23^rd February 2009

 

The club held a successful Presentation Evening on Sunday 7^th February after training finished at 6.00 p.m. Three tables of glittering trophies were presented to swimmers from all age groups while Sharon Carling received the Wiltshire ASA Teaching Trophy for the most successful club in the county at teaching children to swim. This was the fifth year in succession that Bradford have won this trophy.

 

Winners of all the 2008 Club Championships and other trophy winners can be found on ‘Results’. A full list of medallists will be available here soon.

 

 

18^th October 2008 Bradford wins Jean Findlay Junior Trophy Gala at Keynsham

 

Bradford’s 12 and under swimmers kept spectators on the edge of their seats in a pulsating competition with a strong Keynsham team. Keynsham had won their Jean Findlay Junior Trophy Gala for the past seven years and were confident of retaining the trophy against teams from Thornbury, Stroud, Bradford and their own 2^nd team.

 

However Bradford provided strong opposition and contrived to produce a nail biting finish. The two teams were evenly matched throughout the gala after Keynsham had taken an early lead of 34 points to 28 after eight events. The scores were 72 points each after 18 events and 112 points each after 28; by the 38^th event Keynsham led by 155 to 154 but after the 49^th, and final event, the scores were 201 points each.

 

On a count back of 1^st places Bradford won by 23 to Keynsham’s 20; a fitting climax as the team had lost on a similar count back a few weeks earlier. A very pleasing fact was that Bradford had no disqualifications in the whole competition with the young swimmers making perfect starts, turns and finishes. It was the first competitive gala for Kara Mackintosh, Finley Jackson, and Tom Diamond while young Florence Legg swam up an age group to compete in the 12 and under 100m butterfly.

 

The 10 and 11 year old girls, Jessie Foster, Ellie Hine, Rebecca Hawkins, Holly Humphries, Chloe Flower and Florence Legg won all their relay races and individual events. For the girls the outstanding performance came in the 12 and under backstroke where Katie Philpott won in a time of 1 minute 22.37 seconds.

 

All their relay races were also won by the 10 and 11 year old boys, Hayden Burton, Wilfred Lapes, Edmond Hames, Joe Gurney, Tokes Sawyerr, Toto Law and Guy Harrison-Murray. Swimmers of age groups enjoyed the gala and showed really good team spirit, cheering each other on to keep the team challenging for the lead.

 

Chief Coach, Lawrence Northover, was unable to be either at Keynsham or with the Bradford senior squad, who won the Trowbridge/Leer Twinning gala on the same night. In his absence he was delighted with the work and support of coaches Phil James at Keynsham and Andrew Harper with the senior squad, and the parents and helpers who encouraged both squads to victory. Lawrence said, “I know that when I’m unable to attend competitions the teams are in good hands and well supported with the fantastic level of commitment we receive from parents and other people involved in Bradford on Avon Amateur Swimming Club.

 

 

18^th October 2008 Bradford wins Twinning Trophy

 

Bradford were invited as guest team at the Trowbridge/Leer Swimming Gala and somewhat spoiled the party for the host team and their German guests by winning the trophy. We arrived at the Trowbridge pool at 5.45 p.m., changed at 6.00 and shortly afterwards all three teams, Trowbridge, Poseidon from Leer, and ourselves were on poolside. It became apparent that something was wrong as the movable floor in the deeper half of the pool was still in the raised position. Whilst we were changing the mechanism that raises and lowers the floor had broken and it was stuck in the upright position.

 

This left half a pool in which some swimmers could dive in, glide, turn and glide again and with a couple of strokes be back at the start. Another pool was needed – Bradford pool was open to 6.30 for lifeguard training but no one was answering the telephone there. A member of Trowbridge staff drove to Bradford to establish communication. Success! Swimmers donned clothes over their costumes (except one young lady from Bradford who travelled in her costume and flip flops) and piled into any available car or coach at 6.40 for the three mile journey. After a warm up the gala began at 7.25 instead of the advertised 6.30.

 

We were a little light in the 12 and under age group as we had a team of this age swimming at Keynsham that evening. However with 9 and 10 year olds we made up a team and Lottie Hazel, Megan Reckless, Poppy Mumford, Simeon Haththo and William Keiser were given a baptism of water and noise. However Leer, although enthusiastic and vocal, did not have enough swimmers for all the age groups and so, of their plenty, Trowbridge lent them some of theirs.

 

The races were an interesting mix of serious competition and fun. We started badly in the boys’ open 4 x 100 freestyle (3 swimmers were younger than ‘open’) but retrieved the situation by winning the girls open event, where again 3 swimmers were younger than ‘open’. Then came a mixed event with 8 swimmers each completing a length of pull, with a kickboard followed by a kick only race holding the board in front of them. A good second place in each of these. Another 8 swimmers took part in the water polo event and excellent dribbling skills from Emma Philpott enabled Chris Maslen to storm home in 1^st place.

 

Two open I.M. 4 x 50m followed; for the boys Chris Maslen, Steven Reckless, Phil Gaffney and Mark Warren, and for the girls, Josie Hunt, Natalie Reckless, Emily Leahy and Meg Marshman, led in every length to take 1^st place in both events. In the 12 and under mixed freestyle our young swimmers did very well to take 2^nd place while both 14and under teams and the boys 16 and under team came 1^st in the 4 x 50m freestyle relay. The 16 and under girls had a good 2^{nd place} after leading for most of the way. Well done Max Hazel, Michael Sealy, James Marshman, Peter Richardson, Mark Warren, Savannah Wareham, Isabella Dorsman, Sophie Flower, Sinead McCambridge, Josie Hunt, Natalie Reckless and Collette McCambridge; 5 of whom were swimming up as 16 and unders.

 

Next came the big float race, in which a young member of the team on a float was propelled up and down the pool by an increasing number of club swimmers – starting with 2 and ending with 8. Despite a late rule change we came 2^nd in this and then took on the tee shirt and gloves relay. 12 swimmers, girl and boy alternating, each swam a length wearing a tee shirt and gloves, got out and transferred both to the next swimmer. We began with our younger swimmers and were some distance behind the other teams, who put some older members in first. However our policy began to pay off and we closed the gap. In the penultimate length Natalie Reckless overtook the Trowbridge swimmer and a quick change allowed Phil Gaffney to come home 1^st.

 

The final race was a freestyle cannon in which we were second all the way but Bradford had done enough to win the trophy by two points. Everyone in the team swam well and enjoyed themselves. Apart from those mentioned above good times were recorded by Oliver Leahy and Albany Burton, with the latter bringing home the open freestyle relay team in 1^st place.

 

 

4^th October 2008 Bradford field three teams on Saturday

 

Considerable strength in depth allowed Bradford on Avon Amateur Swimming Club to field three teams in different events last Saturday. A young squad, with several swimmers making their competitive debuts, travelled to Keynsham for the Dave Bryant Memorial Gala.

 

With races for 10, 11 12, and 13 year olds the club introduced some 9 year olds and many swimmers swam up in older age groups. Despite this Bradford tied on 151 points behind host club Bristol Penguins, but were placed third as they had fewer first places. The young swimmers were happy to come home with their trophy having gained valuable experience in a new environment with other clubs.

 

At the same time squad swimmers were at the impressive Horfield Leisure Centre in Bristol for the George Lee Memorial Trophy. The gala comprised 41 relay races in four age groups culminating in a ‘cannon’ with eight swimmers from each club. In a fast and furious competition between six clubs in the eight-lane pool Bradford achieved ten first places.

 

The 15 and under boys team of Harry Ash, Michael Sealy, James Marshman, Peter Richardson, Max Hazell and Chris Harber won all five of their races, while the 11 and under girls, Chloe Flower, Jessie Foster, Rebecca Hawkins, Charlotte Stubbs and Ellie Hine won three of theirs and came second in the other two. The girls’ open team, Josie Hunt, Charlotte Patmore, Savannah Wareham, Emily Leahy, Rachel Fotheringham, Natalie Reckless, Collette McCambridge, Sophie Flower took two firsts and came second in their other races.

 

All the swimmers performed well with most teams finishing in the first three in their races but in a very close finish Bradford finished third overall, just four points behind the winners, Thornbury.

 

The third team were the somewhat older Masters, aged 25 and over, who competed in the third block of races of the Wiltshire championships at Salisbury. Thirteen club members, six of whom had children competing in the other two galas, swam against the best in the county. Gold medals were won by Rebecca Smith (4), Sharyn Carling (4), Jon Dyke (3), Bethan Smith (1), Nick Matthews (1), and Phil Gaffney (1).

 

At the close of the evening Bradford finished fourth overall, behind two strong teams from Swindon and one from Salisbury, both somewhat larger places than Bradford. Rebecca Smith set a new record of 1 min. 11.57 seconds in the 4 x 25m. individual medley and was joint winner of the Under 40s Individual Women’s Cup; she would have been outright winner had not her sister Bethan beaten her into second place in the butterfly.

 

 

September 2009 Young Bradford Swimmers win 10 Golds at Weston Super Mare

 

Bradford on Avon swimmers enjoyed a highly successful gala at Weston Super Mare in the Bristol North Swimming Club Junior Meet in September. This meet, for swimmers aged between 9 and 12 years, featured events for all four strokes plus a front crawl and medley relay in each of the four age groups.

 

From 28 events over two weekends Bradford won medals in 17 with ten golds, making it the third most successful club in boys’ and girls’ teams and also third overall at the meet. They were competing against over 20 clubs from throughout south west England and South Wales

 

Bradford 10 year olds carried all before them; the girls, Ellie Hine, Rebecca Hawkins, Jessie Foster and Chloe Flower won both their freestyle and medley relays and for good measure swam up to win both relays in the 11 year old age group, The boys’ team of Robert Ash, Edmond Hames, Hayden Burton and Geng To Law won their medley relay and came second in the freestyle relay.

 

In the individual events for 10 year olds Chloe Flower came 1^st in the 50m freestyle, 2^nd in the 50m butterfly and 3^rd in the 50m breaststroke; Jessie Foster 1^st in both 50m breaststroke and butterfly, 2^nd in the 50m freestyle and 3^rd in the 50m backstroke. For the boys Hayden Burton won both the 50m freestyle and breaststroke and came 2^nd in the 50m butterfly and backstroke. Jessie Foster was top 10 year old girl at the meet and Hayden Burton the top 10 year old boy.

 

Raphi Dorsman, Luke Owen, Michael Dorsman and William Foster came 2^nd in the 9 year old boys’ relay, while Tiana Jones won silver in the 9 year old girls’ 25m butterfly. For the 11 year old boys Wilf Lapes gained silver in the 100m backstroke.

 

Bradford’s strong performance came partly as a result of dedication to training of young swimmers and their parents and partly in having 34 swimmers taking part, said chief coach Laurence Northover. In 2007 there were only three Bradford relay teams but this year eight teams took part in 17 relay swims; in 2006 only 13 swimmers represented the club.

 

All coaches, officials and parents at the club were delighted with the young swimmers’ performances as it reflects the hard work put in at the club in recent years. Bradford is attracting more young swimmers and more members than most other Wiltshire clubs.

 

Bradford Swimmers Promoted to Division 1 of Wiltshire Moonraker Summer League

 

Bradford on Avon Swimming Club entered the fourth and final round of the Wiltshire Moonraker Summer League with a 30 points advantage over nearest rivals Salisbury Stingrays in Division 2. The compact Bradford pool was the venue for this gala with Swindon teams Dolphins B and Tigersharks B completing the line up.

 

Although a few experienced swimmers had other commitments, and it was known that the other clubs were fielding strong teams, there had been an air of expectancy in Bradford all week. Swimmers, coaches and officials all believed that surely the team were far enough ahead to gain promotion this year.

 

Bradford made a superb start winning eight out of the first ten individual events, opening up an eleven points lead over Salisbury on the night, and then won three of the next four relays. This lead steadily increased during the 50 events with Bradford winning 32 and coming second in most of the others.

 

The Under 12 team achieved a 100% performance; boys Wilf Lapes, Hayden Burton, Toto Law, Michael Dorsman and Tokes Sawyerr winning all their six races with the girls team of Chloe Flower, Ellie Hine, Rebecca Hawkins and Jessie Foster responding with a perfect six to match. All swimmers in the other age groups put in excellent performances with several beating their personal bests in individual events.

 

Bradford were clear winners on the evening; Bradford 181 points (out of a maximum of 200), Salisbury 150, Swindon Dolphins 96, Tigersharks 72. Chief Coach Laurence Northover, who swam in the two Open relays himself, was extremely pleased with his team. A mixture of youth with some experienced older Open swimmers propelled the team into the top four in the county for the Summer League.

 

The Division 2 Trophy was presented by Wiltshire Amateur Swimming Association President Margaret Smith to her daughter Rebecca, Steven Reckless, Rebecca Hawkins and Hayden Burton, representing the jubilant Bradford team. Final league placings were; Bradford 633 points, Salisbury 572, Swindon Dolphins 426, Tigersharks 363.

 

 

Moonrakers Summer League, Round 3, 12^th July 2008

 

Bradford ASC extended their lead at the top of Division 2 of the Wiltshire Summer League last Saturday. After a valiant second place in round 2 at Salisbury, when 23 squad swimmers had other commitments, they entered the third round with only half a dozen of the squad missing. In the Link Centre at Swindon they stormed into an early lead winning seven of the first ten individual events and opening up a ten point lead over their nearest rivals, Salisbury Stingrays.

 

This lead slowly increased until Bradford were 19 points ahead after 40 events but Salisbury came back strongly in the final ten events and Bradford had to settle for a winning margin of 15 points. The final score was, Bradford on Avon 161 points, Salisbury Stingrays 146, Swindon Dolphins B 106, and Swindon Tigersharks B 86.

 

Bradford now have a lead of 30 points to take into the final round at Bradford Pool on 13^th September. Favourites for promotion to Division 1 the squad are looking forward to competing against the two top Swindon teams and Trowbridge next summer.

 

Stars on the night were the Under 12s, some of whom are only ten years old. The girls, Ellie Hine, Rebecca Hawkins, Chloe Flower and Jessie Foster, won all their four individual events and both relays. The boys, Michael Dorsman, Edmund Hames, Wilfred Lapes and Hayden Burton achieved three firsts and a second in individuals and came second in both relays.

 

The Open girls (16 and over), Josie Hunt, Lucy Carling, Rebecca Smith and Bethan Smith, nearly managed a clean sweep winning both relays and getting three firsts and a close second in the individuals. Under 16 boys, James Marshman, Peter Richardson, Michael Sealy and Dominic Bedoya, won both relays and with the Under 16 girls, Josie Hunt, Sophie Flower, Savannah Wareham, Collette McCambridge and Isabella Dorsman, obtained first and second places in all other events.

 

Both Under 14 teams performed well with Max Hazell taking first place in both breaststroke and backstroke. Some younger swimmers had to swim up though as the club is short of 13 year olds. A happy chief coach Laurence Northover joined the Open boys, Steven Reckless, Richard Townsend and Dominic Bedoya for their team to claim second place in both relays.

 

With 22 first places and 18 second places Laurence Northover is well pleased with his squad but is hoping that more older boys are available for the Open events in the final round.

 

 

Masters at the Wiltshire County Championships, 7^th June 2008

 

On Saturday 7^th June a team of masters’ swimmers attended the second block of three meets for the Wiltshire County Championships at the Link Centre, Swindon.

 

Bradford was well represented building on the team from the previous block, with the addition of five new swimmers to the team, helping to make it a successful evening of swimming. 

 

Congratulations to Rebecca Smith and Nick Matthews who both broke county records for 25m Freestyle and 100m Breastroke respectively.  The team also collected a total of 8 golds, 10 silvers and 5 bronze medals between them, along with a gold, silver and bronze from the relay teams.

 

We are a fairly small team and at present we are 4^th overall as a team in the Wiltshire championships. 

 

 

Regional Relays, 18^th May 2008

 

Bradford on Avon ASC 9 & 10 years girl swimmers are second only to Plymouth Leander in the whole of south-west England. In the Regional Relays at Millfield School on 18^th May the medley relay team of Charlotte Stubbs, Jessie Foster, Chloe Flower and Ellie Hine, and the freestyle team of Jessie Foster, Rebecca Hawkins, Ellie Hine and Chloe Flower were second in their heats and won silver medals in both finals.

 

Plymouth Leander is the top swimming club in the country and to come in second place behind them was a fantastic achievement for the young Bradford girls. Chief Coach Lawrence Northover calls these girls his Dream Teams with good reason. They have enjoyed a very successful winter in both individual and team events and will provide a strong nucleus in Bradford squads for some years to come.

 

Four other Bradford relay teams were in action at Millfield and the 11 & 12 years boys medley team of Harry Pengelly, James Missen, Brendan O’Neill and Wilf Lapes came seventh in their final but missed the final of the freestyle relay by just one place.

The 13 & 14 years girls team (Josie Hunt, Sophie Flower, Emily Leahy and Charlotte Patmore) came fifth in the medley relay final but were disqualified and suffered the same fate when qualifying for the freestyle relay final.

 

 

Southern Junior League, Round 2, 17^th May 2008

 

Swindon Sx3A (the whole of Swindon) and Ferndown, the best club in Dorset, were among the opposition for Bradford on Avon in Round 2 of the Southern Junior League. Bradford were ranked fifth out of the six teams competing at Bournemouth on 17^th May. Chief Coach Lawrence Northover reckoned 100 points would be a good total considering eight first team boys were unavailable.

 

The 9 year old girls freestyle relay team of Charlotte Stubbs, Sophie Mumford, Holly Humphries and Holly Gulliford made an impressive start winning their event by a substantial margin. After 10 events, and an unfortunate disqualification of the winning 10 year old girls medley relay team, Bradford were lying in fourth place. Winning swims by Charlotte Stubbs (25 m breaststroke and backstroke) and Chloe Flower (10 year 50m butterfly) pushed Bradford into third place with Ed Hames (9 years 25m breaststroke) and Michael Dorsman (9 years 25m backstroke) gaining excellent second places.

 

By this time Swindon and Ferndown were pulling away from the others and Bradford were engaged in the battle for third place with Christchurch. The 10 year girls freestyle team (Jessie Foster, Ellie Hine, Rebecca Hawkins and Chloe Flower) and the 9 year girls medley team (Charlotte Stubbs, Holly Gulliford, Eleanor Dorsman and Holly Humphries) won their relays and after 30 events Bradford and Christchurch Seagulls were joint third.

 

Despite well-swum second places for Jessie Foster (10 years 50m breaststroke and backstroke) and Ellie Hine (10 years 50m freestyle) Bradford lost out in several very close finishes and slipped back to fourth place. A couple of disqualifications in the final nine events halted their fight back for third place and the final scores after 49 races were;

Ferndown 249, Swindon Sx3A 228, Christchurch 158, Bradford on Avon 144, Southwold 132, Dawlish 105.

 

 

Moonrakers’ Summer League, Round 1,           2008

 

Bradford on Avon Swimming Club travelled to Swindon to swim the opening gala of the Summer League Division 2 at the Link Centre. Opposing teams were Swindon Dolphins B, Swindon Tigersharks B and Salisbury. Bradford began in fine style with Steven Reckless and Alex Warren winning both 100m Open individual medleys.

 

This pattern continued with many 1^st and 2^nd places and after 17 races Bradford were leading Salisbury by 10 points. Success followed success and by the end of the evening Bradford had won 24 of the 50 races and taken 2^nd place in 15. Rebecca Smith, Lucy Carling, Bethan Smith & Alex Warren in the Open class won all their individual and relays races, while their male counterparts, Richard Townsend, Steven Reckless, Lawrence Northover & Harry Ash, won their freestyle relay.

 

The Under 12 girls, Ellie Hine, Rebecca Hawkins, Jessie Foster & Chloe Flower, won both relays and 3 out of 4 individual races, and the boys, Peter Ash, Joe Gurney, Wilfred Lapes & Guy Harrison Murray, were successful in the medley relay.

 

Charlotte Patmore, Sophie Flower, Josie Hunt & Emily Leahy, Under 16 girls, won both relays and 2 individual races. The Under 16 boys, James Marshman, Peter Richardson, Michael Sealy & Dominique Bedoya, won 2 individual races and their medley relay.

 

Winners of individual races for this successful Bradford squad were Steven Reckless in the Open 100m individual medley and the Open 100m breaststroke; Alex Warren in the Open 100m individual medley and the Open 100m breaststroke; Lucy Carling in the Open 100m backstroke; Rebecca Smith in the Open 100m freestyle; Harry Ash in the Open 100m Freestyle, the Under 16 100m Freestyle and 100m Butterfly; James Marshman in the Under 16 100m Backstroke; Charlotte Patmore in the Under 16 100m Freestyle; Josie Hunt in the Under16 100m Backstroke; Wilfred Lapes in the Under12 50m Backstroke; Chloe Flower in the Under12 50m Butterfly, and Ellie Hine in the Under 12 50m Backstroke.

 

Good swims and points were also achieved by the Under 14s, Harry Pengelly, Max Hazell, Brendan O’Neill, Hazel Butterworth, Emily Cowles, Sinead McCambridge, and Isabella Dorsman.

 

Bradford coach Lawrence Northover was extremely pleased with the team’s performance and made the following awards;

            Best Support for Team – Harry Pengelly

Outstanding Swim Boys – Peter Richardson 100m Breaststroke

Outstanding Swim Girls – Sophie Flower 100m Breaststroke & U16 Girls Relay

Achievement – Open Girls for winning everything!

   

District Championships 2008

 

Nine Bradford swimmers qualified for the Age Group and Youth South West District Championships at Millfield School in the 50 metre pool. Steven Reckless, Harry Ash, James Marshman, Hayden Burton, Charlotte Patmore, Rachel Fotheringham, Josie Hunt, Jennie Foster, Chloe Flower and Rebecca Hawkins  all spent several days in May and June competing against the best young swimmers in the south west of England.

 

Hayden Burton (10) won silver medals in the 100m and 200m breaststroke and came 5^th in the 200m individual medley and 7^th in the 200m freestyle, while Harry Ash (14) came 4^th in the 400m freestyle and 8^th in the 200m backstroke. Jessie Foster obtained 5^th place in the 200m breaststroke and the 200m individual medley, and 6^th in the 100m breaststroke, while Chloe Flower was 8^th in the 200m freestyle.

 

Despite most of the swimmers training mainly in 25 metre pools they adapted to the long course well and all achieved personal best times. Head coach Laurence Northover was pleased with the results and is aiming to have a larger number of swimmers achieving district qualifying times in 2009.

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