1. sports
2. swimming

Newsletter 5
September 2012
Latest News
Welcome back to the club after the summer break. Last season was another amazing one for
WSMSC, with swimmers at Olympic trials, nationals, British champs, regionals and counties,
massive medal hauls, GB-swimmer-led guest training sessions, the first medals achieved for
some of our fantastic young swimmers, promotion to the National Arena Swimming League
Premier Division, PBs galore, lots of new swimmers moving up to pre-development, a hugely
successful year for LTS and likewise on the polo front, both with the juniors and for the
seniors in the Bristol & West Water Polo League. In this newsletter, we reflect on the last
events of the 2011/12 season and look forward to the things to come in 2012/13. Please
support our sponsors and do support the club through our easyfundraising endeavours
(update inside).
SIMPLY THE BEST
Charlotte Stanbury and Evan Brunsdon proudly pose with their Best 10 Year Old Girl/Boy
trophies at the Clevedon & Chard Level 3 Open Meet, 24 June. Fantastic!!! Many
congratulations to you both.
Thank you to everyone who entered the competition, which raised £20 for club funds. As
shown below, the winner, with the nearest time to MJ’s best in the 200m breaststroke (in
which he won a fantastic silver medal) was Alice – well done!! The tie-breaker question wasn’t
needed, but for the record Rebecca Adlington’s fastest 800m freestyle time (8.20.32) gained
her bronze, behind US swimmer Katie Ledecky’s gold winning swim of 8.14.63.
Name
Charlie Norton
Rachel Eveleigh
Julia Wallis
Evan Brunsdon
Katie Davies
Lucy Davies
ACTUAL TIME
Alice Davies – CLOSEST TIME
Rachel Anderson
Julia Wallis
Louie Brunsdon
Ben Jones
Jackson Harper
Jackson Harper
Ros Brunsdon
Jessica Knight
Dale Buckingham
Chloe Knight
Sharon
Samuel Morris
Dave Brunsdon
MJ time for 200m breast
1.09.24
2.02.39
2.06.00
2.06.32
2.06.50
2.07.00
2.07.43
2.07.48
2.07.58
2.07.76
2.08.63
2.08.90
2.08.94
2.09.03
2.09.35
2.09.49
2.09.79
2.09.82
2.09.82
2.10.21
2.10.31
RA time for 800m free
7.11.09
8.14.83
8.13.20
8.08.76
8.12.50
8.02.00
8.04.42
8.11.48
8.13.96
8.12.98
8.13.10
8.13.81
8.13.81
8.13.90
8.15.39
8.15.90
8.16.89
8.14.00
8.13.92
8.12.85
PREMIER DIVISION SWIMMING COMING SOON TO HUTTON MOOR
Plymouth Leander, Bridgend, Keynsham, Seagulls and Nofio Sir Gar join WSMSC in the first
gala of the first round of the 2012 NASL Premier Division, to be staged at Hutton Moor on
Saturday 13th October, in the afternoon. Get the date in your diary and get along to cheer
on our swimmers against the very best in the region.
Do keep an eye on the notice board to see if you can help in
any small way – many hands make light work and all that. The
second and third rounds will take place on 10 November and
8 December with venues to be decided at a later date when
the draws have been made. Rumour has it that Plymouth
Leander’s Ruta Meilutyte (who won Lithuania's first ever
Olympic gold in the 2012 Olympics by beating American
Rebecca Soni in the women's 100m breaststroke) may be
swimming at Weston in this round of the National League.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WSMSC – INFORMATION EVENING FOR PARENTS
This event will take place on Tuesday 25th September at 7.00 p.m. It will comprise a number
of speakers, addressing a wide range of topics. While targeted towards parents of PreDevelopment and Development swimmers, all parents will be most welcome. Please look at
the club notice board to get more detail after we’ve had a planning meeting on the 18 th.
WSMSC ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Do keep a look out on the club notice board and on the website for the date/venue of the
club’s forthcoming AGM. It is for the wellbeing of the club that views are aired openly,
questions asked and that the committee is open to all, so that it is truly representative of all
sections of the club. Please support the AGM.
WSMSC 2012 CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
The club championships provide the last opportunity for swimmers to achieve the necessary
qualifying times for the county championships (‘the Somersets’). They are really important in
the club’s calendar and we want all competitive squad swimmers to compete in them. The full
schedule of dates of the club champs is to be finalized, so do keep an eye on the club notice
board and year planner.
2013 DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
A number of galas in the autumn period through to Christmas are on the club website.
Looking further ahead, here are some key dates for 2013.
2013 Somerset ASA Swimming Championships
The Somerset ASA website (www.somersetasa.org/) shows the following as the dates for the
2013 ‘Somersets’ (the county championships). A detailed programme of what’s happening
when, qualifying times, etc., should appear soon. All events take place at Millfield School.
10.02.2013
16.02.2013
17.02.2013
02.03.2013
03.03.2013
09.03.2013
Day One (50m) Long Distance Events
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Day Six
Weston-Super-Mare Swimming Club Easter Open Meet (Level 3) will be
held at Hutton Moor on Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st March 2013.
ASA SW Region Swimming Events 2013
Information on 2013 competitions so far - Time Trials, Youth, Team, Sprints, Masters and
Championships as at 4 Sep 2012. To check for updated information as the season
progresses, please visit http://www.swimwest.org/
Date
19 Jan 2013
4 to 6 May 2013
19 May 2013
Date TBC
7 Jul 2013
29 Sep 2013
10 Nov 2013
7/8 Dec 2013
Event
Distance Time Trials
Youth & 17/O Championships
Team Relay
Age Groups
Sprint Gala
Masters Sprint Gala
Masters SW Inter-County Gala
Championships
Venue
Plymouth Life Centre
Venue TBC
Millfield (25m)
Venue TBC
GL1 (25m)
Millfield (25m)
Millfield (25m)
Millfield (25m)
British Gas National Age Group Championships – 24-28 July
British Gas National Senior & Youth Champs – 30 July– 4 August
Rachel, Zara, Ant and Esme sounded like absolute naturals on the airwaves of BBC Radio
Bristol’s Summer Saturdays programme (14th July) as they talked about their own swimming
careers, the club, nationals, the Olympics, etc. What a fantastic bit of PR for the club. Well
done you four!!!! They are now available for future media work – all enquiries should be made
through their publicist Mr. Max Clifford, though rumour has it that they don’t come cheap.
Well done to Kate Watkins, Tom Simpson (both Level 1), Luke Puchalski and Chrissie Lowe
(both Level 2) for recently gaining their swim teacher awards. Also to Jon Knight, Diane and
Malcolm Anderson for losing their judging ‘L’ plates and becoming fully qualified officials at
Judge 1 level.
Learn To Swim Report – Sept
A new term dawns for LTS after a much needed break for swimmers, parents and teachers!
I’m looking forward to the new term and watching the swimmers progress and introducing lots
of new starters to the club.
XMAS Gala - I am keen to get the LTS involved in this. I will be discussing this with Rachel
and will provide parents with information nearer the time and hope to see many of the LTS
swimmers joining in the crazy fun!
A BIG thank you to everyone for their support through my first year as LTS coordinator. I am
happy with the current teachers we have on board and have seen many people gain
qualifications - Chrissie Lowe and Luke Puchalski have both passed their Level 2
qualifications in teaching aquatics this summer - Well done guys!
If any parents wish to volunteer their time or want more info about gaining
possible qualifications through the club please email direct.
For those parents who are keen to get back in the water themselves - Masters are now
swimming on a Monday 8 - 9.30pm. I went this week and although I ache like never before
today, I really enjoyed it :) Email to Rachel for more info.
Let the hard work begin! Cheers. Zara
LEARN TO SWIM CLASSES
AUTUMN 2012
WEEK
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
HALF-TERM
WEEK
9*
10
TUES
04-Sep
11-Sep
18-Sep
25-Sep
02-Oct
09-Oct
16-Oct
23-Oct
THURS
06-Sep
13-Sep
20-Sep
27-Sep
4-Oct
11-Oct
18-Oct
25-Oct
FRI
07-Sep
14-Sep
21-Sep
28-Sep
5-Oct
12-Oct
19-Oct
26-Oct
SUN
09-Sep
16-Sep
23-Sep
30-Sep
07-Oct
14-Oct
21-Oct
28-Oct
06-Nov
13-Nov
08-Nov
15-Nov
09-Nov
16-Nov
11-Nov
18-Nov
* Week 9 is re-enrolment week for the next term, and when payment is due to secure your child’s place
in Learn to Swim.
If you no longer require your Learn to Swim place, then please contact the Learn to
Swim Coordinator, Zara Gardner, as soon as possible on 07980294434 or email:
learntoswim@weston-super-mare-swimming-club.co.uk.
Q: What do a dentist and a swim coach have in common?
A: They both use drills!
Q: Why was the swimmer at the Winterfest Meet so cold?
A: She couldn't find her heat!
Q: Why did the vegetarians stop swimming?
A: They didn't like meets!
The Universal Laws of Competitive Swimming
(much like Sir Isaac Newton’s Laws of Motion)
Law of Competitive Gravity: When left unattended, a swimmer will gravitate to the worst
technique possible.
Law of Inertia: A swimmer at rest will tend to remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside
force. A swimmer in motion will tend to rest as soon as possible unless acted upon by an
outside force.
Opposition Principle: When asked to kick rapidly, swimmers tend not to; when told not to
kick, swimmers tend to kick rapidly.
Space, Time Continuum: When swimming Breaststroke or Butterfly in practice, swimmers
hands are attracted to the turning wall, each hand at a different speed, at different times, at
different points not in the same plane.
Laws of Acceleration & Momentum: The law of acceleration may only apply for 3 minutes
after coach reminds swimmer it is important, then the law of Momentum becomes dominant
soon to be replaced by the law of Inertia.
Law of Static Levels: Swimmers will automatically seek their own comfort level and tend to
attract others to so the same.
Mind over Matter: The mind can overcome many obstacles during competition but the same
does not usually apply during practices.
Law of Finite Attraction: Even after carefully explaining the efficiency and effectiveness of
an ideal stroke rate, within 3 minutes swimmer will invariably lose the ability to count strokes
and think about any related concept. See similar anomaly under Law of Acceleration.
Relativity: The position of the swimmer’s body in relation to the position it is supposed to be
in, may vary up to +or- 100%.
Vertical and Horizontal Telemetry: When rotated 90 degrees from the vertical to supine or
sublime position, the brain loses most of its ability to function.
Historical Principle of Babylon: Within 3 minutes of the start of coach speaking, the
swimmers begin hearing unrecognizable tongues. See similar anomaly under Law of Finite
Attraction.
Fluid Mechanics: The amount of fluids the bladder can retain is directly proportional to the
difficulty of the middle of the current practice set. The same principle seems to apply to
ripping caps and broken goggle straps, but no scientific evidence connecting the 3 has been
documented.
WSMSC SUGGESTION BOX
Point Raised
Issues with structure of LTS
lessons
Reduce fees if Millfield and
spinning are ‘pay as you go’
Really enjoyed the newsletter
(LTS parent) – ‘love to see
what she could be doing in
the future when she joins the
club’
For development to have land
training
More £2.50 Speedo bottles
Updated PBs on display
board
Practice starts, turns, dives
and practice races for galas
If events are cancelled could
something be put up on the
website?
Boys swimming jammers in
shop; WSMSC drag shorts,
racing costumes
Fixtures – publish info for the
whole season ahead, which
galas are to be supported by
the club (will coach be there)
Adults swimming against kids
Flyers about the club
More team manager’s
courses
More competitions (like MJ’s
hat)
More GB coaching sessions
Response
Discussed with Zara and already dealt with. Parents have been
encouraged to speak to their child’s coach about any concerns they
may have, or engage in dialogue as to why in some sessions their
child may not swim as many lengths as in others, when the coach is
really looking at stroke development and not distance, etc.
Discussed in the fee review as one avenue that we could have gone
down, but chose not to, arguing instead that these were part of the
overall package offered to swimmers in the top two squads. Taking
this argument to the extreme would lead to refunds when children are
in concerts or ill, etc., and miss training. Administratively unworkable
too (we are volunteers) and may also have negative consequences
that people swim less, which is against the competitive squad ethos.
Nice comment, thank you! Clearly we need to do more to plant the
idea that Learn To Swim IS ALREADY part of the club. LTS parents
please do keep fully abreast of everything that’s going on given that
we will have pre-development and lots of development swimmers in
the Somersets and in relay teams, so that could be your child(ren)
pretty soon. Please also get involved with the easyfundraising
activities we’re doing as this keeps LTS fees as low as we can.
Parents should be directed to the document titled Long-Term Athlete
Development (LTAD) on the website
A full stocktake in March revealed overstocking in many areas, which
led to some prices being slashed to free up cash to invest (e.g. fins,
hand paddles, goggles). Swimrite are selling 1 litre Speedo bottles for
£4.99. With Sports Direct selling 750ml bottles at £1.99, it’s probably
impossible for us to get stocks at a cheaper price, but we’ll look at it.
These are on the website. The HM noticeboard needs decluttering so
new info doesn’t get lost. We could perhaps use the rack under it.
This has been passed to the coach; what goes on poolside is nothing
to do with the committee.
Yes this should have been done in regard to the parent’s evening.
Sincere apologies. When the pool was closed just after Easter, we did
try to get as many text messages out as possible.
Shop sales since March have been really good and hopefully
everyone has appreciated it being open weekly. Look out for new
items as the season goes on, as takings are reinvested in more stock.
Fixtures until Christmas are posted on the website and I’ve added key
dates (counties, regionals, nationals and the WSMSC Easter Open
Meet in here). Fixtures to be supported by the coach are on the
website.
Child protection/safeguarding of minors prevent this
There is a flyer that anyone can print off at the bottom of the club’s
homepage to give out to friends (+ I’ve put some in the racks).
Keep watching the notice board and website!
In principle, of course. It then comes down to ideas and someone
offering to organise such competitions – email me with offers of help.
Great idea and it’s something we’d love to do again (last time it was
paid by bagpacking at Sainsburys). Let’s all support easyfundraising
and then this becomes a runner again.
Lots of events to catch up from where we left off in the last newsletter, so fasten your
seatbelts, sit comfortably, and be prepared to be amazed by some awesome swims from
WSMSC members, at all levels, and in many places, through June and July. No better place
to start than Pond’s Forge Sheffield for a report on the British Championships. Write-ups are
arranged in chronological order.
All a bit confusing for the uninitiated with Olympic trials in March in London, then this meet,
doubling as a second trials /British champs, then age group and youths nationals in July – all
as something of a prelude to the Olympics themselves. Never mind, the basics are the same,
make sure you qualify to compete in the meet, then once there, stick your head down and
crack on as fast as you can. I’m sure the coaching offered in Sheffield was a wee bit more
technical than that, such that our two representatives – Lucy Davies and Esme Gullick certainly distinguished themselves on the national stage.
So, enter Lucy in the 200 breaststroke – competing in an
event against none other than Derventio swimmer Molly
Renshaw. A great first British champs for Lucy, coming
home in 2.43.93, off a PB, but a couple of seconds faster
than the weekend before at Millfield. Overall finish was 29th,
but 3rd fastest among those born in 1998/99. Well done
Lucy!
Then Esme, photographed (left) in the zone before her 100
fly. With a seed time of 1.04.49, Esme swam a PB of
1.04.11 to finish 16th in the field. Like Lucy, the field was a
lot older and contained none other than Jessica Sylvester,
who swam for Team GB in the 2008 Olympics! The field in
the 200 fly could hardly be described as easy either, with
the event ultimately won by Jemma Lowe – Welsh
international, British record holder and Olympian. Esme
swam 2.21.26 to finish a super 14th overall. Well done
Esme!
Southern Junior League ‘A’ Final – 23 June
The Littledown Centre, Bournemouth was selected as the
somewhat handy venue for the top final in this year’s
Southern Junior League. Had the finalists included
Cherbourg or Le Havre Swimming Clubs, then Bournemouth
would have been an ideal central location. Given the absence
of French clubs in the competition, with finalists drawn from
Swindon (SX3), Keynsham, Stroud/Thornbury (Severnside
Tritons), WSM, Bournemouth and Seagulls (based in
Christchurch), then Bournemouth was something of a trudge
for most. To coach it or not, that was the big question,
particularly for those entered in the Clevedon & Chard gala
the next day (with a warm up time of 9am – ouch!!!). To M5
and Yeovil it, to Frome and Salisbury it, or to Blandford
Forum it, were the major headaches for the drivers.
Alas, by car or by coach, everyone duly arrived (well, not quite everyone, as Severnside
Tritons pulled out, due to their inability to raise a full team) at the impressive Littledown Centre
(perhaps better renamed the Little Air Centre given the tropical conditions inside). With a
fantastic atmosphere (complete with balloons and horns), it became very clear early on (as
we had suspected) that a tough night was in store for the Purple Army. When the first points
total was announced (after 13 events) with WSMSC placed 5th with 26 points (12 behind the
nearest team and way behind Bournemouth, 51 points), it appeared that a new abacus was
needed by those in charge, given 3 super first places for our 10 years medley relay team
(Charlotte, Bethan, Rachel and Freya), our 12 year old medley quartet of Flo, Chloe, Lauren
and Jessie, and the first individual win of the night with Immy leaving the opposition trailing in
her wake in the 50m backstroke. The girls 11 year old freestyle relay team (Alice, Rachel,
Immy, Jessie) achieved a fantastic 2nd and a super 3rd from Caitlyn in the 9 years 25m free.
By the half-way mark, despite a fantastic 1st place for Lauren in the 12 years 50m fly, we were
still 9 points adrift at the bottom. The toughness of competition was really exposed in the 12
years 50m freestyle, where a phenomenal 31.0 second swim by Flo was only good enough
for 3rd place. Other 3rd place finishes in this segment of races (in great times) were achieved
by Oscar (50m back), Ben (25m breast), Charlotte (50m back) and Bradley (50m fly).
So what could we do in the second half? Remember, as the saying goes, “it’s a game of two
halves”. Bring on the fightback, ably led in event 26 with a super second for Jackson (25m
back) and event 27, a fab first for Rachel (50m fly). We were on a roll: 3 rd for Jessie (super
time of 32.0 for 50 free), 2nd for Chloe (50 breast), 2nd for Caitlyn (25m fly), a first for Rachel
(50m free), it’s looking much better. Momentum was kept up with third places in successive
50m breaststroke events by Jessie and Bradley, such that after 40 of the 49 events, we had
overtaken Keynsham (139 points). We were now lying 4th on 142 points. Bournemouth were
still well clear (189 points) followed by Seagulls (the fishing rods didn’t seem to be helping a
lot, with 165), and SX3 (156).
So it all came down to the last 8 relays and the ultimate climax, the canon. All our swimmers
swam their hearts out, but finishes in 4th and 5th were becoming too common and points were
going elsewhere (despite some DQs by turn judge Mrs Anderson on the Bournemouth lane
for iffy changeovers). A 2nd for the girls 11 years medley team of Immy, Jessie, Rachel and
Alice was scant reward for the efforts of all our team in these last events. I’ve never seen
anyone swim a fly length without breath, but Mason was the man to do it – awesome. Jump
out, then back for another relay – these were the demands of many of the boys in ‘swimming
up’ an age group so many times. So to the grand finale – the canon. For the uninitiated, this is
an eight-pronged (I’m sure there’s a more technical description) relay starting with 9 year old
girl, 9 year old boy, 10 year old girl, … finishing with 12 year old boy. Caitlyn sprints off,
handing over to Jackson, and on to Rachel, who gets Harry off and in to Jessie, 14.9 seconds
later Bradley is flying through the water to hand over to Flo, who in 14.6 seconds sets Will off
to bring the team home in a fantastic third place.
After all 49 events, the final standings were:
Position
1
2
3
4
5
6
Club
Swim Bournemouth
Seagulls
SX3 A
Weston-Super-Mare
Keynsham
Severnside Tritons
Points
225
202
198
172
168
DNS
So we relinquished the SJL title we won in 2011 (did we really want to go back to Stechford
Cascades for a national semi-final???? – we’ve all seen cleaner duck ponds than at the
Stechford pool in Birmingham where we went last year), but, we did so fighting; not one
swimmer let us down – you were all fantastic and represented the club with distinction; and
we remain the best junior club in Somerset. Our fantastic team on the night was:
Jessica
Beth
Caitlyn
Charlotte
Rachel
Alice
Jessie
Chloe
Rhianna
Ruby
Natasha
Bethan
Freya
Immy
Flo
Lauren
Jackson
Joe
Evan
Toby
Joe H
Oscar
Will
Charlie
Ben
Harry
Vaughan
Mason
Bradley
Well done to each and every one of you who competed in any of the 3 SJL rounds at Hutton
Moor, Swindon or Bournemouth - some amazing efforts all round and full credit to lots of the
boys ‘swimming up’ so many times.
A great team of supporters made the long trip to Bournemouth - well done and thank-you (for
info on the dopiest staff ever in a McDonalds, speak to Rich – and I’m told it had nothing to do
with his Welsh accent). As for the coach journey home, I understand the term ‘eventful’ is a
gross understatement, with perhaps the words sickness, motorway hold-up, half-past
midnight, waders needed at Hutton Moor, giving you an idea, but not the graphic detail (just in
case you’re eating). Not wishing to rub salt into the wounds, many of our car drivers were
back home before 10.45 – but not gloating (much!).
The bar has been raised in the Southern Junior League, but fear not, we’ll be raring to go
again in 2013 and go head-to-head with the top 3 from this year. Good luck to worthy winners
Swim Bournemouth in the national semi-final. It will take an awesome effort to beat them.
Clevedon & Chard Open Meet (Level 3) – 24 June
A small squad of Weston swimmers were up at the crack of dawn to warm up ready for the
battle ahead. Against some much bigger teams, the purple hats all swam fantastically with
everyone gaining medals, or PBs, or both – and as we’ve seen on the front cover, Evan and
Charlotte were the top 10 year olds in the meet. Evan’s day generated 5 gold (200 breast, 50
breast, 200 free, 50 free and 200 back) and 2 silver medals (50 back and 200 IM) with
improvements on seed times in 6 of the events (including a massive 8.5 seconds on 200m
back and 9.9 seconds on 200m freestyle). Charlotte went home with 6 medals: gold in 50m
back, 3 silvers (200 IM, 200 back and 50 fly), bronze (200 free) and a 4 th place medal (50
free). Five events generated improved times on the seed times, knocking off 4.5 seconds in
both 50 back and 50 fly.
Now on to the story of a first medal and the missing swimmer! Bring on Reece Coombes.
After a first event (200 breast) leading to a massive 12 second PB, Reece’s next race was the
50 breast. After a long wait, the swimmers were readying themselves down in marshalling –
but where was Reece? Just in the nick of time, Reece emerges, too late to collect his own
goggles but sporting Alysha’s pair (lucky they weren’t pink Reece???). Onto the blocks, and
he’s off. Fifty metres later, the scoreboard shows a massive 10 second PB and this leads to a
7th place and first medal in swimming. Fantastic Reece; well done. After lunch (and a reunion
with his own goggles) another medal followed in the 50 back and a 40 second (yep – forty)
PB duly came in the 200 back.
A forty second PB is massive – but what about Luke’s 67 second PB in 200 backstroke? Four
medals for Luke with a whopping 7.5 second PB (50 fly) and 3.7 seconds knocked off his 50
freestyle time. Not to be outdone, our other boys were on top form too. Having been at
Bournemouth the previous night, Jackson arrived in session 2 and from the off showed he
meant business, landing a super gold medal in the 50 back in a 2.81 second PB. Another (4th
place) medal followed in the 50 freestyle in yet another (4.3 second) PB. Great stuff. Jenson
collected two medals for 2 big PB swims in 50 back (6th with a 2.6 second PB) and 8th in 50
free with a huge 6.2 second PB.
And now for the girls ….. More medals, more PBs. Aimee – 2 massive PBs in 200 free (11.5
seconds) and 200 back (9.5 seconds) and another in 100 free (5.7 seconds). Jessica: 2
medals for 6th in 50 back and 50 free, and 3 PBs altogether (4.6 seconds taken off in 50
back). Big sis Chloe returned home with a gold in 100 breast (and a 3.8 sec PB), silver in 200
breast (3.4 second PB) and a top 8 medal in 100 back. Rachel Eveleigh: PBs in 200 free (10
seconds), 50 back/breast/free and a 6.5 seconds wiped off her 200 back best time. Alysha –
wow! Three events with double digits taken off previous PBs: 200 free (19 seconds), 200 IM
(14.5 seconds) and a monster 22 seconds (200 back). Talking of monster PBs, enter Ruby. A
seventeen second PB in the first event (200 free) set the tone for a great day’s work, with
medals heading back to chez-Soper in 200 fly (silver), 50 free (bronze), 200 back, 50 back
and 50 fly. Medals returned home aplenty with Team Anderson, with Hannah collecting 4
silver, a bronze and 2 top 8 medals (3 PBs) and Rachel (4 golds and one silver from her 5
events).
When the final points were added up, the small Weston team had punched way above their
weight (something Audley Harrison would do well to remember), finishing as 3 rd top visiting
club. A great day’s work. Well done everyone!
Junior Trophy Gala - Llanelli - 30th June
Back in November 2011, WSMSC’s junior novices competed in a gala where going too fast
led to many disqualifications. Last time out, Llanelli A were the winners (254 points), followed
by Swansea Sharks (199) and Weston (192). On 30th June, the club made the same journey
back over the bridge with new rules of engagement - the object this time being to be as quick
as possible.
Another key test for the day, one week on from the Bournemouth trip, was to retest the
equation: 2 hour coach trip + swimming + Bakers Coach + McDonalds = 2 x sickies (more on
this later).
After the usual questions on the coach, like just south of the Clevedon turn – are we nearly
there yet? Can’t he swim fly and me do front crawl? Can we have the radio on? in driving rain
(it always rains in Port Talbot) we duly arrived at Llanelli. Having passed the impressive Terry
Griffiths Matchroom Snooker Centre on the way (perhaps the only thing that did catch the eye
in the town), we parked up at Llanelli Leisure Centre. Inside the building, the tension was
mounting. With team sheets handed in, bring on the competition. In lane 1, Swim Swansea. In
two, Blaenavon. In three, Tenby. In four, give it up for Weston-Super-Mare, and in five, the
hosts Llanelli. The Llanelli website states that ‘some of the best Junior swimmers in Wales
were competing’ – a tough afternoon lay ahead.
Event 1 – girls 9 years and under backstroke and we’re off to a flyer with Caitlin ciming home
in a fab 21.90, just 0.39 seconds behind first and 0.15 seconds behind second. It was all
going to be about finger tip touches and hundredths of seconds. A couple of DQs, several 4 ths
and 5ths put us on the back foot, before another 3 rd in event 7 with Tori L in 50 fly. After the
first 8 events, having mentioned Terry Griffiths, it almost felt like we needed snookers as we
languished in joint last place on 13 points (with Blaenavon), with Swansea (34) and Llanelli
(31) the early pace-setters. Okay, we’d given the others a bit of hope, now to turn on the style.
The next 8 events saw three 3rd places (Lauren, David and Alysha) and our first wins of the
afternoon for James B (13 & U breast) and Ben (9 & U breast). After event 16, Blaenavon
were 11 points adfrit and we were now chasing Tenby (46) who were 10 points clear. Event
20, bring on Reece for the 100 freestyle. Demolishing the opposition by over 4 seconds,
Reece bagged a 59.13 to claim maximum points. Some momentum was building: Esme (3 rd
in 100 free), 10&U girls free relay (3rd), boys 11 & U free relay (3rd), a super second for the
girls12 & U free relay, third for the boys 12 & U free relay and a third for the girls in the next
age group in the same event.
After 32 events, the scores were: Swansea 140 points,
Llanelli 120, Tenby 77, WSMSC 76 and Blaenavon 61.
So we were still 4th, but we were on Tenby’s case – and
they knew it. Back to the individual events and we really
started to turn the heat up on Tenby. Would they melt
(like all the rest of us had been in the Llanelli cauldron)?
The remaining individual events led to lots of top 3 finishes: Ruby (3 rd 25 fly), David (3rd 25
fly), Oscar (2nd 50 back), Alison (2nd 100 breast), Reece (a fab first in 100 back, just the 6
seconds ahead of second), Maddy (2nd 25 fly), Ben (3rd 25 fly), Ruby (3rd 50 back), Ceri-Anne
(3rd 50 breast), Matilda (3rd 50 free) and Lauren (3rd 100 fly).
With just 10 medley relays and the canon to go, we had edged past Tenby by 2 points. Seven
of the 10 relays were won by Swansea (who like their football team, were top drawer), but
could we hold off Tenby?
Enter the 9 year olds. Rachel, Sophie, Maddy and Lauren bring Weston home in 1.44.03,
achieving a great 3rd place, with Tenby DQd. The boys (Charlie, Noah, Ben and Liam)
brought home another 3rd in a time of 1.44.88, crucially beating Tenby.
On to the 10 year olds and enter Caitlin, Sophie, Ruby and Mariya. Just over 90 seconds later
and a super second place meant the gap over Tenby was now 7 points. The boys (Ben,
Jacob, David and Liam) brought home another 3rd place in 1.43.73.
Two more third places for the 11 year old teams of Rachel, George, Alysha and Ceri-Anne (in
1.27.91) and Oscar, Jacob, Mason and Joe (1.26.89). Tenby were second in both – the
fingernails were getting shorter. Two more 3rd places from the two 12 year old teams (Tori,
Alison, Ella and Olivia – in 1.14.92) and Oscar, James A, Mason and Joe (in 1.15.33).
Fifty-eight events gone and three crucial ones to go! Event 59, the 13 year old girls. Esme to
Lauren to Hannah and home with Matilda in 1.10.10 for another 3 rd. The boys, Oscar (starting
his 4th successive relay), James B, Reece and James A (3 on the trot) produced a super 2 nd
in a time of 1.05.65.
Catch your breath. Pump up the volume. Bring on the canon! Caitlin, to Ben, on to Ruby,
David, taking over is Alysha, handing on to Oscar. We’re in contention – Matilda leaps in, on
to James A, now Esme with 50 to go, and in goes Reece and it’s close, but it’s 4 th place. With
a 5 point (self-declared) deduction for only having three 9 year old boys, had we done enough
to overcome Tenby? You bet we had – it was never in doubt! The final scores were:
1st
Swim Swansea
266
2nd
Llanelli
219
3rd
WSMSC
154
4th
Tenby
151
5th
Blaenavon
106
Sixty-one events in rapid succession (the team managers have just come out of therapy at
the Priory Clinic) – a great afternoon and super performances from everyone in purple. Now
to test the equation on the way home. The look of relief on a McDonald’s girl’s face as she left
work, having just finished her shift, as the occupants of a 60-seater Baker’s coach descended
on the Swansea West restaurant was a sight to behold. (Well???) fed and watered (or fizzycoked), it was back on board for the return trip. No calamities this time (apart from nearly
leaving Charlie at Gordano) and at 7.30pm (just the 9 hours after departure) we arrived back
to Hutton Moor. A big well done to all our swimmers (below) plus all our supporters.
Caitlin
Tori
Ella
Sophie
Rachel
Sophie H
Lauren H
Esme
Ruby
Ceri-Anne
Alysha
Mariya
Lauren
George
Matilda
Olivia
Maddy
Rachel E
Hannah
Alison
Jacob
James B
James A
Liam
Reece
Joe
Ben
Reece
Oscar
Charlie
Mason
David
Noah
ASA South West Region Sprints 2012 – 30th June
With all of WSMSC’s representatives in this event in 2011 finishing in
the top 8 (Flo Davis, 1st in 11 years; Emily Watkins 4th, 12 years;
Jessie Dadds and James Gahame, 5th in the 10 and 13 years
respectively; and Rebecca Lucas, 8th, 12 years), the 8-strong WSM
class of 2012 had a tough act to follow.
Held in Gloucester, the meet is open to those who qualified for
any event at the recent SWR youth or age-group champs
(except those who have attained national qualifying times, hence
no Es, Lucy and Ev here). This is the sprint competition for the
fastest swimmers in Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Dorset,
Somerset and Wiltshire, with the trophies decided on
performances (times translated into FINA points) across all four
50m events and the 100IM. Making it here is a great
achievement – anything on top of that is a real feat.
Event 1 – girls 50 backstroke: In the 10 years, in action were Freya and Rachel. Both were
fractionally outside PBs, but Rachel’s time of 37.13 was sufficient to take 1 st overall; Freya’s
43.48 placed her 14th. In the 11 years group, Immy came home in 37.55 (13th) and Jessie in
39.71 – a 1.7 second PB (23rd). In the 13’s, a fab first place for Becca in a PB of 32.54. Millie
was a DNS. Into the 14’s and Indea – hundredths off a PB in 35.31 and placed 10th.
Event 2 – boys 50 breaststroke: Our sole representative, Evan, came home in a time 1.82
seconds faster than his seed time, to record 15th place.
Event 3 – girls 50 free: Some speedy swims here by the girls: Becca 29.49 (4th), Indea 30.60
(9th), Millie 30.73 (13th), Immy 32.04 (8th), Jessie (32.13, 9th), Rachel (33.13, 3rd) and a 1.55
second PB for Freya in 36.62, 14th. Immy and Jessie’s positions, despite huge PBs, showed
the level of competition, with the fastest 11 year old stopping the clock on an incredible 29.97
(approximating to the time most of us take to see if the water is warm enough to get in).
Event 4 – boys 50 fly: Not Ev’s favourite, but a legal, quick swim, completed in 45.17 for a
15th place. Well done.
Event 5 – girls 100 IM: First in was Freya, recording a 3.24 second PB in 1.32.39. Next in
Rachel and another first place in a PB of 1.21.87, defeating arch-rival Laura McNab again,
some 0.53 seconds behind. Exit Immy unfortunately with an injured shoulder, having already
collected an impressive 702 FINA points. Jessie carried expectations solely now in the 11’s,
coming home in 1.24.34 (16th). In the 13’s, a super swim from Millie to claim 6th (but just 0.8
off second place) in 1.15.90 – a PB of just the 10.34 seconds! Awesome. Becca shaved
another 0.32 off her PB to take 10th. Indea also PBd, taking off 0.25 seconds to come home in
8th in 1.16.90.
Ready for some lunch by now I reckon?
Event 6 – boys 50 back: Fortified with energy (don’t worry Ros, we won’t ask you to share
Ev’s pasta!), Evan PBd by almost 4 seconds, recording a time of 41.08, gaining useful points
in the process and a hugely creditable 11th place.
Event 7 – girls 50 breast: Rachel was first off and recorded a 0.41 second PB of 46.55, to
claim 6th. Lunch was clearly good as Freya then took a whopping 3.25 seconds off her PB to
come home in 10th in 47.59. Into the 11’s and bring on Jessie. A finger nail off a PB, but a
lightening fast 41.50 led to a richly-deserved second place. By now, the attraction of
shopping, getting home ready for T4, etc., had set in and Millie was now left to fly the Weston
flag as sole survivor in the over-12’s. And fly she did, recording a new PB time of 40.49 to
claim a great 9th (the event was won in 36.50!!!).
Event 8 – boys 50 free: Back to Evan and another improvement on seed time, this time by
1.05, coming home in 36.94 for a 16th place finish.
Event 9 – girls 50 fly: We were now down to just three! Rachel, Jessie and Millie. On to
Rachel. Two points ahead of Laura McNab in the overall 10’s championship, it was all going
to hinge on this event – Laura’s favourite. Onto the blocks, Rachel in a heat one before Laura.
With a PB 0.34 slower than Laura’s, it was going to be tough. Off to a flyer, scarcely taking
breath, Rachel clocked a massive 0.87 second PB, touching at 35.17 seconds. In the next
heat, Laura PBd also (taking her best from 35.70 to 35.51), but not fast enough. Another 1st
place event finish for Rachel, and 1st overall. Bring on the Dadds! Both Jessie and Millie went
out in style, despite the tiredness at the end of a long day in the Gloucester sauna. Jessie
clocked a new PB of 39.04 shaving off half a second to finish 15th. Millie bagged a third PB
on the trot, recording a time of 34.57, an improvement of 0.71 seconds and a super 8th place.
Event 10 – boys 100 IM: Slightly bizarre to programme the toughest event right at the end of
the day, but that was the way the Gloucester cookie crumbled. Evan signed off for the day
with a time of 1.38.07.
The final reckoning
ANOTHER GOLD FOR RACHEL
With just 3 of our swimmers competing in all 5
events, placings for the others are somewhat
meaningless. Anyway, in the 10’s, a super first
regionals for Evan, achieving 15th place from the
swimmers across 6 large counties. In the girls, with
three first places in the back, fly and IM, the overall
BAGCAT winner was Rachel, beating Laura
McNab (as she did in the age-groups), this time by
16 points. In the 11’s, well done to Jessie in 12 th
place, with that super second in breaststroke the
highlight. Freya finished 14th (but adding her
average points from events swum in the event
missed, would have been up to 11th), Immy, after a
super season, an absolute gutter to pick up an
injury during the competition, 26th (but this would
have been a lot, lot higher and easily top 5,
probably much higher still), Millie 23rd (but with one
more event, it could have been 8th), Becca 24th (but
with 2 more events, on this fairly crude averaging
method, it would have been an overall first, to add
to the super first in the 50 back) and Indea 12 th
(with 2 more events, it could have been 8 th). Well
done to you all.
Taunton Deane Level 3 Open Meet – 7/8 July
Another weekend, another gala! This time a level 3, but with near-Olympic
standard qualifying times! A mix of 50s, 100s, 200s and team relays, spread over 2 days (one
of which, of course, just happened to coincide with the first day in 70-odd years that Britain
had a finalist in the men’s singles at Wimbledon – still we got home in time to see Andy
Murray’s tears!).
The first event, the 200 free, why not start as you mean to go on? In the 10s, gold in a new
PB of 2.31.54 to Rachel Anderson. Also in this age-group, a 4.32 second improvement on
seed time for Ruby Soper in 3.20.16. In the 12s, gold, in a 3.49 second PB for Hannah
Anderson.
Next up for Weston were the girls in the 50 fly. A PB for Ruby, taking off 2 seconds, and
Hannah qualifying for the final in second fastest were the stand-out performances. Hannah
went on to finish 6th in the final in a new PB of 37.01.
Bring on the boys for the 50 back and PBs all round for Joe (qualifying as second reserve for
the final), Evan and Vaughan.
The girls 100 back and time for another Weston medal. Well done to Charlotte Stanbury for
gaining a super silver with a new PB of 1.32.33, just edged out by old team-mate Natasha
Edmonston-Low in the final few metres. A near 2 second PB by Aimee Hunter-Weldon proved
the pick of the Weston swimmers in this event.
On to the first of the relays. Weston sported/fielded (whatever the appropriate swimming term
is??) 2 girls teams in the 12 & Under 200m freestyle relay. The A team (Victoria, Rachel,
Hannah and Alicia) produced a fantastic swim leaving allcomers in their wake, demolishing
the opposition in a time of 2.12.27, some 3.22 seconds ahead of the first of 3 Taunton Deane
teams. The B team – Ella, Ruby, Charlotte and Aimee – touched in 7th place in a time of
2.30.12, just behind Clevedon. Time for some lunch and some fresh air before ‘warm up’ (we
were already absolutely roasting) for the afternoon session.
Clearly lunch was good as we were soon back in the medals. First event back and a 1.28
second PB for Charlotte in the 100 IM. Hannah followed in the 12s, missing a bronze by 0.03
seconds.
Wait for the announcement – ‘Results from event 202, boys 10 years, 200m backstroke,
winning the gold medal in a time of 3.04.07, from Weston-Super-Mare, Evan Brunsdon’.
C’mon. Great result, as was Vaughan smashing his PB by 13 seconds in the same event to
finish 6th. The medal rush was well on truly on as our only 3 representatives in the 100 fly all
gained medals: Rachel (gold), Charlotte (bronze) and Hannah (silver).
Back to the boys in the 50 free. Here, the unfairness of the meet rules for younger swimmers
were truly exposed (all 50m events run with heats, with the top 8 qualifying for a final – not a
final in your own age group, but in the juniors, a final for the top 8 from the age range 9-12).
PBs for Vaughan and Evan, with Joe just outside, but no places in the final (amazingly filled
with 11 and 12 year olds). Bring on the big man – Scott. A 27.32 heat swim was sufficient to
qualify in the seniors final in 4th place. In the final, Scott shaved off 0.01 seconds to claim a
great bronze medal.
By now we’re reaching the losing the will stage of the late afternoon, but up pops Alison Reep
in the 50 breaststroke with a super 1.69 PB to claim a place in the final (finishing 6th just 0.03
outside her heat time). PBs in this event for Bethan Rees and Rachel. Not long after and
Scott is back in 100 free action and a fingernail away from gold – finishing with silver in
1.00.98.
The day ended on a sour note with a DQ for the fab 4 of Evan, Mason, Joe and Vaughan in
the 12 & under 200m medley relay for an offence that was only spotted by one person in the
whole of Weston-Super-Mare – regrettably it was the one person that mattered, one of the
officials. Talk about coming back fighting – first event on day 2 and Evan destroys the other
21 in his age group to take gold in the 200 free. In their next event, Evan and Vaughan post
huge PBs in the 50 fly – it’s already looking like day 2 is going to be smokin’ hot!
On to the girls and clearly a good breakfast was had by all. In their first event, gold for Rachel
in the 100 breaststroke, silver for Chloe (in a PB) and PBs for Alicia and Alison in 4 th and 5th
respectively.
Next in the pool in the girl’s events – the 50 backstroke (so ages 9-12 competing for 8 finals
slots). In the heats, Alicia qualifies for the final in 5th with a near 2 second PB, Chloe qualifies
in 7th and Hannah in 8th. Further down, a huge 2.31 PB for Aimee in 40.79, a 2.12 PB for
Ruby and not to be outdone by her big sis, Naomi touches in a new PB of 50.39. In the final,
Alicia, Chloe and Hannah all improved their heat times, finishing in 5 th, 6th and 7th
respectively.
Soon afterwards, the girls are back in for the 200 fly. In the 10s, a super 12 second PB for
Rachel in 2.59.34, racing against Lauren (bronze in 12s, with a 7 second PB) like their lives
depended on it – an awesome spectacle. Agonisingly missing out on a medal was Charlotte
(4th) but with a huge, huge PB (well, just the 28 seconds!). Fantastic.
Fourth and sixth respectively for Evan (5.4 second PB) and Vaughan in the 100 IM was the
penultimate action of the morning session. Relay time. Girls 200 medley. The A team were
just that – thrashing the others by over 6 seconds. Well done to Alicia, Lauren, Chloe and
Hannah; and to our B team (5th) who took major scalps in 2 Taunton teams and Street. Well
done Ella, Victoria, Alison and Aimee.
Just in case you’re reading this
Newsletter at home and are having
withdrawal symptoms, here is a
photograph of Hutton Moor, the venue
for the Taunton Deane gala, but more
importantly from my perspective, a
perfect fit to complete my page!
Poor Popeye looks all lonesome perched
on top of the trophy cabinets, doesn’t
he?
Session 4, first event – 200 breaststroke and a huge PB to win gold for Rachel and a super 4
second PB for Bethan. Into the 12s – silver for Chloe, 4th for Lauren, 5th for Alicia (1 second
PB) and 6th for Alison.
On to the girls 50 free. Nine swimmers in the event and wow – what an outcome! On the
heats, fastest was Alicia (31.52) just outside a PB. Fifth was Hannah in a 0.3 second PB, 6 th
Rachel (shaving off 0.09) and 7th Chloe. Further down, a massive PB for Naomi – from 47.09
to 41.56. Jessica Knight also PB’d (apologies English teachers) in 45.00 – one of those times
that forever and a day is going to look like a made-up one but was legit. In the final – 8 lanes
and 4 Weston swimmers. A fantastic sight for all those who were watching. Not that we’re
biased, but Alicia was robbed of gold by some very dubious timing pads which showed the
Exeter swimmer had pipped her by 0.05. Either she did or all of us watching need eye tests.
In 4th in a 0.7 second PB was Hannah, closely followed by Rachel (7th) and Chloe (8th). Super
swims girls.
Back to the boys and into the lion’s den of racing against 12 year olds in the qualifiers for the
50 breast. Nice swims from Evan and Vaughan (2 second PB) but no finals. In the seniors, a
powerful first swim of the day from Jonathan Reep yielded a 0.57 second PB, but just outside
a finals place.
Next up, the girls 100 freestyle, with the announcement over the PA that Andy Murray has
taken the first set off Federer. Would Fred Perry’s record be broken? In the pool, in the 10s,
PBs for Ruby (another actual time that looks like a made up one, 1.30.00) and Naomi (taking
off a whopping 5.3 seconds). In the 12s, 4 WSMSC swimmers and 4 PBs. Hannah (a super
silver with a 0.73 second PB), Chloe (7th, shaving off 0.4 seconds), Lauren (improved best
time by 0.61) and Alicia (a 6.04 PB).
With the only girls event left being the 13 and over medley relay and Weston not having a
team entered (can anything be done about this kind of thing next season??????), it was all
down to the boys, with a 200 breast individual and the grand finale being the boys 12 and
under 200m freestyle relay.
In the 10s in the 200 breastsroke, an outside PB swim from Evan (is it reasonable to expect
PBs having been stuck in a sauna from 0800 through to 6pm for 2 successive days?) but a
well deserved silver medal to show for a 3.45.65 swim. In the open age group, Jonathan
swam really well to finish 5th taking 3.11 seconds off his PB.
The last event – 200 free relay. Bring back Evan, Mason, Vaughan and Joe. Our fab 4 who
had been so cruelly denied a worthy medal the previous day – what could they do? Would
they, to use words from Alan Hansen (oh he of the give advice from the Match of the Day sofa
and never ever put your head above the parapet and actually have your livelihood depend on
actually being a manager) show that passion, hunger, desire, commitment, dedication,
motivation and application to channel the previous day’s frustration to deliver a top quality
performance? You bet they would! Never in doubt. With five teams in the event – Weston and
4 teams from Taunton Deane – the boys produced an awesome swim, beating their seed time
by over a second and a half to come home in silver position, behind a much older Taunton ‘A’
team. The other 3 Taunton teams were the preverbial country mile behind.
A great effort from all the Weston swimmers - well done to you all. Thanks also to the team
managers, who again, doubled as full-time coaches.
Gloucester City Level 3 Open Meet – 14/15 July
One week after the Taunton Deane meet and WSMSC was represented up at GL1 by just 4
swimmers from 2 households. Admittedly small in numbers, but certainly not small in effort
(lots of PBs), desire and medal hauls – even the speeding certificates were good! This end of
season level 3 meet is in a great venue in the heart of Gloucester, has sensible cut off times
and offers medals for the top 8 finishers – well worth many more swimmers considering next
season.
Team Weston’s results were as follows:
Madeleine Soper
4th (50 fly), 1st (50 back), 2nd (200 back).
Ruby Soper
5th (200 free), 6th (100 back), 4th (50 fly), 7th (200 breast), 6th (100 free),
4th (50 back), 4th (200 back).
Rachel Anderson
speeding ticket (200 breast), speeding ticket (50 breast).
Hannah Anderson 1st (200 free), 2nd (100 back), 1st (400 IM), 3rd (50 fly), 2nd (100 fly),
speeding ticket (400 free), 1st (200 fly), 2nd (100 free), 2nd (200 back), 1st
(200 IM)
In the final analysis, Hannah won the meet’s best 12 year old girl award, Madeleine came 2nd
in the best 9 year old (competing in her first gala having just celebrated her 9 th birthday in the
days before the gala) and team Weston came in a super 14th (out of 20 clubs).
THE MAGNIFICENT FOUR WITH THEIR DAY 2 MEDALS & SPEEDING CERTIFICATES
Nationals 2012
This year, there was a schedule clash between the National Youth Championships and the
Olympics; the Olympics won! The National Youth Championships were moved forward a
week and England’s top 15-18 year olds missed their last week of school/college to travel to
Sheffield.
Weston-Super-Mare Swimming Club’s Captain this year had qualified for 5 events; her most
yet! And off the back of a great performance at the British Champs in June – where Britain’s
best swimmers had their last chance to achieve Olympic Qualification – she was looking
forward to some fast swimming. Esme’s previous best was to qualify as a reserve semifinalist, so this year, the goal was to get into a semi-final and therefore achieve a top 20 finish
to go with the 16th and 14th placings from British Champs.
The first day was a baptism by fire; 200 Individual Medley, 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke
all within 4 hours. Event 1: 2.5 second personal best. Great start. Swim down, rest a bit, then
onto event 2. 0.8 outside of a best time, but goal achieved – semi final. No time to relax, swim
down, rest a bit, then event 3. 1.1 seconds outside of a best time, but clearly that semi-final
swim was weighing on her mind. After a few hours rest, Esme was back to within 0.1 seconds
of her best time in the semi final of the 100m butterfly and moved up from her seeded 20 th
place to finish 15th (8th out of the 17 year olds).
Day 3. Esme’s favourite event – 200 butterfly. After the heats, a solid swim, just 0.7 off of her
best saw her through to her 2nd semi-final of the meet in 13th place. Again, a few hours rest,
then and a stunning swim (with a PB of 1.7 seconds) and Esme was through to her first
National Final with a time of 2:18.71.
The 200 backstroke on day 4 was 1.9 seconds outside of Esme’s best but that first ever
National Final was looming later that day. Another great swim in the 200m butterfly final, saw
a 9th place finish (4th in the 17 year age group).
Esme also came together with other talented swimmers from across Somerset in 3 relay
swims. All 3 of these, in strokes that she hadn’t qualified for as individuals, resulted in great
split times for Esme, well below her personal bests.
Five days down and along come the Age Groupers for their turn. Evan King was joined this
year by Lucy Davies. Evan had increased her programme by qualifying for 2 additional events
and in Lucy’s first year at this level, she had achieved 4 individual qualifying times.
Day 1 was the 200 Individual Medley for Lucy and the 100 freestyle for Evan. Evan’s 1
second PB saw her finish 15th, just 0.05 from making the final. Lucy was just outside of a best
time but qualified in 18th for the semi-final. A great achievement for her first swim at National
Level. Stepping up for the Final, Lucy dipped under her PB to finish in a fantastic 16th place.
Day 2 was a big day for the girls; Lucy had the 200 breaststroke, which she had swam earlier
in the year at the Olympic Trials and Evan had the 100 butterfly in which she finished 4 th as a
12 year old in 2011. Good swims by both girls saw Lucy safely through to another semi-final
and Evan into the final seeded 4th.
Rising to the occasion in a great finals session, Lucy qualified for her first National Final and
Evan just dipped under her PB to win her first National Medal – Silver with a time of 1:05.17.
Feeling renewed confidence, but also relaxed; the next morning involved the heats of the 200
bufferfly for Evan. A swim 2 seconds slower than her best was still good enough to qualify
Evan for the final that night. A brave fight and great attack on the opening 150m saw Evan in
a great position. Unfortunately there was not quite enough left in the tank on the last 50m but
a time just 0.2 outside her best, gave Evan 4th place (2 places better than in 2011)
Day 4 and event 3 for Lucy; straight into ANOTHER semi-final.
Day 5 and after a week full of swimming the girls JUST had the 400 individual medley to go.
Personal Bests by Evan and Lucy resulted in a great to finish the competition.
As with Esme, Lucy and Evan
joined together with other
talented
swimmers
form
Somerset to compete in 4x100
freestyle and medley relays
and the 4x200 freestyle relay.
Lucy and Evan performed
brilliantly in the 4x200 freestyle
and both improved on their
personal best times. Evan’s
200 freestyle split time was
faster than the bronze medal
swimmer in the individual
event and showed a fantastic
improvement as she hadn’t
managed to achieve the
qualifying time during the build
up to the Nationals.
A great end to the 2011-2012
swimming season, with more
WSM swimmers qualifying
than in previous years, but
also each swimmer qualifying
in
more
events.
This
improvement is due to the
energy and commitment of the
poolside coaching team and
the dedication and attitude of
the swimmers.
R.A.
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Inside the race
As you enter the pool, you immediately recognise the familiar smell of chlorine. You scan the
scene, taking in the overall layout of the pool deck and it's inhabitants.
You notice the sounds of the pool, the coaches and swimmers talking, the sound of the water
splashing, the gun go off at the start off the race, as other heats go off before you.
You imagine yourself getting ready for the race, getting into your suit, spending some time
stretching and going over the last minute details in your head. This is your best race. You're
well prepared for this event and you are feeling mentally strong.
The official calls your event. Imagine yourself on the blocks. The starter commands 'Take
Your Marks.' You bend down into the starting position.
At the sound of the beep you take off. A strong powerful dive into the water - neat, clean and
streamlined, with a powerful kick to propel you to the surface.
As you surface you begin strong beautiful strokes. You feel the water slipping off your skin
with the sound of the water splashing as you move quickly through the water.
Each stroke you begin to feel stronger and stronger, moving through the water with speed.
You notice another swimmer near you. You put them out of your mind and strive to race your
own race. You concentrate on each stroke as you approach the first turn. You approach it.
Quickly start the turn, throw your legs over your head and push off hard into a tight streamline
position. You do several quick kicks and again surface, attacking the second half of the race.
As you begin to swim home, you are still feeling very strong. You've trained all year for this
race and it feels great. Stroke after stroke you force yourself forward. Thirty-five metres to go,
you kick harder going into overdrive. More on the legs, faster, faster, as you pull towards the
finish. You feel your speed increasing.
You are completely focused on your stroke: your breathing, you are doing everything as it
should be done, with poise and purpose. With each stroke you dig into your reserves, pushing
yourself above and beyond your expectations. Pulling, propelling, surging forwards, you move
yourself forward, put your head down and lunge towards the wall.
You immediately look up at the score board. A personal best time and a win. You slowly begin
to regain awareness, colours come into focus, you hear the roar of the crowd. You realise
you've achieved your goal. You get out of the pool and dry yourself off. You become aware of
the feelings of excitement and accomplishment. Pride builds inside you. You have
succeeded..........YOU ARE A GREAT SWIMMER!!!
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FIN-EX SCHEME
Fins in excellent condition can be taken to Leanne/Jon at the club shop on Tuesday evenings
(7.00 – 8.15 p.m.). Please tie them together and attach a label with your name and contact
details. All second-hand fins will be sold with a fixed selling price of £8, with £7 going to the
donor (paid on sale) and £1 to the club to reinvest in new shop stock.
This scheme is running following a suggestion made via the Suggestion Box.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tips when racing
1. Focus on your race only......it’s just you and that stopwatch!! Forget everyone else. It's
true, the more you swim your own race, the faster you will be than trying to beat someone.
2. Relax!! It sounds easier said than done... but avoid looking round at the other swimmers.
Block out any sounds that you might hear as this could put you off your race. If you have a
routine before your race, then do it... this will feel normal to you and will help you relax.
3. Believe in yourself....you can do it....you have worked really hard for this. Try not to say 'I
wish I could win... or.. 'I’m going to try and win'... because that’s not believing in yourself.
Have faith in your talent and set goals that you know that you can achieve....talk to your
coach and they will help set a realistic goal.
4. Rest is vital before and after your race. You need to save your energy. So walk, don’t run,
Drive don’t walk, sleep if you can, don’t sit and finally when its time to go fast..... GO FAST!!
5. Race tip - when racing it is 80-90% physical and tactical and only 10-20% mental. Any
more on concentrating on your race and you will find it hard. Let the body do the work and
your mind go along with it. Think back to a disappointing race where you didn’t do so well,
you could probably recall it and you would describe it using lots of 'feeling' words such as:
stroke was strong, felt loose, feeling tired etc. However if you think back to a good
race...were you thinking about anything??? Probably not... this is because your mind was
relaxed. This is the way to swim your race because you are thinking quietly but the thoughts
are going into technical and tactical situations without you realising. So the saying goes.....
DON'T TRY TO DO IT... JUST DO IT!!!!
6. Nerves ... how do you overcome them??? Well there are many ways but research shows
the reason why you have nerves is because you’re scared and don't want to fail..... the best
tip for this is to FACE YOUR FEARS ... do not fight this fear just enjoy yourselves and do
what it takes to compete well.
The reason why the swimmers race is because of the excitement and adrenaline rush
and why many Olympic Swimmers keeping coming back for more! They love the
feeling!!!
SO, SWIMMERS .... HAVE NO FEAR .... RELAX .... BELIEVE .... STAY FOCUSED ....
AND FINALLY HAVE FUN!! BECAUSE YOU ARE ALL GREAT
SWIMMERS!!!
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Open every TUESDAY 7.00 - 8.15 p.m. beside the small pool
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WATER POLO - UPDATE
Well, as summer draws to a close, what dire weather we had, but a wonderful festival of
sport. How many of you caught the performances of water polo during the Olympics of both
GB teams, ladies and men? I don’t think we have ever seen so much water polo on the TV.
Weston Water Polo took it annual break from Hutton Moor during the summer, starting up at
the beginning of June at Portishead Open Air Pool and pretty sure that we had just two sunny
evenings on all those Fridays.
During the time since the last newsletter Weston Juniors have been in action in the Bristol
and West Junior Water Polo League, with games against Welsh Wanderers, Devonport Royal
and Harlequins, with one victory in the five matches so far.
Weston Seniors, who were riding at the top of Division 2 of the Bristol and West Water Polo
League and cruising towards victory. However, in July they travelled to Frome II and lost.
They now have one home game left in September, and
then have to wait to see the results from the other teams
to see if they still gain promotion.
The seniors took part in the ASA South West Inter Club
competition at Millfield, facing teams from Cheltenham,
Newton Abbot, Exeter, Jersey, Bournemouth, Barnstaple
and Newquay, all strong opposition, and Weston finished
in last place after defeats by Newton Abbot,
Bournemouth, Cheltenham and Barnstaple.
On a bright note, the seniors had victories over Newport
and Frome in friendlies at Portishead, and on Sunday
evening take on the Royal Navy as part of the Senior
Service warm up for
the forthcoming interservices competition
with the RAF and
Army sides, being held
in Portsmouth, at which Mike Coles is refereeing.
Other good news is the marriage of former Weston captain,
Sean Coles, son of Mike, who has married Hayley Coles, a
synchronised swimming teacher at Bristol Central, where
Sean plays his water polo.
Further good news is the birth of Austin Bird to Dean and
Fran Bird.
I’m sure all the club will join in best wishes for the happy
couple and the new edition.
Eating during competitions
When preparing to compete at a swimming competition you need to pay careful attention to
what you eat. Read on to find out what to eat the day before the event and during the day.
The Day Before
When competition time comes round, you’ll have plenty on your mind already. So the day
before the event, keep exercise to a minimum – if anything at all – and eat meals and snacks
high in complex carbohydrates. You need to keep those glycogen stores topped up.
o Drink fluids little and often to stay properly hydrated.
o Eat little and often – every two to four hours to keep your blood sugar levels steady
and fuel your muscles in preparation for your event.
o Avoid big meals or over-eating in the evening – this will almost certainly make you feel
uncomfortable and lethargic the next day.
o Try to stick to familiar foods. Curries, spicy foods, baked beans and pulses (unless you
are used to eating them) can cause gas and bloating, so avoid eating anything that
may cause stomach discomfort the next day. It’s best to stick to foods that you are
familiar and compatible with!
The Morning of the Event
o Don’t swim on empty. Even if you feel nervous, make breakfast happen. Stick to easily
digested foods – cereal with milk, porridge, banana with yoghurt, some fruit or toast
with jam.
o If you’re really struggling, try liquid meals such as milkshakes, yoghurt drinks or a
smoothie.
o It’s a good idea to rehearse your competition meal routine in training so you know
exactly what agrees with you.
Snacks Between Heats
o Try to eat as soon as possible after your swim to give yourself as long as possible to
recover if you have to swim again.
o High fat and simple sugar foods will do you no favours in competition – instead search
out the complex carbohydrates again.
o If you can’t stomach anything solid try sports drinks, flavoured milk or diluted juice that
will help replenish your energy supplies and assist the recovery of aching muscles.
o The list below offers great food options to be snacking on in and around training for a
competition. Remember to keep eating healthy foods from your regular diet though,
such as fresh vegetables, nuts and fruits.
Foods to try
Water, diluted fruit juice with a pinch of salt or a sports drink; Pasta salad; Plain sandwiches
e.g. chicken, tuna, cheese with salad, banana, peanut butter; Bananas, grapes, apples,
plums, pears; Dried fruit e.g. raisins, apricots, mango; Smoothies; Crackers and rice cakes
with bananas and/or honey; Mini-pancakes, fruit buns; Cereal bars, fruit bars, sesame snaps;
Yoghurt and yoghurt drinks; Small bags of unsalted nuts e.g. peanuts, cashews, almonds;
Prepared vegetable crudités e.g. carrots, peppers, cucumber and celery
Fundraising Activities – An Update
Over the summer, the first cheque was received from easyfundraising. For the sceptics,
who’ve wondered about the legitimacy of it all, it is real, a Nat West cheque was banked and it
didn’t bounce! This scheme does what it says on the tin – it really is so easy.
With the number of adults in households where we have representation in the club, either
directly (water polo, masters, all of our coaches) or indirectly (Learn to Swim, PreDevelopment, Development, Potential, Performance, and Social), the potential to
raise significant sums of money from easyfundraising is huge. The
first cheque (for the quarter to 30 June; I only set up the scheme on 1 June and started
marketing it a fortnight later) was for £17.78. We currently have 20 individuals signed up to
this scheme and in the past 9 weeks, a further £62 has been raised from web searching (half
a penny for a completed search) and online shopping (at places such as Argos, Amazon,
airport parking, Comet, etc.). As Christmas nudges ever closer, if we can get a LOT more
supporters of the scheme, the online shopping side of the fundraising should take off.
The more we raise in this way, the less likely it is that we need to increase fees in 2013.
Moreover, it was from fundraising money that we brought guest coaches to the club in late2011 – wouldn’t it be great to get Michael Jamieson back and show us his Olympic medal – it
needs money to do so, and that isn’t covered in the monthly fees. We need YOU!
PLEASE SIGN UP ON EASYFUNDRAISING
AS A SUPPORTER OF WSMSC
(the 1, 2, 3 guide to doing this follows on the next page)
No news yet on the applications to Waitrose and Asda to be one of the good causes
selected to share a monthly pot. Hopefully, we’ll be chosen.
Luke Puchalski has recently completed his Level 2 swim teaching course, funded directly by
AMEY PLC (the £680 saved by the club will not show in the club’s accounts) to whom
WSMSC is extremely grateful.
The funding application submitted to the Go! Kids Go! Grant scheme, co-ordinated by The
Lions Club of Weston-Super-Mare and Weston Mercury, was unfortunately unsuccessful.
The Michael Jamieson GB swimming hat competition raised £20 for club funds.
WSMSC gets a 10% kick-back on purchases made through Swimshop.co.uk – provided you
go via the click-on link on the WSMSC website.
To repeat what I have said previously, our basic mantra has to be the more painless
fundraising we can do the better. Easyfundraising is the epitomy of this - please sign up.
Fundraising – the EASY way
A full version of how to sign up for easyfundraising and some Q&As were included in
Newsletter 4 (available on the club website), so here is the bite-size version. I have spoken to
parents and grandparents who are not into computers and they have done it without any
problems. Please do sign up by following these simple stages:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Visit easyfundraising.org.uk
Search the ‘Find a Cause’ (top of page on menu bar under easyfundraising logo)
Input ‘Weston-Super-Mare Swimming Club’ as your cause
Click Search. You’ll then see a page that says “Weston-Super-Mare Swimming Club
supporters raised £xxxx with easyfundraising & easysearch!” and then asks you Would you like to raise money for Weston-Super-Mare Swimming Club every time you
shop online?
5) Click, YES! Sign me up.
6) You will then need to provide your name, email address and set up a password.
7) Then click on the green Free 50p Donation (see below) to install Find & Remind (this
pastes the easyfundraising logo into your toolbar as shown), to remind you to log in to
this. For every installation, WSMSC gets 50p. Multiply that by all the over-18s
connected with the club, and the £ signs are lighting up.
This is for starters – it will remind you to log in to easyfundraising when you go onto your PC
each time. Now for the real money-spinners – searching online and shopping online.
(1) Searching online
Every time any one of us searches via the charity search engine easysearch (provided
we’ve logged in to our easy account) and then clicks on one of the websites that the
search engine throws up, WSMSC will get 0.5 pence. It doesn’t sound a lot, but consider
this. If we can increase from 20 supporters to 100 and on average those 100 supporters
conduct about 3 searches a day, each will generate £5 a year = £500 total for the year (some
of us do massive of searches and can generate £1 a week), but this is easy money – doing
what you normally do, but using easysearch to help OUR club instead of google.
Individually, 0.5 pence doesn’t seem significant, but
collectively, they can add up to be huge for WSMSC.
I hope you can see how we can achieve amazing things together. The beauty of this is that it
is effortless, doesn’t cost anything, yet can be a huge source of ongoing income to WSMSC.
How do I carry out a search? Click on ‘login’ on the toolbar of your browser. You will
then be able to enter your email address and password and click ‘login’. You’ll then be
greeted by a page that states along the top “Hi XXX, you're supporting Weston-SuperMare Swimming Club. You've raised £XXX.” If you now click on this, you’ll be taken to the
page that shows our cause. It will be headed Weston-Super-Mare Swimming Club supporters
raised £XXX with easyfundraising & easysearch! Here you can view how much we have
raised and from which sources (shopping, searching) and also see how many followers we
have. You can also click on the second green pound shape and click on
http://wsmsc.easysearch.org.uk/
Now enter your search term in the box, click search, then once you have your results, get
visiting websites to complete the search and bring the money into the club.
(2) Shopping online
You can shop with over 2,000 well known stores and each will donate up to 15% of what
you spend. For example, John Lewis will donate 2.5%, Amazon 2.5%, The Body Shop 10%,
Sainsburys 3%, Asda Direct 3.5%, National Trust 10%, some insurance retailers will even
donate up to £30 simply for taking out a policy with them!
The great thing is it won't cost you any more, plus there are lots of voucher codes and
special discounts that can actually save money while you help your good cause. There is
no cost for the good cause either – the service is totally free.
How to generate donations - It's very simple - once you've registered with easyfundraising,
when you shop with one of their retailers (look at the menu on the easyfundraising.org.uk site
and click on retailers), the easyfundraising system makes a note of your purchase, collects
the donation from the retailer and passes it to your chosen good cause. That's it! You just
shop as your normally would (How does the retailer know who to pay? Every member
who registers is automatically allocated a 'UID' - Unique ID Number which is passed to
retailers when you visit them. If you make a purchase, this UID Number is returned back to
easyfundraising to tie the donation to you and your cause).
General nutrition for competitive swimmers
If you’re a Competitive swimmer, you will already be aware of the importance your diet plays
on your performance in the pool. But assuming you’re a healthy eater, read on for information
on how you can tune your eating habits to boost your swimming performance. Nutritional
needs change depending on whether you are in training or about to enter a competition. If you
want to know what you should be eating the day before and during competition then read the
next article. But if it is general tips you want on fine tuning your eating habits to perform better
then here is some advice from the experts at the ASA.
Exercise Meals
If you’re planning to go swimming or training later in the day try to eat an exercise-friendly
meal two and three hours before you go. This means keeping your carbohydrate and protein
levels high on roughly a 60:40 ratio and don’t pig out on sluggish unsaturated fats. Here are
some good examples:
 Baked potatoes – fill them with beans, sweet corn or chilli, not too much cheese, and
remember to eat the skin, it’s the healthiest bit!.
 Pasta meals or bakes – again go light on the cheese, throw in plenty of vegetables.
Tuna is also a great energy source.
 Beans on toast – they may be the signature of a student’s staple diet but low-sugar
baked beans are actually really good for you. Bags of protein in the beans and
wholemeal toast has your complex carbohydrates. And if beans aren’t your thing, eggs
will do a similar job.
 Chilli con carne – beans, lean mince, and brown rice all should set you up perfectly for
exercise in a few hours. Fatty, greasy mince, white rice and salty tortilla chips will not.
Pre-training Snacks
 Unless you’re trying to lose body fat don’t train on an empty stomach, you’ll be running
on empty and your performance will be impaired. Eat a small meal or snack between
one and two hours before you start your training.
 Great snacking foods are fruits (fresh is best but dried are still okay), energy foods
(cereal bars, energy drinks, protein shakes), yogurt (low fat if possible) or whole grain
foods (whole wheat cereal or wholemeal toast).
Snacking During the Day
 Elite athletes keep their blood sugar level as constant as possible by snacking
regularly (and healthily) during the day.
 Only do this if you’re training enough not to add body weight from the increased
food/calorie intake.
 Target the same snacks you would as a pre-training boost – complex carbohydrates,
fruits or protein shakes.
Refuelling
 If you’re putting in the metres in the pool, your body will need a boost when you finish
your training.
 Always try to refuel within 30 minutes of finishing and preferably within 15 minutes –
your body immediately needs nutrients to repair muscles and replace energy.
 Make sure you’re refuelling with the ‘right’ foods though – something low in fat but high
in carbohydrates and protein.
Disqualification - and how to avoid it
Most swimmers get disqualified at some point in their swimming career. Often young
swimmers and their parents are unsure of the disqualification rules. Here is a list of the
most common reasons for disqualifications:
DQs at the start
Moving at the start. After the starter has said “take your marks” swimmers must remain
absolutely still on the block or in the water, until the starting signal has sounded. This includes
fiddling with goggles. Get into the habit of looking at the water (or wall on backstroke) NOT
the starter.
Swimmers should not leave the water at the end of a race until authorised by the Referee. If
time pads are being used, swimmers must not climb out over them, but progress under the
lane rope(s) and exit at the side of the pool. Swimmers must ensure they do not impede any
swimmer in a race (as may occur in a relay) as this will be a disqualification.
Freestyle
the finish of the race.
– The swimmer must surface at or before 15m.
– The swimmer must touch the wall with some part of the body.
s will be disqualified if they take or step/walk on the bottom of the pool, although
they can stop and stand still if necessary.
Any stroke can be swum, generally it is front crawl
Backstroke
– Feet or toes must not curl over any gutter
t & Turn – The swimmer must surface at or before 15m, and some part of the body
must break the surface throughout the race (until the next turn or finish).
– Must remain on the back throughout the swim (shoulders must not go
beyond vertical), except when executing a turn.
A
continuous single or continuous simultaneous double arm pull may be used to initiate the turn.
– here the swimmer rolls onto the front, takes one stroke then the arms
pull them into the turn. There must be no kicking once the arm pull has been completed, and
no gliding. This turn must be continuous, and is frequently the reason for disqualification in
backstroke.
pushing off on the side.
and at the finish and NOT look for the wall.
Finish – Must be on the back, not having the shoulders past vertical (onto the front).
Breaststroke
 Incorrect start or incorrect turn. After the start and after each turn, the swimmer may take
one arm stroke completely back to their legs. Their head must break the surface of the
water before their hands turn inwards at the widest part of their second stroke. A single
downward dolphin kick is permitted followed by one breaststroke leg kick while totally
underwater.
 Turn and finish – both hands must touch together.
– the swimmer must remain on the breast.
, swimmers must touch the wall at the turn and the finish with both hands
simultaneously.
- The feet must be turned outwards during the propulsive phase of the
kick.
- No alternating, scissor or butterfly kicking is permitted.
Butterfly
the race.
neously.
(no alternating kick).
simultaneously.
Individual Medley
Order of swimming - butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle.
– 2 handed touch, backstroke –
on the back, breaststroke – 2 handed touch.
backstroke to breaststroke turn, must touch on
back and then rotate over onto front.
Relays – In general
– These are as per the rules of each stroke.
– The incoming swimmer must touch the wall before the outgoing swimmer’s
feet have left the block. There may be movement on the block, but the feet must not leave
before the touch.
– Must be in the correct stroke order – Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly,
Freestyle. Freestyle means any stroke, except Backstroke, Breaststroke or Butterfly.
And thank your lucky stars that I didn’t quote word for word the 50 page Judge 1 Workbook
on the rules of swimming!!!!
Weston-Super-Mare Swimming Club gratefully
acknowledges each of the businesses that are powering
us in 2012. Thank you!
Please support our sponsors.
OUR SPONSORS NEED
If you would be interested in discussing sponsorship of the
club, be it web advertising, Easter Open Meet/Novice
Gala sponsorship, or shirt sponsorship, please email me:
m.anderson@weston-super-mare-swimming-club.co.uk
Be sure to read all the latest news and results from WestonSuper-Mare Swimming Club on the web pages of the
Weston & Somerset Mercury
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MASTERS SWIMMING
Monday night (8.00 - 9.30 pm) masters swimming has started at HM (on a trial basis initially).
Two weeks and very promising signs so far. Look for updates on the HM notice board and in
the next newsletter.
Deadline for the next issue – 31st Dec
The next issue will carry reports on the latest meets, National League, polo matches, LTS,
committee news. Other ideas? Articles, stories, jokes, clips on swimming/polo, photos??????
Please either leave material in the Club Suggestion Box or preferably email me
(m.anderson@weston-super-mare-swimming-club.co.uk) using WSMSC Newsletter in the
Subject Line. Many thanks.
Thanks to Rachel (for the report on Nationals), Zara (report on LTS) and Mike (polo report) for
their contributions to this issue.
http://www.weston-super-mare-swimming-club.co.uk