Top 3 places in round 1 and 2 of Chiltern League has put the team in a great position ahead of the final round on April 20th. Swimmers swimming up age groups & last minute replacements showing how much people care and want to help their team mates out. Good luck in the final and not too many speeding tickets please!
Linslade was the main club open gala for this quarter. A staple of our racing calendar and as a development meet it is a great opportunity for those that have never raced in a open gala. However, as it is also a Level 3 meet, times count for regionals in April/May. There was lot at stake. Over 50 swimmers took part and despite being in a squash court for many, many hours – it was a fantastic success. Highlights being Lucas going under 1min for the 100m Freestyle & Niamh getting the Scottish National qualifying time for her age group competition in April in the 200m Butterfly. Club records broken by Sophie A (Age 9: 100BK, 100 & 200 IM) & Eva J (Age 11: 50BK). Overall, 256 PB’s, 64 Gold, 47 Silver and 38 Bronze medals. Again, thank you to all the officials, team managers and coaches who helped make it a great success. Also shout out to Linslade for a fantastic event.
Flitwick took a squad of 15 swimmers over the 2 day Level 1 National Qualifier at Putteridge. We held our own against some top teams such as Peterborough & Basildon with some fantastic podium positions, pbs, regional times and early placements for those National Championships in the summer. Well done Dolphins!
Flitwick had a fantastic counties. Finishing top of the medal table against the Central Beds teams and 4th overall. Some amazing swims with many competing at this level for the first time. 31 Gold, 39 Silver and 36 Bronze medals were achieved over the long & short distance events inc relays. Stand out performances were Daniel who collected 15 Junior Cups, Eva J who came third in her age group and Harrison S who also won three age group trophies in the Senior category. Big shout out to all the officials and volunteers who helped make counties the success it was this year. We can’t do it without you!
The Swim England Winter National Championships at Pond Forge, Sheffield, took place between 14th-16th December and we were proudly represented by Harrison, Abs & Ida. It‘s a short-course event and has just the open age category and so to just qualify is an amazing achievement.
Abs swam 5 events, made 3 finals and achieved 1 PB. Harrison swam 7 events and achieved 5 PBs whilst Ida swam 4 events in total. Supported by Head Coach Nigel, it was a great experience for all three, competing against some of the best swimmers in the country. Congratulations!
With Flitwick narrowly missing out on the divisional finals, by just 1 point, it was up to the team, in the final round, to ensure a top 10 position. As always at this time of year – there are illnesses and other Xmas related activities, so the team called up some fresh faces (some with very little notice) and headed north to Tamworth, home of the Snowdome.
Second place on the night and that top ten position secured. And what a performance was put in. Not only by those that have attended all three rounds but all the new swimmers as well. There were swimmers swimming up age groups, swimmers swimming multiple races and swimmers swimming not their preferred stroke. The McDonalds at the traditional stop at Watford Gap was well & truly deserved.
With the final round complete it’s time to say thank you to the Coaches – Louise & Nigel, Team Managers Ali & Angela and the various officials that helped out (Ref) Louise Mackie, Neil, Michelle, Nikola, Claire, Tash & Phillipa. Big additional thank you to Ali for organising us all. Roll on next year!
The traditional final gala before Xmas and Counties & the short trip to the east of the county and the Biggleswade Xmas Cracker! As always it’s a great event with a fabulous atmosphere & an excellent start to the festive period. Flitwick took a massive 74 swimmers, across the 4 sessions – one of our biggest ever teams at an open gala. We not only had a great meet but we WON the visiting club trophy. Well done Dolphins!
Like a boxer aiming to unify their division and win all the belts, so Liz made it a clean sweep in her age group of all the short & long course butterfly 50 & 100m British records at the first AP Masters meet at Moorways in Derby on Saturday 25th November.
It’s unknown if it was the sight of Adam Peaty, the record breaking swimming of Anna Hopkin or just her champion mindset that inspired Liz but after a personal journey of 2 years Liz absolutely smashed the 50 FLY in a time of 30.92 seconds. Wowzers! What an Achievement. Well done Liz!
Ian Murray (Chair), Adam Cassell (Treasurer) and Marian Murray (Membership Secretary) travelled up to the Great Hall at Birmingham University on Saturday 18th November, to attend the Swim England National Awards Ceremony for 2023. Hosted by Michael Gunning and Leon Taylor it was a really great occasion. There was a wonderful supportive atmosphere in the hall, as the nominations were announced and the winners went up for awards. Flitwick Dolphins was one of eight finalists in the Club of the Year Awards. To come away with the Bronze Award at this national event in recognition of the positive work the club is doing was tremendous. A big thank you to everyone who has helped the club along its journey over the last year which led to us receiving this award.
The first weekend in November was the home to the East Region Short Course Winter Championships and Flitwick took a team of 7 swimmers to the event. Even to qualify is a massive achievement as there is no age category and just the one qualifying time for all ages. So well done to all the swimmers that made it to the starting gun for both individual and the relay events.
Two 2nd place podium finishes were achieved by Harrison in the 200m Fly and Ida in the 200IM multi-classication event. Personal Bests were achieved by Harrison, Yasmine, Lily, Daniel & Ida. Well done all and thanks to coach Nigel and team manager Ali for motivating & looking after the team over the weekend.