2010 Reports

Swimmers from Halesowen Swimming Club took part in the third round of the 2010 National League West Midlands at Market Drayton on Saturday 10th December.  The team started well but began to slip into second position during the evening.  However the swimmers great determination saw them claim back the top spot and Halesowen Swimming Club finished in first place by twenty points.

Emma Baker won both her individual races which were the 50m Breaststroke and the 50m Freestyle.  Other individual wins were from Piers Boyack and Josh Bradley in the Breaststroke, Megan Willetts in the Backstroke, Luke Morris in the Butterfly and Lilian Parsons, Mark Laing and Isobel Breslin in the Freestyle.  There were some excellent wins from the relay teams too.  Chloe Bate and Chloe Finch in the thirteen year olds team and Sian Carey, Abigail Hughes and Bethan Luckman in the fifteen year olds team proved unbeatable by winning both the Medley and Freestyle events.  Whilst Harry Cowley, Jack Slattery and Jacob Darby won the fifteen year olds Freestyle Relay and Zach Collins, Richard Phillips and Jack Watts won the Open men’s Freestyle Relay.  They were then joined by Hannah Cuthbert, Bethany Jackson, Leanne Taylor, and Matthew Cherry to win the final two relays of the year.

Final scores were Halesowen 229, Braunstone, City of Hereford 168, Derby Phoenix 159, Ledbury 141, Mansfield 138.

Swimmers from Halesowen Swimming Club travelled to Stetchford to take part in Round 2 of the National League on Saturday 13th November.  It was a vital round as only the top two clubs from this gala would go through to the final in December.  It was also a tough draw but Halesowen were determined to be one of those teams in the final.  By event 20, over half of the races had Halesowen finishing in the top three, with the team only five points behind Worcester in second place.  However, despite the swimmer's battling efforts Worcester started to pull ahead and Halesowen finished the evening in third place.

Individual event winners were Chloe Bate in the 13 year old Backstroke and Chloe Robbins in the Ladies Open Freestyle.  Leanne Taylor, Hannah Cuthbert, Bethany Jackson, Isobel Breslin and Lilian Parsons were unbeatable in both the Ladies Open Freestyle and Medley Relay.

Final scores were City of Coventry A 260, Worcester 202, Halesowen 183, Calverton & Bingham 160, Wolverhampton 132, Long Eaton A  111.

Senior swimmers travelled to Leamington Spa for the first round of the National League on Saturday 9th October.  This League provides tough competition and this was no exception with City of Coventry dominating the gala throughout.  Halesowen were in contention for second place all night but had fierce competition from both Braunstone and Leamington who were chasing hard.  The team held off the challenge to finish the night in second place.

Individual winners were Molly Miley and Luke Morris in the Butterfly and Chloe Robbins and Scott Allin in the Backstroke.  The Ladies Open Relay team including Hannah Cuthbert, Leanne Taylor and Louise Williams also won the Medley Relay.

Final scores were City of Coventry A 258, Halesowen 207, Braunstone 198, Leamington Spa 178, Haden Hill 106, Walsall 101.

Following the junior team’s incredible second place finish in the Junior League their reward was a long trip to Louth on 3rd October for the Junior Inter-League Area Final.  This was the first time in the Club’s history that our Juniors had reached this stage and put them against some of the very best teams in the Country.  Very tough competition was expected and that was precisely what greeted the team.  The opening relays saw City of Leeds open up an impressive gap at the front but Halesowen swimmers were in contention for fourth spot.  By the half way mark Leeds were proving the team to beat and Halesowen clearly had a battle to avoid the wooden spoon.  However, excellent swimming throughout the team ensured a fifth place finish which, given the calibre of the opposition, was no mean feat and one of which the whole club can be justifiably proud.

Double second place swimmer was Megan Willetts in the Freestyle and Backstroke.  Other individual second placed swimmers were Indu Appanna and Mark Laing in the in the Freestyle, Emma Baker in the Breaststroke and Euan Vaughan-Hawkins in the Butterfly.  Special mention also goes to James Perry, Jack Vale and Euan Vaughan-Hawkins who were representing the club for the first time.

Final scores were City of Leeds 246, City of Liverpool 200, Southport 198, City of Newcastle 138, Halesowen 127, Lincoln Vulcans 104.

Final scores from the Southern Final were Hillingdon 203, Boldmere 183, City of Derby 177, City of Norwich 165, Camden Swiss Cottage 163, Ferndown Otters 122.

On Saturday 25th September Halesowen Swimming Club once again showed their winning ways as they returned from Leicester clutching the trophy from the Braunstone Sports Trophy Gala.  After winning at least two thirds of the races with ease the team certainly deserved their first place position.  It was one of the first competitions held after the summer break and gave the swimmers confidence to compete in the coming months with increasing determination to win.

Double event winners were Josh Bradley in the Individual Medley and Breaststroke, Chloe Robbins in the Backstroke and Freestyle, Emma Baker in the Breaststroke and Freestyle and Sian Carey in both the Open and 15 year old Ladies Btreaststroke.  First place also went to Leanne Taylor in the Individual Medley. Chloe Bate and Piers Boyack in the Breaststroke, Louise Williams, Richard Phillips, Molly Miley and Luke Morris in the Butterfly, Megan Willets and Scott Allin in the Backstroke and Lilian Parsons, Jack Slattery, Mark Laing and Jack Watts in the Freestyle.  Nine year olds Isobel Barnsley and Rachel Weller joined their team mates to win both the Medley and Freestyle relays.  Fifteen year olds Abigail Hughes, Bethany Luckman, Kieran Rickards and Jacob Darby and Open swimmers Hannah Cuthbert, Mathew Cherry and Zachariah Collins did exactly the same in both their relay events.  Isobel Breslin and Chloe Finch also helped their teammates to win the thirteen year old girls Freestyle relay.

Final scores were Halesowen 319, Braustone A 288, Walsall 228, Coalville 155, Market Harborough 149, Braunstone B 128 and Swadlincote 114.

Junior swimmers travelled to Wolverhampton on Saturday 11th September for the Division 1 Nuneaton Junior League Final for the second year running.  This year saw the team go into the final in second place in the League but all knew that the competition would be as fierce as ever.  The first 12 events saw all teams competing hard for places which meant that the gap at the top from Boldmere was nine points followed by three teams, including Halesowen, on 43 points.  By the half-way mark places began to settle with Boldmere looking clear winners already but Northampton, Halesowen and Redditch were chasing hard.  The team fought hard throughout and looked unlikely to catch Northampton to grab second spot but the swimmers' customary strong finish saw them narrowly miss out on the runners-up spot on the night by just 4 points.  The reward for the team was their highest ever finish in the League having retained the runners-up place and a trip to Louth in early October for the Inter-League Area Final made up of other League winners from around the Country.

First places were hard to come by as expected but star of the show was double event winner Mark Laing with wins in the Butterfly and Freestyle and individual event winners Brittany Horton and Megan Willetts in the Backstroke.  The 11 and 12 year old girls relay teams including Isobel Barnsley, Chloe Bate, Emma Baker, Chloe Finch and Molly Miley won the Freestyle events.

Final scores were Boldmere A 234, Northampton A 184, Halesowen 180, Nuneaton & Bedworth A 161, City of Coventry 155, Redditch 151.

The third and final round of the Mercian League held at Leamington Spa on Saturday 10th July, saw Halesowen Swimming Club win by six points.  The swimmers took first or second place in over half of the races swam that night and their strength allowed them to lead the other teams for most of the gala.  Once again the coaches and swimmers’ hard work has paid off as they finish another league on a high note.

Double event winners were ten year olds Rachel Weller in the Backstroke and Freestyle and Mark Laing in the Breaststroke and Freestyle.  Other individual wins went to Bethany Jackson in the Individual Medley, Dominic Rickards in the Butterfly, Sarah Watts in the Backstroke, Hayley Bagley, Andy Papworth and Piers Boyack in the Breaststroke.  Both the Ladies’ and Men’s open relay teams including Abigail Hughes, Roxanne Taylor, Sam Johnson, Kieran Rickards and Reid Piggott were unbeatable in both the Medley and Freestyle relay.  Zac Rollason, Connor Fell and George Westwood also won the ten year old boy’s Freestyle relay

Final scores were Halesowen 215, Solihull 211, Leamington Spa 207, Stratford Sharks 164, Perry Beeches & SSS 143, Northgate 91.

Halesowen Swimming Club's junior swimmers travelled to Worcester for the final round of the Division 1 junior league on Saturday 26th June.  With two wins from the prevous rounds a first or second place would send the team through to their second consecutive league final in September but with unexpected team absences the task was suddenly made more difficult.  The gala did not start well for the team which lay in third place by event 12 and although they had recovered to second place by event 23, the gap to the leading team was a huge 20 points.  With the gap narrowed to 15 points by event 32 it looked very much like the team would have to settle for the runners-up spot.  But slowly and surely the gap was closed and from the remaining 18 events the swimmers won and amazing 14 of them to draw level on points on the very last event of the night.

Double event winners were Brittany Horton and Megan Willetts in the Backstroke and Freestyle and Max Rollason in the Backstroke and Breaststroke.  Individual event winners were Chloe Bate and Mark Laing in the Butterfly, Rachel Weller in the Backstroke, Emma Baker in the Breaststroke and Indu Appanna, James Benson and George Westwood in the Freestyle.  The relay teams were on form with the 11 and 12 year old girls and boys teams including Isobel Barnsley, Molly Miley, George Davies, Zac Rollason and James Westwood winning both Freestyle and Medley events.  The 10 year old Freestyle boys team including Connor Fell grabbed first place as did the combined age Freestyle teams including Chloe Finch, India Hanke, Molly Kelly, Maise Miley, James Cuthbert and Daniel McComb.

Final scores were Halesowen 243, Redditch 243, Stratford Sharks 168, Ledbury 148, Haden Hill 144, Rugby 111.

Swimmers from Halersowen Swimming Club travelled to Wolverhampton for the annual County Relay Championships on Sunday 20th June.  For the third year running the team were defending the trophies of overall team, top girls and top boys and the usual tough competition was expected.  All teams were excellent in the heats with all making it through to the finals.  The girls proved be outstanding and amassed a total of 38 out of 40 possible points but the boys with 22 points following a disqualification had a mountain to climb to recover the 8 points to first place.  Worcester proved to be the team to beat and although the girls continued their fine form into the second session and the boys pulled back the deficit impressively, the gap was too much to bridge and the team had to settle for second place overall.  The girls’ team won 6 out of the 10 events and were second in three others.  The girls 13/14 team set County records in both Medley and Freestyle events and the Ladies Open team also set a Medley record with the girls’ team coming home with the overall girl’s trophy for the fourth year running.

Final point scores were (top 3 teams):
Top Club: Worcester 133, Halesowen 127, Stourbridge 111
Top Girls Teams: Halesowen 75, Worcester 69, Stourbridge 56
Top Boys Teams: Worcester 64, Stourbridge 55, Halesowen 52

Members of Halesowen Swimming Club travelled to Leamington Spa on Saturday 12th June to take part in round two of the Mercian League.  This round had a slightly quieter feel to round one, possibly due to another sporting event held in the southern hemisphere of the world.  Nevertheless, all participants were keen to finish their race in first place.  The Halesowen team had settled quickly into third place by event 20 and despite some clear first placed wins remained in third position all the way through.

Winning both of her individual events was Molly Miley in the Freestyle and Butterfly.  Other winners were Bethany Jackson in the Individual Medley, Rachel Weller in the Backstroke, Abigail Hughes and Dominic Rickards in the Butterfly, Mark Laing and Bethan Luckman in the Freestyle and Hayley Bagley and Piers Boyack in the Breaststroke.  The Ladies Open relay team including Sarah Watts and Roxanne Taylor won both the Medley and Freestyle events. Whilst Nikita Setchell and Aimee Smyllie joined their team mates to win the 10 year old girls Freestyle relay.

Final scores were Nuneaton & Bedworth 236, Leamington 226, Halesowen 215, Rugby 165, Droitwich 148.

For the first time in three years, the draw for the Nuneaton Junior League allowed the junior swimmers from Halesowen Swimming Club to travel to another pool in the Midlands.  On Saturday 8th May, the young team arrived at the Pingles Leisure Centre at Nuneaton.  The team were in excellent form and over half of their races finished in first or second place.  It was a very close gala with the top three teams finishing with just two and three points between them.

Double event winners were Mark Laing in the Freestyle and Butterfly, Chloe Bate in the Butterfly and Breaststroke and Brittany Horton in the Backstroke and Freestyle.  First place also went to George Davies and Emma Baker in the Breaststroke, James Benson and Rachel Weller in the Butterfly and George Westwood in the Freestyle.  The eleven year old and twelve year old girls including Molly Miley and Isobel Barnsley, Megan Willetts, and Chloe Finch won both the Medley and Freestyle relays.  While Max Rollason and Connor O’Grady joined their team mates to win the ten year olds Medley relay.  The Cannon Relay team, including Indu Appanna and Max Rollason completed the final race in first place to grab the  overall top spot on the night.

Final scores were Halesowen 229, Nuneaton & Bedworth A 226, Northampton A 224, Wyre Forest 147, Chase 127, Ledbury 109.

It certainly felt like the beginning of summer as members of Halesowen Swimming Club travelled to Nuneaton to take part in the first round of the Mercian Summer League.  They were competing against some superb teams and the sunshine seemed to give everyone at the gala enthusiasm to do well.  From the very start Halesowen flew off the starting blocks with a win by Bethany Jackson in the Individual Medley and points after event twenty were extremely close.  However, by event 40 Nuneaton and Bedworth had pulled away leaving Halesowen, Leamington Spa and City of Coventry to battle for second place.  Halesowen continued to shoot off the blocks and finished second by ten points.

Individual winners were Hayley Bagley, Dominic Rickards and Molly Miley in the Butterfly, Mark Laing and Abigail Hughes in the Freestyle, Max Rollason in the Backstroke and Andy Papworth in the Breaststroke. Connor O’Grady, James Benson and Daniel McComb won both the twelve year old boys Medley and Freestyle Relays whilst both the Mens and Womens Relay teams including Sarah Watts, Aaron Smith, and Reid Piggott won the Medley event.

Final scores were Nuneaton & Bedworth 200, Halesowen 194, Leamington Spa 184, City of Coventry 178, Solihull 150, Rugby 135.

Note: Swimmers achieving Regional Qualiying Times are not eligible to compete in this League

It was a proud moment for Halesowen Swimming Club as both the A and B teams stepped on to the poolside at Droitwich in the A Final of the Worcester Winter League 2010.  They were the only club that had two teams in the final and they certainly dominated both the poolside and the viewing gallery with their cheers and support for one another.  The club were hoping to reclaim the spot of top team for the third year running and they knew that the other teams were also keen to claim the title.  The afternoon gala wasn’t any easy one and many of the finishes were extremely close.  As the scores were announced at intervals, the team waited knowing that Worcester A were snapping at their heels but each time Halesowen A were ahead by just a few points.  It was the final four relays that saw Halesowen A storm clearly away.  Although it was going to be a difficult gala for Halesowen B, they certainly did not disappoint and showed their strength by finishing the evening in fifth spot.

Winning two events were James Benson in the Freestyle and Butterfly and Chloe Bate in the Butterfly and Breaststroke.  First place also went to Louise Williams in the Butterfly, Chloe Finch, Chloe Robbins and Isobel Breslin in the Freestyle and Michael Edmonds in the Backstroke.  Eleven year olds including Brittany Horton, George Davies and Mark Laing and thirteen year olds Megan Willetts, Ryan Davies, Jacob Darby, Nicholas Borghesi and Lilian Parsons proved phenomenal by winning both the Freestyle and Medley Relay.  Whilst Hayley Davies-Moore, Bethany Jackson, Harry Cowley, Luke Morris, Jack Slattery Stephanie Hackett, Jack Watts and Richard Phillips won the Freestyle Relays.

Final scores were Halesowen A 198, Worcester A 176, Stourbridge A 175, Redditch 118, Halesowen B 91, Haden Hill 80.

The start of the 2010 Nuneaton Junior League for Halesowen Swimming Club proved exciting as the junior swimmers won the first round by 41 points.  The team had started out strongly but gradually it seemed that the other teams were catching up.  However, by finishing the last ten races in either first or second place ensured that the Junior Team were first class winners.

Double event winners were Max Rollason and Brittany Horton in the Backstroke and Freestyle and George Westwood in the Butterfly and Freestyle. Megan Willetts and James Cuthbert came first in the Backstroke, Indu Appanna and James Benson won the Freestyle and Emma Baker the Breaststroke.  Ten year olds Zac Rollason, George Davies, Mark Laing and Connor Fell won both the Medley and Freestyle Relays.  Both the boys and the girls won the eleven year olds Medley Relay and included Molly Miley, Isobel Barnsley, Rhys Richards and James Benson.  Emma Bird and Maisy Miley joined their team mates to win the nine year olds Freestyle Relay as did Chloe Bate and Chloe Finch in the twelve year olds Medley Relay.  Molly Kelly, Rachel Weller and Daniel McComb helped both the boys and girls to come first in the 8x1 Relays.

Special congratulations goes to Lewis Richard who was representing the Club for the first time.

Final scores were Halesowen 231, Solihull 190, Wolverhampton 186, Stratford Sharks 171, Haden Hill 140, Northgate 135.