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15 Bristol Henleaze swimmers attended the above open meet over the weekend of July 14/15th.
Before I go on to this weekend I need to cover another event that took place concurrently with the WC sprints and was omitted.
Marcus Gardiner had one final attempt at attaining his National Qualifying time (NQT) at The Cardiff International Open meet NQT's are a major goal for many swimmers with a target time 1:10.13 and his then current PB of 1:12.75 a big ask but not an impossible one. In his heat he swam a 1:11.45 making the final – a good PB at this level and half way there! We then used the 50 breast as a 'keep yourself focus' and to pace the 1st 50 for the 100m final with a respectable 33.24. Marcus slipped on the block in the finals and his opportunity had gone (take a towel next time). In the final of the 50 Marcus performed well with a 33.17 and whilst not erasing the disappointment of the final was a positive. All this coaching taking place with the wonders of the smart phone. The 100 breast has a dual age group and so Marcus will be in the same age group next year. OK the NQT may reduce but it will certainly be within your compass. Keep up all the hard work – sorry: time to start the hard work.
As regular readers know I always try and put some humour in these reports and some even passes the redactor’s pen. I don’t have to try too hard on this occasion as we were presented with a classic: I will tell the tale through this report.
This open meet was set at level 3, open to all swimmers – including disability swimmers of which there were a few- at this level there are cut off times so entry is restricted to those who were below that entry criteria. If a swimmer exceeds the parameters in their race they are disqualified and presented with 'Speeding Tickets'.
Thanks to Hilary, Bristol Henleaze had a prime position in line with the start/finish.
Bristol Henleaze had 15 swimmers at this event all achieved improvements in their PB's
Rebecca Wheatcroft. We have always known Rebecca had talent. This young lady is starting to realise her potential with some great PB's. Although only there for for the first session, two fantastic PB's. Taking 17.5 s and 10 s off her 200free and 100back times respectively. Both Richard and I have always recognised this young lady's potential. Let’s hope she starts to believe in it herself and use it a catalyst for future improvements and motivation in the training pool.
Maddie Nairn. Well done Maddie! Some great swims, as with Rebecca lots of potential, but you always appeared to not have that competitive edge, that spark! Well this weekend saw a different Maddie: you wanted it! 8 swims 8 PB's Taking 10s off her 200 Breast and almost 12 from her 400 free. In the breast for example, we talked about tactics and whilst not perfect in this respect she grasped the concept and had a good attempt, next time will be better and a better time! And the stroke looked good too. Well done Maddie I am sure this weekend has had a definite positive effect on your self belief. And what is good is that will carry over into other aspects of your life. Well done!
Curtis O'Connor managed 3 PB's out of the 5 he swam. 9.5s off his 400 free was the highlight. Pity he was injured and unable to swim on the Sunday. Curtis you have come along really well this year. Let’s use that as a platform to continue that progress. Let’s not take our eye off our goals and let the achievement of a WC qualification be the pinnacle of our swimming journey.
Alice Russell. A lot of respect for this young lady - she came to the club’s rescue, when many declined and swam the National League, a big increment up for us. Anyway a fantastic PB in the 100 free of almost 14sec: just need to get our head around these tumble turns and I am sure the PB's will come a tumbling.
Charlie Stokes. Well Charlie. So much potential! 5 events 4 PB's (if one includes the DQ for incorrect turn!) 17 + s PB in the 200 free (1st) and Breaststroke (would have been 1st) fantastic but all that effort wasted in the breast by the turns!! Charlie also took 7.7 s off his 100 back (3rd). Great progress, but there is still a long way to go: which is positive Charlie!!
Holly Tanner. The Mona Lisa of BH - the girl with the enigmatic smile!
Holly has been recovering from illness – almost 3 months now- and this open meet demonstrated that she is well on the way to recovery, PB'ing in the 200 (2nd) and 400 IM (3rd). The longer of the two events was pleasing with a 1.3s PB, I told her to go out hard and fight to hold on which she did! Came out of the pool looking tired but pleased with herself. Have a great holiday Holly: come back nice and refreshed. And keep smiling!!
Oscar Waugh and I get problems with the mispronunciation of my surname. LOL. I thought the weekend was the most positive experience (from a competitive perspective) that you have had. 11 events (probably a few too many) and 9 PB's. My impression was that for the first time you have shown some maturity in your swimming. I was really pleased with not only your effort but the way you approached each race. We just need to carry that through into the training pool and this weekend will be the first of many positive experiences for you.
Grace Caple. As always 'amazin' 3 races 3 PB's the highlights were 4.7 s and 11.8 s in the 50and 100 fly respectively!! Keep up the good work. As we discussed I am sure we can get below 40 for the 50 fly. Well done!!
Dan 'the man' Hibbard. 5 events 4 PB's a 3rd spot in the 200fly with 18.6 s taken of his 200 back and 11.5s off his 400 free. Well done. Just like to say a few words about Dan ( I hope he, mum and dad don’t mind) Dan has been with the club a long time and has never been one of the obvious stars but he has persevered: never any trouble and now, through his hard work and application, is beginning to come through. As a coach (and most do) it is easy to get wrapped up with the 'stars', but for me there is just as much satisfaction gained from being part of a young person’s progress gained through hard work. Keep going Dan
Molly Huckle:7 races 5 PB's can’t be a bad weekends work- a couple of silver medals!! 8 s off her 200back and 7s off her 200 free. As girls get beyond 13, PB's became harder -and in some cases stop altogether but in Molly's case we have some way to go before that occurs.
Sam Marshall. Sam is beginning to come through as a potentially great swimmer! He is growing and this sometimes can negatively affect progress and I think it has: as although he secured 5PB's from 7 events he, technically has progressed so much more than his times suggest. There are some great swims to come from Sam! Saying that, there was not an insignificant 4.3s off his 50 fly (fly and breast are where technical improvements can result in rapid progress). He won 2 golds a silver and a bronze and 3 4th places. Well done.
Sam Youngman. Took 1st spot in the 50back and took 3.5s off his 100free, he unfortunately DQ on his 200fly which was otherwise well swum. Since I first saw Sam swim I felt there was a talent there. We are going to persevere until that is realised. His brother Matthew found the whole experience a little daunting. Matthew, enjoy the club champs and let’s progress from there.
Matt Eskell. 4 races 3 PB's and some good ones too - some excellent swimming. 25s from the 200Fly!! and 11s from the 400IM sounds impressive and yes they are BUT on both occasions he went out too fast and paid the price later. Difficult I know to get that fly pace correct – it is not an easy stroke to swim slowly!! But you have two choices Matt either learn or get yourself fitter!!, especially the lactate tolerance stuff. Tough I know, but I also know you appreciate the utility, the satisfaction of achieving the tasks set in the training pool and topping it off with a good race.
Good luck at the Welsh Nationals mate
Oh the humour, I nearly forgot: Yeah right. As said disability swimmers included, over top starts, which means races are started whilst the previous heat are still in the water, only leaving when the next heat was underway. Anyway, lady’s 50free the next heat started swimmers decant from the pool and leave the area. Only on this occasion one young lady was sat on the pool edge obstructing the view somewhat of the finish judge who quickly remonstrated with this young lady that she couldn’t sit there. And then - the timing couldn’t have been better - the aforementioned lady’s friend turned up with her prosthetic leg in her hand. Then someone shouted to the judge something about them 'feeling good about that one'..... there were tears of laughter. And who was that judge.......?
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