Press 2010

Open Competition Results

The first event to report on this time around is the Cardiff International Open Meet, which took place at the Cardiff International Pool on 2nd-4th July.

This was a Level 1 meet, and as such the standard of the swimmers attending was rather good, and there were some excellent performances from quite a few of the visitors who were honing their skills in the run up to the Nationals the following month. Just two of our club swimmers entered this meet; Carys Davies and Gemma Hurds. It was the first time the girls had attended a gala with such an array of talent on show, and both acquitted themselves very well indeed. In the 9yrs age group category, Carys won gold in the 400m freestyle, silver in the 200 freestyle and bronze in the 200m backstroke. Gemma competed in the 10-11yrs age group, and despite being up against some very strong opposition posted some very good times. Well done to both of you for taking your first steps into higher level competition.

The Tenby team at the Cardiff Bay Sprint Meet 2010.

Just a couple of weeks later, the Cardiff International Pool was the venue for another exciting competition, when on the 17th July the Cardiff Bay Sprint Meet was staged. This time Tenby were very well represented with the following swimmers making the trip to the capital to take part: Morgan Blanc, Harry Cook, James Crowney-Richards, Luke Dedoncker, Emily Dilks, Lydia Dilks, Hazel Fox, Kaitlyn Hicks, Jemma Hurds, Kieran Johnson, Myles Johnson, Amy Morgan, Charlotte O’Neill, Ben Rees, Jacob Thomas, Jevon Thomas, Stephen Ward, Lauren Watkins and Ashleigh Willars.

Once again many of the swimmers were making their first outing to a 50m pool, so as well as the excitement of a big event, they had to come to terms with the different pool layout as well.

Clearly they adapted quickly, because they collectively swam well and there were several medallists. The successful swimmers were: Morgan Blanc (9), Gold in 50m Backstroke and 50m Freestyle; Harry Cook (10), Silver in 200m IM; Luke Dedoncker (11), Gold in 200m IM, Silver in 50m Breaststroke, 50m Butterfly and 50m Backstroke and Bronze in 50m Freestyle; Emily Dilks (9), Silver in 50m Breaststroke; Hazel Fox (10), Bronze in 50m Breaststroke; Jevon Thomas (9), Gold in 50m Butterfly, Silver in 50m Breaststroke, 50m Freestyle and 200m IM, Ashleigh Willars (10) Silver in 50m Butterfly and 50m Freestyle, Bronze in 200m IM. There were also additional medals won by some of the above during some freestyle kicking races held at the end of the program.

All in all there were some impressive swims so well done to all of you who made the long trip to Cardiff to take part. Team Manager Sarah Hicks was very pleased with the way you all swam and the team atmosphere poolside. Lets see more of the same when the season kicks off again in a few weeks!

The next event involving a group of swimmers from the club was the Swim Wales Summer Nationals which was held at the Wales National Pool Swansea from 3rd – 8th August.

Tenby was well represented at this competition as well with Nick Allen, Dan Davies, Ffion Davies, Hazel Fox and Talia Merriman joining our county based swimmers Sam Lewis, Niamh Slack and Hannah Saunders under the Pembrokeshire banner for this meet.

This was a well attended gala, with many teams from across the UK bringing squads down to Swansea to take part. The Youth entry was slightly weaker however, because the event clashed with the ASA National Youth Championships being held in Sheffield the same week.

Nevertheless, the swimming was of a good standard and the Tenby members acquitted themselves well with PB’s coming thick and fast. In addition there were several medallists: Dan Davies (12), Silver in 11-12yrs 400m IM and Bronze in 11-12yrs 200m Breaststroke; Sam Lewis (15), Silver in 15-16yrs 50m Breaststroke. The other entrants also looked impressive despite being outside the medals and once again several new club records were recorded during the course of the week.

During the Summer Nationals, Abi Hicks and Syd Vikery joined Olwen Davies as part of the Millennium Volunteer workforce as trainee officials. They were very well looked after and reportedly thoroughly enjoyed the experience, which is very pleasing to hear.

As mentioned above, the ASA National Youth Championships took place as Ponds Forge, Sheffield over the same week as the Welsh Summer Nationals, and Tenby based swimmer Bethan Davie was once again competing for National honours. In her first year as a youth swimmer, where the age groups are combined for the first time, 14 year old Bethan reached the final of the 14-15yrs 200m breaststroke, and the semi’s of the 100m event. Considering that she has been struggling with her form in the early part of the season this was a creditable performance, and she made a valued contribution to the Swansea Performance relay teams where she competed with her training partners from the Swim Swansea team.

On the subject of National Championships, we would like to pass on our congratulations to Carys, Isabelle and Kelsey from the Pembrokeshire County Squad, who experienced their first taste of the top level of competition this year, when they took part in the 2010 National Age Groups in Sheffield, the week prior to the Youths. All three did very well indeed and are sure to be back for more next year!

Forthcoming Events

4th – 5th Sep UK School Games. Sunderland.

September is generally a competition free month, but we will shortly be publishing the competition calendar for the coming year.

Club News.

After many years unflinching service to the club, our long serving Head Coach John Amos has understandably decided that it is time to take more of a back seat in the coaching of our fantastic young swimmers. As of 6th September, John will no longer have the responsibility of coaching the Junior and Senior Squads, but you will be pleased to hear will continue to work with our youngest and newest members and the Swim Fit group. We are sure you will join us in passing on our huge thanks to John for all the hard work he has put in with the squads over the years and appreciate the results that the club has achieved during his tenure.

Members will be reassured to learn that we now have an able band of qualified coaches in the club, and we are putting the final touches to the training plans for the coming months. Steve Davie will continue to coordinate the coaching program and the sets will be delivered by Steve, Sarah, Paul, Carol and the other members of the poolside team whom have all been working with the squads for some time.

We will also be redoubling our efforts to recruit more helpers so please please be prepared to help out if you want to see the club continue to thrive.

To close this report, good luck to Bethan Davie who is swimming for Wales at the UK School Games which take place in Sunderland this weekend.

Dolphins Complete Busy Spring Schedule. 15/06/2010

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Since our last report there have been no team galas, but our young athletes have swum in The Pembrokeshire Whitsun Weekender, The West Wales Region Junior Development Meet and finally the 2010 Amman Valley open that was held in Llanelli last weekend.

Open Competition Results

The 2010 Pembrokeshire Whitsun Weekender Meet was held at the Haverfordwest pool over the weekend of 29th-30th May, and being on our doorstep, so to speak, Tenby was well represented.

The Tenby swimmers who took part were: Nick Allen, Dan Brown, Harry Cook, James Crowney-Richards, Carys Davies, Dan Davies, Ffion Davies, Lauren Davies, Luke Dedoncker, Lydia Dilks, Hazel Fox, Kaitlyn Hicks, Jemma Hurds, Andrew James, Kieran Johnson, Myles Johnson, Sam Lewis (Pembs County), Talia Merriman, Amy Morgan, Charlotte O’Neill, Ben Rees, Hannah Saunders (Pembs County), Niamh Slack (Pembs County), Jacob Thomas, Jevon Thomas, Stephen Ward, Lauren Watkins, Jemma Whalley and Ashleigh Willars.

The swimmers had a great time with a whole host of new PB’s, and due to the split format of Level 1 and Level 3 within the same meet, everyone came away with a medal. As is the case with meets like this with a huge entry we cannot list all the results, but they are available on the club website for review.

As well as the individual swimmers coming away with a host of medals, Tenby also won the Top Club award and Talia Merriman was Top Girl. Very well done indeed.

The competition was very well run, and hopefully the word will spread and next year a few more competitors from a bit further afield along the M4 corridor will make the journey west to add to the excitement and increase the level of competition.

Talia Merriman wins Top Girl award at Pembrokeshire Whitsun Weekender Open Meet.

Our club is structured in such a way that the swimmers are in squads commensurate with their age and ability. They train hard throughout the year and their training program is designed to deliver their best results at specific Target Meets which occur towards the end of each training cycle. For the Junior section of that club the Target Meet for this phase of their training was the Level 4 West Wales Region Junior Development Meet which took place on 5th June, when swimmers from across the West Wales region descended on the Jubilee pool in Llanelli.

Tenby’s junior swimmers are clearly starting to understand how the training structure works, and no less than 31 of the juniors entered this meet. Considering that the swimmers had competed in quite a few galas in close proximity just before this event it was surprising how many still managed to pull yet more PB’s out of the bag. Against some tough competition they acquitted themselves very well, and Head Coach John Amos was very pleased with the individual performances and the clear overall continuing improvement of the team.

With such strong competition our juniors were always going to struggle to achieve the same level of success that they had the previous weekend, but if you are taking your swimming seriously you need to pit yourselves against tougher and tougher competition, and this was the ideal meet to do just that.

Tenby’s youngsters did swim to podium positions in quite a few events and the medallists were: Nick Allen, 3rd 12yrs 200 Backstroke; Carys Davies, 1st 9yrs 100m IM, 100 Freestyle, 50 Breaststroke and 50 Backstroke; Emily Dilks, 3rd 8yrs 25m Breaststroke; Hazel Fox, 3rd 10yrs 100m Breaststroke; Anna Garvey, 3rd 11yrs 100m Backstroke; Jemma Hurds, 3rd 10yrs 200m Freestyle and 100m Butterfly, 2nd 10yrs 100m Breaststroke, 100m Backstroke and 200m IM; Kieran Johnson, 2nd 9yrs 25m Breaststroke; Ashleigh Willars, 3rd 10yrs 200m IM and 2nd 10yrs 100m Butterfly.

A very good performance by all of you medallists and indeed by the rest of the team members. Many of you will clearly enjoy a great deal of success in the future if you continue on the same track.

The final meet to report this time was the 2010 Amman Valley Open which took place in Llanelli on 12th June 2010. This was also a combination Level 3 and Level 1 meet.

After such a frenetic period of activity, the entry was naturally not quite as large, but nevertheless we were quite well represented. The Tenby swimmers who took part were: Morgan Blanc, James Crowney-Richards, Bethan Davie, Gareth Davie, Emily Dilks, Hazel Fox, Kaitlyn Hicks, Sam Lewis, Talia Merriman, Lauren Watkins and Jemma Whalley.

This meet was also well attended amongst the younger age groups, so our guys were up against some tough competition. Things were made more difficult by the pool temperature on the day. It was way over 30 degrees so it was more like a warm bath than a competition pool and everyone found the conditions very hard going.

Even so Tenby’s representatives came away with a good medal haul. They were: Morgan Blanc, 1st 10yrs 50m Freestyle, 50m backstroke and 100m IM; Bethan Davie, 1st 14-15yrs 100m Breaststroke, 100m Freestyle, 100m Butterfly, 200m IM and 400m IM and 2nd 100m Backstroke; Gareth Davie, 1st 11yrs, 100m IM and 50m Backstroke; Emily Dilks, 2nd 9yrs 50m Breaststroke; Hazel Fox, 1st 10yrs 50m Butterfly, 50m Freestyle and 100m IM and 3rd 50m Backstroke; Kaitlyn Hicks, 1st 10yrs 50m Breaststroke, 2nd 50m Backstroke and 3rd 50m Freestyle; Sam Lewis (Pembs County), 1st 13-14 100m Breaststroke and 400m IM, 2nd 100m Backstroke, 100m Freestyle, 100m Butterfly and 200m IM; Talia Merriman, 1st 10-11 400m IM, 3rd 10-11 100m Backstroke.

Sam Lewis also won top boy award, so well done to all of you. There were some great results from the youngsters and good podium finishes from the seniors even though the times they set were not spectacular.

Forthcoming Events

2nd-4th July Cardiff International Open Meet. Cardiff Int. Pool. Entries Closed.

28th July – 2nd Aug National Age Group Championships, Ponds Forge, Sheffield. Lots of County interest this year!

3rd- 7th Aug National Youth Championships, Ponds Forge, Sheffield.

3rd – 8th Aug Swim Wales Summer Nationals. WNP, Swansea.

Club News.

Regular readers will have realised that the club has been frantically busy with galas and opens over the past few weeks, so a very big thanks to the mums and dads who have taken the swimmers to so many events recently. Also, many thanks to our new officials and helpers who have joined the club workforce. The old adage “many hands make light work” is so true in this sport, so please keep it up and try to encourage others to follow suit.

One of the very encouraging facts that has come to light over the past few weeks is the level of success our swimmers are enjoying in some of the more demanding events. We have had some very good results in all the recent galas in 100m, 200m and 400m IM races. This is very encouraging because mastery of these yardstick events shows that the swimmers are not only improving their general technique but also their fitness levels. It is satisfying for the coaches to see that the swimmers are applying themselves well to training and that the hard work is really starting to make a difference. Keep it up everyone!

Dolphins Dyfed Challenge Success. 01/06/2010

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We have had participants competing at the Swim Swansea Long Course Open and also a super team effort at the Dyfed Junior Challenge in Haverfordwest. We will include a report on the Pembrokeshire Whitsun Weekender next time.

Team Competition Results

For many years a league competition was held between the swimming clubs from across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire. There were Senior and Junior events culminating in the annual Dyfed finals. With the restructuring of swimming over recent years it was felt that different competition formats were required, so these events were dropped from the calendar. However, it soon became apparent that the younger guys were lacking the opportunity to compete as a team. Although the senior competition was clearly past it’s “sell by date” there was much to be gained by reintroducing something along the lines of the former event for the little swimmers to have a go at.

Thus, we have a new event this year, the Dyfed Junior Challenge, which took place at the Haverfordwest Leisure Centre on 23rd May 2010. Eight teams from across the Dyfed region took part. They were Haverfordwest, Aberystwyth, Cardigan, Milford Haven, Llanelli, Amman Valley, Carmarthen and Tenby. There was an electric atmosphere poolside as the swimmers battled for team honours with fervent support from poolside and the packed spectator area.

Apart from the relays, the races were all held over just 25m so there was continued frantic action to build the excitement, and we are delighted to report that our swimmers rose to the occasion once again and produced an outstanding team performance to win the Dyfed Junior Challenge for 2010.

The Dolphins Team that won the 2010 Dyfed Junior Challenge at Haverfordwest on 23rd May.

The team included: Lewys Blanc, Sam Collinson, Harry Cook, Megan Cook, James Crowney-Richards, Gareth Davie, Carys Davies, Daniel Davies, Ffion Davies, Luke Dedoncker, Emily Dilks, Lydia Dilks, Joe Evans, Hazel Fox, Billy Greenwood, Morgan Grieve, Arabella Haley, Kaitlyn Hicks, Jemma Hurds, Kieran Johnson, Myles Johnson, Talia Merriman, Amy Morgan, Sabrina Morgan, Madison Neye, Ben Rees, Caitlin Rees, Jack Rees, Alanya Thomas, Harry Thomas, Jevon Thomas, Miles Thompstone, Stephen Ward and Ashleigh Willars. (Apologies if you swam in a relay and we have left your name off the list).

Head coach John Amos and Junior Team Manager Sarah Hicks were delighted with the way the team swam, so congratulations to all who took part!

Tenby timekeepers at the Dyfed Junior Challenge Meet.

Open Competition Results

Tenby was well represented at this year’s Swim Swansea Long course event, by club swimmers Matt Davie, Dan Davies, Ffion Davies, Hazel Fox, Kaitlyn Hicks, Charlotte O’Neill and Ben Rees together with Sam Lewis, Hannah Saunders and Niamh Slack who train with the Pembs County squad and Andrew James who has trained in Swansea for past 18 months.

For several of the younger swimmers this was their first real attempt at a long course event, but they all overcame the nerves to acquit themselves very well indeed. There were a nice collection of PB’s, and Hannah and Niamh were both pleased to be able to compete again after a difficult few months of illness and interrupted training. A good effort from all of you.

Competition was tough with top swimmers from across the UK descending on Swansea to take part. The medallists were as follows: Ffion Davies, 2nd 10-11yrs 200 butterfly; Hannah Saunders, 3rd 12-13yrs 200 breaststroke; Dan Davies, 3rd 10-12yrs 200 breaststroke. Niamh, Sam, Matt and Andrew also qualified for several finals between them. Good work guys.

Ffion, Hazel, Katie and Dan at the 2010 Swim Swansea LC Meet.

Forthcoming Events

5th June West Wales Junior Development Meet, Llanelli. This is a target meet for our Junior and Development teams so you should all have entered if you are in these squads.

12th June Amman Valley Open, Llanelli. Always a fun event for those who want to enjoy their swimming. Check board and website for details.

2nd-4th July Cardiff International Open Meet. Cardiff Int. Pool. Entries Closed.

28th July – 2nd Aug National Age Group Championships, Ponds Forge, Sheffield. Lots of County interest this year!

3rd- 7th Aug National Youth Championships, Ponds Forge, Sheffield.

3rd – 8th Aug Swim Wales Summer Nationals. WNP, Swansea.

Club News.

We are delighted to see that the club continues to deliver results in team competitions and that our swimmers are enjoying themselves so much in training and at the galas they attend.

The club strives to deliver a swimming experience for swimmers of all abilities and we are pleased that the feedback we are receiving from the recent changes we have made is very positive. Our separate Fit Swim group are enjoying themselves, and we are happy that we are able to cater for such diverse age ranges. Currently, in the competitive squads we have swimmers aged 6 to 18 training regularly, which is very pleasing indeed. We are just about the only club in the county that now caters for seniors, and we welcome them at training provided they continue to make the commitment required.

For those of you who take your swimming seriously, there are great opportunities for development within the Welsh squad system. Bethan Davie has just returned from an exciting weekend with the Welsh Youth Squad in Aarhus, Denmark, where they competed in the AGF Open. The swimming was a bit patchy, but they had a great time and Beth added another National time to her list for this year after swimming a surprisingly fast 200 fly final. Actually, the team had originally been scheduled to return to Oslo this year, but due to a clash with the Eurovision Song Contest, they were unable to book any hotel rooms, and had to seek an alternative venue.

Fund raising is always needed to support the swimming program, so if anyone has interesting ideas or knows anyone who would like to sponsor the club please let the committee members know.

Busy Time for Dolphin's Juniors.. 04/05/2010

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Team Competition Results

First of all on 17th April, a Junior Novice Gala was held at Llanelli, and a enthusiastic group of our up and coming youngsters travelled by coach to the Jubilee Pool to take on some opposition from outside the county.

Those who travelled included: Lewys Blanc, Morgan Blanc, Tia Brace, Sam Collinson, Gareth Davie, Lauren Davies, Meaci Davies, Luke Dedoncker, Emily Dilks, Lydia Dilks, Joe Evans, Fraser Finlay, Sophie Fry, Billy Greenwood, George Greenwood, Morgan Grieve, Kaitlyn Hicks, Lloyd Mammatt, Rosie Mammatt, Amy Morgan, Sabrina Morgan, Madison Nye, Caleb O’Neill, Ben Rees, Caitlin Rees, Charlotte Rees, Jack Rees, Alanya Thomas, Harry Thomas, Jacob Thomas, Nicola Tulley, Lauren Watkins, Jemma Whalley and Franco Zerschi.

Several clubs from the South Wales area were in Llanelli to provide the opposition, and our swimmers enjoyed competing against some unfamiliar names from Llanelli, Aberavon and Cwmbran. There was a slightly complicated scoring system for the gala which we are pleased to report Tenby utilised to the full. Being a novices event, “speeding tickets” were issued if the individual swimmers were too fast in any of the races, so despite coming second or third in several individual events, by prudent selection, the Tenby team emerged as convincing points winners. Well done everyone!

Tenby Dolphins Junior Team who took part in the Junior Novice Gala in Llanelli on 17th April.

The following week, on 25th April, a slightly older group of swimmers travelled to Pembroke to take part in the Inter Club Junior Development Meet.

This time the team included: Nick Allen, Lewys Blanc, Megan Cook, Gareth Davie, Carys Davies, Daniel Davies, Ffion Davies, Luke Dedoncker, Emily Dilks, Joe Evans, Hazel Fox, Billy Greenwood, Morgan Grieve, Kaitlyn Hicks, Jemma Hurds, Kieran Johnson, Lloyd Mammatt, Talia Merriman, Sabrina Morgan, Madison Neye, Caleb O’Neill, Alanya Thomas, Jevon Thomas, Miles Thompstone, Madison Vickery, Stephen Ward and Ashleigh Willars.

The Tenby team were once again on very good form and as a group produced some strong swims. There were a couple of DQ’s for some technical infringements, but nothing that cannot be sorted out quite quickly in training. Head Coach John Amos and Team Manager Sarah Hicks were in attendance poolside, and were delighted with how the team performed. Another convincing win, so well done again everyone.

The final competition covered in this report is the Pembrokeshire Inter Club Junior Challenge that was held at Pembroke Leisure Centre on Friday 30th April.

This time only two teams were involved with Tenby taking on the host club Pembroke to battle for overall honours. This is part of a series of galas which replace what used to be known as the Pembrokeshire Junior League.

The Dolphin’s team who racked up another victory were this time: Lewys Blanc, Tia Brace, Sam Collinson, Megan Cook, Carys Davies, Hazel Fox, Billy Greenwood, Morgan Grieve, Arabella Haley, Jemma Hurds, Alex John, Kieran Johnson, Lloyd Mammatt, Sabrina Morgan, Madison Neye, Caleb O’Neill, Ben Rees, Caitlin Rees, Alanya Thomas, Harry Thomas, Jevon Thomas, Stephen Ward and Ashleigh Willars.

By all accounts another very strong team performance, so congratulations to all of you swam once again.

You have had a tough couple of weeks, so to keep on recording new best times and showing continual improvement is something to be applauded. Unfortunately for the mums and dads, there is not much let up in the hectic schedule so keep your heads down in training for a few more weeks to make the most of the busy spell.

Forthcoming Events

8th May Swansea Valley Junior Open, Neath.

13th May Pembrokeshire Junior Challenge v Haverfordwest, at Tenby. 18:00. Check notice board for selection.

14th-16th May Swim Swansea Long Course. Entries Closed.

23rd May Dyfed Junior Challenge, Haverfordwest. Check notice board for selection.

29th – 30th May Pembrokeshire Whitsun Weekender. A great meet on your doorstep in Haverfordwest. Closed.

5th June West Wales Junior Development Meet, Llanelli. This is a target meet for our Junior and Development teams so you should all have entered if you are in these squads.

12th June Amman Valley Open, Llanelli. Always a fun event for those who want to enjoy their swimming. Check board and website for details.

Club News.

Well done to the swimmers who took part in all the team events over the past couple of weeks. There have been some excellent results by individuals and some great team success. Make sure you continue to wear your club kit & hats at all forthcoming team events.

Of note, well done to Billy Greenwood who set an 8 and under 50m backstroke club record in Llanelli on 17th April and then bettered it on 30th in Pembroke. Top swimming Billy!

There are still some club fees outstanding, so make sure you settle up a.s.a.p. please!

Don’t forget keep checking the website (www.tenbydolphins.co.uk) and the linked Facebook page for last minute updates.

Finally, we hear that those of you who attended the Pembrokeshire Skills Camp last Saturday had a really fun day. Good to hear !

Two Welsh Champions for Tenby Dolphins.. 13/04/2010

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Two Welsh Champions for Tenby Dolphins.

Since our last report, there has not been a great deal of competitive swimming in the Pembrokeshire area, but several of our team have been taking part in some bigger events much further afield. These include the Tiger Bay Open in Cardiff, the Welsh Age Group & Youth Championships in Swansea, and the British Long Course Championships in Sheffield.

Competition Results

In chronological order the first competition that took place was the British Long Course Championships which was staged at Ponds Forge in Sheffield from 29th March to 3rd April. This is the main event for all British Swimmers and served as a qualification meet for various international events taking place later in the year, such as the European Championships, European Junior Championships and the Commonwealth Games.

Our Welsh International swimmer Bethan Davie had qualified for both the 200m and 100m breaststroke, and on the basis of some very good pre-competition training was hopeful of a strong showing. Despite finishing second behind British International Hannah Miley in the heats of the 200m breaststroke, her time was not quite good enough to progress to the finals and she finished outside her PB in a creditable 12th place. She was also unable to progress in the 100m event. Nevertheless it was her first time taking part in the Championships and she will take a great deal from the experience.

Bethan who was not scheduled to swim on the last two days of the British Championships, then travelled down to Swansea to take part in the Welsh Age Group Championships from 2nd to 5th April. This time she was joined by club swimmers Ffion Davies, Talia Merriman and Dan Davies, and a whole host of swimmers from across the county.

2010 Welsh Champions Bethan Davie and Ffion Davies with Talia Merriman and Dan Davies who all swam at the Welsh Age Group & Youth Championships in Swansea over the Easter weekend.

The Welsh Age Group & Youth Championships is the premier annual swimming event for Welsh junior swimmers, and we are delighted to report that as a result of some very mature swims we now have two Welsh Champions in the club. This is the first time the club has achieved this. What a fantastic result!

Ffion Davies swam to an excellent gold medal in the 10-11 yrs 100m butterfly and added a bronze in 200m event, and set good PB’s in quite a few other races. Bethan, who was still swimming a little off her best, won the 14-15yrs 100m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke and 200m IM, together with a silver in the 100m freestyle. Both girls were out of age in their races which makes their victories more impressive. Bethan topped up her medal tally to seven for the championships, by adding a gold and two silvers as part of the Swansea Performance Centre girls youth relay teams.

Our two other club swimmers also acquitted themselves very well at the Welsh Championships. Talia was competing at this level for the first time and enjoyed being part of such a big occasion. Both she and Dan swam well and set loads of PB’s and will certainly enjoy more success at this level in the future. Very good swimming all of you!

To top off a very intensive few weeks of long course competition, three of our swimmers travelled to Cardiff to take part in the Tiger Bay open meet over the weekend of 10-11th April. They were Talia Merriman, Lauren Watkins and Luke Dedoncker.

Luke and Lauren were swimming in a long course event for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed the experience by all accounts. Lauren won a bronze medal in the 9yrs 100m backstroke, and Luke set some very good long course PB’s. Talia built on her performances in Swansea the previous week and set yet more PB’s and placed very strongly in several races with quite a few top ten finishes despite being out of age. Well done all three of you.

Forthcoming Events

17th April Junior gala at Llanelli. See notice board for selection details.

25th April Junior gala Pembroke. See notice board for selection details.

8th May Swansea Valley Junior Open, Neath.

TBA May Dyfed Junior League. It’s back!! A one day gala in Llanelli where about 9 teams are expected to swim. Sure to a be a fun event.

14th-16th May Swim Swansea Long Course. Entries Closed.

22nd – 23rd May Pembrokeshire Whitsun Weekender. A great meet on your doorstep in Haverfordwest. No excuse not to enter either the Level 1 or 3 events. Check notice board and website for details.

12th June Amman Valley Open, Llanelli. Always a fun event for those who want to enjoy their swimming. Check board and website for details.

Club News.

The revised squad structure will shortly come into force, so be prepared for a change in the week beginning 26th April. Our developing competitive swimmers will have a bit more room in the pool as our fit swim guys move to their own session on a Wednesday evening.

The Pembrokeshire County team had a very good weekend at the Welsh Age Groups with three of the team adding to the list of those achieving National Qualifying times for the Age Group Championships in Sheffield in July. We would like to pass on our congratulations to Carys Thomas, Isabelle Davies and Kelsey Williams for their excellent swims, and indeed to the whole team for a very good all round performance.

Dolphin's Juniors take to the Pool.. 23/03/2010

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Over the past couple of years, we have had a scarcity of competitions for the younger swimmers in the club, so to try to make amends for this a friendly gala was arranged with Carmarthen swimming club on Sunday 21st March. This followed on from the Llanelli Open Meet the week before, where swimmers of a variety of ages and abilities were in action.

Competition Results

The 2010 Llanelli Open Meet was very heavily subscribed this year, so throughout the two days of competition the poolside was packed and noisy. A small contingent of our club swimmers made the journey to the Jubilee Pool to take part. They were: Morgan Blanc, Talia Merriman, Stephen Ward, Lauren Watkins, Jemma Whalley and Francesco Zeraschi. They were joined by club member Sam Lewis who trains with the Pembrokeshire County Squad.

The number of entries were high because many clubs from around the Swansea area had chosen this gala as an alternative to the West Wales Competition which was held a little too far out of their comfort zone in Haverfordwest for the first time this year. Consequently the Tenby guys were up against some very tough opposition.

Sam Lewis won gold in the 13-14yrs 100m freestyle and silver in the 200m freestyle and 100m breaststroke and rounded off his collection with a bronze in the 200m breaststroke. Well done Sam. Keep chipping away at those times!

The remainder of the group did not win any medals this time, with many being out of age. Nevertheless, there were some very good PB’s and several made finals. A good experience for all. Well done.

The Tenby Junior team that swam against Carmarthen on Sunday 21st March.

The local gala for the younger members of the club was held on 21st March, and coach load of Carmarthen swimmers turned up to take on our up and coming young athletes who ranged in age from 6-9.

The Tenby team consisted of : Ffion Bevan, Lewys Blanc, Morgan Blanc, Tia Brace, Megan Bridges, Sam Collinson, Megan Cook, Maeci Davies, Emily Dilks, Joe Evans, Billy Greenwood, Morgan Grieve, Arabella Haley, Tudor Hurle, Alex John, Kieran Johnson, Lloyd Mammatt, Rosie Mammatt, Sabrina Morgan, Madison Neye, Caleb O’Neill, Catlin Rees, Jack Rees, Carys Slack, Alanya Thomas, Harry Thomas, Jevon Thomas, Lauren Watkins and Jemma Whalley.

Head Coach John Amos and Development Team Coach and Team Manager Sarah Hicks were in attendance, and were thrilled by the performance of our youngsters. Many were taking part in their first competition against swimmers from outside the club so for them it was a big occasion and will hopefully give them the taste of how much fun competitions can be. Thanks also to the mums and dads who helped out on the day.

Instead of having a points based team score, the swimmers were awarded medals for their swims. In addition, the majority went away with new personal best times to accompany the silverware, so it was a very successful afternoon indeed.

The Tenby & Carmarthen teams after the gala on Sunday 21st March.

Forthcoming Events

29th March - 3rd April British Long Course Championships, Sheffield.

2nd – 5th April Welsh Age Group and Youth Championships, Swansea. (Closed)

8th May Swansea Valley Junior Open, Neath. (We recommend this gala to our junior swimmers).

TBA May Dyfed Junior League. It’s back!! A one day gala in Llanelli where about 9 teams are expected to swim. Sure to a be a fun event. Check notice board for selection details etc. nearer the time!

22nd – 23rd May Pembrokeshire Whitsun Weekender. A great meet on your doorstep in Haverfordwest. No excuse not to enter either the Level 1 or 3 events. Check notice board and website for details.

12th June Amman Valley Open, Llanelli. Always a fun event for those who want to enjoy their swimming. Check board and website for details.

Club News.

In line with our constant drive to deliver the best possible product to the members, the club is shortly going to be making some adjustments to the squads again.

We will be sending you all your latest swimmer assessments very soon, and details of the changes to the squads and structure will be included with these.

The annual memberships for Tenby Dolphins and Swim Wales are imminent. You will receive information about this shortly. Also, please ensure all gala entry fees and club shop invoices are settled up as soon as possible.

Following on from the successful gala at the weekend, if any parents of our younger swimmers can help out with anything at all, whether it be poolside assistance, administration or fund raising, please come forward and let us know. We always need more volunteers.

Good luck to the club and county swimmers entered in the Welsh Age Groups over the Easter weekend. We are sure you will do very well.

Finally, commiserations to Hannah Saunders who is out of the pool for a few weeks following an appendicitis operation. Everyone in the club hopes you get well soon, and are quickly up to speed in training when you return.

Dolphins Impress Again at West Wales 2010.. 26/02/2010

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The major short course event of the year for most club swimmers in West Wales is the annual Regional Championships, and to the delight of all of us who live out here in the west, this year’s gala was staged for the first time at the new pool in Haverfordwest.

We also have some news of the fantastic Great Britain v Germany international that was recently held at the Wales National Pool Swansea.

Competition Results

The West Wales Regional Championship was held over two weekends from 6th to 14th of February, and swimmers from clubs across the West Wales region descended on the pool in Haverfordwest.

This year twenty one of our club members entered individual events. Namely: Harry Cook, Bethan Davie, Gareth Davie, Matt Davie, Carys Davies, Daniel Davies, Ffion Davies, Luke Dedoncker, Hazel Fox, Abigail Hicks, Kaitlyn Hicks, Jemma Hurds, Sam Lewis, Charlotte O’Neill, Ben Rees, Hannah Saunders, Kiera Slack, Niamh Slack, Jemma Whalley, Henry Whittaker and Ashleigh Willars.

This has been the main target meet for the majority of the club squad swimmers and clearly they were in the right frame of mind for the competition, with a string of really solid performances. All in all our club members swam no less than 281 individual races in total, and achieved a massive personal best count of 81% of all the swims, along with a big haul of new club records and championship medals. A truly excellent all round performance.

As is always the case in situations such as this we cannot list the individual success stories in detail, but those winning a host of gold medals between them were Bethan Davie, Dan Davies, Ffion Davies and Sam Lewis. Congratulations to the four of you and all the other medal winners over the four days of competition.

Head Coach John Amos was poolside with the team throughout the two weekends and was absolutely delighted with the way the swimmers performed, both those who train with us regularly and those who are part of the County program. Very well done to all of you.

Also, many congratulations to Carys Thomas of Pembroke (and the county program) for her fabulous National Qualifying time in the 200m freestyle, and the amazing time she set in the 1500m. The county squad is picking up the pace!

At this stage we would generally add that the full results are available on the notice board at the leisure centre, but this week we are pleased to report that in addition they are now available on the newly upgraded web site. See Club news section for more details.

Double Olympic Champion Rebecca Adlington swims at the GBR v GER meet at the National Pool in Swansea.

World Champion and World Record holder Paul Biedermann of Germany (blue hat) swims the 400m free at the GBR v GER meet at the National Pool in Swansea.

International Swimming

We would not normally report on things like this, but over the weekend of 20th-21st February a top flight swimming international was held in Swansea. For the first time in 30 years a Great Britain team took on international opposition at a Welsh venue. A top German squad provided the competition, and those of us who went along were treated to a feast of world class swimming. Double Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington, together with World Champions Liam Tancock and Paul Biedermann were just a few of the stars on display.

With the help of some very enthusiastic support from a packed National Pool the British team swam to an impressive victory after two days of competition.

The international competition was supported by a Welsh regional event, and several swimmers from the county program took part, including Tenby members Niamh Slack and Hannah Saunders. We hope you all enjoyed the experience, and drew a massive amount of inspiration from watching these superstars of the swimming world in action.

The start of the men’s 50m backstroke at the GBR v GER meet at National Pool Swansea. World Champ Liam Tancock in Lane 5.

GBR star Fran Halsall swims the fly leg of the 4 x 100m medley relay at the GBR v GER meet in Swansea.

Forthcoming Events

13th-14th March Llanelli Open, Llanelli. (Closed)

20th 21st March Tiger Bay Meet, Cardiff Int. Pool. (Closed)

29th March - 3rd April British Long Course Championships, Sheffield.

2nd – 5th April Welsh Age Group and Youth Championships, Swansea. (Closed)

8th May Swansea Valley Junior Open, Neath. (We recommend this gala to all our junior swimmers).

Club News.

This is rather negative but it must be mentioned. We have been relentlessly reminding swimmers of their obligation to enter competitions if they wish to remain where they are in Tenby Dolphins. We will shortly be making a further full review of the club structure and of the commitment shown to training and competition by our members. We are very concerned that those who are genuinely interested in advancing their swimming careers are being held back by the overcrowded lanes and the inevitable disruption this causes.

We are delighted that so many of you want to be part of our fantastic club, but the commitment shown by our band of volunteer coaches must be matched by a similar commitment from the swimmers and parents alike. Turning up for the occasional training session is not enough, so if you receive bad news with your forthcoming swimmer assessments please do not complain. You have been reminded of the requirements over and over again for the past six months.

On a more positive note, we are dragging ourselves into the 21 century and are very pleased to report that the newly upgraded club website is up and running. Please go to www.tenbydolphins.co.uk for the latest news, results and a whole heap of other useful information. We also have a Facebook group linked to the site where you will have the opportunity to post comments and pictures and be advised of last minute news and events.

Finally, due to a bit of a camera disaster we are unable to bring you any photos of our swimmers competing at West Wales. We hope the alternatives will suffice!

Tenby Dolphins medal at first Meets of 2010.. 29/01/2010

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Competition Results

Firstly, the annual Pembrokeshire long distance competition was held at Pembroke Leisure centre on 3rd January. This was not well supported by our swimmers this year because quite a few of our club members had the opportunity to race over these distances at the Pembrokeshire County Championships last autumn. However, club member Niamh Slack of the County Performance program did swim, so well done to her.

The second event of the year was the Swim Wales Dragon Meet, which was held at the National Pool in Swansea over the weekend of 8th to 10th January. Club members Hannah Saunders representing the Pembs County Performance program, and Andrew James and Bethan Davie representing the Swansea Performance program were the only club members who swam.

Hannah had very good weekend, setting some good PB’s and winning several medals on the way. Well done Hannah! Bethan and Andrew will be the first to admit that they were not on the best of form, nevertheless, both of them also won medals which is quite encouraging in a tough competition like this.

The results were as follows: Hannah Saunders, 1st 10-11 200m breaststroke, 2nd 10-11 100m breaststroke, 3rd 10-11 200m backstroke; Bethan Davie, 2nd 14-16yrs 200m breaststroke, 2nd 14-16yrs 100m breaststroke, 3rd 14-16yrs 50m breaststroke, 3rd 14-16yrs 200m IM; Andrew James, 1st 18&0 200m IM.

Hannah Saunders powers to gold in the 10-11 yrs 200m breaststroke at the 2010 Dragon Meet at the Wales National Pool.

Next of the competition calendar was the 2010 Swansea Valley Sprint Meet. The following swimmers from the club travelled up to Neath Leisure Centre on 16th of January to take part: Morgan Blanc, James Crowney-Richards, Luke Dedoncker, Hazel Fox, Anna Garvey, Olivia Garvey, Gemma Hurds, Sam Lewis, Talia Merriman, Amy Morgan, Lauren Watkins and Gemma Whalley.

The swimmers were looked after by two of our coaching assistants Paul Dedoncker and Adrian Merriman over the course of the day and by all accounts a good time was had by all. Scott Dedoncker also helped out as part of his work towards his Duke of Edinburgh award.

Being a sprint meet, most of the races were held over a distance of 50m, so the action was fast and furious. However, to test their all round skills the swimmers also had the chance to swim in 200m individual medleys, so there was plenty to keep them busy.

The Tenby contingent at the 20100 Swansea Valley Sprint Meet.

60% of the swims resulted in new personal best times for the swimmers and the medallists from Tenby were as follows: Morgan Blanc, 3rd 9yrs 50m backstroke; Luke Dedoncker, 3rd 10yrs 50m breaststroke; Jemma Hurds, 3rd 9yrs 50m breaststroke and 200m IM; Sam Lewis, 1st 14yrs 50m fly, 50m breaststroke, 50m backstroke and 200m IM; Talia Merriman, 1st 10yrs 50m freestyle and 50m breaststroke, 2nd 10yrs 50m backstroke, 50m fly and 200m IM. A good set of results so soon after the extended holidays so well done to all of you who travelled up to take part.

The final competition to report here is the annual national finals of the URDD swimming competition. This year the finals were once again held at the Cardiff International Swimming Pool in Cardiff Bay. Quite a number of Tenby club swimmers were involved having previously made it through to the finals to represent their respective schools as the result of some strong swims at the local county qualification galas before Christmas.

The primary schools competition was held on Saturday 23rd January, with the Senior Schools competition taking place the following day.

In the Junior competition there were individual medals for club members Jevon Thomas (gold in the Yrs 3&4 25m breaststroke), Talia Merriman (bronze in the Yrs 5&6 50m backstroke) and Ffion Davies (gold in the Yrs 5&6 50m butterfly). In the relays Saundersfoot School did very well winning no less than 5 medals and St Teilo’s yrs 5&6 boys also did well.

In the Senior competition there were individual medals for club members Bethan Davie (gold in the Yrs 9&10 100m breaststroke, and silver in the 200m IM) and Matt Davie (bronze in the Yrs 11&Over 100m backstroke). In the relays the Greenhill teams did very well with each one coming away with at least one medal. Very well done to you all.

Saundersfoot girls win gold in the Yr 5-6 4 x 50 medley relay at the URDD Finals in Cardiff.

Syd, Jodie, Olivia and Beth win bronze in the Yr 9-10 4 x 50 medley relay at the URDD Finals in Cardiff.

Jack, Lewys, Matt and Henry win sliver in the Yr 11 & over 4 x 50 medley relay at the URDD Finals in Cardiff.

Forthcoming Events

30th Jan Friendly gala against Llanelli. Bus from Tenby Leisure centre at 12:00. Contact Sarah Hicks for more details.

6th-14th Feb West Wales Regional Championships, Haverfordwest. Closing Date 4th January.

20th-21st Feb GBR v Germany Swim Meet at Wales National Pool Swansea. Swimming stars such as Rebecca Adlington, Liam Tancock, Jo Jackson and David Davies are expected to take part. Don’t miss this chance to see the big names of British Swimming competing on your doorstep!! Tickets available from Swim Wales web site.

Club News

It seems from the results that we are off to a flying start to 2010. We have also so noticed some big improvements from swimmers during training. Lets keep it up.

We are very pleased with the response we are getting to our continuing appeals for parents to help out with the coaching and running of the club. With over 110 swimmers to cater for and crowded lanes it’s a big task to get everyone on track, so the more helpers the better. We would love to see more of the mums and dads of those swimmers at the younger end of the club taking a tentative step into the coaching side of things at an early stage of your child’s progression. It really does make a difference to how they develop. Just approach any of us poolside or the ladies at the club shop to ask how to get involved. Lack of knowledge is not a problem. We all had to start somewhere!

West Wales 2010 is coming up, so those of you who have entered lets up the training for the next couple of weeks and put on a good show in Haverfordwest. It’s on our doorstep for a change so lets make the most of it!

We are in the stage of redeveloping the club website. If anyone has sensible suggestions about what they would like to see included please let Steve Davie know as soon as possible.

Finally, as mentioned in the fixtures section, the GBR v Germany international is coming up in Swansea in February. We urge all of you who are serious about competitive swimming to get up there for at least one of the two days. World and Olympic Champions and World Record holders from both teams are expected to take part so don’t miss out!!!