Kingsbridge Kingfishers

Forthcoming Events...

• ASASWR Relays
• Cornwall and West Devon League Round 2
• ASASWR Age Group Championships
• ASASWR Age Group Championships
• Cornwall and West Devon League Round 3

News Archive 2009

Arena League Report

Kingsbridge travelled to Keynsham for the first round of the National Arena Swimming League. Kingfishers yet again had an extremely tough first round draw, meaning every single point was going to be crucial. The club started strongly with several second and third positions throughout the opening races. A win finally came from Laker Wong in the 13/u 50m breaststroke, who had to swim an exceptional amount of races this round, claiming first in the 15/u 100m breaststroke and also having to complete the same Open event. The Open fly swimmers both swam well, with Holly Gunner claiming first and Sam Jones pacing his race superbly to gain a new PB. For this performance Sam was awarded swimmer of the meet. Both the 13/u relays performed consistently, scoring good points throughout the rounds. The female Open relay team maintained an unbeaten run on their freestyle relays, gaining valuable points for the team. However, due to some unfortunate disqualifications Kingsbridge slipped down to 5th by the end of the gala.

The second round was a lot more successful for Kingsbridge. The club travelled to the fantastic swimming facility at Bournemouth, along with their vocal 'fan-club', who provided excellent support during the galas. Again Laker performed well with two wins. Holly also had to well deserved victories claiming two good PBs of 1.00.46 and 1.08.66 in the 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly respectively. Harriet Arscott also won both her events, dipping under 31 seconds on her 50m freestyle for the first time. Swimmer of the meet was awarded to the young Christopher Morris for his willingness to try his very best for the team, despite his lack of experience. The Open team was strengthened by the return of Paul Jacobson, as well as Erica Lee swimming excellently in both the 100m backstroke individual and backstroke leg of the relay. This effort led Kingsbridge to 2nd position which placed them into the middle gala for the final round.

This third and final round was held at Exeter. It was the closest and most exciting round of them all, with the lead constantly changing hands between Kingsbridge, Carn Brea and Bridgwater. The crowd once again provided excellent support and created an amazing atmosphere. The return of George Grace ensured maximum points, as he swam to victory in the Open 100m breaststroke and 100m IM. Holly Gunner improved once again in the 100m butterfly to claim another first. Ruby Barnett swam two great PBs in both the 11/u 50m freestyle and 50m breaststroke, and was awarded swimmer of the meet for this. Laker Wong yet again produced excellent tactical racing to claim two wins, and it was decided to give Laker the award for the most consistent swimmer of all the rounds, as in total he won six individual events for the club. The final two 6 X 50m freestyle relays were the most exciting races of the lot, with Kingsbridge eventually coming out on top twice. The men's race was extremely close throughout but Kingfishers just got the final touch ahead of Carn Brea. This amazing team performance resulted in Kingsbridge winning this final gala, placing them 9th in the 2009 league table after all three rounds (Kingfishers second best result ever).

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Plymouth Cities

The Plymouth City Swimming Championships which was held over two weekends in October was an ideal gala for younger less experienced swimmers to begin their competitive swimming. It also allowed some of the older swimmers an early opportunity to achieve the county qualifying times. There was an extremely relaxed atmosphere resulting in lots of exceptional PBs and many medals for KKSC.

Leading the way was Grace Mulligan, who won a total of four gold medals in the 50m Fly, 100m and 200m Breaststroke and 100 IM, as well as winning the championship final of the 100 Breaststroke in a time of 1.26.15 and coming second in the final of the 100 IM. Grace also took silver in the 100m Freestyle and bronze in the 50m Freestyle.

Close behind were Emma Noyce (11) and Ella Paddon (12) both claiming three gold medals and making championship finals, great achievements for swimmers of this age. Ella went on to win the 100 Fly final and Emma took a total of nine medals! Hester Stembridge swam a storming 100m Freestyle to finish third in the championship final in a massive PB of 1.06.89, and made the final of the 100m Backstroke in another big PB, winning a grand total of eight medals. A championship final was also made by Harriet Arscott in the 100m Breaststroke, eventually taking 5th, as well as winning silver in her respective age group in the 100m Breaststroke and bronzes in the 200m Breaststroke and 100m IM.

Hayley Arthur won all the events (three) she entered, gaining two good PBs in the 400m and 800m Freestyle. Alysia Stringer came away with six medals after some solid long distance racing to take gold in the 400m Freestyle and Silver in the 800m Freestyle. Also winning medals were Lily Edmonds who took gold in the 50m Fly and Rhiannon Chadwick who took silver in the 200m Fly.

Dan Arscott produced some excellent racing to take second in the 100m Backstroke championship final, dipping under 1.10 for the first time, and reaching the final of the 100m Freestyle. Dan also won three gold medals and a silver in the 13 years age group. 9 year old Ben Cusack claimed three medals and 13 year old Peter Tunbridge took four. Louis Gautier swam excellently to gain some huge PBs taking gold in the 400IM as well as three silvers and two bronze. Finally, Greg King came away with three golds and four silvers and a third in the 100m Fly championship final.

Other swimmers all gaining some valuable race experience and setting some great PBs were Ben King, Megan Carter, Beth King, Elaina Gubbay, Jacob Seldon and Darcey Wall. Many swimmers also won BAGCAT awards which act as a points system within each age group for the top six competitors. These were won by Ben Cusack, Emma Noyce, Jacob Seldon, Hester Stembridge, Ella Paddon, Harriet Arscott, Louis Gautier, Alysia Stringer, Peter Tunbridge and Dan Arscott.

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Laker 'Wonged' It!

Kingsbridge Kingfishers' Laker Wong travelled up to Sheffield at the weekend to take part in his first National Age Group Championships. He went with his fan club - parent's David and Alison, Greg King (a junior coach and young volunteer within the club), Robert Dorey (training partner) and also Head Coach Karen Dorey. Laker swam exceptionally well in the heats knocking over three seconds off his personal best time in the 100m breaststroke to qualify for the final in second place. Word travelled round Kingsbridge very quickly and the afternoon was spent answering 'good luck' text messages from his team mates back home. Laker swam the final in the evening and put up a great fight in a very intense atmosphere to take the bronze medal, making him the third fastest 12 year old 100m breaststroker in Great Britain! He amazingly took it all within his stride, did exactly what was asked of him and coped with the pressure extremely well. It was great to see a swimmer from Kingsbridge Kingfishers on the podium – one of only three Devon clubs with swimmers at the Nationals (the others being Plymouth Leander and Exeter City).

Laker Wong joined Kingsbridge Kingfishers in 2004 after his potential was spotted during swimming lessons. He has improved rapidly each year becoming Devon County Champion for 200m breaststroke in 2007 and also qualifying for the Regional Championships that year taking bronze. This year has seen a marked improvement in both his racing skills and his dedication in training culminating in him gaining the National Qualifying Time in April. He continued to work hard throughout the spring and early summer and was rewarded with a stunning performance last weekend. After his swim in the final, Laker was able to soak up the atmosphere by watching the other finals and accepting the congratulations from coaches and swimmers from all over the country.

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Devon County Championships

Above is the team from the Devon County Inter-Club 2009

The Devon County Swimming Championships are a true marathon lasting nine full days of competition spread over two and a half months through the individual championships to the relay competition and finally the Inter-Club contest. To say this is gruelling would be an understatement because not only is it emotionally and physically exhausting for the swimmers, it is very difficult to set the training programme so that all swimmers are racing fast throughout the period. Nevertheless Kingsbridge Kingfishers swimmers did themselves truly proud this year. The rules changed on finals qualifications in the individual championships which played into Kingfishers hands giving the club two County Champions this year: Fiona Wilson in the ladies 16 and over 100m breaststroke and Greg King in the boys 16 and over 1500m freestyle. Fiona Wilson proved her fitness by racing to a bronze medal (and a cash prize) in the ladies skins freestyle event - a knockout competition to find the fastest and fittest swimmer in the competition. This is the first time any Kingfisher has raced this event at County level – a great accolade.

Other medals were won by Laker Wong: silver 100m breaststroke and bronze 200m breaststroke; Hayley Arthur: silver 200m breaststroke, silver 50m freestyle and bronze 100m individual medley; Richard Forman: bronze 200m backstroke; Holly Gunner: silver 200m freestyle, bronze 100m freestyle; Fiona Wilson: silver 100m butterfly, 200m breaststroke, 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley. Laker also made it through to the finals in all his events and won 4th place in the British Age Group Category Awards.

The most impressive statistic was the number of personal bests swum during the individual championships – a staggering 90% of all swims. Setting these times along with the medal winners were Daniel Arscott, Harriet Arscott, Rhiannon Chadwick, Edward Dorey, Robert Dorey, Louis Gautier, Elaina Gubbay, Sam Jones, Grace Mulligan, Emma Noyce, Ella Paddon, Freddie Richards, Isabella Richards and Hester Stembridge.

The relay competition is always great fun and Kingsbridge came away with yet more medals. The 11/12 year boys' team of Richard Forman, Laker Wong, Louis Gautier and Ben King was particularly impressive winning silver in the medley relay and bronze in the freestyle relay. The girls 11/12 years freestyle relay of Isabella Richards, Ella Paddon, Emma Noyce and Hester Stembridge picked up a bronze medal as did the ladies open freestyle relay of Holly Gunner, Hayley Arthur, Freddie Richards and Fiona Wilson.

The 2009 Devon Competitions rounded off with the Devon Inter-Club where the 15 top clubs from around Devon competed for the accolade of top club in Devon. This year Kingfishers exceeded their expectations by coming fifth for the second year running beating bigger clubs from bigger towns yet again. Swimmer of the meet was Greg King who went under his target time for 100m butterfly but, most importantly keeping the other team members very happy by baking a delicious chocolate cake which was devoured during the lunch break. Twelve year old Laker Wong again was astonishing coming second in the boys 13/u 50m breaststroke and 4th in the boys 15/u 100m breaststroke the latter in a national qualifying time. This means that a Kingsbridge swimmer will be racing at the National Championships again this year a huge accolade for a small club from a small town.

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Avalon Open Meet - Millfield

A team of 24 swimmers from Kingsbridge Kingfishers went to their first ever Avalon Level 3 Open Meet at Millfield School. This was a great meet at the right time in the training cycle so the swimmers were racing fast! A large number of the swimmers had never swum in a 50m pool before and they coped very well, setting some great times and winning loads of medals. The weather was perfect, so when not competing in the pool, the swimmers played touch rugby or raced round the athletics track taking full advantage of the glorious sunshine and fresh air. Despite this activity over the lunch breaks, more medals and best times were swum in the afternoon sessions.

Top swim of the meet went to twelve year old Laker Wong who is really on superb form this season. He set a personal best in the 100m breaststroke, went under the National Qualifying Time for that event and won the gold medal. This was just a practice race for him because the level of the meet was not sufficient to actually qualify for the Nationals which has to be swum in a level 2 or higher meet. Holly Gunner was also on fire getting very close to the NQT for the 50m freestyle and also winning gold with a slightly altered technique which paid dividends. Holly also won golds in the 100m butterfly and the 200m freestyle. Harriet Arscott raced very well to win gold in the 50m freestyle for her age group and Ella Paddon proved that all her hard training this year is starting to take great effect by winning gold in the 200 breaststroke in the same age group.

Further medals were won by Dan Arsott: silver 50m backstroke and bronze 200m backstroke; Hayley Arthur: silver 100m and 200m freestyle and bronze 50m breaststroke; Grace Mulligan: silver 50m butterfly and bronze 200m breaststroke; Ella Paddon: silver 100m breaststroke, 50m breaststroke and 50m freestyle and bronze 100m butterfly and 50m butterfly; Harriet Arscott: bronze 50m backstroke; Louis Gautier: bronze 200 individual medley; Ben King: bronze 50m freestyle; Laker Wong: bronze 200m freestyle.

Medals were also given for 4th to 6th places which meant recognition of all their hard work by Edward Dorey, Robert Dorey, Joe Murton, Isabella Richards, Hester Stembridge, Ella Theaker and Peter Tunbridge. Also swimming well at the meet and all in their debut in the Olympic sized swimming pool were Maizie Barnett, Ruby Barnett, Will Dorey, Bronte Hackford, Beth King, Greg King, George Murton and Harry Preston.

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Exeter Friendly Gala March 2009

Points: Exeter 'A' 281, Kingsbridge 252, Exmouth 234, Newton Abbot 210, Exeter 'B' 208, Tiverton 168.

With British backstroke ace Liam Tancock's coach back at Exeter, galas are now organised there to attract swimmers at all levels. Kingsbridge were invited at short notice to attend a friendly gala mostly for swimmers just below county standard. Pyramids Pool in Exeter is deep and fast and Kingsbridge swimmers went there with expectations of some great swims – they did not disappoint.

Holly Gunner and Abby Walters organised the swimmers as part of their Young Volunteers training and they did a great job, ensuring that swimmers made it to the start on time and were well briefed about their swims. Abby also swam in the two ladies open relays and Holly, acting as a guest swimmer because we were let down at the last moment, won both her individual events comfortably.

Another last minute addition to the line up was George Grace, back from University for the weekend. He swam to a personal best time to win the men's open 100m breaststroke. He also enjoyed watching his youngest sister, Jenny, win the girls 12 years and under 50m backstroke knocking over 6 seconds off her personal best time - a race for which she won 'Swimmer of the Meet'.

The Grace's were not the only family group swimming at the gala. Seb and Beth Dickens both swam very well setting good personal bests with Beth doing particularly well to finish second in the girls 12 and under 50m breaststroke over 3 seconds inside her previous best time. The Kings (Adrian, Greg, Ben and Beth) all swam well with Ben's second place in the 50m freestyle and Greg's 2 second personal best in the men's open 100 individual medley the pick of the bunch. Many thanks to Beth who also stepped in at the last minute and to Adrian for turning up when he no longer trains. The Dorey family also figured with Edward winning the men's open 100m backstroke and coming second in the 100m freestyle; Robert getting third place in the boys 14 and under 100m backstroke, 100m freestyle and 50m butterfly and knocking seconds off each of his personal bests; Will swimming a good looking 50m butterfly and mum and Head Coach Karen coming second in the ladies 100m breaststroke.

First places also went to Ella Theaker, who swam a strong race to knock over 6 seconds off her personal best in the girls 14 and under 100 breaststroke; the mens open medley relay and the boys 12 and under freestyle relay. Other great swims and plenty of personal bests were posted by Poppy Fountain, Darcey Wall, Abigail Tucker, Brandon Lee, Oliver Pound, Charlie Blazeby, Ruby Barnett, Alysia Stringer, Harry Preston, Louis Gautier, Shannon Vaughan, Abby Read, Lily Edmonds and Angus Lee.

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