21st June 2019, Haileybury & 23rd June 2019, Hartham

Last week saw the 400m Time Trials and Club Champs kick off.

Middle distance events (400m Freestyle and 400m IM) have been introduced this year due to their importance in terms of experiencing more tactically challenging races. It was a pleasure to see many swimmers entering the above events and accepting the challenge of this unknown field; hopefully more will enter in the future. 

On Thursday 20th June the Girls 400IM and Boys 400Free took place. Massive congratulations to Laura Malagoli (12) for breaking the Girls 400IM Junior Club Record in a time of 6;08.82, and Joshua Holland (16) for breaking the Boys 400Free Club Record in a time of 4;28.28!

And a huge well done to all that took part: most swimmers had never raced this distance. These races’ value lies on willpower and strategic choices, such important areas to develop. Here is a quote from swimmingworldmagazine.com which I find particularly pertinent:

“This event [400IM] is one that combines all of a swimmer’s training into a single race. Swimmers who compete in the 400 IM are commonly seen as the most well-rounded, because in order to swim this race, you need to be proficient in each of the four strokes as well as the many turns. The 400 IM combines technique, endurance, and race strategy to possibly be the most difficult race in swimming.”

I very much look forward to this coming Thursday when the roles will be inverted with the boys swimming the 400IM and the girls the 400Free.

On Sunday 23rd June, Hertford SC started the 2019 Club Championships. The racing schedule included the Girls & Boys 12&O 100Breast, Girls & Boys 10-11 50Breast, Girls and Boys 9&U 25 Breast, Girls & Boys 13&O 50Free Senior Champs, Girls & Boys 8-12 50Free Junior Champs, Girls & Boys 13&O 50Fly Senior Champs, Girls & Boys 8-12 50Fly Junior Champs, Girls & Boys 13&O 200Free Senior Champs, Girls & Boys 8-12 200Free Junior Champs.

High attendance and very few withdrawals allowed for swimmers to have enough rest times between their races… well done everybody for honouring your commitment to racing in this enjoyable annual internal event for the club!

Special mention to Joshua Holland for gaining his second record of the week, this time the 50Fly Senior Club Champs Record, swimming in a time of 26.97, which is also a Qualification Time (QT) for Herts Counties 2020!

I must say that watching all Hertford swimmers race at our home pool filled me with immense pride! From a coaching perspective, our swimmers applied the skills they work so hard on, on a daily basis, showed significant progress in the water, achieved many personal victories (no matter how small or big) and overcame past struggles: nobody could ask for more!

Too many are the swimmers who should be complimented for their feats: feedback has and will be given individually and to squads. 

I very much look forward to this second week of racing: Go Hertford!!

Best wishes

Manuela

#weareoneteam #waterskills