Saturday 2nd/ Sunday 3rd March 2019, Southbury Leisure Center, Enfield

On Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd March 2019 eighteen Hertford swimmers took part in the short course level 3 Enfield Swim Squad Regional Qualifier 2019. 

Most swimmers raced in sprint events (50 and 100m distances). Ellie Sopala (10) clocked PBs in the 50 Breast (48.03, 7th) and 50 Fly (43.90; 10th) and showed improved stroke control and stroke length in both races. Conrad Garrott (10) swam to reach 13th place in the 50 Back (47.39) and 15th place in the 100 Free (1;37.85): well done Conrad for swimming on a tough day!

Four 11 years old attended the meet. Laura Malagoli claimed gold in the 100 breast in a time of 1;34.10, silver in the 50 Fly (38.43) and bronze in the 100 Free (1;15.29, PB): in the latter, Laura held the pace really well. Isla Cavill improved on both her races in the 50 back (39.90, 3rd) and 100 Free (1;18.78, 6th), with a great body position in both strokes. Jonathan Drewett, also touched base to claim PBs in the 50 back (44.42, 12th) and 100 breast (1;53.48, 13th) with smooth turns and transitions. Jack Blake’s highlight of the meet was the 200 Free, which he swam with excellent pace and a final sprint in a time of 2;59.88 (13th) an impressive 12sec PB.

Ella Cannell (12) tested her hard work on backstroke starts and underwater in the 50 back, which she swam in 37.60 (8th). Teddy Morgan (12) raced in the 50 fly (43.06) and 100 free (1;21.40): his natural power and technique are visibly coming together and showing great progress.

Joe Reynolds, Kye Parsonson and Leonardo Malagoli represented the 13 yrs old age group. Joe swam the 50 breast in 36.45 to claim gold: he showed improved control towards the end of the race. Kye also claimed 2 medals in the 100 back (gold, 1;12.09, PB) and 50 Free (bronze, 30.54), and a wider body rotation on both strokes. Leonardo’s best event was the 200 Free, where he performed an excellent long and balanced stroke to clock a 7sec PB (2;27,78, 4th).

Ciaran Whatmore (14) swam the 50 back (35.50) to claim 5th place: he made a fantastic return after slipping at the start on a very slippery pad, and Giselle Garrott (14) impressed in the 100 back which she swam in 1;27.94 (10th place).

Joshua Holland (15), challenged himself in the 200 fly, a tough race, especially in its 2nd half, to clock a time of 2;25.36 (PB), claim gold and break his own Club Record in this event: Josh has been working on pacing distances longer than 100m and this was a good opportunity for him to test racing strategies. He also achieved bronze in the 50 free (26.53). Neo Metz (18) collected two silver medals in the 100 breast (1;13.63) and 50 breast (32.82): Neo felt really good in the water and showed much tighter turns.  Joshua Trapp (17) claimed bronze (34.09) in the 50 breast, with an excellent first 25m. He was joined by Ben Foster (16) in the 100 free: they achieved 2nd (56.50) and 8th (1;01.11) respectively in their own age groups with good consistency. Maddy Smith improved by two seconds on the time only recently swum at County Championships, showing a positive training trend and touching pad in the 200 back in 2;36.96 to claim a bronze medal.

Well done to all that took part in the meet: swimming in the London Borough provided the swimmers with the opportunity to race against a different set of competitors, which represents a good self-assessing measure of personal improvement. The location presented some challenges (i.e. water clarity), but all swimmers adapted quickly and swam with great form and power. These experiences are of vital importance for swimmers to progress and get into the habit of competing in different environments and we will access such opportunities more in the future.

Well Done!

Manuela