2009 Reports
National League Round 3, Nuneaton - Saturday 12th December
Swimmers from Halesowen Swimming Club travelled to Nuneaton to take part in Round three of the National League. This time the club were competing with some different teams from the previous rounds and the team were keen to break the pattern of third place achieved in the previous two rounds. From the start the team showed determination as they finished in the top three along with Nuneaton and Bedworth. Gradually as gala progressed and Halesowen swimmers continued to succeed, they began to pull away from Nuneaton and Bedworth ending the gala comfortably in first place.
Winners of both their individual events were Leanne Taylor in the Individual Medley and Backstroke, Jack Slattery in the Breaststroke and Freestyle and Chloe Robbins in the Backstroke and Freestyle. Brittany Horton in the Backstroke, Hannah Cuthbert in the Butterfly, Chloe Bate and Marc Collett in the Breaststroke and Chloe Finch and Isobel Breslin also came first. The relay teams were phenomenal with Halesowen Swimming club winning over half of the races. Double victories went to the 13 and 15 year old girls’ teams including Megan Willetts, Sian Carey, Lilian Parsons, Sarah Turton, Hayley Davis-Moore and Bethany Jackson, and the open teams inmcluding Louise Williams, Stephanie Hackett, Michael Edmonds, Richard Phillips, Matthew Cherry, Zach Collins, Jack Watts and Laurence Hickin. The thirteen year olds team including Ryan Davies, Nicholas Borghesi and Jacob Darby and the 9-11 year old girls team including Emma Baker were also first place winners.
Final scores were Halesowen 243.5, Nuneaton & Bedworth A 212.5, Leamington Spa 183, Walsall 147, Stratford Sharks 138, Solihull 123.
National League Round 2, Tamworth - Saturday 14th November
On Saturday November 14th swimmers from Halesowen Swimming Club took part in Round 2 of the National League held in Tamworth. The draw for the second round was almost identical to that of the first round meaning that Halesowen were once again faced with Leicester Penguins and Gloucester City. As in the first round, over half of Halesowen’s swimmers finished in the top three allowing the team to finish in third place.
Winning both their individual events were Jack Slattery in the Breaststroke and Freestyle and Chloe Bate in the Breaststroke and Butterfly. Also winning an individual event was Louise Williams in the Ladies Open Butterfly. Chloe Finch, Emma Baker, Isobel Barnsley and Brittany Horton aged 11 and under were unbeatable winning both the Freestyle and Medley Relay. Whilst Megan Willets, Sian Carey, Lilian Parsons and Isobel Breslin won the 13 year old Medley Relay.
Final scores were Leicester Penguins 246, Gloucester City A 227, Halesowen 190, Ledbury and District 150, Mansfield 116, Wyre Forest 116.
National League Round 1, Market Drayton - Saturday 10th October
Swimmers from Halesowen Swimming Club made the long trip to Market Drayton to take part in Round 1 of the National League on Saturday 10th October. The club were facing some excellent teams from across the Midlands, including Leicester Penguins and Gloucester City. With over half the swimmers finishing in the top three places throughout the evening, Halesowen ended the gala in a comfortable third place.
Double event winners were Jack Slattery in the Breaststroke and Freestyle and Chloe Bate in the Butterfly and Breaststroke. First places also went to Louise Williams in the 100 metre Butterfly, Michael Edmonds in the 100 metre Backstroke, Chloe Robbins in the 100 metre Freestyle and Chloe Finch in the 50 metre Freestyle. Winning the final race of the night were the team including Marc Collett, Jack Watts, Laurence Hickin, Matthew Cherry and Zach Collins in the Men’s Freestyle Relay.
Final scores were Leicester Penguins 231, Gloucester City A 214, Halesowen 198, Ledbury and District 155, Walsall 124 and Leamington Spa 124.
Braunstone Sports Trophy Gala, Braunstone - Saturday 26th September
On Saturday 26th September swimmers from Halesowen Swimming Club travelled to Leicester to compete in the Braunstone Sports Trophy Gala. Despite swimming some superb races, the team remained in third place throughout most of the evening. However, by the end all their efforts paid off as Halesowen climbed to second place behind Leicester Penguins.
Double event winners were Chloe Robbins in the Backstroke and Freestyle and Chloe Bate in the Butterfly and Breaststroke. Other individual winners were Jack Slattery in the Breaststroke, Hannah Cuthbert in the Butterfly, Michael Edmonds in the Backstroke and Chloe Finch in the Freestyle. The 13 year old relay team, Megan Willetts, Sian Carey, Lilian Parsons, Isobel Breslin and Sarah Turton won both the Medley and Freestyle relays. Harry Cowley, Sam Johnson, Aaron Smith and Kieran Rickards came first in the 15 year olds Freestyle Relay. Both Open teams including Alex Yashchik, Richard Phillips, Matthew Cherry, Zach Collins, Connor Carey, Laurence Hickin, Josie Evans, Hayley Bagley and Bethany Jackson finished the last two relay races in first place.
Final scores were Leicester Penguins 289, Halesowen 255, Braunstone A 246, Walsall A 204, Swadlincote 159, Coalville 145 and Braunstone B 89.
Nuneaton Junior League Division 1 Final, Wolverhampton - Saturday 12th September
Halesowen
Swimming Club reached the Final of the Nuneaton Junior League
Division 1 Final held at Wolverhampton Central Baths.
In the galas leading up to the final, the junior team had
shown determination and strength to hold off other clubs also
keen to attend this event. The final began with a parade of all
the teams in a variety of outfits and to resounding cheers from
their proud supporters. Then the hard work began.
After the first ten events, Halesowen were in fifth place and
remained there until
Ryan Davies
came second in the twelve year olds Breast and Backstroke.
Whilst Mark Laing came second in the nine year olds
Breaststroke. Piers Boyack, Jacob Darby and Nicholas Borghesi
also came second in the twelve year olds Boys Medley Relay.
Special
Mention also goes to Natasha Bird and Ryan Davies for being
super captains of the Junior Team.
Final scores
were Leicester Penguins 241, Northampton A 219, Boldmere A 218,
Nuneaton
and Bedworth 139, Halesowen 127 and
Mercian Summer League Round 3, Nuneaton - Saturday 11th July
Swimmers from Halesowen Swimming Club were thrilled to gain another League shield as they won the B Final of the Mercian Summer League on Saturday evening at the Pingles Leisure Centre in Nuneaton. The team had spent most of the evening in second place just behind Stratford Sharks and it looked like this would be the case at the end. However, the final eight events were relays which involved every swimmer who put every effort with all finishing in first or second place. This allowed Halesowen to slip easily passed Stratford Sharks taking first place and the shield to the delight of family and friends.
Individual event winners were Bethany Jackson in the Individual Medley, George Turton in the Backstroke, Matt Cherry in the Butterfly, Pria Rai and Emilijan Novakovic in the Freestyle and Andy Papworth in the Breaststroke. The 12 year old, 14 year old and open mens relay teams were unbeatable winning both the Freestyle and medley events. The teams included Daniel McComb, Piers Boyack, Jacob Darby, Jamie House, Daniel Johnson, Kieran Rickards, Connor Carey, Aaron Smith and Reid Piggott. Ten year olds George Davies, James Westwood, Mark Laing and Connor O’Grady, fourteen year olds Georgia Bird, Emily Homer and Kathryn Smithson, as well as Devon Collins and Roxanne Taylor representing the open team, all came first in the Freestyle relay.
Final scores were Halesowen 218, Stratford Sharks 215, Walsall 180, Bilston 157, Redditch 149 and Perry Beeches & SSS 123.
Nuneaton Junior League Round 2, Halesowen - Saturday 9th May
Junior swimmers from Halesowen Swimming Club had a tough draw in round 3 of the Nuneaton Junior league. As they met with other fine teams on Saturday evening, the club knew they had to finish in the top two positions to stand a chance of being in the Division 1 final. Right from the start the team were full of determination and, as the gala continued, it became clear that their hard work was paying off as Halesowen sat comfortably in second place. Halesowen were placed second throughout the gala and ended the gala firmly in the runners-up spot to achieve it’s aim of winning a place in the final to be held in September.
Double event winner was nine year old Mark Laing in the Breaststroke and Freestyle. Other swimmers finishing first were Megan Willetts and George Davies in the Backstroke and Brittany Horton in the Butterfly. Eleven year olds Ruby Fell, Chloe Bate and Chloe Finch were also placed first in the Medley Relay.
Final scores were Boldmere A 276, Halesowen 217, City of Coventry A 187, Chase 149, Coalville 118 and Orion 107.
Worcester County Inter-Club Relay Championships - Sunday 21st June
Swimmers from Halesowen Swimming Club travelled to Wolverhampton for the annual County Relay Championships on Sunday 21st July. The team were defending the trophies of overall team, top girls and top boys and tough competition was expected. The morning events proved to be very successful with the team winning six of the 10 Freestyle and Medley events and finishing second in two more with a disqualification taking away another victory. The team was well placed for the afternoon events and all swimmers excelled themselves again to take the the overall winning tally of wins to 9 and second places to six. The team only failed to finish in the top three places in three of the events. The competition was close for the girls trophy but with the team securing that trophy by four and-a-half points and the boys running out 10 point winners, Halesowen also went home with the top Club trophy - the first time the Club had defended all three titles in its history.
Final point scores were (top 3
teams):
Top Club: Halesowen 129,
Stourbridge 112.5, Worcester 96
Top Girls Teams: Halesowen 59,
Stourbridge 54.5,
Worcester 50
Top Boys Teams: Halesowen 70, Ledbury
60, Stourbridge 58
Mercian Summer League Round 2, Leamington Spa - Saturday 13th June
Members of Halesowen Swimming Club put in strong performances in the second round of the Mercian League at Leamington Spa on Saturday 13th June. From the start they chased at the heels of Leamington Spa staying just two points behind them right until the final third of the gala. Halesowen rarely finished their races in less than third place and they came close to finishing in second place. However, by the final ten races Solihull had crept up on the two leaders, finally taking first place and leaving Halesowen in clear third place.
Double event winners were Bethany Jackson in the Individual Medley and Butterfly and Andy Papworth in the Individual Medley and Breaststroke. Also finishing in first place were Piers Boyack in the Breaststroke, Chloe Bate in the Backstroke and Jacob Darby in the Freestyle. There first places for some of the relay teams too. Ten year olds, James Westwood, George Davies, James Benson and Connor O’Grady and twelve year olds Thomas Clarke and Jamie House represented the club in the Freestyle Relay teams. Whilst Emma Elwell, Ruby Fell, Brittany Horton and Isobel Bowers won the 10 year olds Medley Relay.
Final scores were Solihull 239, Leamington Spa 234, Halesowen 224, Boldmere 151, Fox Hollies 113 and Oldbury 81.
Nuneaton Junior League Round 2, Halesowen - Saturday 9th May
Junior swimmers from Halesowen Swimming Club put in phenomenal performances during round 2 of the Nuneaton Junior League held at their home pool on Saturday 9th May. The team showed they were ready for the challenge right from the start of the gala as Halesowen and Nuneaton kept exchanging first and second places. There were many races with some extremely close finishes but gradually Nuneaton and Bedworth A began to pull away at the front. Halesowen Swimming Club ended the evening in second place making coaches, parents and friends feeling very pleased and proud.
Megan Willetts was unbeatable in the 11 year olds Backstroke and Freestyle as well as the 12 year olds Backstroke. George Davies came first in the Freestyle and Backstroke as did Ryan Davies in the Backstroke and Breaststroke. First place also went to Mark Laing in the 10 year olds Butterfly. On top form were 9 year olds Zac Rollason, Thomas Reynolds and Jamie Greenwood and 12 year olds Jacob Darby, Jamie House, Nicholas Borghesi and Piers Boyack who won both the Freestyle and Medley relays. Winning the Freestyle relay were 10 year olds Emma Baker, Ruby Fell, Brittany Horton and Isobel Barnsley.
Final points scores were Nuneaton & Bedworth A 235, Halesowen 222, Solihull A 175, Chase 175, Braunstone 144 and Perry Beeches & SSS A 107 (Solihull 13 x 2nd places, Chase 8 x 2nd places)
Mercian Summer League Round 1, Tamworth - Saturday 2nd May
Swimmers from Halesowen travelled to Tamworth on Saturday 2nd May for the first round of the Mercian Summer League. Swimmers with regional qualifying times are not eligible to take part in this League and having 25 swimmers at level would prove a real test of depth of talent at the club. As always, the team rose to the test and were in contention for second spot throughout. However, despite the team's customary strong finish they were unable to overtake a strong Leamington team and ended the gala in third spot.
Individual winners were Bethany Jackson in the Individual Medley, Matt Cherry and Jamie House in the Butterfly, Sarah Watts in the Backstroke, Andy Papworth in the Breaststroke and Roxanne Taylor in the Freestyle. Winning relay teams included; for the 10 and under boys Medley Nathan Appanna, Zac Rollason, James Westwood and Thomas Welsh, and the mens Medley and Freestyle team Connor Carey, Reid Piggott and Aaron Smith.
Final point scores were Solihull 241, Leamington Spa 213, Halesowen 207, Bilston 143, Tamworth 139 and Haden Hill 100.
Nuneaton Junior League Round 1, Halesowen - Saturday 25th April
Junior swimmers from Halesowen Swimming Club were in action at home on Saturday 25th April in the first round of the Junior League Division One. Although the team had proved be strong in recent friendly competition, the swimmers knew that they would have to be on top form to beat visiting teams from across the region. Early races proved to be close and tense but by event 14 Northampton had moved into the lead as expected but Halesowen had eased into second spot. As the gala progressed Halesowen swimmers consolidated their runners-up position and ended the gala in a solid second place.
Double event winners were Ryan Davies in the Backstroke and Breaststroke and George Davies in the Breaststroke and Freestyle. Individual winners were Emma Baker in the Breaststroke, Mark Laing in the Backstroke and Brittany Horton, James Benson and Jacob Darby in the Butterfly. The 12 year old boys relay team won both Freestyle and Medley relays including Nicholas Borghesi, Jamie House and Piers Boyack, the 10 and under girls team including Isobel Barnsley and Isobel Bowers won the Freestyle relay and the 9 year old boys team including Thomas Reynolds and Zac Rollason won the Medley relay.
Special mention goes to Aimee Smyllie and Janie Greenwood who were representing Halesowen for the first time.
Final points scores were Northampton 262, Halesowen 210, Stourbridge A 161, Worcester A 149, Walsall 143 and Chase 140
Worcester Winter League Round 3, Droitwich - Sunday 19th April
Senior swimmers from Halesowen Swimming Club travelled to Droitwich on Sunday 19th April for the finals of the Worcester Winter League run consecutively at Droitwich. Halesowen B started the day early in the 'C' final in what proved to be every bit as tough as expected. However, the swimmers fought hard throughout and only missed out on second spot by just one point. Halesowen A followed later in the 'A' final in the knowledge that defending their Winter League title from last year was going to very tough with results from the previous two rounds indicating a nail-biting afternoon was likely. The gala more than lived up to expectations with the overall lead swapping between Halesowen and Worcester throughout. By event 30 Worcester had pulled out an eight-point lead and Stourbridge had drawn level with Halesowen. But Halesowen finished strongly by winning six and finishing second in four of the final 10 events. The result makes Halesowen Swimming Club Worcester Winter League Champions for the second year running.
A team double individual event winners were Chloe Robbins, Louise Williams and Zach Collins in the Backstroke and Freestyle and Stephanie Hackett in the Butterfly and Breaststroke. Other individual winners were Richard Phillips in the Butterfly, Megan Willetts in the Backstroke and Marc Collett, Max Rollason and Jack Slattery in the Breaststroke. The relay teams were on fine form with the Open team including Michael Edmonds and Laurence Hickin winning both Medley and Freestyle relays as did the 15 & under team including Devon Collins, Beth Jackson and Harry Cowley.
For the B team individual event winners were Hayley Davis-Moore in the Freestyle, Robert Smith in the Butterfly and Hannah Cuthbert winning both Backstroke and Butterfly events. The B team Open Relay team proved as unbeatable as the A team by winning both Medley and Freestyle events with the team including Josie Evans, Roxanne Taylor, Andy Papworth and Jack Watts. The 15 and under relay team including Abigail Hughes, Pria Rai, Sam Johnson, Reid Piggott and Aaron Smith also won the Freestyle relay.
Final scores in the A final were Halesowen A 187, Worcester A 178, Stourbridge A 171, Wyre Forest 125, Redditch 116 and Worcester B 62.
Final scores in the C final were Bromsgrove 173, Perry Beeches & SSS 167, Halesowen B 166, Droitwich 150 and Haden Hill 136.
Phoenix Youth Junior Friendly Gala, Cheslyn Hay - Saturday 4th April
Junior swimmers from Halesowen Swimming Club travelled to Cheslyn Hay on Saturday 4th April for their first competitive fixture of the year and got their season off to a flying start with an impressive victory. The team led right from the first event and that lead was never threatened from that point onwards. Halesowen won the gala by 40 points from nearest rivals Walsall.
Double individual event winners were Ryan Davies and Max Rollason in the Backstroke and Breaststroke and Mark Laing inn the Freestyle and Backstroke. Individual event winners on the night were Isobel Barnsley in the Freestyle, Emma Baker, Molly Kelly, Hannah Taleb and George Davies in the Breaststroke, Megan Willetts and Max Rollason in the Backstroke and Chloe Bate and Brittany Horton in the Butterfly. The relay teams were also on form with the 10 year old girls including Isobel Bowers and Ruby Fell winning both Freestyle and Medley events as did the age 12 boys including Nicholas Borghesi, Piers Boyack, Jacob Darby and Jamie House. Other winning teams included the boys age 9 Medley team of Zac Rollason and Thomas Reynolds, overall girls Freestyle team including Natasha Bird, Chloe Finch and Nikita Setchell and the overall boys Freestyle team including Nathan Appanna, Travis James and Connor O'Grady.
Special mention goes to Olivier Dwyer, Brittany Horton, Molly Kelly, Rebecca McComb, Nikita Setchell, George Davies, Connor Fell, Travis James, Mark Laing, Zac Rollason and Thomas Reynolds who were representing Halesowen for the first time.
Final scores were Halesowen 253, Walsall 213, Stourbridge 188, Haden Hill 179, Phoenix Youth A 152 and Phoenix Youth B 38.
Worcester County Championships - February & March
The Worcester
County Championships held during February and March proved to be as
popular and demanding as ever with nearly 450 swimmers from 15 Clubs
completing just over 4,000 swims. Swimmers from Halesowen
Swimming Club were out in force with 65 swimmers in attendance - 9
more than any other Club in the County. Halesowen
Swimmers also
produced an impressive haul of seven senior and four junior Championship titles between them.
The swimmers took
part in an incredible 615 events during the Championships with 197
of these in finals. To add to the haul of Senior and Junior
titles, swimmers also produced 31 age group first places with an impressive total
of 114 swims meeting the higher regional standard.
Halesowen swimmers produced 124 age group top 6 places and 31 top 6
places in the Open category
which was, for the third year running, more than any
other Club in the County.
Star of the show was Louise Williams who secured seven senior championship titles with a clean sweep in the 50m, 100m and 200m Butterfly, 100m and 200m Freestyle and 100m and 200m Backstroke. Louise also broke 4 Championship records with the 200m Butterfly title set in a County record. Chloe Robbins was on form securing the 50m Freestyle Senior title and added the 50m and 100m Freestyle Junior titles with Zach Collins winning both Senior and Junior 800m titles. Other senior Champions were Marc Collett in the 50m Breaststroke with Junior titles were also won by Hannah Cuthbert and Laurence Hickin in the 100m Butterfly.
Chief Coach Peter
Carey commented, “Our swimmers had a lot to live up in 2009
following their impressive achievements last year. However,
they did not disappoint and have gone on to exceed all expectations
and
congratulations go to all our senior and junior champions
and to all our swimmers for their exceptional performances this year.”
Worcester Winter League Round 2, Halesowen - Saturday 21st February
Halesowen Swimming Club took part in the second round of the Worcester Winter League on Saturday February 21st. The gala was held at Halesowen Leisure Centre and saw both the A and B teams competing against other local clubs. The competition was a tight one between Halesowen A and Stourbridge A for first and second place all evening. With only ten events to go Halesowen were beginning to trail behind by eight points, however a final flourish of wins saw the determined swimmers closing the gap to just three points. Similarly, the B team were battling with Perry Beeches & SSS for fifth and sixth place. With just one point between them throughout the evening Halesowen B finished in a very close sixth place. Despite both teams just being piped at the post, the Round 2 results have left them in good positions for the Finals of the Worcester Winter League to be held on April 19th 2009.
Double victories for individual swims went to Chloe Robbins and Zach Collins in the Freestyle and Backstroke as well as Megan Willetts in the Butterfly and Backstroke. Other wins were from Ryan Davies and Michael Edmonds in the Backstroke, Louise Williams and Richard Phillips in the Butterfly, Stephanie Hackett in the Freestyle and Jack Slattery in the Breaststroke.
The 'A' relay teams were on fine form and won 7 out of the 8 relays. Winning both the Medley and Freestyle Relay races were 13 year olds Lilian Parsons, Emily Homer, Sian Carey and Jacob Darby, 15 year olds Devon Collins, Bethany Jackson and Aaron Smith as well as Marc Collett, Nigel Gaskin and Leanne Taylor in the Open age team. Whilst eleven year olds Max Rollason, Chloe Bate, James Benson, Natasha Bird and Daniel McComb finished first in the Freestyle Relay.
Final point scores were Stourbridge A 202, Halesowen A 199, Wyre Forest 137, Bromsgrove 105, Perry Beeches & SSS A 99 and Halesowen B 98.
Worcester Winter League Round 1, Halesowen - Saturday 17th January
Halesowen Swimming Club made a flying start to the year in their first gala of 2009 with both A and B teams in action at home. With Halesowen defending the Winter League title, the A team flew down the pool finishing in first place for 33 out of the 40 events with Halesowen B, in many races, following them in second. With such phenomenal swims Halesowen A were clear winners and Halesowen B came a comfortable third.
Chloe Robbins, Zach Collins, Michael Edmonds, Sian Carey, Max Rollason, Louise Williams, Megan Willetts, Richard Phillips and Jack Slattery were all double event winners. Other first places went to Ryan Davies in the Backstroke, Sarah Turton, Stephanie Hackett and Lilian Parsons in the Freestyle, Devon Collins and Leanne Taylor in the Breaststroke and George Turton in the Butterfly. Winning Halesowen A relay teams included Natasha Bird, James Benson, Connor O’Grady, Bethany Jackson, Marc Collett, Laurence Hickin, Emily Homer and Jacob Darby and were unbeatable in both the Freestyle and Medley races.
Final scores were Halesowen A 234, Perry Beeches & SSS A 162, Halesowen B 144, Droitwich 135, Broadway 87 and Oldbury 82.
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