Devon Developments: First Weekend, 21-22 June 2014

At the first weekend of the Devon Development Meet, Exeter City Swimming Club claimed a total of 9 golds among 34 top-3 finishes. This was also an excellent opportunity for several younger swimmers to have their first taste of licensed competition, their performances proving that the future for ECSC looks very positive.

Guy Wilson (10) led the way with golds in 200m free, 100m IM and 200m back. Also grabbing multiple golds were Millie Rawles (11) in 200m back and 100m fly, and Olivia Annunziata (12) in 100m free and 200m back. Anna Czipri (9) took a superb gold in 200m back, and Tea Jones (12) dominated in 100m breast to win comfortably. Tea also took silvers in 200m breast and in 100m IM, where she edged Olivia into third by 0.01 seconds. Olivia finished 2nd in 800m and 200m free, while Millie came third in 200m free. 

Silvers  went to Mia Corcoran (14) in 100m free and 200m back, Lily Collins-Board (13) in 800m free, Lauren Ramsay (10) in 200m back, Annabel Courtney (11) in 100m breast, and Sarah Downs (13) and Amy Linnington (14) in 200m free. Amy claimed silver in 800m free.

Among the bronze medallists were Sarah Downs (100m fly and 100m IM), Lauren Ramsay (200m breast and 100m IM), Eleanor Brandon (12) in 800m free and 100m fly, Jessica Courtney (9) in 200m breast and 200m back, Alisha Singleton (13) in 800m free, Rebekah Broadhurst (14) in 200m breast, and Owen Hopwood (12) in 200m back.

All results can be found here.

Western Counties Age Groups: Final Weekend, 14-15 June 2014

The final weekend of the Western Counties Age Groups saw the action move to Hengrove, where the club's finest age-group swimmers continued to test themselves against the very best in the region. As well as our relay teams, ten swimmers competed in individual events: Olivia Passmore, Milly Kendall, Emily Eveling, Aliyah-Mai Webb, Katie Townsend, Ella Farley, Alec White, Sam Criddle, Matt Ramsay and Tim Western. Having met very testing qualifying times, they represented the club with immense credit.

Each day started with relays. The men's 4x100m medley relay team (Alec White, Charlie Kendall, Adam Edwards, Matt Ramsay) finished 16th, as did the women's 4x100m freestyle relay team of Aliyah-Mai Webb, Emily Eveling, Katie Townsend and Ella Farley. The teams had also matched each other's results in the first weekend, so the battle of the sexes came down to the final day, when the men's team (joined by Sam Criddle) came 16th in 4x100m free and the women took the bragging rights with 13th in the 4x100m medley.

Other highlights of the weekend included Emily Eveling's national qualifying time in the heats of the 200m free, and her third-place finish in the 400m IM. Also on the podium, in the next age group of the same event, was Aliyah-Mai Webb, who took bronze with a superb swim. Emily finished 8th in her 200m free final, 7th in 200m backstroke, and 9th in 200m breaststroke.

Having just missed a final the previous weekend, Alec White put matters right with a terrific performance to come 5th in the 100m backstroke, and he narrowly missed another final with 9th in 100m breaststroke.

The results can be viewed in full here.

So the Western Counties Age Group Championships came to a close with fifteen swimmers having represented the club in relays and individual events. Of those, five reached finals, and two (Emily and Aliyah) took medals. Given the size and strength of the Western region, which includes the national club champions and many other exceptional clubs, our swimmers have performed wonders, and everyone at the club congratulates them on their achievements.

Western Counties Age Group Championships: First Weekend, 7-8 June 2014

The first weekend of the Western Counties Age Group Championships at Millfield, for competitors aged 14 and under, brought together the strongest swimmers in the region from as far afield as Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Cornwall. As well as taking part in the 4x200m freestyle relays, an elite band of Exeter swimmers who had met very demanding qualifying times went on to complete in individual events. These were Emily Eveling, Ella Farley, Sadia Hallam, Grace James, Charlie Kendall, Milly Kendall, Olivia Passmore, Matt Ramsay, Aliyah-Mai Webb and Alec White. It is a superb achievement to achieve a regional qualifying time, and they all deserve our congratulations.

Both the male and the female relay teams finished 14th, a performance particularly admirable as several of our swimmers are young enough to be eligible for next year's competition. The men's team comprised Alec White, Charlie Kendall, Sam Criddle and Matt Ramsay, with Emily Eveling, Aliyah-Mai Webb, Katie Townsend and Sadia Hallam making up the women's quartet.

It was a hot weekend for racing, and the sun streaming through the roof did not make it easy for the backstroke leg of the IM. Nevertheless, Exeter produced some fine swims in individual races. Best of all, Emily Eveling (12) took silver in the 200m fly, and bronze in the 200m IM. She was also a finalist in the 100m fly, finishing 5th in a close race.

Aliyah-Mai Webb (13) came 4th in 800m free, showing extraordinary endurance despite the conditions. Aliyah was also 6th in 200m fly and 5th in 200m IM, and was unlucky to miss the finals of 100m fly (10th) and 200m breast (9th) by small margins.

Grace James (11) put in an immense performance to finish 5th with a PB in an exhausting 200m fly final ahead of Milly Kendall (7th). Milly also came 9th with a PB in 100m free, and 10th in 100m fly. Alec White can consider himself unlucky, after a superb swim in the 200m IM saw him finish within touching distance of the final in 10th place.

All results, including a handful of impressive time-trials by some of the club's older swimmers, can be found here.

The focus shifts to Hengrove next weekend: best of luck to all our swimmers!

Cobexe Open Meet, 17-18 May 2014

The Cobexe level 1 long course meet, jointly organised by Exeter and City of Bristol swimming clubs, took place at Hengrove over the weekend of 17-18 May. Special thanks to the organisers and the many volunteers from both clubs who made the event possible.

The unseasonably hot weather conspired to make fast swimming more difficult than usual. This, together with the fact that our top squads are currently in a period of intense training for stamina, ensured that personal bests were at a premium. Nevertheless, several swimmers took the last-gasp opportunity to secure regional qualifying times with dominant performances in advance of next month’s Western Counties Age Group Championships. There were gold medals for Exeter swimmers throughout the age categories and in all strokes.

Leading the way were Amelia Ashelford (10) and Aliyah-Mai Webb (13), who chalked up a dozen victories between them. Amelia took gold in 200m IM, 50m breast, 200m back, 400m free, 50m back, 200m breast and 50m fly, while Aliyah won 200m IM, 100m breast, 100m fly, 400m free and 200m breast. Aliyah added silvers in 100m free and 200m back for good measure.

Other race winners were Lucy Peters (10) and Milly Kendall (11), both in 50m free, and Rebecca Gibbins (12) in 50m fly. Among the boys, Alec White took two golds (200m back, 100m breast), as well as a silver (100m back) and a bronze (200m free).

Silvers also went to: Elliot Svensson (11), 400m IM and 50m back; Lucy Peters, 200m IM and 200m free; Lauren Ramsay (10), 50m breast and 400m free; Ella Farley (13), 50m breast, 400m free and 200m fly; Tim Western (12), 50m back, 100m and 200m breast, and 50m free; Charlie Kendall (14), 200m breast; James Wamsley (15+), 100m and 200m breast; Milly Kendall, 100m fly, 200m fly and 100m free; Rebecca Gibbins, 100m fly, 50m free and 50m back; Guy Wilson (10), 200m fly; Katie Townsend (14), 200m back; Joe Crispin (15+), 100m fly; Sarah Downs (13), 50m fly.

There were bronze medals for: Lauren Ramsay, 200m IM, 200m free and 200m breast; Ella Farley, 100m breast; Florence Herbert (12), 50m breast; Sam Criddle (13), 50m back; Elliot Svensson, 200m breast; Matt Ramsay (13), 200m breast and 100m free; Daniel Jones (12), 50m fly; Jack Pearson (15+), 400m free; James Wamsley, 200m IM and 50m breast; Grace James (11), 200m fly; Rebecca Gibbins, 200m fly; Tom Downs (15+), 200m and 100m fly; Katie Townsend, 50m fly.

Congratulations to all our swimmers!

Western Counties Youth Championships, 3-5 May 2014

The Western Counties Youth Championships, held in Plymouth over the Bank Holiday weekend, saw Exeter swimmers testing themselves against the very best in the region, including a reigning world record holder and Olympic gold medalist, and the new national record holder for men’s 50m freestyle. With several national age-group champions also competing, the fight for medals was always going to be tough, and qualifying for finals was an extremely impressive achievement in its own right.

Exeter City Swimming Club produced two winners. Jack Pearson (16) came back from a muscle injury the previous day to dominate the men’s 400m individual medley, while Tom Downs (15) finished strongly to snatch first place in the 200m butterfly, securing a national qualifying time in the process. These are two of the most energy-sapping events in the programme, making their victories all the more impressive. Jack also showed his stamina to finish 3rd in the 400m freestyle, while Tom featured regularly throughout the weekend with 2nd in 100m fly, two 4th place finishes (50m fly, 50m back), 5th in 400m IM, and 8th in 200m free and 400m free.

Other multiple finalists included James Wamsley (15), whose best finish of 3rd in 50m breaststroke was supported by 4th in 100m and 200m breast, and 10th in 200m IM. Freddie Fearnley (15) came 7th in 100m free and 8th in 50m backstroke; Liam White (15) took two 9th places finishes (200m back and 50m free); Joe Crispin (16) finished 4th in 200m fly and 7th in 100m fly; and Dominic Wooldridge, swimming in the 17 and over category, came 5th in 400m free, 7th in 200m free, and 8th in 400m IM.

Four other swimmers reached finals, with Millie Price (15) 6th in 100m breast, Georgia Cotterill (15) 9th in 50m fly, Vicky Bishop (16) 10th in 50m back, and Warren Barrett (17 and over) 8th in 50m fly.

Head Coach Jo John said: ‘This is always a difficult event for swimmers of this age as it comes immediately at the point of a defining moment in their lives with key exams which will determine their future.  I was very pleased by the performances and commitment from the swimmers and continue to be excited by what this club can offer going forward.’

Attention now turns to the club’s younger swimmers up to 14 years old, who will compete in their age groups at the Western Counties Championships in June. 

Weston-super-Mare Easter Open Meet

Exeter was represented by a handful of swimmers at the Easter Open Meet, Weston-super-Mare, on 19-20 April.

Among many fast times, there were victories for Harrison Yarnold (15) in 100m and 200m free, while Matt Ramsay (13) won the same events in his age group. Harrison added a third place in 50m back, and Matt took 2nd in 50m free and 3rd in 200m IM. Sam Criddle (13) was 3rd in 200m free. Rebecca Gibbins (12) finished 3rd in 100m free, with Olivia Burrow (11) 3rd in 50m back.

Devon Interclub Gala

Devon Interclub Gala 2014. Runners-up: Exeter City. Photograph © Richard Davies

The Devon Interclub Gala at Plymouth's Life Centre on Sunday 13 April represented the culmination of a series of county events. Celebrating its 120th anniversary, Devon ASA took the opportunity also to showcase other water sports, including water polo and synchronised swimming (for which Exeter Synchro gave a farewell performance).

Swimming got underway after a rendition of the national anthem and a parade by the 12 participating clubs. Exeter competed superbly throughout, with top-3 finishes in 29 of the 37 events, and demonstrated strength in depth with second place in each of the relay events. It was always going to be hard to challenge the reigning national champions, but Exeter made Plymouth Leander fight to the end, and kept the gap to single digits until beyond the halfway stage. The final result was a comfortable second place, well ahead of some strong competition from across the county.

Among many excellent swims, there were individual wins for Milly Kendall (50m free & 50m fly), Tom Downs (100m fly), Liam White (100m back) and Dominic Wooldridge (100m fly).