Swim Bournemouth Winter Level 2 Meet
A small team of 8 of our Performance Squad swimmers spent last weekend in action at the Swim Bournemouth Winter Level 2 Open Meet.
Our team swam brilliantly up against tough competition from some top clubs from around the country with a whopping 25 time improvements out of 36 events.
Special mention should go to our medal winners:
Freddie George – 50m Backstroke – Gold
100m Backstroke – Bronze
100m Breastroke – Bronze
Toby Beale – 50m Backstroke – Silver
Well done all!
Licensed (L4) time trials at RiversMeet, Gillingham
The first-ever licensed swimming competition at the RiversMeet Gillingham was held on 22 and 25 June in the form of our L4 time trials. More than 50 NDTSC swimmers aged from nine to 16 swam against each other in mixed HDW heats in all four 50-metre events – butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle – in their regular training slot on Tuesday; then in five 100-metre events on Friday evening (pictured), including the individual medley.
The meet was granted a Level 4 license by Swim England, amd we submitted a Covid-oriented risk assessment as part of our application.
Of nearly 140 event personal-bests in the Rankings system before our first session, no fewer than 107 were bettered over the two days. Even allowing for about a year and a half of physical growth, this surely proves that neither our swimmers’ fitness nor their competitive spirit has been eroded by the pandemic.
Aside from the blizzard of PBs, we were all so impressed – with the 100-metre events – by many of the younger swimmers who could only just complete the distance at pace, battling their way up to the finish at the deep end, and the way in which those who ‘lost’ their heats by the widest margin got the loudest cheers.
We’re now hoping to send some Performance Squad swimmers to the South-West Festival of Swimming at Millfield on 24 and 25 July.
Licensed (L4) time trials at RiversMeet, Gillingham
The first-ever licensed swimming competition at the RiversMeet Gillingham was held on 22 and 25 June in the form of our L4 time trials. More than 50 NDTSC swimmers aged from nine to 16 swam against each other in mixed HDW heats in all four 50-metre events – butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle – in their regular training slot on Tuesday; then in five 100-metre events on Friday evening (pictured), including the individual medley.
The meet was granted a Level 4 license by Swim England, amd we submitted a Covid-oriented risk assessment as part of our application.
Of nearly 140 event personal-bests in the Rankings system before our first session, no fewer than 107 were bettered over the two days. Even allowing for about a year and a half of physical growth, this surely proves that neither our swimmers’ fitness nor their competitive spirit has been eroded by the pandemic.
Aside from the blizzard of PBs, we were all so impressed – with the 100-metre events – by many of the younger swimmers who could only just complete the distance at pace, battling their way up to the finish at the deep end, and the way in which those who ‘lost’ their heats by the widest margin got the loudest cheers.
We’re now hoping to send some Performance Squad swimmers to the South-West Festival of Swimming at Millfield on 24 and 25 July.
Turbos back at Millfield for long-course training
NDTSC Performance Squad swimmers set their alarms and braved the blustery conditions to get back into Millfield’s 50-metre Olympic pool on Saturday for the first time this year. Big thanks due to Millfield Sport and West Dorset Swimming Club, and to coaches Colin and (pictured) Rich. The Millfield Saturday sessions – one a month for the time being – help our swimmers get used to more demanding long-course training and competition, after which, by all accounts, 25 metres feels a lot easier! (And by the way, please bookmark our new Swim Manager website that went live last week. The URL has not changed.)
Turbos back at Millfield for long-course training
NDTSC Performance Squad swimmers set their alarms and braved the blustery conditions to get back into Millfield’s 50-metre Olympic pool on Saturday for the first time this year. Big thanks due to Millfield Sport and West Dorset Swimming Club, and to coaches Colin and (pictured) Rich. The Millfield Saturday sessions – one a month for the time being – help our swimmers get used to more demanding long-course training and competition, after which, by all accounts, 25 metres feels a lot easier! (And by the way, please bookmark our new Swim Manager website that went live last week. The URL has not changed.)
Training restarts after 12 April unlock milestone
We resumed our full training schedule at RiversMeet, Gillingham, on 13 April, the day after the centre itself reopened as part of the latest stage of the government’s easing of lockdown.
There was an excellent turnout of 33 swimmers, including Pre-Turbos, and eight Performance Squad for their dedicated two-lane slot the following evening.
Our new recruitment flyer is here.
“We’re again in RiversMeet’s debt for slotting us straight back in with our regular training schedule almost as soon as they restart themselves – the third time now they have done this,” said NDTSC Chair Alex Wynter.
“As we inch back to normality our coaches will be giving the children time to regain their pre-lockdown fitness, then we can start to think about club time-trials, and – everyone hopes – a return to competition later this year.
“Any and all local youngsters aged from eight to eighteen with an interest in or experience of competitive swimming should get in touch with our secretary, Nikki Hopkins, at secretaryndt@gmail.com or our Head Coach, Rich Brocklehurst, at headcoachndt@gmail.com.”