HALESOWEN THE VENUE. 

STOURBRIDGE TO HOST. 

It just could not be better could it?

Yes it can.  A simply stunning performance from the entire team.  For those parents that were present you will know what I am talking about.  For those of you that were not, you missed an outstanding performance. 

The opposition was not as strong as it can be but let's not forget what tough opposition we came up against in last year's Speedo League. 

Only six swimmers from each age group required.  Three lads and three lasses.  The age groups 11 and under, 13 and under, 15 and under and Open.  24  swimmers required we were to use 26 this time. 

The teams:  Wyre Forest, Oldbury, Stourbridge, Pershore, Perry Beeches SSS (B) and Redditch - this was the lane order too.  Stewart made the Lane draw as I never pick a good one, so that was a great start.  Of course I will not hear the end of this and as  Stew would say "BACK OF THE NET!"

Let's see how many of his lines I can use in this report. 

Event 1 - 11u Medley relay:  Sophie, Joe, Fran, Tom, Ellie and Sam.  Outstanding swims from all six and a fine start win number one and 6 points.  This is a great young team and very easily picked event too they will take some beating in future rounds. 

Event 2 - Girls 15u Freestyle:  Becky Evans our swimmer in this one and a clear winner too by some 2 seconds and there was some left just in case too but she knew she had another individual that night and sensibly did just enough. 

Event 3 - Boys 15u Freestyle:  Harry Lord taking a stroll in this one too, winning by over 4 seconds and not even trying.  Excellent sensible swim as he too would swim again later. 

Event 4 - Girls 13u Backstroke:  Lisa Henderson swimming her second stroke with a fine win again for us by over 2 seconds.  Again Lisa eased off as she destroyed the opposition early on and would also be swimming her favourite event later. 

Event 5 - Boys 13u Backstroke:  Sam Rowbotham our swimmer in this and after being at the Brierley Hill Open all day arrived in time for warm up.  Not only had he made it time he had made some Finals at the Open but pulled out of them to swim for his Club.  Now that's commitment.  A clear winner too by 4 seconds and taking it easy as well. 

Event 6 - Girls Open Fly:  Sophie Lord did this one for us.  She very rarely does and so this was an even better win.  Thanks Sophie I know it was not your favourite but that made it six wins on the trot. 

Event 7 - Mens Open Fly:  Tom Burchell came up against a tough swimmer here and was the first of our swimmers not to win.  A fine 2nd  and I am glad it was Tom that was the first not to win as it took the pressure off our younger swimmers.  I know he was not happy but I am sure he will win next time.  "How bizarre" whoops there's another. 

Event 8 - Girls 11u Free:  its another Lord, my little mate Ellie Lord.  2nd place for Ellie and what a kick too goggles came off and probably stopped her from winning just touched out.  Unlucky. 

Event 9 - Boys 11u Free:  Sam Tromans back at his normal stroke for the team and yet another fine win and another 6 points. 

Event 10 - 15U Medley:  Zoe, Adam, Charlotte, Luke, Becky and Harry winners by over 12 seconds what can I say about this.  Awesome will do. 

At quarter way 58pts out of a possible 60pts.  Nearly perfect and our best performance so far to date. 

Event 11 - Girls 13u Fly: Grace Rollason our swimmer and a fine swim too.  2nd place for Grace and a great time. 

Event 12 - Boys 13u Fly:  Alex Thom  a clear winner here by over 6 seconds in one of his favourite events.  Not a bad time too. 

Event 13 - Girls Open Back:  Sarah Hendy a late substitute here and a little nervous.  I have no idea why a superb swim and yet another win by over 9 seconds not bad for our normal B team Backstroke swimmer.  Thanks Sarah and well done. 

Event 14 - Mens Open Back:  James Nock another six points and a fine performance from one of our regular swimmers. 

Event 15 - 11u Girls Back:  Sophie Page yet another win but with the same time as lane 1 a fine finish just got the touch.  That's OK though. 

Event 16 - 11u Boys Back:   Tom Asprey yes that right another win and another six points but they all count and Tom swam out of his trunks here and was not happy that the swimmer in lane 1 was still with him at halfway.  Tom actually looked at lane one for quite some time it was like slow motion and made Stew and I laugh.  It is not wise to do this as you all know but it was really funny.

Event 17 - 15u girls Fly:  2nd swim for Becky and a 2nd win too by over 6 seconds what would I do if Lauren could swim.  While I think about it poor old Becky is always the one I have to drop when Lauren is available and what a fine swimmer she is when she gets the chance.  Thanks Becky for your effort. 

Event 18 - 15u Boys Fly:  Harry Lord not to be outdone by Becky swimming identical events another win by nearly 10 seconds unreal. 

Event 19 - 13u Girls Breast:  Lisa in her favourite event and her 2nd swim a fine 2nd place and her best time for a while. 

Event 20 - 13u Boys Breast:  Mirror swimmers again here with Sam in his 2nd event and yet another win. 

Halfway point and the points total is awesome 116 pts out of a possible 120pts "HOW RUDE"

I need to change the format now as this is going to take all night to write. 

21 Open Medley: Sarah, Phil (debut), Sophie, Tom, Laura and Adam.  Another win

22 11u Girls Fly: Hayley good effort and a fought 2nd place. 

23 11u Boys Fly: Tom Looking forward all the way this time an easy win by over 2 seconds. 

24 15u Girls Breast:  Charlotte looking back at her best a fine win and not a bad time too. 

25 15u Boys Breast:  Adam Cox gets my award for swimmer of the night.  A stunning swim from this lad and it looked as if he had been well beaten by length 2.  Again it was slow motion for me Adam appeared to be well beaten into third place but I am sure he thought otherwise he pulled an amazing 5m back in one length and managed a hard fought 2nd place.  "BACK OF THE NET"

26 13U Medley Relay:  Lisa, Sam, Grace, Alex, Sarah and Ste who had thought I had forgot him, (no way) I was saving him.  Another demolition of the other teams winning by  over 6 seconds. 

27 and 28 Open Free: Laura and Adam the swimmers Ist and 2nd places with great start as usual from Laura and stunning power from Adam. 

29 and 30 11u Breast:  Fran and Joe 2nd and 1st for this pair too.  Its looking very good for the last quarter. 

Points total 172 out of 180 and a lead of 49 from Wyre Forest. 

31 and 32 15u Back: Zoe and Luke - both winners - Luke with a win by over 10 seconds and Zoe by 4

33 and 34 13u Free: Sarah and Stephen another double here with Sarah winning by a whisker and Ste by 3 seconds. 

35 and 36 Open Breast: Sophie and Phil.  1st and 3rd.  Sophie as graceful and powerful as always and a little tired Phil hurt himself here after swimming his best time for a while in the morning. 

37 11u Free Relay: Hayley, Sam, Ellie, Joe, Fran and Tom win again by 7 seconds. 

38 and 39 15u/13u Free Relay: Now I hope everyone noticed what happened here.  I made a mistake on the team sheet and mixed the 13s with the 15s.  I wrote all the 13s in the space and all 15s in event 39.  However I noticed this before the gala began and informed everyone to be aware and just swap event 38 and 39 around.  I sent everyone down and the lads new what was going on because they were in the right race.  There was a mix up with the girls as Bridget had her thumb over my arrow on the team sheet and put the 13s on the blocks.  By the time I noticed it was to late and I had to make them swim again straight after in their own event.  It made little or no difference to the outcome as they won both so well done to the three girls and I am sorry to the 15s who had to step aside as they can not swim as 13s. 

Final event Open Relay.  Yes another win by over 5 seconds. 

What a night.

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THE HELP ON POOLSIDE AND BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE RUNNING OF THIS EVENT.  A TRULY WONDERFUL TEAM PERFORMANCE.  ROLL ON THE NEXT ROUND.