Category Archives: League

League, Winter

Swindon shine in Winter League Round 2

27 Swindon ASC swimmers were in action on Saturday 29th February in the Wiltshire Moonraker Winter League’s Round 2 at the Link Centre.

The Winter League programme is quite unique in that it’s all about Relays, with 34 relay events swam by 4 swimmers over 25m/50m distances and a mixed “Canon” relay at the end with 8 swimmers racing 25m each. The competition was going to be close with Marlborough and Bradford on Avon swimming A & B Teams plus also Melksham chasing for every point. After 10 events, Marlborough A opened an early lead with 57 points with BOA A and Swindon chasing 2nd and 3rd places with 42 and 40 points respectively. This set the theme for the evening with Marlborough A extending their lead after 20 events to 102 points with Swindon hot on the tails of BOA A with just 3 points separating the 2nd and 3rd placed teams – 83 and 80 points for each team.

Team Talk by Swindon Lead Coach Ryan

After 34 events, the final points and positions on the evening were as follows:

Marlborough A176
Bradford on Avon A155
Swindon136
Marlborough B91
Melksham86
Bradford on Avon B59
Swindon ASC swimmers in action

Finishing in a credible 3rd place on the night, Swindon can take a lot of positives away from the competition which includes Jess / Freya / Alyssa and Emily winning the Girls Squadron 4x25m Breaststroke and Seb / Ashton / Rhys and Matt winning the Boys U13 4x25m Breaststroke. With a further twelve 2nd place finishes and nine 3rd place finishes, Swindon can look forward to the next round with confidence.

Keeping everything running smoothly from poolside #dreamteam

Well done to all Swindon ASC swimmers with a special shout out for Buster, who swam his first team competition.

A big THANK YOU to all the officials and helpers, without whom we would not be able to have such fun!

League, SJL

Southern Junior League Finals 2019

Swindon ASC hosted the final of the Southern Junior League at the Link Centre on Saturday 14th September. Swimming in the C final against Bournemouth, Chard, Marlborough Penguins and Yeovil.

Swindon ASC Southern Junior League Finals Squad 2019

The final round is swam against teams with a similar ranking, so the racing is always close. The offer from Coach Ryan that he would let them push him in if the team won, spurred on many of the swimmers, all promising to go ‘super fast’.
Representing Swindon ASC were:

Madi Ambrose Zac Abrey
Molly Checchia Rhys Brooke
Hollie Hemmings Ashton Brooks
Freya Howie Guy Grainger
Jessica Howie Wassim Hidouci
Kira Jones Aiden Keevans
Ava Kayani Evan Mathias
Felicity Lovelock Blair AJ Noriega
Niamh McNamara Filip Pisarek
Lily Miles Calum Reynolds
Amelie Pocock Joseph Richards
Sara Rowlands Oliver Rowlands
Alex Scutt Seb Scutt
Ella Spencer Zak Sly
Eve Sullivan Ozzy Symons
Matt Widdop

Some great swims, pick of the bunch were:
Jessica Howie in the 10U 50m breaststroke
Matt Widdop in the 12U 50m freestyle & butterfly
Ava Kayani in the 11U 50m freestyle
Eve Sullivan in the 11U 50m breaststroke
Oscar Symons in the 10U & 11U 50m freestyle
The boys 10U relay team of Zak Sly, Seb Scutt, Evan Mathias and Oscar Symons

Well done to all the swimmers, and a BIG THANK YOU to all the volunteers who helped with the smooth running of the event.

Results are in:
1. Poole
2. Plymouth Leander
3. Swim Bournemouth A
4. Bristol Penguins
4. Swindon Dolphins
6. Keynsham
7. Sevenside Tritons
8. place is ‘Exeter
9. Cirencester
10. West Dorset
11. Seagulls
12. Weymouth
13. Marlborough
14. Yeovil
15. Bournmouth
16. Swindon
17. Chard
18. Devonport Royal
19. Bristol North
20. Southwold
20. South Dorset
22. Trowbridge
23. Bassett JSF

Well done Team

Summer

2019 Summer League Round 1

Saturday 27 April 2019 – Round 1 of the summer league was hosted by Marlborough penguins. The
summer league format is 50 sprint races which are a mix of individual races and relay races where
the teams swim for points against a number of local clubs making it a real team event.

The night opened with Tyler and Emily in the open individual medley where we came 2nd and 3rd
respectively followed by Ashton and Ava were both 2nd in very close 2 length butterfly races.
There was drama in the u16 4 length freestyle where a false start meant the race had to be rerun
and James came in 3rd overall.
The boys u12 medley relay team of Zac, Seb, Ashton and Filip were 2nd and the girls team of Eve,
Jessica, Kira and Freya P were 3rd with both teams taking valuable points for the team.
In the boys u14 2 length freestyle Harry had to settle for 2nd after pushing for 1st place all the way.
Ashton also took 2nd in a very close 2 length breaststroke race with the swimmer from Marlborough.
In the u16 4 length backstroke Aaron was superb, leading the race from start to finish whilst in the
girls race Thea got off to a poor start (due to not being able to hear the starter) but came through the field to take 2nd.
Ozzy won the 2 length freestyle by country mile in the u12; Max S was 2nd in the u14 fly and Eve was
2nd in the u12 backstroke.
Swindon were 3rd overall on the night, which was the expected result.

Well done everyone and see you all for round 2.

League, Winter

Winter League Finals 2018/19

After only 1 round of Winter League, we found ourselves swimming in the finals on 2nd March 2019. A cancellation of the Wiltshire Championships due to inclement weather meant that there was no second round.

So off to Trowbridge in the coach we went, to be joined by Swindon Dolphin, Tigersharks B, Durrington Otters, Corsham and Malmesbury Marlins. As this was the B final the result on the night would decide who came 7th, 8th, …12th.
Swindon went into the water with a marginal lead over Dolphin. It did not last long. Dolphins were on top form with some National swimmers in attendance. That’s not to say we did not put up a huge fight with swimmers from all age groups picking up points.
Swimmer of the evening was undoubtedly Alyssa Halliday who was absolutely flying!

At the end of the evening Dolphins were standout winners (7th), with Swindon in 2nd (8th) place.

Club Captain Will Mangan was joined by Olivia Moore to collect the certificate.

Will and Olivia with Winter League Certificate

League, Summer

Summer League Finals 2018

Saturday 15th September saw the us host the final round of the summer league which will determine who will lift the division 2 title. The event was held at Milton Road and so each length of the races were 33m and not 25m hopefully giving Swindon a home advantage.

First up was the squad photo – always a laugh trying to get kids to look towards a lens and smile..
(Never work with children or animals – W.C. Fields)

Summer League Finals Squad 2018

The first 10 races were all about our girls team with Emily taking 1st in the overs 4×1 medley; Molly was 1st in the u12 butterfly and Thea was 1st in the u16 3 length freestyle. Annabel was 2nd in the u14 1 length breaststroke, and Olivia was 3rd in the in the open 3 length backstroke.

After 10 races Swindon we had 26 points and were in joint 2nd place with Warminster.

With us lying in 2nd place there was everything to swim for and the girls u12 medley relay team of Alex, Freya, Molly and Maddie took maximum points and were followed immediately by the u16 boys medley team of Aaron, Leon, Tyler and James who did the same. Other notable performances came from Freya and Ashton who were both 2nd in the u12 breaststroke.

After 20 races we were in a 3 way tie for 1st place with Marlborough and Warminster, all on 52 points.

The was a tension in the air for the next set of races and our swimmers did well to deliver under pressure. The 1st place finishers were, the girls open medley relay team of Liberty, Grace, Emily and George; Oscar in the u12 freestyle; Tyler in the u16 fly and Thea in the u14 backstroke.

The scores at the doors after 30 races were Swindon in 1st place with 80 points. The game is afoot..

The next 10 races only saw two wins for Swindon which were Thea in the u14 backstroke and James, Aaron, Leon and Tyler in the u16 freestyle relay. However there were several other notable performances including Grace who was 2nd in the 3 length breaststroke; Calum, Seb, Ashton and Rhys who were 2nd in the u12 freestyle relay and Max who was 3rd in the u14 fly.

After 40 races we were in 2nd place and 2 points off the lead, with 104 points.

Into the final 10 races of this year’s summer league. George was 1st in the open freestyle; Alex was 1st in the u12 backstroke and in the final race of the night, the girls open freestyle relay, Grace, George, Liberty and Emily also took maximum points. A great finale to one of the most exiting nights of racing we have seen for a while – well done everyone.

At the end of 50 events the scores were.
1st Marlborough with 141 points
2nd Warminster with 135 points
3rd Swindon with 129 points
4th Corsham with 94 points

The overall scores for 2018 Division 2 Moonrakers Summer league
1st Warminster with 549 points
2nd Marlborough with 517 points
3rd Swindon with 499 points
4th Corsham with 413 points

Well done to everyone who took part, we did well to get promoted last year and have managed to keep our place in Division 2 (which I think is the highest Division we’ve ever been in, in 140 years!)

Thank you to all the helpers, officials and coaches who support these events.
Go Team!

League, Results, Summer

Summer League 2018 – Round 3

Round 3 of this years summer league was held at Warminster. A pool where the spectators are literally in amongst the action even getting the occasional splash as the racing goes past.

Tyler (2nd) and Emily (1st) opened the night for us in the open 4 x 1L medley.

Callum (3rd) and Molly (2nd) up next in the U12 butterfly. Molly was in a very close run race with the swimmer from Warminster.

Tyler (1st) and Alice (3rd) in the U16 4L free. Tyler romped home with our second win of the night whilst Alice secured 3rd place in a close run race.

Kyle (3rd) for the boys and Alicia (2nd) for the girls in the U14 breaststroke.

Alyx (1st) and Thea (1st) in the 4 x1L Backstroke. Thea in a head to head for the whole race with the swimmer from Warminster.

The fab 4 of Seb, Ashton, Calum and Rhys up next in the U12 medley relay and the fantastic 4 for the girls were Alex, Freya, Molly, Abigail who finished 2nd and 1st respectively.

Max S (2nd) and Brooke (3rd) in the U14 freestyle. Both were very close races.

Ashton and Freya up next in race 19&20 of 50. Freya digging deep to hold off Warminster and take 1st place in the U12 50m breaststroke.

Aaron led from start to finish to take 1st place in the U16 4L backstroke. An excellent race as he was under pressure from the other competitors for the whole time. Similar story for Thea who won after taking the lead in the 4th length and holding on to take the win.
The U14 boys medley team of Harry C, Kyle, Max S & Rhys were 2nd whilst the girls’ team of Alex, Alicia, Thea, and Brooke took 1st.

Harry C (3rd) and Thea (1st) in the U14 backstroke.

After 30 races Swindon ASC are leading on the night with 94 points.

Max S (2nd) and Thea (3rd) picking up some more important points in the U14 2L fly.

Brother and sister duo Seb and Alex up next in the U12 backstroke. Seb, took 3rd and Alex 2nd.

Open girls finished the night with a fine win in the freestyle relay.

Overall points on the night.

Corsham 71 points
Marlborough 81 points
Warminster 112 points
Swindon 117 points

See you all in September for the final round

League, Results, Summer

Summer League 2018 – Round 2

Round 2 of the summer league was away at Corsham. A very hot day and a very hot venue would lead to some very hot racing.

Max A and Liberty were first up in the open medley. Followed by Callum and Molly in the U12 50 fly. Both giving a great race with Molly coming second. Our highest finish on the night so far.

Kyle and Annabel were both third in the U 14 50 breast followed by Alyx B and Olivia, who was 2nd, in the open 100 back.

Both the girls and boys U16 medley relay teams took second place. With Max S 2nd in the U14 50 free and Thea was 1st with a convincing win.

Callum and Freya up next in U12 50 breast. 2 great performances with Freya taking 1st place for the team.

Tyler and Olivia both took 2nd in the U16 100m backstroke.

Boys U14 Medley relay team led off with Harry C, followed by Kyle, Max S and Oliver Rowlands to finish 4th. The girls Thea, Freya, Annabel and Maddie Williams taking 1st place.

Next up the Open Medley relay with the same pattern of results – 4th for the boys – Tyler, Alyx, Max and Will and 1st for the girls – Olivia, Grace, Liberty, and Emily.

Harry Wrighthouse and Maddie Williams were placed 4th and 2nd in the U12 50m freestyle.

Tyler was 1st, leading from start to finish in the U16 100m fly and Olivia was 3rd in a close fought race.

Harry Carpenter and Thea raced in the U14 50 back with Thea providing a convincing win.

Points after 30/50 are 71 Swindon, 73 Corsham, 77 Warminster and 78 Marlborough. A very close night of racing so far and with 20 races left there is plenty to compete for.

The U12 freestyle relay teams finished boys (Oscar, Oliver, Harry, Seb) 3rd and girls (Ava, Abigail, Maddie, Freya) 2nd after an excellent final leg by Freya.

Max S was 3rd and Annabel 2nd in the U14 50 fly. Seb and Freya were 1st and 3rd respectively in U12 50 back. Emily rolled back the years with a fine win in the open 100 freestyle.

Aaron and Annabel swam well in the 100 breast and it’s over to the relays for the final 4 races.

U14 boys 4th
U14 girls 4th
Open boys 3rd
Open girls 1st

Final scores:

Marlborough 134
Warminster 130
Swindon 119
Corsham 112

League, Results, SJL

Southern Junior League 2018 – Round 1

Southern Junior League kicked off on Saturday 9th June. The league consists of 25 teams from throughout the South West Region. As there is no 25 lane pool available, the event is swum as separate galas with all the times recorded and the results worked out afterwards with the team recording the fastest time awarded 25 points and the slowest 1 point.

We were swimming at Swindon Link Centre against Swindon Dolphin A, Cirencester and Bassett JSK (from Southampton). Some great performances on the night with our best result coming from the 9-year-old boys who managed to finish 4th in the medley relay event, well done Zac Abrey, Seth Moore, Oscar Symons and Seb Scutt. Due to a false start, the boys 9 years 50m freestyle was swum twice, Oscar Symons did not seem affected by this and got the team 20 points recording 6th place overall. Another of our 9-year-old boys, Seb Scutt came 8th in the 50m backstroke. These boys had started the evening with a great result of 8th in the 4 x 25m freestyle.
Enough with the 9-year-old boys….
Our 9 years girls (Jessica Howie, Lily Miles, Niamh McNamara, Felicity Lovelock Blair) finished 16th in the freestyle relay. Jessica Howie was placed 7th overall in the 9-year-old girls 50m breaststroke.
Representing the club for 10-year-old boys were George Hart, Ashton Brooks, Finley Goodheart and Jack Jones. Ashton swam well in the 50m butterfly achieving 14th place.
Ava Kayani was 13th in the 10-year-old girls 50m freestyle. Our other 10 years girls were Ella Spencer, Flo Williams, Naila Hidouci, Beth Sullivan, Scarlett Allen and Cody Durrant.
11 years boys were Rhys Brooke, Oliver Rowlands and Samuel Morris, with Ashton Brooks swimming up in the relays. Great result of 15th in the 4 x 25m free.
11 years girls were Maddie Williams, Madi Bindon, Abigail Garland, Molly Checchia, Alex Scutt and Freya Howie which sounds like a lot of girls, but as we now only have one 12-year-old girl (Verity Pocock) many of them spent the evening swimming up an age group.
Not so the 12-year-old boys, there are four of them Harry Carpenter, Kyle Nicholson, Max Sullivan and Jacob McNamara. Best result from them was 10th in the 50m butterfly from Max.

With all the results tallied up, we are currently in 21st place, which is about where we expected to be. We entered the league to give our younger swimmers the opportunity to swim in a competitive environment and have some fun with their friends from swimming.

A big thank you to our hosts on the evening – Swindon Dolphins, the officials and all the helpers. Thank you to the parents for supporting the event and a big well done to all the swimmers.

And the most amazing thing happened before we even got in the pool. The team photo, the very first photo taken has everybody looking at the camera with their eyes open!

Looking at the camera with eyes open

Summer

Summer league 2018 Round 1

Saturday 21 April saw the squad compete at Marlborough college in the 1st round of this year’s Moonraker summer league. The summer league is a mix of 50 individual and relays races across a number of different age groups which is a great opportunity to get some of the new junior squad members involved in club competitions. Along with our hosts, Marlborough Penguins, we were competing with Corsham and Warminster on the night.

The established squad members like Club Captains Alyx and Grace, Tyler, Annabel, Aaron and Olivia were at their usual great performances but it was the emerging talent in the under 12’s medley relay team who really showed us the promise of the junior squad members. For the boys this was Oscar, Harry, Ashton, Calum and Aiden and the girls Abigail, Freya, Molly and Ella whilst Seb, Ashton and Jacob swam up with Kyle in the boys U14 Medley relay and Alex joined Thea, Annabel and Amy in U14 girls.

Some great swims and lots to be proud of from the nights competition but still lots to learn in time for round 2 – Well done everyone and see you all again for round 2.

Final scores on the night were:
Warminster 142 points
Marlborough 138 points
Swindon 108 points
Corsham 108 points