Bracknell
4th February, 2012
Whoever said that children these days don’t do enough physical activity obviously hadn’t checked the social diaries of Chalfont Otters swimmers for February 4th 2012! Scout hikes, gym competitions, parties and a whole host of other prior engagements meant that it was a much changed Otters squad that boarded the coach to Bracknell for Round 2 of the Thames Valley Junior League.
Otters lined up against teams from Newbury, Bracknell, Chesham and Windsor with Amersham B withdrawing due to the threat of snow. With such a small & inexperienced squad, it was always going to be an uphill battle and we finished in 5th position. However, Kelvin’s outlook on TVJL this year is to provide opportunities for development and to gain more experience – and in that respect we had a successful evening. Some of our younger Otters swam their very first team gala while others found themselves competing in older age groups or swimming their weaker strokes. The result was a whole bunch of PB’s;- Jack Blair (x2), Alice Hall, Elliot Hughes, Katie Norris ( x2), Emilie Ratcliff, Olivia Sharpe, Ross McGarvie, Sam Phippen, Maya Semanova-Hoyland, Jamie Aldred, Sam Stevenson, Taylor Mott and Tabitha James.
Important lessons were learned both in the water and just as importantly at poolside, among them;-
• Listen carefully to what the coach or team managers is telling you – don’t rely on information from other swimmers (and particularly not swimmers from other teams)
• Don’t disappear off to the toilet without checking when your next race is!
Well done to all our ‘first timers’. It was a tough night and they performed admirably. A special mention too for Ross McGarvie who swam 8 races in all as both a 10 & 11 year old and managed to keep a smile on his face throughout.
Thanks also to Heidi Norris and Philippa Guironnet for assisting with Team Manager duties and to Harvey James for keeping things under control at the far end of the pool.
The final scores did little to dampen team spirit and after a slow journey back to Chalfont through the snow our swimmers rounded the night off with a mass snow ball fight in the Leisure Centre car park.
