Swimming
Swimming continues to improve every year with the addition of new competitions mixing it up with our regular inter-school , county and national galas . Unfortunately , as with many sports , we did not complete all our fixtures and some of next year ’ s have been cancelled , but we still had many enjoyable events and some great results .
There is never much time for training after the summer break before our first competition in early September . The Kent Schools ’ Relays competition is also our regional qualifier for the English Secondary School Team Championship Finals . Historically we have done very well at this event and this year was no exception !
We secured two golds and six silvers across three age groups of boys and girls , with strong performances by the junior girls : Izabella Okaro , Amelia Tovey , Anjola Pratt and Eva Mathews . The junior boys – Demi Alli , Jack Eagle , James Ellershaw and Bertie Turner – achieved an outstanding result , winning both of their events . The inter boys team of Cameron Davies , Zac Raymond , David Maule and Nikita Ivaniuta also added to the medal haul . In mid-October the finalists were announced and we found seven of our 12 teams had qualified . A brilliant achievement .
As a result , final preparations could begin with the team for the ESSA Team Championships held in November at the Aquatics Centre in Stratford . The swimmers had an excellent trip , securing two fourth places , one apiece for the junior girls and junior boys teams , and two sixth places in the finals comprised of the top 30 teams from over 200 schools in each age category . With the tightest of margins separating third and fourth , we are hopeful of returning with some silverware next time . All of the swimmers improved on their entry rankings , making it a very successful competition . With an injury to one of our inter boys , Alex Shin was called up for the finals , showing great dedication and finding time to attend more training sessions leading up to the competition .
Our inter-school competitions ran from October half term until February . The team swam well in both the boys ’ and girls ’ galas and our larger mixed events against schools such as Reigate Grammar . There were some great performances by Izabella Okaro , Demi Alli , Zac Raymond , Louis Hayes , Alex Gibb , and Ray Jerram and Sarah Williams , our outgoing captains . Unfortunately , we had some illnesses , but it was good to see other swimmers stepping up and taking their chance to compete . A show of dedication and teamwork .
100 SPORT REVIEW