Sport

Swimmers put up strong showing in Christmas meet

By Ashley Tomkins

YEOVIL & District Swimming Club (YDSC) held their annual Christmas meet – which is always filled with fun, excitement and exhilarating swimming – at Millfield Swimming Pool in Street.

It is also the last chance for many swimmers to try and achieve county times for the championship that kicks off in late January.

Twenty-eight swimming clubs from around the area joined YDSC, showing what an important meet it has become.

The venue was full to the rafters with swimmers and spectators, and YDSC had a fantastic turn-out with 57 swimmers racing over the weekend, over half of the club’s membership of about 100 swimmers.

A big shout out must go to Chloe Bartlett, 11, Soccoro Bowen, 13, Kai Rumbelow, ten, and Ellie Tomsett, ten, for whom this event was their first swim meet. They swam amazingly well and all achieved personal bests.

The weekend saw super performances and standouts for the girls were Harriet Scott, nine, with two golds, three silvers and one bronze medal, and Liy Nutland, 11, with three golds and one bronze.

For the boys, Jackson Green, 12, came home with three silvers and one bronze, and Rowan Hooper, 14, with one gold and two bronze.

In addition, Rebecca Tomkins, 13, had superb swims in the 50m and 100m breaststroke with times of 37.85 and 1.25.96, not only achieving county times for these events but regional times as well.

Not to be overshadowed, Theo Perrin, 13, and Oliver Frost, 14, cemented their places in next year’s regionals with Theo in the 50m backstroke achieving a great time of 33.76 seconds, and Oliver in the 50 freestyle a stunning swim of 27.36 seconds.

The club would like to thank all the swimmers who attended for the way they conducted themselves over the weekend, and all the spectators who helped create a special atmosphere.

Head coach Ian Angell said: “Without the support of all the parents, committee members, coaches and officials, meets like this wouldn’t be possible.

SWIMMING

Club welcomes new members

YDSC are always open to new swimmers and welcome those who swim around stages 7/8 or above to join the squads.

They complete regular trial sessions to assess swimmers’ ability and correctly assign them to appropriate coaching staff.

They also have a small mini-skills squad for those children with a lower swimming ability.

At the other end of the club, a Masters squad caters for those adults looking to participate in ‘coached sessions’.

YDSC has talented, qualified coaches and anyone who would like to give the club a try should contact membership.ydsc@ gmail.com for more information or visit the website, www.ydsc. co.uk

YDSC swimming team at the Christmas meet in Street

“At YDSC we are lucky to have a fantastic number of people all willing to help, making sure the weekend was a massive success. Swimmers at all levels had the opportunity to gain those last-minute Somerset qualifying times or be rewarded for all the hard work they have put into training over the past three months by gaining a personal best. A massive well done to everyone!” YDSC now move onto the Somerset County Championships held over four weekends in January and February. YDSC have 33 swimmers that achieved the qualifying times in attendance at this championship.

Rockies grab points in tight encounter

FOOTBALL

Shaftesbury Town 1 Brockenhurst 0 By Avril Lancaster

SHAFTESBURY Town returned to Wessex League Premier Division action with a hard-earned win over Brockenhurst at Coppice Street the day after Boxing Day.

Brad Hill cut in down the left and switched the ball across for Ash Pope to plant a superb shot past Brad Snelling to give Shaftesbury the lead after 27th minutes.

The Badgers nearly levelled when their captain Alex Haynes cut inside the byline and curled a shot onto the crossbar.

The game between two evenly matched teams saw few chances as the Rockies picked up three valuable points and moved up to 8th place.

Referee Lucas Bomela takes charge at Coppice Street

Wincanton winners

WINCANTON Golf Club results.

Seniors turkey trot – 6 December: Winner – Brian White 21.

Monthly stableford – 10 December: 1 Phil Francis 39, 2 Simon Lenton 31 ocb, 3 John Atkins 31, 4 Mike Taylor 31.

Turkey trot – 17 December: Winner – Simon Lenton 33.

Seniors Texas scramble – 20 December: Winners – Simon Lenton/Pete Starkey/ Kevin George/John Wolstenholme 47.

Nine-hole stableford – 24 December: 1 Steven Ireland 19, 2 Pete Anyan 18 ocb, 3 Rab Clyde 18.

GOLF