June saw thirteen Tavistock Swimming Club swimmers taking part in the Devon ASA Sprints and Developments gala, an event which involves four days of competition at Plymouth Life Centre. First up was Lily in the 1500m. In a superb performance which led to widespread compliments, she took 2mins 14sec off a time set less a month before and won a well-deserved silver medal.
The followed day was the “Sprints” element of the gala, in which all competitors must race the 50m events in all four strokes. All TSC swimmers achieved at least one personal best time and both Lily and Lottie went home with medals, although Lottie’s joy was tempered by frustration at a false start which saw her disqualified in the breaststroke.
On the second weekend of competition, Charlotte Walker won gold medals with personal bests in both of her events (400m freestyle and 800m freestyle), breaking her own 400m club record in the process. Lottie put her earlier mistake behind her with a gold medal in the 400m freestyle and a 71sec personal best in the 200m backstroke. Scarlett, who until now has tended to favour the shorter distances, showed she was capable of endurance too with big PBs in both 100m breaststroke and 200m freestyle. Lily continued her run of form with silver medals in both the 400m and the 200m freestyle, ending the meet with personal bests in all eight of her events. Nell came close to that achievement with seven PBs across eight events. Meanwhile, Mary surprised herself with first place in the 400m freestyle and third in the 200m; Megan won medals in two out of her three events; Cora improved her time in the challenging 100m butterfly; and Rosie , taking part in her first open gala, gave herself a solid chance of qualifying for the Devon Country Championships in January.
While the swimmers were in the pool, Sarah Shutt was on poolside officiating and completed her British Swimming Judge Level 1 qualification. Thank you to her, to all the officials from other clubs, and to the TSC coaches, team managers and volunteers who enabled the events to take place.
