Hemel Hempstead Swimming Club kicked off their 2008 campaign with two great results in the Herts Major League last Saturday.
The Division One team, competing at their home pool, came in second place in the first round, scoring 7 individual wins and 24 Personal Best Times. This result was achieved in spite of absences which left the team without any Under 16 boy swimmers. The four boys swimming in the Under 14s – Tim Boardman, Jamie Keevill, Louis Mayhew and Ben McFarlane-Barnes – valiantly took on individual and relay races in both their own age group and the one above, swimming in up to eight events apiece.
Despite an exhausting evening, the boys won both their Under 14 relays, with Keevill claiming first in the Under 14 breaststroke and Mayhew taking the Under 14 backstroke. Other individual wins went to Devon Prior (u12) in the breaststroke, Frederick Woodcock (u12) in the breaststroke and backstroke, Ben Page in the u12 butterfly and Liam Barnett in the Open butterfly.
Hemel’s B Team, also suffering from absent swimmers, battled to fourth place in Division Two at Potters Bar. They claimed 33 personal best times, with 4 race wins and 23 top three finishes. Lois Moore was one of the stars of the day, swimming butterfly to third place, not only in her own age group – the u14’s – but in the u16’s as well. She then went onto compete in the Open event. Rebekah Ward (u16) took on five events, scoring three personal best times, and coming third in the 100 freestyle. Suzanne Pitts won the u14 breaststroke, with Victoria Fisher claiming first in the u14 backstroke. They too were called on to compete against higher age groups, as were Luc Adlington, Lawrence Hall, Charlotte Mellish, Curtis Barnett, and Lauren Wilding. Luc Adlington gained four personal bests, Nathan Stearn three, with Peter Kennett, Thomas Sherriff and Lauren Wilding claiming two.
The next round is on 2nd February.