very gutsy race to take a massive 15 seconds off his previous best time and in the process set a qualifying standard for the British World Championships Trials in March. He also swam a best time in the 200m Backstroke where he placed 7th in the B final. Tegan swam in the 200m IM, and made it through to the B final where she was 6th, while Annaliese swam in the junior final of the 50m Freestyle where she placed 3rd. It was a very good racing opportunity for the swimmers, and they raced with great skills and determination. CHLOE AND HANNAH REPRESENT GB IN INDIANAPOLIS Chloe Tutton and Hannah Sloan from City of Cardiff Swimming Club, were on international duty for Great Britain at the recent Arena Pro Swim Series meet in Indianapolis. Chloe was there as part of the British Podium team, while Hannah was there as she has been identified as a young female swimmer who has the potential to represent Britain with distinction in the future. Chloe looked to set a good early season marker in her preferred Breaststroke events following on from her breakthrough year last year. Despite being up against the top American swimmers, she was in scintillating form in the 200m race. With the pack to the halfway point, Chloe put the pressure on over the closing stages to destroy the field by 2 seconds, and set the second fastest time in the world this year. She followed this up with another strong swim in the 100m race where she placed 5th. Hannah had been unwell in the lead up to this meet, but did not let that, or the occasion get to her. She raced a tough heat to qualify for the C final of her favourite 400m Freestyle event, and then in the final she took the race to the field and showed her class in winning the final in a new personal best time. She also raced in the 200m event, and was able to train alongside and observe some of the top swimmers in the world. Both girls were very happy with their races and are looking forwards to building on these performances as we get further into the long course season. Cardiff MastersThe 2017 Welsh Open Masters attracted a good turn out from the home swimmers. Over 70 swimmers representing 11 Welsh clubs participated in the weekend event. Large squads from Swansea, Carmarthen and Cardiff helped swell these numbers This encouraging turnout also saw relay events being contested by 4 different Welsh clubs as well as a few from over the border! From a Cardiff Masters perspective, we had a fantastic entry of 26 swimmers who also formed 9 relay teams. A great weekend was had by all, even by one swimmer who toppled in at the start of his 1500 Freestyle and still swam to an extremely good time, knowing he'd already been disqualified. The club ended up with 45 Gold, 24 Silver and 12 Bronze medal acquiring 7 individual and 4 team Welsh records in the process. Patrick Gore set new records in all 3 Backstroke events in the 45-49 age group. Jonathan Hopkins broke the 400 Freestyle and the 100 Butterfly (as part of his 400 Individual Medley) in the 55-59 band. Kiroless Saba set new records in the 50 Breaststroke and 50 Freestyle in the 25-29 age group Well done to all. By Terry John Wales team announces Tour route Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Gold Coast Australia 2018Day 1 (September 5) Swansea - CGI Offices, Bridgend - Barry Island - Cardiff - Butetown Day 2 (September 6) Newport - Monmouth School - The Royal Mint, Llantrisant - Pontypridd Day 3 (September 7) Brecon - Rhayader - Secondary and Primary Schools Llanidloes - Ysgol Dafydd Llwyd, Newtown - Welshpool - Theatre Clwyd, Mold Day 4 (September 8) Zip World, Blaenau Ffestiniog - The Ysgwrn, Trawsfynydd - Dolgellau - Portmeirion - Porthmadog - Pwllheli Swimathon 2017Swimathon is back in 2017 and is celebrating its 30th year! You have the chance to make lives better by raising money for Marie Curie, the UK’s leading charity for people with any terminal illness. Take part in a Swimathon distance challenge from 07th – 09th April 2017. Swimathon weekend will take place all over Wales on Friday 7th, Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th April Choose from Individual 1.5k, 2.5k, 5k challenges or To register your interest for the Swimathon, just log on to the Swimathon website and sign up – do it today while you are motivated!! Swim Wales' Aqua Passport' makes Sports Technology Awards final for the second year running!Aqua Passport has been shortlisted in not one but two categories: Best Integrated Digital Media & Best Participation Technology Aqua Passport has grown by over 100,000 members in one year and keeps rising. The system is being utilised for 'Learn to Swim' programmes along with Baby and Toddler, diving and rookie frameworks STA says "Over 70 sports were represented and submissions were received from 30 countries. The standards were as high as ever but even more international and varied. The innovations these entries represented were nothing short of very impressive" The finals take place on 4th May 2017 at The Roundhouse, Camden, London Club Name ChangeAbergavenny Aquatic Squad have changed their name to Abergavenny Swimming Club Waterpolo eventsEU Nations Tournaments U18s boys - Brno Czech Rep - 14/16 April U18s girls - Prague Czech Rep - 21/23 April
Open Water J1 CourseOpen Water officials course- we will be delivering a J1 open water course free of charge on the 4th of June at Parc Bryn Bach. Participants are not required to have previous officiating experience or qualifications. To register your interest email events@swimming.org Places are limited! Swim Wales Open Water FestivalEntries Open 9am on 21st April 2017 (Subject to confirmation)Available CoursesLevel 2 Swimming Teacher Course – Carmarthen Leisure Centre – 22.04.2017 -14.05.2017 – 6 Available Spaces To register an expression of interest in our Level 2 Coaching Open Water course in South East Wales, please email katie.genan@swimming.org For more information please contact Katie Genan on 01792 513580 or click HERE Do you have any news stories?If you have any news stories that you would like to be included in our newsletter, please forward to llinos.morris@swimming.org before the last Friday of each month. Swim Wales will also advertise any vacancies from affiliated clubs. If you would like your vacancy included and posted on our website and social media chanels, please send the vacancy job title, link to your website where the full job description can be found, how to apply and a closing date along with your club/swim school logo. Newsletter feedbackWe at Swim Wales would like to receive your feedback about our Newsletter by just answering 4 simple questions. Please click below to get started. Swim Wales, WNPS, Sketty Lane, Swansea. SA2 8QG Tel: 01792 513636 |