Last weekend saw Swindon Swim Squad embark upon their first season of competing in the National Swimming League (formerly Speedo League). One of the reasons for the formation of the Squad was to capitalise on the depth of age group swimmers within the borough. The combined Swindon clubs were able to form two teams from the swimmers available with the A team competing in the premier division and the B team obliged to start in division 3.
The depth of swimmer quality across the squad was most noticeable in the B Team gala at Barry where they finished an incredible 100 points clear of second place Brockworth. With 37 first places in the 50 event gala, this was the highest ever winning margin on record in the division. All the more satisfying was winning all but two of the 16 relays. Top points contributors, all with two individual wins and two relay wins were Beth Preston, Jacob Roberts, Joe Kerslake, Lauren Jones and Victoria Jennings.
The A team started their campaign at Littledown competing against, amongst others, the might of Plymouth Leander who were in front from the outset and won the gala by a healthy margin. Bournemouth have clearly also upped their game in recent years and produced some magnificent performances to finish a strong second with Swindon having to settle for third place. However, it was not all plain sailing for the two south coast clubs with the Sx3 open boys dominating their category with wins from Alex Jones (200m IM), Chris Jones (100 breaststroke), Jon Audis (100 backstroke) and Andi Manley (100m freestyle). The only other individual victor was Niall Westman in the boys 11/U 50m breaststroke who also helped his medley relay team to the squad’s sixth and final win of the night. There were several promising second places, most noticeably in the boys and girls open medley teams and the boys 11/U freestyle relay.
Sx3 A Team at Littledown, Bournemouth
Both teams showed tremendous team spirit throughout the evening, with all swimmers keen to encourage their team-mates against, in many instances, some extremely tough opposition. Round 2 of the league takes place on 8th November.
Final points:
Premier Division – Plymouth Leander A – 274, Bournemouth A – 223, Swindon Swim Squad A – 189, Exeter City – 159, Bridgend – 127, Thornbury – 76
Division 3 – Swindon Swim Squad B – 233, Brockworth – 133, Lydney – 132, Barry – 126, Cirencester – 118
- The National Swimming League (formerly Speedo League) is a competition in which teams compete initially within their own region, each of which has two or more divisions. Sx3 compete in the Western Region with the A team in the premier division and the B team in division three. The teams compete within their own divisions across three rounds of competition with league points awarded at each stage depending on the final placing in each gala. Top teams from the Premier Divisions of each region are invited to the National Final at Ponds Forge, Sheffield.
