Scorpion Swim Team

I was very impressed at the times posted in this round of the leagues by all who swam.

200 FREE

Kirsty 3.22 .28 Katy 3.22.44 Amie 2.44.14. Jasper 2.45.18 Thomas 2.41.50

200 IM Elise 3.46.73 Elliot 2.56.73

100 FLY Elliot 1.28.52

100 BREAST Thomas 1.36.28

50 BREAST Rachel 51.32 KATY 53.00 Cambelle 52.41

100 BACK Elise 1.49.97

50BACK Cambelle 53.26 Emma 54.00

100 IM Vilara 1.58.09

50 BACK Rachel 42.99 Vilara 53.40

50 FREE Darcey 43.91 Emma 46.49

50 FLY Darcey 57.69 Kirsty 57.95

A special mention goes to Katy for doing a very creditable time in her 200 free bearing in mind she has not been with as long and this was her first swim at a competition. I have not included times for the relays but how Darcy managed to do the first and anchor leg of the relay posting a faster time in the second 50 with very little rest shows how fit she is so great effort. Whilst there were some cracking swims we still need to make sure we do not get disqualified for moving off the blocks too quickly no names mentioned here but I think the person will know themselves and are gutted as they produced a 4second personal best. As if not to make matters worse the same person mentioned that they should have been disqualified for an illegal kick anyway. You have to admire honesty though but at times it best to be quiet about infractions where possible lol.

The one aspect we need to work on is our turns and that is where we can improve and this is something both Susan and myself will be working on in the coming weeks. There were many barriers broken at long last in the swims which shows the great progress we are making but that means the sessions will get harder as we progress through the season. The swimmers present in the morning managed to amuse themselves including showing off how they could bend parts of there body into totally unnatural shapes. Needless to say I was worried that they would remain in these weird shapes and would be no longer streamlined in the pool . On looking at some of the swims their were certain swimmers who actually were not swimming straight lines so perhaps not the best idea to twist your limbs in an unusual manner before swimming.

I have a lot of admiration also for the parents in withstanding the heat and that is why I arrived on a camel and brought my own Bedouin tent. The pool was in fact an oasis gleaming in the distance as I dismounted in the car park after a four day trip through the Kalahari desert. Very dissapointed that on entry to the tent nobody asked for my autograph given I was making a good impression of Lawrence of Arabia. Any way the last paragraph was written whilst I was suffering from heat exhaustion so as usual I am away for a lie down and will definitely have a strong word with myself lol.

Colin Galbraith ( aka Ohmar Sherrife) not sure about the spelling lol.

Headcoach Scorpion in the Desert Swim Team

When they put on our now famous black and white cap the feeling of belonging to a team seems to bring out the best in our swimmers. The amazing swims just kept on coming and I was asked twice by two other coaches how we do it on only three sessions a week. Well the key is quality but there is no point in having that unless the swimmers are willing to put in the hard sets. The enthusiasm shown by the team was summed up before the first girls warm up when Darcy was so keen to get in the pool she had forgotten to take her flip flops off and Cambelle still had her t shirt on.

There were several amazing swims starting with Kara breaking the three minute barrier for the first time on her 200 free which was superb. Jasper took a minute of his 200 Free Thomas had a Pb on his 20o free as did Sammy and Alice produced a brilliant time of 3.13 on her 200 free . Credit also to Elise for her 200 free, she battled all the way.

Personal Bests either in individual swims or in relays for:

Elise,Thomas, Aimee, Alice, Darcy, Kirsty, Jessica, Sammy, Cambelle, Kara, Jasper, Vilara and Rachel,

Ellie smashed through the 40 second barrier on her free for the first time with her new freestyle stroke and everyone is improving which is great news.

Swimming is a brutal sport given the thousands of meters needed in every session culminating in sometimes less than 40 seconds in a competition. One slight mistake in a swim can pose a potential disaster so I take my hat or should I say my scorpion black and white cap off to all those who come through the hard times to achieve times they never thought humanly possible.

There was seven club records created from this round of the Leagues Kara ,Alice ,Thomas ,Sammy , and Jasper all for 200 free Jasper 100 Back Sammy 50 Back and these will be update in due course. I noticed a big difference in the turns on Saturday however there is still much to be done on this aspect. I was also pleased about the distance off the blocks however once again this will be worked on in training.

We are so proud of all of you so keep up the hard work and your personal bests will happen if you are patient.

Let’s crack on lol