Swimming

This report is adapted from the end of term speech given by students.

Boys’ Captain: Dan Adams | Girls’ Captain: Georgie Thompson

Despite the fact that very few schools still have swimming teams, the Kingswood Swimming Club managed to pull together for galas.

Our standout swimmers amongst the younger years for this season were Year 9 pupils Jack Williams and Annabelle Hicks. Jack had multiple wins in Individual Medley and Freestyle events at Marlborough and Sherborne for the U16 team, and Annabelle had wins in Freestyle and Fly, even when competing well above her age group.

Roger Davis in Year 8 really impressed this year with his 5 wins overall in Individual Medley, Breaststroke and Fly. He broke the U16 Breaststroke record, pretty impressive for a Year 8 student! At the gala against Marlborough he was the fastest IM swimmer out of all age groups. He also competed at Regional and National events.

This year’s Senior House Gala had many great swims with the overall win going to School and Upper. Some of the standout swimmers from students who do not currently do any swimming training in school include: Jacob Barton, Lauren Bailey, James Linegar, Chloe Viner, Louis Barbato, Sam Gearing, Aurora Vergani and Will Shardlow, which shows much potential for next year. Highlights of the season included a clean sweep against Dauntsey’s. U16 boys also had wins against Marlborough, Blundell’s and Sherborne, whilst the Open Girls were too good for Dauntsey’s, Blundell’s and Leweston.

Pride of place, however, must go to the Open Boys who beat 5 out of the 6 schools they swam against. Their team consisted of Will Connors, Will Wong, Dan Adams, Ted Nightingale, Freddie Baker and Alex Kellagher.

This year’s Senior House Gala had many great swims with the overall win going to School and Upper.

LEAVERS

Thea trained throughout the year but because she is multi-talented she played tennis at weekends and so was not able to do any galas.

Anisha had been part of the swim team since she joined in Year 7 and always attended early morning swim. She became one of the strongest swimmers and received podium places in all of her events with a win in the Backstroke in our fi nal gala.

Ted didn’t seem too keen on training! Being a boarder, he really had no excuse other than not liking mornings; however he always pulled through in the galas to secure top places in the Breaststroke and Freestyle. Ted’s enthusiastic support from poolside will be missed.

Grace and Emily Ardus were two of the most committed swimmers on the team. Even if they had run a record in the cross country the day before, they always turned up to training, and when it comes to galas they have the same very willing attitude. Although they are diffi cult to distinguish poolside, they have different strengths with Emily’s best results in the Breaststroke and Grace’s in the Freestyle and Backstroke.

Alex Kellagher has shown to be a very impressive all-round swimmer, always willing to take part in whatever event he’s thrown into. He had wins in the Breaststroke and close seconds in the Back and Fly, showing himself to be one of the strongest in the Open Boys team.

Freddie Baker, when able to be torn away from cricket, was a very successful member of the team, gaining fi rst place

in the Breaststroke against Dauntsey’s.

On to two of our most signifi cant leavers, Mr and Mrs Opie.

Mr and Mrs Opie have been the heart of Kingswood swimming for many years. Mr Opie liked telling everyone to go faster each week, whilst Mrs Opie always managed to know what’s going on, and was the key organiser and recruiter for the swim team. Mrs Opie was a key player in all aspects for swimming, whether it was fi nding new swimmers the day before a gala or organising House galas. They will both be greatly missed.

Opponent U16 Girls U16 Boys Open Girls Open Boys

Marlborough 1 L W L L Dauntsey’s W W W W Sherborne L W L W

Blundell’s

L W W W

Taunton

L L L L

Leweston

L W W W

Marlborough 2 L L L W

COLOURS & AWARDS

HALF COLOURS: Emily Ardus, Grace Ardus, Freddie Baker, Anisha Gofton, Alex Kellagher, Ted Nightingale FULL COLOURS: Dan Adams, Georgie Thompson MOST IMPROVED SWIMMER CUP: Theo Pillow

THE TENCH CUP: Roger Davis THE BERESFORD SHIELD: Dan Adams and Georgie Thompson