We were represented in the morning session by Aimee and Alena and both set good times for their 50 back (Aimee) and 100 IM (Alena). Aimee 50 Back 54.37 -200 Free 3.58.78 -Alena 100 IM 2.03.26-50 Breast 1.09.27
Aimee was tackling 200 free for the first time and this distance is a tough one however she kept going and it was valuable experience gained. Alena swam a decent 50 breastroke despite losing her cap half way down the first 25. It was me who helped her put the swim cap on so I am partly to blame. Her IM swim was excellent for a first go at this event .
Overall the strokes are really good however there is a lot of work to do on being race fit which will be addressed in training over the next few weeks.
The afternoon session was busy with twelve swimmers representing the club namely Natalia, Emma, Darcy, Katy, Tim, Willis, Hamish, Ruraidh, Lewis, Kara, Ruby, and Kaleigh. I shall go through the swimmers individually with the times posted.
Natalia 200 Im 2.45.26 -100 Fly 1.18.97
Natalia smashed her IM time due to a big difference in her breastroke although still work to be done on this stroke. She hit her personal best on fly which was a very good swim. Most pleasing was her two relay splits hitting 29 secs for a fifty which is not hanging about to say the least.
Emma 100 back 1.29.23-100 breast 1.45.81
Emma hit two personal bests and despite hating breastroke the stroke was by far improved from the last time she swam this event. Still working on her not taking two many strokes on the second half of her back swims. As per usual a flying machine in the relay team.
Darcy 200 free 2.48.48 The purpose of this swim was to blast out the first hundred and see what split she could achieve and she clocked 1.16 on this which all bodes well for the next 100 free she enters into. Darcy gave it everything she had and deserves great credit for a tough swim on 200. She said she had nothing left in the tank after this swim Darcy swam a 34 counting swim in first leg of the relay.
Katy 200 IM 3.00.13 100 Back 1.21.83 Katy at last proved to herself she is a great swimmer posting good times on both her swims and not drilling the fly her split for fly on theIM was 34 secs. She also provided a very fast 50 free in the two relays at the end of this meet. So pleased for her as she is a graceful swimmer and is now believing in herself which we have been trying to install in her for a long time
Tim 200 free 2.43.23 -100 Back 1.23.43 Tim swam two good swims although he found the 200 free tough but it’s his turns which need a bit of work. He was a valuable member of the mixed relay posting a fast 32 secs for his 50 . Time always works hard and deserves the success he is having.
Willis 200 IM 3.04.25 Willis swam this event really well and no technical faults which was very pleasing. He also posted a fast time of 34 secs on his 50 free in the relay and is showing he has talent just needs to concentrate on the small improvements and it will help him post great times.
Hamish 100 breast 1.44.56 Hamish had to wait patiently for his swim and posted a creditable time on this stroke. Hamish timing on breastroke is very good and a bit more work on the underwater phase after the turns will smash his time I have no doubt. Hamish hopefully will get his 100 free swim in the future as this is his favourite stroke.
Ruaridh 100 Back 1.43.49 Ruaridh swam his backstroke very well and is a valuable member of the relay team. Each gala event he improves his times and is getting faster which is down to hard training which he is reaping the reward for. Well done Ruraidh..
Lewis 100 Breast 1.50.17 Lewis swam this extremely well and if he did not pause on each stroke on his front end would have smashed this time even further. Lewis also is a valuable member of the relay team and posted a fast time on his 50 free split. Well done Lewis.
Kara 200 IM 3.27.63- 100 Breast 1.50.19 Kara is probably the most improved swimmer in the team which is down to getting stuck into training.She is now able to come back the last part of her races speeding up and she has come a long way over the last six months. Delighted for her and she deserves all the credit for working so hard. She comes out the pool having given it everything and still smiles. Well done Kara.
RUBY 200 Free 3.04.58 -100 Back 1.37.38 Ruby was heading for a sub 3mins on her free however she miscounted and stopped after 6 lengths and then realized she had 50 to go . It’s such a shame as she was swimming the event really well. She then posted a good time on her 100 back. The most pleasing thing was her split in the relay where she posted 40 secs for the first time and this now counts as her 50 free time for future galas. That’s shifting fast and definitely heading in the right direction.
Kaleigh 100 fly 1.47.08 Kaleigh did try a 200 free but it was a big ask of her and she did the right thing by stopping. This young lady has guts though as she was in a gala for the very first time tackling the most difficult of swims the 100 fly posting a brilliant time for her first attempt. She has improved remarkably from when she first joined the club and all credit to her for sticking with it and showing what can be done if you start to believe in yourself .
Overall I was pleased with how we performed at this league event however there is still a lot of hard work to be done especially with aerobic conditioning moving forward to further events. I will be discussing the plans for this over the next few sessions.
Finally it’s been quite hectic behind the scenes and once things calm down the club records will be updated to take into account swims which have taken place.
Colin Galbraith Headcoach Scorpion Swim Team