Fast swims, rapid results, and a buzzing atmosphere – could we ask for more from a sprints gala? How about a collection of new PBs, county qualifying times and medals? That’ll do nicely.
Beverley Barracudas’ Summer Sprints on 17th July saw 18 clubs visit Beverley to battle for points in fast-paced 50m events and 100m individual medleys. They brought quality and strength, putting our swimmers to the test and creating an exciting afternoon and evening.
Beverley Barracudas racked up 131 new personal bests over the 36 events. Among them were Liam J’s 100m IM time now 15.52 seconds lighter, and Bessie Marie S’s 8.37-second improvement in the 50m freestyle.
Eva S, one of our more experienced Academy swimmers, gained a county time in 50m fly, while Club Start swimmer Yasin EK gained two county times.
We now have 59 county-level swimmers – 41% of our members – with strong recruitment continuing to grow both the size and quality of our club. As things stand, we’ll be taking 257 qualifying times to the County Championships in October.
At the close of two action-packed sessions, Beverley Barracudas finished as top club with 1,137 points, followed by Pocklington and Scarborough Kingfishers in joint second place, both on 387.5 points.
In the individual rankings, Lottie J and Alexander S demonstrated the great potential we have in our younger swimmers, topping the points tables in the 9 yrs age group. Also taking top girl and top boy titles for Beverley were Stella H, Imogen R, Ronald C, Evie B, Lucy C, and Alex G.
But these were hard-fought-for victories, thanks to tough competition from our rival clubs. Two Scarborough Kingfishers boys claimed the title for their age groups, with other wins going home to Ryedale, Bradford, Sheffield City, and Barnsley.
Head coach Wayne Smith said: ‘Our club looks very solid throughout the age groups and squads. It’s good to see them swimming so well before they have a well-deserved summer holiday.’
For the full results, visit Open Meets to search by event, swimmer and club scores.