Results, click HERE

On the 6th December 2009 Braintree hosted a 200 Meet for the first time, Braintree fielded a team of 23 Swimmers in a total of five different races. Points and medals were awarded for first to eighth place, age groups were 9/10, then 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and over, Braintree swimming club had the top boy and girl at the meet scoring the most points overall, for the girls five brilliant swims from 14 year old Helen Mitchell saw her take the top girl trophy, while a magnificent days swimming from 13 year old Tom Mclagan saw him take the boys trophy.

First race saw the boys swim the 200M Individual Medley two lengths of each stroke, in the 9/10 age group Ole Mills finished in second place with a personal best (PB), followed by Ryan Kelly in third then George Burrell in fourth swimming this race for the first time!. In the 13 year old age group Tom Mclagan swam a brilliant race to finish in first place with a PB.

The next event was the girls 200M freestyle race, in the 9/10 age group Georgia Harrod led the Braintree swimmers in, finishing in third place, Katie Tyler the finished in fifth place with a PB, with Lennie Overbury also finishing in the medals in eighth place with a PB, in the 11 year old age group Lauren Hughes got a PB and a seventh place medal, the 12 year old race had a very exciting finish with Isabella Salthouse finishing in first place with a PB, Sophie Howard less than half a second behind in second place with a PB, Harriett Bartram Baird finished in fourth place and just missed her PB. For the 13 year olds Hannah Travell swam well but just missed her PB and still finished first, with Millie Bauckham getting a PB and finishing in fifth place. All the 14 year old girls just missed their PB’s but managed to finish in a row for medals Helen Mitchell in First place, Emily Bulleid in second and Grace Bauckham in third.

Back to the boys 200M Breaststroke race, for the 9/10 year olds Ole Mills finished in first place despite just missing his PB, with Jordan Rudge finishing third with a PB, 12 year old David Fryatt just missed his PB but finished in first place, 13 year old Tom Mclagan was really impressive taking first place in his age group with a PB.

Girls turn 200M Butterfly, 10 year old Jessica Bulleid just missed her PB and finished in first place, 12 year old Isabella Salthouse also missed her PB but finished in second place, 13 year olds Hannah Travell and Rebekah Booty were racing each other close all day, in this case Hannah just missed her PB and finished in first place, with Rebekah gaining a PB and finishing second, 14 year old Helen Mitchell then just missed her PB and finished in first place.

Last event of the morning session saw the boys swimming the 200M Backstroke, 10 year old Ole Mills gained a PB and a silver medal, with Ryan Kelly just missing his PB and finishing third.

The girls were first up at the start of the afternoon session swimming the 200M Individual Medley, Abigail Hart swam to second place but missed her PB with Georgia Harrod close behind in third place with a PB, Katie Tyler also had a PB and a sixth place medal to celebrate, 11 year old Emily Woods also gained a PB and finished in 4th place, while 12 year old Isabella Salthouse missed her PB but finished in third place. 13 year old Hannah Travell had another gold medal to celebrate, as did 14 year old Helen Mitchell who also had a PB.

Back to the boys and the 200M Freestyle race, in the 9/10 year old age group, Ole Mills had another PB and a silver medal to add to his haul, with Ryan Kelly also gaining a PB and a bronze medal, Jordan Rudge followed him in with a fourth place finish, George Burrell then finished in seventh place also with a PB. Lastly was Tom Mclagan swimming so well his nearest rival was 11 seconds behind, another gold another PB.

Girls 200M Breaststroke race, in the 9/10 age category Jessica Bulleid just missed her PB but gained a silver medal, with Lennie Overbury having a great day gaining a PB and a fourth place finish, 13 year olds Hannah Travell and Rebekah Booty battled it out for gold and silver with Rebekah beating Hannah by 1 second both girls getting PB’s. Millie Bauckham also gained a PB and a fifth place finish. 14 year old Helen Mitchell also swam to a PB and another Gold medal beating her nearest rival by 14seconds!.

Next up was the boys last event of the gruelling 200M butterfly Ten year old Ole Mills took gold and a PB as did the unstoppable Tom Mclagan.

The Last event of the day was the 200M Backstroke for girls, Abigail Hart took gold in the 9/10 age group with a PB to celebrate, Lennie Overbury had a fourth place medal to celebrate in her first backstroke race at this distance!. 11 year old Lauren Hughes missed out on the medals in 9th place but gained a PB, Isabella Salthouse gained a PB and a silver medal, 13 year olds Rebekah Booty and Hannah Travell did battle again, Rebekah the victor again this time again by 1 second although both girls just missed their PB, Rebekah took gold with Hannah taking silver, Helen Mitchell again claiming a gold medal and a PB, with Emily Bulleid claiming a silver medal and a PB, followed by Grace Bauckham in Bronze medal position.

 

Over four nights the swimmers competed in 17 races, with the aim of achieving top 6 placing's within their age groups. Points are awarded for the 1st to 6th placing's. The swimmers with the most points for each age group will be awarded age groups trophies which will be presented at the club disco in January 2010.

All the swimmers worked really hard to improve their entry times and to win their events. This years efforts eclipsed 2008 results with a whole host of swimmers achieving County, Regional and Youth times which will give them an opportunity to swim against the best to be the best in Essex and the ASA Eastern Region.

At the end of night four, the customary parents race took place. Sadly no ladies took part this year although there was a strong contingent of 6 "older" male swimmers. All the swimmers were cheering wildly for their favourites during the 25 meter water thrashing (although we are assured that each of the stokes were legal). The race was won by a very narrow margin by Wayne Bulleid for the second successive year. Second place swimmer, Matt Hart, made him work every splash of the way with just a finger nail in it at the touch.

After the parents race the swimmers got a opportunity to let their hair down and have a fun swim which was richly deserved after all their hard work. Also it must be mentioned that some of the swimmers were competing in their first ever gala, as they cannot compete anywhere else until they are nine years old. The spectators and fellow swimmers experienced some fantastic swims from the up and coming seven and eight year olds who were able to demonstrate exactly what they are made of! Spirit and determination shone through and provided all with an early insight as to come as the club goes from strength to strength.

Well done to all the coaches and parents who gave up their time to do all the jobs that mean the swimmers can compete. Well done Braintree swimming club keep it up as we roll into Christmas.

 

First into the pool in the 200Meters Freestyle race was Nine year old George Burrell who got a Personal Best (PB) and a fourth place finish, next up were the nine year old girls, Georgia Harrod got a PB and a first place finish, with Charlotte Speakman also getting a PB and a Sixth place finish, ten year old Rebecca Maloney also claimed a PB.

Next up was the 50 Metre Backstroke for the boys ten year old Ole Mills just missed his PB but finished in second place, for the girls nine year olds Georgia Harrod had a PB and finished in first place, with Lennie Overbury just missing her PB but finishing in fourth place, ten year old Rebecca Maloney also claimed a PB in this event, eleven year old Lauren Hughes also had a PB and a sixth place finish.

We moved on to the 50 Metre Breaststroke race with nine year old Konrad Gubanski getting a PB and a fourth place finish, Ten year olds Ole Mills missed his PB and finished in first place, with George Salthouse also claiming a PB and finishing in fourth place. For the nine year old girls Georgia Harrod claimed a PB and a second place finish, with Charlotte Speakman also claiming a PB and a fifth place finish, ten year olds Rebecca Maloney got a PB, Verity Forster in her only swim of the day also claimed a PB in this race Tyra Johnson also claimed a PB in this event.

Next was the boys 200Metre Individual Medley with ten year old George Salthouse claiming a PB and a third place finish, nine year old Georgia Harrod also had a PB and a first place finish.

50 Metre Butterfly for the nine year olds Georgia Harrod had a PB and another first place finish Charlotte Speakman claimed a PB and just missed the places in seventh, Lennie Overbury also had a PB, eleven year old Lauren Hughes also had a PB in this race, for the boys Ole Mills also had a PB and another first place finish, with George Salthouse also claiming a PB and a fourth place finish.

Last event of the day for our swimmers was the 50M Freestyle, nine year old George Burrell had a PB and a fifth place finish, ten year olds Ole Mills missed his PB and finished in second place, with George Salthouse also claiming a PB finishing eighth . For the girls at the end of a long day personal bests were missed but there was still some good swimming, Georgia Harrod had a third place finish, Lennie Overbury finished sixth with Charlotte Speakman in seventh, eleven year old Lauren Hughes also missed her PB and finished her last race in eighth, our only young lady to claim a PB at her first open meet was ten year old Tyra Johnson

Lastly we would like to say thank you to Nikki Wiseman who coped brilliantly being the only coach on the day, especially with the swimmers not being allowed on poolside, also Angela Maloney for her assistance at the last minute. Well done Braintree!!

 

 

50M Freestyle

Other special mentions go to;

At such an early time in the swim calendar, the achievements of the team bodes well for the remainder of the season.

 

Over the weekend of the 24th October, Lee Peterson of BBSC attended the British Gas ASA Masters & Senior Age Group Championships at Ponds Forge.

Lee was competing in the 35-39 Year age group with impressive results!

 

Stroke & Distance	Position	Time
50m Breaststroke	1st	30.97
50m Backstroke	2nd	27.83*
100m Backstroke	2nd	1.00.67
200m Backstroke	2nd	2.14.67
100m Fly	3rd	1.01.66
100m Breaststroke	4th	1.08.43

Brief Update

Pete On Form

Braintree & Bocking Swimming Club took first place in a Mini League Gala on Saturday 12th September, against Havering Dolphins, Saffron Walden, Basildon, and Clacton on sea.

Scores were Saffron Walden 79, Havering Dolphins 107, Clacton on Sea 143, Basildon 145 and Braintree 182, the winning margin a massive 37 points!

The team can can take full credit for their perfomance given that they are not used to a 33 Meter pool!

First in the pool was Abigail Hart who took second place in the 11and under Backstroke. In the same event for the boys was Ryan Kelly who went one better and was first. Next up was the 9 and under 4 X 1 length Breaststroke relays, for some of the swimmers this was their first gala!, for the girls were Georgia Harrod, Rebecca Maloney, Lennie Overbury and Charlotte Speakman they finished in first place, the boys Christian White, Konrad Gubanski, Owen Miller and Jordan Rudge finished second.
Next into the pool was Lauren Hughes who swam well to finish second in the 10 and under Backstroke, Ben Cox also swam well and finished first in the same event, next up two impressive older swimmers Sophie Howard and Philip Hart who both finished first in the 13 and under 3 lengths Freestyle race, then Emily Bulleid finished second in the girls open age 2 lengths butterfly race, Lauren Jolliffe swam to well in the girls 10& under Breaststroke race and was time faulted for going to fast!, Mathew Thomas finished second in the same event. Another two first place finishes for Jessica Bullied and Jordan Rudge in the 11& under 1 length Breaststroke races.

Then it was the turn of the older swimmers again, who entertained us all with an excellent display in the 4 x 1 length x 2 race, for the girls Emily Bullied, Sophie Howard, Isabella Salthouse and Amy Shambrook who finished second, for the boys Connor Stephens, Ben Shambrook, Adam Shambrook and Luke Durban another first place finish.
Two more first places for us to cheer about were from Harriet White and Ben Cox in the 10& under 1 length Freestyle races followed by the same event for 11 year olds, Amy Lazell was to fast and was time faulted, Ryan Kelly finished first for the boys. Next up six impressive young men in the 6X 1 length butterfly relay this race uses one boy from each age group and two open age swimmers, the boys were Jordan Rudge, Ben Durban, Ole Mills, Philip Hart, Adam Shambrook and Luke Durban. Another Second place from the boys 11&under age group 4X1 length freestyle relay team of Ben Durban, Ryan Kelly, Mathew Thomas and Ole Mills.

Another first place for Sophie Howard in the girls 13&under 2 lengths Backstroke, a second place for the boys Ben Shambrook in the same event, Making a hatrick of Shambrooks, Amy was first in the Girls Open 3 lengths Freestyle and Adam third in the same event!

Time for the younger swimmers again, girls and boys 4X1 length freestyle relay, for the girls finishing first again the excellent quartet of, Georgia Harrod, Rebecca Maloney Lennie Overbury, and Charlotte Speakman, for the boys, Owen Miller Konrad Gubinski Christian White and Jordan Rudge finishing in second place. The really impressive Jordan Rudge had a second place in the boys 1 length butterfly race, next up the always consistently excellent Ole Mills took first place in the same event for the 11 and under age group.

Two more second place finishes the 6 boys in the mixed age breaststroke relay team of Konrad Gubinski, Matthew Thomas, Ben Durban, Philip Hart Adam Shambrook and Luke Durban. The Isabella Salthouse in the 13& under 2 lengths butterfly, another first place finish for Philip Hart in the same event, an excellent swim from Luke Durban saw him finish in first place in the open two lengths Breaststroke.

Next up the 13 and under 4X1length Freestyle relays, this was impressive swimming for both teams as most of the swimmers are not 13 yet and some only 10 years old!, for the girls finishing second, Sophie Howard, Isabella Salthouse, Amy Lazell, and Abigail Hart, the boys improved this by one place with another first boys were, Ben Shambrook, Philip Hart, Ole Mills and Luke Durban.
Down to the last two races and the Braintree spectators were really excited by now it was the last two events the girls and boys 10 and under 1 length freestyle, we definitely wanted to finish in style so hopes were mounting we could pull off a double first place finish, none of our swimmers disappointed for the girls, Lauren Jolliffe, Lauren Hughes, Lennie Overbury and Harriet White, for the boys Ben Cox, Matthew Thomas, Konrad Gubinski and Jordan Rudge double first place! All the swimmers swam excellent races and thanks from the spectators to all the parents helping on the poolside.

 

Webmaster Note - a special mention here for Amanda Durban who pratically circumnavigated the planet on the 12th September to arrive in good time for the Mini League event.... roll on the SatNav software upgrade :-)

 

Our first Summer Sprint meet was an unqualified success. Thanks go to the small, but dedicated band of helpers who worked tirelessley to ensure that the day ran smoothly. Judging by the number of complimentary comments coming from prticipating clubs, it is an annual event that they will support in future,

For our own swimmers it was the chance to round off a successful season with impressive performances and times. There were a large number of PBs, and times which should already ensure qualification for the 2010 County Championships. There were too many good swims to individually mention here, but all who competed represented the club magnificantly.

Our thanks got to all those clubs whoa attended and the staff at the Swimming Centre who worked hard to support the event

It was so good they want to do it again, only next time for a week! That was the response from the swimmers after they returned from their weekend camp at Wickham Bishops

It was thanks to the hard work put in by Maria, Jenny and the other helpers that ensure the weekend was a success.

Photos of the weekend can be found here.
Club members email hall@braintreeswimming.co.uk for login details

Thanks to all who made this such a great weekend.

The second and final weekend of swimming saw a total of eight swimmers travel once again to the UEA pool in Norwich in the hope of more success.

Competing in his first event at this years championships was 10 years old Ole Mills who turned in a fantastic performance in the 200m breaststroke to move up several places from his entry position to qualify for the final in 6th place, in the final he would improve again to collect a very creditable 5th place finish.

Thirteen year old Luke Durban in the 1500m Freestyle where he once again improved his entry position to finish in a fine 5th place and smash his Pb and swim to a national qualifying time.

The afternoon’s swimming opened with 10year old Emily Woods swimming to a fine PB time and securing herself a final slot, she would finish just outside the medals in 4th place but a fine swim none the less, 12 year old Hannah Travell and 13 year old Becky Booty were also in the 200m freestyle with both girls putting in good efforts but finishing just outside their best times. Luke Durban swam another fine race in his 200m Backstroke event and made another final he would improve his position again in the final to finish a very creditable 7th. David Fryatt was another to contest the backstroke and swam a solid effort on his return from injury. Sunday’s swimming would see Ole Mills return for his 100m Breaststroke event where once again he would set a fine new Pb and just miss out of the finals finishing in 9th place.

Hannah Travell and Becky Booty were once again in attendance with both girls competing in the 200m Individual Medley, Hannah would make reserve finalist whilst Becky would put in a solid effort to finish well inside the top twenty in her age group. The swim of the morning came from Luke Durban who smashed his lifetime best and gained qualification for the national championships in his 400m I/M event, his swim moved him up several places to collect a fantastic Bronze medal. Not to be outdone in the same event Tom Mclagan also made a significant move up the rankings to finish in a very good 8th place whilst also lowering his previous best time. The final afternoon saw Luke Durban again set a PB to qualify for another final this time in the 200m Butterfly he couldn’t improve upon his heat time or position in finishing 8th, but he can be pleased with his fine swimming over both weekends. The girls 100m Backstroke would see Emily Woods ease into the finals in a very good time, she couldn’t quite match this in the final but picked up another Bronze medal for her collection, in the same event Becky Booty had arguably her best swim of the championships turning in a fine swim to improve her entry position.

The girl’s 100m Freestyle was well represented with four girls taking part. Once again Emily Woods would make a final however she would be denied a medal by one place to collect 4th place but consolation was a good PB. Thirteen year olds Becky Booty and Emily Bulleid both swam well with Emily in particular looking good, she would win her heat despite being ranked below her competition, her swim would move her up several places from her entry position whilst Becky should be pleased with her swimming competing for the first time at this level. Hannah Travell was the other swimmer in this event; she qualified in 5th place from the heats into her age group final, she would put the disappointment of her previous swims behind her and show her determination to pick up a bronze medal whilst going much quicker in the final.

Luke Durban finished in a very good 4th place overall in the Boys 13 year’s age group and collected four national qualifying times during the championships. A fine two weekends of competition at this high level would see the swimmers collect a total of 8 medals coupled with over a dozen final appearances, this shows a very good return for the swimmers and the coaching staff who have all worked hard during the season.

The first weekend of competition at the UEA Norwich pool saw six of Braintree’s swimmers take to the pool for these long course championships against the best of swimmers from the surrounding counties. First up was Emily Woods competing in the 10 years category she would improve her entry position by several places to qualify in 3rd place for the final of her 200m Breaststroke event.

Meanwhile Tom Mclagan and Luke Durban competing in the 13 years age group both swam superb races in their 400m Freestyle event to move up 10 and 4 places respectively with Luke finishing just outside the medals in 4th place but with a national qualifying time as consolation. Both boys would also improve their rankings the 800m Free where this time Luke would take a superb Silver medal finish, comfortably inside a national qualifying time.

So to the final of the breaststroke where Emily would shatter her heat time by 6 seconds and collect herself a Silver medal.

The afternoon session would see more finals and medals, once again Emily was first into the pool in the 200m backstroke, she would maintain her entry position and comfortably make her second final of the day. Also competing in this event were Becky Booty in the 13 years age group and Hannah Travell in the 12 years category both girls were a bit outside their best times. Luke Durban qualified for the final of his 200metre freestyle event, whilst Hannah Travell swam to a reserve finalist finish in her 100m Butterfly event. Luke was touched out of a medal finish in his final and took 5th place whilst Emily returned for her second final of the day and once again improved her heat time to take her second Silver medal of the day. A fine first day saw the club collect 3 silver medals.

Sunday’s swimming would see more finals and more medals with Luke and Tom being joined by Orin Mann for the boys 200m Individual Medley event. Orin improved his entry position by 10 places to be 15th overall whilst Tom continued his fine swimming, whilst Luke would make the final as 2nd fastest from the heats, he would have to settle for 3rd place and a Bronze medal from his final but this fine swim would see his fine weekend continue.

The afternoon would see Hannah Travell back in the pool this time in the 200m Butterfly, she would qualify as 4th fastest from the heats. Orin Mann and Luke Durban would both also qualify for the finals in their respective age groups in the 100m Freestyle. Hannah was first up in the finals and although swimming faster than her heat couldn’t improve her 4th place from the heat. So to the Boys finals where Orin would take 8th place in his final, whilst Luke would once again be touched out in a blanket finish and finish 5th.

This was one of the best weekends for the club at regional level for many years and with the promise of more to come at the second weekends competition to follow.

The fourth and final round of the Essex County Swimming Championships saw Braintree's swimmers return to where it all started back in January, Blackshots Pool in Thurrock.

The swimmers efforts would prove to be fruitful with more fine displays of race swimming with more medals, top six finishes and regional times to celebrate along with more county titles. First up were the Girls in their 100m Freestyle event, 13 year old Helen Mitchell was just outside her best whilst in the same age group Emily Bullied swam to a fine Pb and moved up several places on her entry position whilst also gaining a regional qualifying time, Becky Booty smashed her previous best time to also gain regional qualification and a reserve finalist spot.

Twelve year old Hannah Travell swam a solid heat to qualify second fastest for her final later in the morning. Max Palmer-Everson in his 100m Fly event would swim to a new Pb and was another to finish as a reserve finalist. David Fryatt followed in his 200m Medley event where he gained a new Pb and a sixth place scoring position. Hannah Travell returned for her 200m Butterfly and put in a new best time 5 seconds improved on her previous best this was sufficient to secure a fourth place finish.

Waltham Forest Secondary Meet Five of Braintree's swimmers were in attendance at the annual Waltham Forest Secondary swim meet, between them they recorded 12 new best times from their 17 swims with 6 top six finishes. Ten year old Abigail Hart was in fine form over the weekend swimming to four personnel best times in her five events, she smashed her 200m backstroke time by 10 seconds to pick up Silver, her 100m I/M time was beaten by 6 seconds whilst picking up 4th place. She also beat her 200m Breaststroke time by 7 seconds and her 200m Freestyle time by 4 and a half seconds.

 

This third round of the Essex Swimming Championships was held at the Braintree Swimming Centre and Braintree's swimmers were to make full use of their home pool, collecting between them 10 more medal finishes, a further 3 county titles and 3 more club records, with numerous Regional qualifying times.

First up were Luke Durban and Tom Mclagan in the Boys 12 years 1500metre Freestyle, Tom swam to a superb new Personal Best to collect another points scoring position of 6th while Luke although not at his best for this event did enough to secure himself another county title and a Gold medal. Emily Woods swam inside her entry time to collect tenth place in her 10 years 200m Breaststroke. The Girls 4 x 50 Medley event would see Hannah Travell swim to a fine Pb and collect herself another medal this time a Silver in the 12 years category. In the same event 13 year old Becky Booty would swim to a Pb time and gain a regional qualifying time whilst finishing in 9th place, Helen Mitchell would finish 14th.

The afternoon session would open with the Girls 1500metre Freestyle, Hannah Travell continued where she left off in the morning collecting another medal, this time a Bronze, this swim would also see Hannah collect a new club record whilst also breaking the 800metre record on route as well, Helen Mitchell would also swim a Pb and collect 5th place in her 13-year age group and lower her existing club record in the bargain.

Next into the pool were the Boys in their 100metre Medley event, both Orin Mann and Tom Mclagan swam to Pb's and would finish 12th and 13th overall while Luke Durban qualified for the final where he would collect a Pb and Bronze medal finish.The clubs second Gold Medal and County champion from day one would come from Eleven- year old David Fryatt; he collected Gold in his Boys 200metre Freestyle event after a superbly paced swim in a new Personal best time that will see him competing at the regional championships later in the year.

Sunday’s swimming would open for Braintree’s swimmers with Luke Durban easing into the final of the Boys 12years 100metre Butterfly, he would go on to improve on his heat position and collect a Bronze medal after once again lowering his Pb time. Grace Bauckham would swim and finish in 11th place in her 200metre Backstroke in the 14years category.

Next up would be David Fryatt where he completed his perfect weekend with his second County title and Gold medal, this time coming in the 400metre Freestyle, after settling in for the first 100metres of the race David showed his opponents a clean pair of heels to pace his race very well and swim away from the competition.

The Girls 200metre Breaststroke would see Hannah Travell finish just outside the points in 7th but consolation was a new Pb and Regional time, Helen Mitchell also swam to a Pb to finish 14th in her age group. The last session of the weekend would see Lucy Hall finish 6th in the Girls 1500metre Freestyle, whilst in the 12 years Boys 100metre Freestyle event, Tom Mclagan, Orin Mann and Luke Durban would all swim Pb’s with Orin finishing as first reserve for the final while Luke qualified as second fastest.

In the final Luke although going faster then the previous county record and breaking the minute barrier would have to settle for Silver medal position but a fantastic swim none the less. The Girls 200metre Backstroke was next and Hannah Travell rounded out her fine weekend with another medal win this time a Bronze along with yet another regional time and Pb, joining her at the regional championships will be Becky Booty who swam to a superb Pb in her age group to finish 14th overall, Helen Mitchell had another Pb in the same event and finished 15th.

In the boys 200m Medley event Tom Mclagan and Orin Mann both swan Pb’s to finish 8th and 15th respectively, whilst Luke Durban had yet another Pb and medal finish of Silver to add to his haul. So a superb weekends swimming in their home pool with Luke Durban picking up medals from all his swims, whilst David Fryatt can be well pleased with his 2 Gold medals. The swimmers well positioned in their respective age groups going into the final weekend are Luke Durban 1st 12 years – Hannah Travell 2nd 12 years – David Fryatt 4th 11 years

The club maintains its 10th place overall, but having closed up on the clubs just ahead of them.

The second weekend of the Essex County Championships saw Braintree's swimmers travel to Waltham Forest Pool.

The Saturday morning session saw the best swim come from Tom Mclagan as he reached the final of the Boys 12 years 100 metre breaststroke while thirteen year old Helen Mitchell and fifteen year old Lucy Hall competed in the 800metre freestyle and 100metre Individual Medley respectively, with Ten-year-old Emily Woods narrowly touched out of a top six finish in her 200metre freestyle swim.

The afternoon session would prove to be more prosperous for the swimmers. Hannah Travell competing in the twelve-year-age category qualified from the heats to the final of her 100metre backstroke and although she would swim faster than her heat would have to settle for 4th place just outside the medals. Ole Mills and David Fryatt both swam to new personnel best times in their 10 year and 11 year 100metre medley events.

In the energy sapping 4 x 100 metre medley twelve year old Luke Durban swam away from the field and struck Gold swimming to a fine new Pb in the process, while Tom Mclagan continued his fine form with a sixth place finish in the same event. Helen Mitchell had a top ten finish in her 200metre freestyle event, while Hannah Travell returned to the pool for her second event of the afternoon and lowered her previous best time to claim a fantastic first place and Gold in her 200metre Freestyle event.

Sunday would see a continuation of medal's being won, as first into the pool were Tom Mclagan and Luke Durban in the 800metre Freestyle. Tom would continue his solid swimming with another Pb and a sixth place finish. The swim of the weekend would see Luke not only secure himself another county title and Gold medal but also a new county record into the bargain along with a club record.

Lucy Hall and Fourteen year old Grace Bauckham both competed in their respective age group 200metre freestyle swims. David Fryatt secured himself a top six swim in his 200m Butterfly swim. Helen Mitchell swam to a new Pb and was reserve finalist in her 100metre Medley event.

Hannah Travell continued her fine form as she qualified fastest from her 100metre Individual Medley heat, once again she would swim faster in the final, this time however she wouldn't be denied and secured herself Gold and another county title, her swim would also see her claim a club record.

So to the final session of the weekend and more top six places were to follow. Emily Woods would ease herself into the final of her 100m Medley event and collect a fine fourth place finish in the final, whilst earning a Pb in the heats. Luke and Tom both swam to new Pb times in their 200metre backstroke event, with Luke picking up a superb Silver medal finish with Tom a fifth place finish in a very respectable time.

Hannah had her final swim of the weekend in the 400metre freestyle where a superbly paced race saw her smash her previous best time by 8 seconds to collect a fine second place and Silver medal. So some superb swimming over the two days would see both Luke and Hannah delighted with their weekends swimming, both picking up a pair of county titles to their name along with a Silver medal a piece, both can also lay claim to a club record with Luke also the proud owner of a county record. Tom Mclagan can be another well pleased with his weekends swimming with consistent top six finishes in all his swims.

At this halfway stage of the championships noticeable positions in the age group overall rankings show, Girls 12 years- Hannah Travell 2nd place Boys 11 years- David Fryatt in 4th Boys 12 years- Luke Durban in 9th Whilst the club sits in 10th place overall.

The first competition of the year saw Braintree's swimmers travel to Thurrock for the first round of the Essex County Championships.

Saturday saw the majority of the club's 25 swimmers who qualified compete; first to swim where the Boys 10 year category in the Breaststroke, Ben Durban and Ole Mills both had Pb's whilst Elliott Birks swam just outside his best. Next into the pool were the 12-year-old Boys in their Freestyle, Luke Durban and Orin Mann both beat their Pb's to qualify for the final in second and fourth place respectively, while Philip Hart was just outside his Pb. Matthew Horne in the 14 years age group competed in his favoured Breaststroke.

 

The Girls Thirteen year age group were next and Alice Hickmott easily qualified for the final in the Backstroke and gained a PB in the process while Becky Booty can be well pleased with a fine Pb time and top ten finish in the same event.

Ole Mills returned for his second swim in the Freestyle, with Matthew Horne also in his age group freestyle. Alice Hickmott and Becky Booty both competed in the Fly event where Alice earned herself another Pb. The Boys 12 year Breaststroke was a hotly contested event and both Orin Mann and Luke Durban can be pleased with their Pb swims. So to the finals of the first session, first up was the 12 year Boys Freestyle were Luke Durban was agonisingly touched out into second place by the minimum time available (one hundredth of a second) whilst also going quicker than in his heat, Orin Mann would finish in fourth after another fine swim, both Boys can be delighted with their times Luke going under 29 seconds and Orin under 30 seconds. Alice Hickmott in the Backstroke would finish in fourth place a fraction off a podium finish.

Session 2 would see a young girls relay team of Lucy Hall, Alice Hickmott, Becky Booty and Emily Bulleid compete and put in a fine finish of 10th against the older age teams. Luke Durban qualified for the final in the Boys backstroke whilst Orin Mann swam a solid race in the same event. Isabella Salthouse also had a solid swim in her 11-year –old category Freestyle swim, while Lucy Hall was just outside her Pb in her Freestyle event. Ben Durban can be pleased with his Pb swim in the backstroke while Ole Mills was a little of his entry time in the same event. Nine years old Verity Warner-Moulding in her first major swim event had a superb Pb in her Freestyle swim, she will have benefited greatly from the experience.

Braintree were well represented in the Girls 13 year Freestyle with Alice Hickmott, Emily Bulleid and Becky Booty with Emily swimming a fantastic Pb’s and all the Girls finishing inside the top 20 for the event, Orin Mann swam a superb Pb in the Butterfly heat to qualify for his second final while Luke Durban and Philip Hart also had good Pb swims in the same event.

The respective finals would see both Luke Durban and Orin Mann swim fast with Luke taking 4th place in his Backstroke and Orin swimming to 5th in the fly. So a solid days swimming would see the club have 5 finalists along with many Pb swims.

Sunday would see a smaller congregation of swimmers than had attended on the Saturday but although smaller in number they were just as determined to compete as their teammates from the day before. First into the pool was nine-year-old Daniel “dash” Mclagan who swam very close to his Pb in the Backstroke, following Daniel into the pool was 11 year old David Fryatt who started his day well with a fine Pb in his Fly event.

Harriett Bartram-Baird and Hannah Travell represented the club in the Girls 12 years Freestyle, Harriett swam to a fine new Pb whilst Hannah would make the final as the fastest qualifier also in new Pb time. Max Palmer-Everson earned himself a Pb and final appearance in his fifteen years Fly event.

Amy Lazell had a superb new Pb in her 10 yrs Freestyle swim, while Max returned to the pool in his Backstroke event and in a new Pb time also secured himself a final appearance. Fourteen-year-old Grace Bauckham had a fine freestyle swim so soon after returning from injury. David Fryatt smashed his Pb and moved up several places to earn himself a superb final appearance in his Backstroke event.

Lee Peterson competed at the recent Essex Masters Swimming championships held at Blackshots Leisure Centre in Thurrock. Competing in three events he would swim to a hatrick of titles and claim a club record in the process. First up was his 50metre Backstroke event where he would produce the fastest time of any swimmer present ( a theme that was to continue) to bag his first title and the Open age group club record to boot. His second event was the 50metre breaststroke where once again he would be the quickest swimmer on show across all the age groups. His third and final title came in the 100metre Backstroke where he completed his sweep of titles whilst once more swimming the quickest time of the day.

Congratulations go out to both 12 year olds Hannah Travell & Orin Mann and 16 year old Max Palmer-Everson who have both received call ups to the Essex County Swim team to compete at the East Region Inter counties gala to be held at Thetford in July. This continues the run of club swimmers who have been selected over the last 3 years.

Braintree and Bocking swimming club had four swimmers who qualified for this years East Region Youth swimming championships that are held at the UEA Norwich pool, this competition as the title suggests draws the best swimmers from across the region to compete over the 50metre long course pool.

This competition is open for Girls 14 years and over and Boys fifteen years and over Helen Mitchell had four swims over the course of the championships and came away with a new club record and PB in her 1500metre whilst showing consistent form over her other races (4x100metre Medley-200+400metre freestyle).

Lucy Hall qualified for two swims and showed good form in both her 100+200 metre swims. Grace Bauckham had just the one swim and can be well pleased with a new PB from her 50metre freestyle event. Rounding out the competitors was Max Palmer -Everson who like Helen had four swims over the duration of the weekend. Max had solid swims in his 50metre Butterfly and 50metre Freestyle events, along with the 100metre Freestyle but saved his best effort for the 100metre Butterfly where he swam to a new PB. Some good performances from the swimmers with several top twenty place finishes being achieved which is no mean feat when looking at the quality of swimmer