On a very chilly poolside right under the air conditioning fan GBM swimmers prepared for the last round of the NASL with 6 girls and 4 boys not being able to swim we had some interesting matchups for instance Annabel Walker doing the 15/u 100 breast , as she had never done this event it was a guaranteed PB at1.50.57 – well done Annabel .Chanel Robinson got off to a good start with a 4 sec PB in the ladies open 200 IM with a time of 2.48.32 , followed by another solid performance from Richard de Rome (who had a tough rugby game earlier in the day ) with a PB of 7 seconds (2.41.15). The relays followed with a good 5th place from the 9 to 11 girls 50 free relay  with their fastest time over the 3 rounds .The first individual saw Riya Ds take home a PB in the 50 backstroke and then Tim Leberl achieved his KQT in the boys 50 back coming in 4th place even with a slight slip off the mat, Hayley Bennett gave another good performance in the 100 back going 14m underwater coming up in 3rd position even with the slippery mat to contend with, Jake Forrest had the same issue with the mat on his 100 back .

Maya Willis took out the 1st 50m in a very fast 37.39 in her  individual 100 fly event but found  it tough in the last 50 not surprising considering the other events she had to swim, well done Maya . Meanwhile Richard Blatchford was on the hunt for a spare set of goggles, Leanne Hennessy was next in the 100 back with a time of 1.09.98 followed by Nick Duxbury in the 100 back,  another Rugby match played earlier in the day taking its toll , but no complaints he stepped up and did the job standing in for Josh Ling. Best place of the night went to Alex Di Mascio with a second place in the girls 13/u 100 fly quickly followed by a third place for Tomas Traupys . Leanne Hennessy was just out side her seasons best on the 100 free by 0.6 of a second and we finished of on the relays with some team PBs from previous rounds. All in all GBM achieved 7 team PBs 12 individual PBs and 1 KQT from Tim.

With our goal to achieve more than the 70 points from round 1 and the  80 points from the previous round  and go for PBs, the swimmers reached and surpassed this with a total of 107 points - a progressive improvement with each round .

Well done everyone who turned up and swam, we now look forward to the next round of club champs followed by a couple of days off at X’mas then the real work starts after the break with the emphasis on  increasing intensity, quality sessions and focus, for the Kent County Championships.

Pete Withey
Head Coach

Round 2 of the National Arena Swimming League brought GBM swimmers back to Hatfield ,and once again up against some of the best clubs in the country. After a long warm up, Leonie Buck started us off with a gutsy performance, followed by Richard de Rome, who stepped up to the mark in the open 200IM. There followed 8 relay events with Chanel Robinson, Kara Salih and Jake Forrest leading off, all gaining 50 PB’s . Due to injuries illness and a general shortage of swimmers especially in the open & 15/u girls, several girls had to “swim up” and swam a number of events, notably Chanel Robinson who swam with a slight groin and quad strain and with no complaint and Alexandra Di Mascio – both encompassing the ethos of “team spirit”.  Leanne Hennessy edged closer to her old PBs of a year ago with seasons best in 100 backstroke and 100 free, Kara Salih went sub 40 for the first time in the 50 fly and Zahra Crane went sub 35 on the 50 free, well done girls.

For the boys Alex Ball produced a sub 40 secs on his 50 backstroke and 50 fly and Aaran Baggia got closer to his aim of going sub 60 in the 100 free with a time of 60.71. Josh Ling managed to get within .8 of a sec off his 100 backstroke with a time of 67.34.

As a club we achieved 80 points, 9 more than round 1 with more 5th, 6th and 7th places this time round, 9 individual PBs were set, plus 7 relay “first off the blocks” PBs  were recorded and 7 faster relay team times from the  last round.

As always thanks to Helen for her invaluable help, the poolside helpers, officials and our supporters.

Can’t wait for the next round

Pete Withey
Head Coach

The GBM swimmers arrived at Hatfield to face the top teams in the DIV 1 London region, all brimming with British swimmers and European Junior Champions. Inspiring our swimmers with her performance, our acting girl’s captain, Leanne Hennessy led off in the 200 IM with a gutsy swim. Then it was the turn of acting boys captain Josh Ling, followed by relays from 9-11 through to opens, with numerous PB’s gained in the 1st leg 50’s, all credible swims. The boys 15/U 4x50 team of Richard Blatchford (28.45) Aaran Baggia (27.28) Josh Brewster (31.75) and Ijlal Siddiqui (29.16) took our first 7th place. Due to shortage of swimmers, athletes had to swim several times in relays and individuals. Some swimmers had only 2 races to prepare to swim again!

However, GBM swimmers stepped up and swam with real determination in these cases, notably Grace de Rome and Hayley Bennett. Leanne Hennessy (100 Back) and Grace de Rome (100 Free) came up against British and European JNR Champions. Sound 5th places came from Leanne Hennessy, Joe Doublet and a stand-out performance from Alexandra Di Mascio with a 5 second PB on 100 fly! Richard Blatchford also notched up a 3 second PB on 100 fly. A well done also goes to Luke Brewster for achieving a good 6th place, while unwell, going sub-57 on 100 free.

The Hatfield medical team were called upon to attend Alex Ball and Luke Brewster, who commented on GBM athletes, who were swimming through brick walls for their team mates! This was literally the case for Alex Ball, smacking the wall on his backstroke finish, needing an ice pack.

Out of 34 individual swims, there were 21 PB’s, a go forward team performance from all swimmers, well done everyone!

Thanks go to our dedicated team managers, officials and coaches. Suman, Lorraine, Helen, and of course, the squad coaches, Colin and Dorian, who prepared their swimmers very well.

We go forward to National Arena League: Round 2, with belief in our own performances and achievements. All those achieving PB’s are winners, don’t forget how it feels, work hard and intelligently in training, and success will be yours!

Pete Withey
Head Coach