The start of the season for the Diddy Team, with a tough draw and a trip to Walsall, a 33.3m pool this was not going to be easy. 

Here's the team:
9Yrs - George Hammersley, James Stevenson, Stephen Cole, Josh Evans, Katie Jones, Emma Pay, Nat Dingley, Eva Cook.
10Yrs - Jake Knight, Callum Faulkner, Bradley Bridgewater, Lauren Sanders, Kimberley Yates, Emily Tiano, Phillipa Watton.
11Yrs - Tom Asprey, Joe Birnie, Sam Tromans, Elliot Barnbrook, Sophie Page, Hannah Williams, Beth Davies, Phoebe Cook.
12Yrs - Ant Parkes, Jake Seed, Matt Jones, Fran Pinchin, Ellie Lord, Hayley Davies Moore, Becky Cole.

Event 1 and 2 Phillipa and Callum, both 5th places but a great effort.  Well done.
Event 3 and 4 Katie and Josh, 3rd and 2nd Thanks to Josh who has broken his finger but still was willing to swim.
Event 5 and 6 11's Medley Relay, both 4th places well done to both teams, a great effort.
Event 7 and 8 Becky and Ant, 5th and 2nd with Ant just touched out.  Unlucky.
Event 9 and 10 Emily and Jake, 2nd and the first win of the night went to Jake.  Well done to you.
Event 11 and 12 9's Medley Relay, 2nd to the girls however the lads got disqualified for a faulty takeover.  Watch these takeovers this cost us 4 pts.  Well done to the girls.
Event 13 and 14 11's Freestyle Relay, 3rd and 4th both with identical times.  Well Done to all.
Event 15 and 16 Fran and Ant, 4th and 1st well done.
Event 17 and 18 10's Medley Relay 4th and 2nd with George swimming up an age group.  Well done to both teams.
Event 19 and 20 Sophie and Tom, 1st and 2nd both excellent swims, well done.
Event 21 and 22 9's Freestyle Relay 3rd for the lads but the girls got disqualified for another faulty takeover.  Yet again this cost us 5 points.  I was a little disappointed for them as they were previously unbeaten.  Be careful girls.
Event 23 and 24 Ellie and Matt, 5th and 6th Well Done but very tough competition.
Event 25 and 26 10's Freestyle Relay, 4th and 5th excellent swims from both teams again George swimming up.
Event 27 and 28 Beth and Tom, 3rd and 2nd Tom was just touched out but well done to both swimmers.

Points at the half way stage were as follows:
Leicester        138
Haden Hill       126
Walsall            116
Stourbridge     110
Orion                98
Bromsgrove       71  

Very close between 3rd (Walsall) and 4th (Stourbridge). 

Event 29 and 30 Katie and George, both 2nd places fantastic swims from the younger team members.
Event 31 and 32 Hayley and Jake, 4th and 6th great effort from both swimmers.
Event 33 The girls 8x1 relay 1st place well done to the girls.
Event 34 and 35 Callum and Lauren, 5th and 3rd great swims with 3 seconds separating the top three in Lauren's race.
Event 36 and 37 James and Emma, 6th and 3rd well done to both swimmers.
Event 38 and 39 12's Freestyle Relay 6th and 4th with Tom swimming up for the lads.
Event 40 and 41 Joe and Phoebe, 2nd and 5th great swims but Joe was just touched out.
Event 42 The boys 8x1 relay 3rd place can do better next time.
Event 43 and 44 Kim and Jake, 5th and 2nd.  Good swims from both swimmers.
Event 45 and 46 Eva and George, both 3rd places well done.
Event 47 and 48 Sophie and Sam, 1st and 4th well done Sophie and Sam was just touched out of 3rd.
Event 49 and 50 12's Medley relay, 2nd and 5th with Tom swimming up for the boys again.

It had been a great night and the atmosphere was electric for the finale, I was very confident that we could win the final race.  Some swimmers had been very busy swimming in their own age group and others, I must mention George who swam extremely well in all of his 8 races, well done to Tom who helped out in the 12's.

Event 51 The big one.  Katie in first getting us a lead followed by George, Lauren, Jake, Sophie, Sam, Fran and finally Ant.  We won the cannon but unfortunately not the gala.   

 Final Points:

1^st   Leicester Penguins           222 points

2^nd  Haden Hill                       208 points

3^rd   Stourbridge A                  179 points

4^th   Walsall                            176 points

5^th   Orion                              160 points

6^th   Bromsgrove                     111 points

Thank you to everyone who helped me on the side of the pool: Suzanne, Sue, Marc, Bridgette and Steve.  THANK YOU TO ALL THE SWIMMERS AS WELL.

A special mention to my son Al for all his help on poolside, so that I could concentrate on any adjustments that would have to be made ready for Round 2.  He ran the complete gala with the help of Suzanne.   Thanks Very Much, I'm sure that it will cost me something.

Jason

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