May 2014 HATFIELD SWIMMING CLUB NEWSLETTER Volume No 6 Message from Ian Wright Director of Swimming and Head Coach The past few weeks have involved a series of important competitions for the Club and many of our performance swimmers. You will find reports for most of these within this newsletter and I'm delighted to acknowledge that many of the results were extremely good. As you will know, the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow is the big swimming event of the year for everyone in British Swimming and promises to be a great spectacle and showcase of the sport in a fantastic venue. Hatfield is fortunate to be more involved than most in the Games due to the fact that we already have four individual qualifiers for three different countries - plus hopes that one other swimmer will also still be selected. British Champion Adam Brown was announced in the England team this past week, whilst Katie Armitage will be racing for Scotland in their home Games. In addition, Amarah & Elinah Phillip will become the first ever swimmers from the British Virgin Islands to compete in the Commonwealth Games, a fact that will have a very significant positive impact on swimming in that country. It's also great news and exciting times ahead for our Head Age Group Coach Samir Ahmed as he has been chosen to accompany the Phillip girls at the Games as the coach for BVI. In other key news of the past month, we were delighted to see our US based life member Adam Brown win two titles (50 & 100m Freestyle) at the British Championships and it was great for the Club that Levi Lucas made it two Hatfield swimmers in the top 4 of the 50 Free, only 0.4 behind Adam's winning time. Also in great form at the British Championships was Martyn Walton, whose swims have earned him a spot on the Great Britain team for this year's European Junior Championships in July in the Netherlands. Nico Campbell (swimming for Jamaica) and the Phillip girls produced some fantastic results at the CARIFTA (Caribbean) Swimming Championships in Aruba, and I thoroughly enjoyed my first ever experience of an Arena League National Final in Cardiff, where Hatfield finished a very proud and creditable 5th place overall, two positions higher than last year! Many of the leading swimmers in the club will now take a competitive break (although training carries on every day as normal) as we enter the hectic GCSE and 'A' Level exam season. However, there is still much to look forward to with our younger swimmers with their version of the East Region Championships (11-14 years) coming up in June, as well as various League matches such as Peanuts and the M11 Leagues. One point I'd like to bring up is a question that was raised with me recently by a couple of parents. I was asked about the importance and purpose of the League events that we compete in and I thought it would be useful to clarify my thinking. Message from Ian cont’d All the League events we contest are very important team events for the club, where swimmers get a unique opportunity to race for points for the overall team result, rather than an individual outcome. When we arrive at a League event, whatever the make up of the team, we always want to race as hard and tough as possible, achieving the best result we can that day, with as much cheering and support as possible. Whilst winning League matches is great for all involved, we will not always win, and it is not the primary focus as far as the club is concerned. League events are about so much more than topping the points score. First and foremost, they are (most of them anyway) a chance for swimmers to have a fun and exciting swimming/racing experience in a safe and friendly team environment. Whilst individual swimmers in League matches might feel some pressure, we never try to put them under pressure to perform. We want them to enjoy it no matter what the result! League matches are fantastic opportunities for swimmers (especially young ones) to gain confidence about competing and a great chance for them to put into practice what they have been working on in training, without the outcome being about them alone. Sometimes the swimmers get it wrong, they have a bad swim, they don't get the skills right, they might even get disqualified or be the cause of a relay disqualification - all of that is OKAY! It's all part of the learning process for bigger and tougher challenges further ahead. Whilst we try and would like to win all the Leagues we enter, we won't do! Other Clubs try hard too and Hatfield does not have a monopoly on the results. The vast majority of our 11/under swimmers are not training any more frequently or better than the 11/under swimmers in other clubs. In fact most other clubs in the area are probably over-emphasising early success, sadly at the expense of greater long term development. At Hatfield we have our eyes firmly on the long game - we are preparing swimmers to be successful senior athletes once they are in late teens or have left school. That's partly why we won 20 more gold medals than any other club in the East Region at the recent Regional Youth Championships, and why we regularly feature in the top club rankings at the National Youth & Open Championships. It's also why we are boasting Commonwealth Games and other international swimmers, and those around us are not. We like doing well, but we don't and won't always field the best possible teams in Leagues. If we do that then for the most part it will be the same swimmers selected time and time again, with little opportunity for others to shine. We will use League events to give lots of swimmers a chance to race, grow in confidence, and feel the satisfaction that comes with being part of a strong spirited junior sporting team. Sometimes the fastest swimmer might be left at home in order to give others their moment. However, some swimmers will inevitably be selected more often than others, we are looking for a balance, and it's just the way it goes. Remember some swimmers make themselves available and are more keen to compete than others too! So if we do win our League events, that's great, but if we don't, that's OKAY too. It's the fun, the learning, the excitement, the enjoyment and the all round experience that counts most of all. We do want to be a Team Above All, but Above All We Are a Team! Ian Wright Meet Report Scottish Nationals April 3rd – 6th Venue Tollcross Poll, Glasgow Ian Wright journeyed with a team consisting of Katie Armitage, Ethan Lamb, Rory McMonagle, Katie McQuaid, Amarah and Elinah Phillip and Fiona Thornton to the North. Rory initiated Hatfield’s contention by swimming in the 100m freestyle coming in at 55:35, Katie McQuaid swam 2:15:10 in the 200m freestyle and Fiona achieved a PB in the 400IM with a time of 5:29:16 The Second day saw Katie McQuaid achieve a time of 1:18:13 in the 100m breaststroke heats. Katie Armitage secured a position for 3rd place in the A final with a powerful swim in the 100m breaststroke with an accomplished time of 1:10:17. Rory posted a time of 1:00:06 in the heats for the 100m backstroke attaining a position in the 1st reserve for the B final. Ethan swam 2:34 in the 200m breaststroke heats and Rory had a time of 27:35 in the 50m fly heats. In the 100m breaststroke final, Katie Armitage achieved not only a PB of 1:09:43 but secured 3rd place and a swim time inside the Commonwealth Games Consideration! The Third day saw the following :- Katie Armitage securing 5th place in the 200m The Fourth and Final Day of the Scottish breaststroke, Katie McQuaid 2:50 in the 200m Champs saw Katie Armitage set 2 PBs in the breaststroke, Fiona 4:50 in the 400m freestyle and 50m breaststroke achieving 4th place in the Ethan 1:12 in the 100m breaststroke. Elinah and final with a time of 32:28. Amarah gained valuable experience with solid swims in Kate McQuaid and Elinah Phillip both posted the 50m fly heats. Rory achieved another PB with time times of 1:02 in the 100m freestyle and Rory of 2:09:1 in the 200m backstroke B final. set a time of 29:1 in the 50m backstroke. The National British Championships April 10th – 15th Venue Tollcross Pool, Glasgow Ten Hatfield swimmers took part in the British National Swimming Championships in an all important meet that was also the backdrop for trials for many International events including the Commonwealth Games, the European Championships (senior and junior) and the IOC Youth Olympics. Adam Brown the club’s leading performer proved his calibre by securing The British Title in both the 50m and 100m freestyle events. These swims were enough to secure the US Auburn University graduate a place in the England Commonwealth Games Team held in July. Meet Report The British Champs Cont’d Levi Lucas swam a strong heat and achieved a Career Best semi-final. This enabled Levi to join Adam in the final of the 50m freestyle.