On Saturday 2nd February, the B team competed at the Redditch ‘B’ diddy gala. As this was the B team’s only opportunity to practice before this year’s Nuneaton & Junior league begins I chose not to swim anyone out of stroke, despite the gala being held under timed conditions with speeding tickets to those swimmers who were too fast.
Firstly, welcome to our new nine year old competitors this year, joining us on this occasion were; Ethan Screen, Michael Sedgley, Alex Westlake, Sophie Donaldson, Alicia Watton and Jessica Scott. All these swimmers did brilliantly and seemed to enjoy their evening of swimming!
Unfortunately we were short of nine year old boys on the night, which meant that the nine year old boys’ relays had to include some overage swimmers. This had to be declared and we therefore received no points in those events. In addition to this, we received 6 disqualifications, three of which were for moving on the blocks!! All swimmers know that once the starter has said “take your marks” you must stay perfectly still; we will practice this in training!
As no swimmers were competing out of stroke, we fully expected some speeding tickets, and the team didn’t disappoint! The following competitors received speeding tickets; Rosie Buswell (50m freestyle & breaststroke), David Birnie (50m freestyle), Sam Donaldson (50m backstroke), Megan Dudley (50m butterfly, 11s & 12s), Jarryd Aston-Baugh (50m butterfly & freestyle), Phillipa Watton (50m breaststroke), Emily Sheppard (50m freestyle), Michael Sedgley (25m freestyle & backstroke), Becky Bradley (50m breaststroke), Kay Bennett (50m freestyle), Adam Fisher (50m freestyle).
First place went to Ethan Screen (25m breaststroke) and Eva Cook (50m backstroke), as well as the girls 11/u medley and freestyle relay teams (Eva Cook, Becky Bradley, Megan Dudley, Kay Bennett and Emily Bennett).
A good evening of swimming, well done and thank you to all those who competed. As usual thank you to my poolside team, Toni, Pete, Dean, Glyn and Charlotte.
May I take this opportunity to remind experienced parents, and inform new parents, of some of our poolside ground rules (these apply to both teams and swimmers of all ages):
Swimmers must ask permission from the team manager before visiting the toilet/showers/parents. Swimmers must be wearing an “S” hat and an SSC t-shirt. Please visit the club shop if you don’t own one yet. PSPs and Nintendo DS’ are BANNED from the poolside. They are at great risk of being damaged so close to a swimming pool and they do not promote a good team atmosphere, all swimmers should be supporting their peers. If any swimmer is found to be using one on the poolside they will be asked to return it to their parents. Swimmers may only drink energy drinks/water/squash/fruit juice on poolside. NO FIZZY DRINKS e.g. coke/lemonade. Swimmers should eat a meal at least two hours before the start of the gala, any closer and they risk suffering stomach cramps. Swimmers will need some food during the gala but only to provide a quick release of energy, this does not include chocolate/crisps/sandwiches. If you would like some advice on suitable poolside snacks please speak to a coach or team manager.
Thank you to parents for your support in these matters, any queries please speak to me or Jason.
REDDITCH DIDDY GALA