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BRITISH GAS SWIM WALES SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS 19/7/2010
Nine members of the squad compete in the above eevnt which was held in Llandudno on July 17th,  Four were oart of the Great Britain squad which used the occasion as a final competitive warm-up before the World Championships to held in Eindhoven next month.  Queen of the pool was Nyree Lewis who set a new Worl record in the 100 metre Backstroke to win the Gold medal in 1 minute 28.7 seconds.  Fran O'Connor ste two new British records in the 400 metre and 200 metre Freestyle events to win the Gold medal in the former and the Silver medal in the latter.  Sascha Kindred won Gold in the 100 metre Individual Medley and Silver in the 50 metre Butterfly.  Claire Cashmore won Gold in the 100 metre Individual Medley and Bronze medals in the 50 and 100 metre  Freestyle events.  Aoife Doherty, Tully Kearney, Anita Linton, Megan Richter and Ben Rowlings swam inpressively and will have gained invaluable experience competing at this level.
 
CHARITY FUNDRAISING DINNER 13/7/2010
We are very grateful to our sponsors, Black Country Chamber of Commerce and Talbot's Solicitors, for organising this fundraising event.  It is being held in the Copthorne Hotel, Merry Hill on Thursday September 23rd.  It promoses to be a fun evening with many of the squad members present.  Please show your support for them by coming along and having a great time.  For further information and booking details, please contact Pauline Trigg by e-mail at pauline@bcmetals.com 
 

FOUR SQUAD MEMBERS CHOSEN FOR GB TEAM 20/4/2010

The GB team for the IPC World Disability Swimming Championships to be held in Eindhoven in August has been announced.  Thirty swimmers have been chosen, including four from our squad.  As expected, Sascha, Nyree and Claire have been selected as they achieved their qualifying times last weekend in Sheffield (see below).  Fran has been named in the relay squad and will be able to compete in her individual events also.  We wish the entire team well.
 

BRITISH INTERNATIONAL DISABILITY CHAMPIONSHIPS 19/4/2010

Six members of the squad competed in this competition in Sheffield last weekend.  Despite the worldwide travel disruption, over 250 swimmers from twenty countries competed in a very keenly contested competition over three days.  The event formed part of the GB team selection process for the IPC World Championships to be held in Eindhoven in August.  Sascha Kindred ensured his place by winning the S6 50 metre Butterfly and 200 metre Individual medley and the SB7 100 metre Breaststroke.  Nyree Lewis also qualified by the S5 100 metre Backstroke in 1:30.52, two seconds inside the qualifying time.  Claire Cashmore secured her place on the plane as she won the SB8 100 metre Breaststroke in 1:22.63.
Fran O'Connor broke her own British record for the S7 400 metre Freestyle for the second time in two weeks as she clocked 5:40.5.  She was just outside her PB times in the 50 and 100 metre Freestyle events, and faces an anxious wait to see if she has been selected as a member of the relay squad.  Gemma Almond also swam a personal best in the S10 400 metre Freestyle as she stopped the clock in 5:20.75 and in the 100 metre Freestyle in 1:10.12.  Matt Wilkes finished just outside his PB times in the S6 50 and 100 metre Freestyle events. 
 

BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS 5/4/2010

Five members of the squad competed in the British Championships in Sheffield last week.  This was a key stage in their preparation for the British International Disability Championships to be held between April 16th and 18th, which will be the trials for the IPC World Championships to be held in Eindhoven in August.  It was a multi-disability competition, with swimmers being awarded points according to how close they got to the World record for their classification.
Sascha Kindred showed he was on top form as he broke the 100 metre Butterfly World record in the heats and final, knocking over five seconds off the previous best as he won the Gold medal in 1:05.88.  He also won Gold in the 50 metre Butterfly and 200 metre Individual Medley.  Nyree Lewis won a Gold medal in the 100 metre Backstroke and came ninth in the 100 metre Freestyle.
Claire Cashmore won Silver medals in the 100 metre Freestyle and 100 metre Butterfly events.  She also won Bronze medals in the 50 metre Freestyle and 100 metre Breaststroke and came fourth in the 200 metre Individual Medley.  Fran O'Connor won a Silver medal in the 400 metre Freestyle, breaking her own British record by over three seconds to finish in 5:42.62.  She also came fifth in the 50 metre Freestyle.  Gemma Almond came fourth in the 400 metre Freestyle and fifth in the 200 metre Individual Medley.
 

DSE NATIONAL JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 8/3/2010

Seven members of the squad competed in these championships which were held in Ponds Forge, Shefield last weekend.  Tully Kearney did a 'Michael Phelps' as she won eight Gold medals in the eight events she entered in the S17 classification.  She set six personal best times in what was a gruelling weekend for her.  In recognition of her achievements she was named the DSE National Junior Swimming Championships Female Top Performer Age Group A.  Nine-year old Megan Richter was competing in her first national competition and managed to win three Gold medals and gain a fourth place in her four events in the S9 category.  Her club colleague at Orion, Aoife Doherty, won two Gold and one Silver medal in the S7 category.  Gemma Almond showed that she has recovered from her injuries by winning one Gold and two Silver medals.  Lauren Ballantyne wone a Gold medal in the S7 100 metre Freestyle event.  Ben Rowlings achieved a fourth and two sixth places in the S10 category.  Scott Hadley came seventh and eighth in his two S9 races.  All swimmers deserve great credit for their efforts and application over the weekend and for the excellent team spirit that they created.
 

IPC SWIMMING RULE BOOK 2/3/2010

 
The new 2010 IPC Swimming Rule Book has been published.  There are some significant changes, the main points of which are:-
  1. Toes no longer have to be under the water in a backstroke start
  2. Butterfly kick now permitted during the first arm stroke after a turn in breaststroke
  3. The requirement of shoulders to be in line with the normal water surface in butterfly has been removed
Please take time to refresh yourselves with the new rules.  They are available on the IPC Swimming website http://www.ipc-swimming.org/Rules_Regulations/ 
 

APPROVED SWIMSUITS 4/2/2010

To see a list of the suits that are approved by the IPC for competitons in 2010 please look on the IPC website - www.ipc-swimming.org
 

REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 30/1/2010

Nine members of the squad formed a very strong team that competed in the Regional Championships held in Stechford Cascades.  All produced strong performances as they came away with an impressive array of medals and personal best times.  Special mention must go to Anita Linton who broke the European Matsers record for the 50 metre Butterfly, Tully Kearney who won five Gold medals and Megan Richter who wone one Gold, two Silver and two Bronze medals, aged only nine.  Well done to them and the other swimmers - Lauren Ballantyne, Aoife Doherty, Connor Fox, Scott Hadley, Daniel Lucarelli and Olivia Stirrop.
 

WELSH OPEN LONG COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS 14/12/2009

A long and arduous year drew to a close last weekend at the above championships which were held in Swansea.  Gemma Almond, swimming in the SB9 category, won Gold medals in the 200 metre and 400 metre Freestyle events and the 200 metre Individual medley.  She won Bronze medals in the 100 metre Freestyle and 100 metre Breaststroke events.  Fran O'Connor (S7) won Gold medals in the 50,100 and 400 metre Freestyle events.  She set a new British record in the 400 as she knocked four seconds off the previous record to clock 5:45.86.  Sascha Kindred (S6) won Gold medals in the 200 metre Individual medley ans the 50 metre Butterfly.  Claire Cashmore (S9) won a Gold medal in the 100 metre Breaststroke and a Bronze medal in the 200 metre Individual medley.  Nyree Lewis (S6) won a Gold medal in the 100 metre Breaststroke.  They can now enjoy a well-deserved rest before resuming their normal training programme in the New Year.
 

NYREE AT THE PALACE 7/12/2009

Nyree Lewis visited Buckingham Palace on December 1st to collect her MBE.  It was awarded in recognition of her career in the sport which has seen her win nine Paralympic medals, two of them Gold.  Congratulations Nyree.
 

SUCCESS IN RIO FOR SQUAD MEMBERS 7/12/2009

Our three swimmers who competed in the IPC World Short Course Championships in Rio de Janeiro last week enjoyed more success.  The event was held in an open-air pool with some spectacular views of the city.  However, the swimmers had to contend with some unpredictable weather conditions as a number of sessions were hampeerd or delayed by thunder storms.  Sascha Kindred continued the fine form he had shown in Sheffield the previous week as he won three Gold medals in the 100 metre and 200 metre Individual medley events and the 50 metre Butterfly, setting new World records in each.  He also won a Silver medal in the 100 metre Breaststroke.  Claire Cashmore won Gold medals in the 100 metre Individual medley and 4x100 metre Medley relay events, setting new World records in each.  She won silver medals in the 200 metre Individual medley and 100 metre Breaststroke events.  She came sixth in the 100 metre Butterfly.  Fran O'Connor set new British records in the heat and final of the 400 metre Freestyle, where she finsihed eighth.  She came sixth in the 100 metre Freestyle and seventh in the 50 metre Freestyle.

DSE NATIONAL SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS 24/11/2009

Nine members of the squad competed in these Championships in Ponds Forge, Sheffield on November 21st and 22nd.  On a weekend that saw numerous records broken, there were many successes for our swimmers also.  Chief among these was Sascha Kindred whod did a 'Michael Phelps' by winning eight Gold medals in the eight events he entered.  As well as this outstanding effort, he set four new World records, one new European record and two new British records.  Close behind him was Tully Kearney who won seven Gold medals from her seven events in the S17 category.  Claire Cashmore won four Gold medals and two Silver medals.  Nyree Lewis came away with three Gold medals from her three events entered.  Fran O'Connor won one Gold and two Silver medals while Gemma Almond took home one silver and two Bronze medals.  Matt Wilkes came close to his PB times despite not having been able to train much recently.  Lauren Ballantyne (15) and Ben Rowlings (13) were swimming at this level for the first time.  They thoroughly enjoyed the experience and are keen to return again in March to compete in the Junior Championships.  Sascha, Claire and Fran depart for rio de Janeiro today where they will compete in the IPC World Short Course Championships between November 29th and December 5th.
 

FUTURE TRAINING DATES 19/11/2009

Training continues at Langley Baths into the New Year.  Our future dates are:
December 12th
January 9th
February 13th
March 13th
April 10th
May 8th
June 12th.
All sessions start at 7.30 am and finish at 9.00.
 

SCOTT OF THE AIRWAVES 18/11/2009

Scott Hadley (11) who is a member of Wednesbury Swimming Club is making the news in print and on radio and television.  Last month he won the Gold Kellogg's ASA Swimtastic Disability award in Straford-upon-Avon.  Since then he has been featured in the Express & Star and has been interviewed on Beacon radio.  He has also been featured on local television jumping into the pool with Olympic diver, Nicholas Robinson-Baker.  Well done, Scott.
 

DANIEL'S BAYWATCH ASPIRATIONS 14/11/2009

Squad member, Daniel Lucarelli, is making rapid strides towards his lifesaving qualifications.  A mere four months after starting his course, he has gained his three Bronze awards and his first Silver award.  He has also been invited by his school, Sandwell Academy, to represent them in competitions.  Keep up the good work, Daniel.
 
 

IPC EUROPEAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS 25/10/2009

There were contrasting fortunes for our swimmers in these Championships held last week in Reykjavik.  Over 650 swimmers competed and many new European and World records were set.  Claire Cashmore helped her 4 x 100 metre medley relay team to win the Gold medal, breaking the World record which had stood for nine years by fourteen seconds.  She also won Bronze medals in the 50 metre Freestyle and 100 metre Breaststroke events.  She came fifth in the 100 metre Butterfly.  Sascha Kindred won Gold medals in the 100 metre Breatstroke, 200 metre Individual Medley and 50 metre Butterfly where he set a new European record.  He helped his colleagues win a Siler medal in the 4x50 metre medley realy.  He also came fourth in the 100 metre Backstroke.  Nyree Lewis won a Gold medal in the 100 metre Backstroke and came fourth in the 400 metre Freestyle.  Fran O'Connor was disqualified in the 50 metre Freestyle for moving on the blocks, having been the fourth fastest qualifier.  She was the third fastest qualifier for the 100 metre Freestyle final where she swallowed water twenty metres from the end whilst trying to hang on to third place, finally finishing eighth.
 

INTERNATIONAL CALL-UPS FOR MEMBERS 4/10/2009

Five members of the squad have received call-ups to represent Great Britain in forthcoming international competitions.  Claire Cashmore, Sascha Kindred, Nyree Lewis and Fran O'Connor have been chosen to swim in the European Championships in Reykjavik later this month.  Claire, Sascha and Fran will be packing their bags again in November to fly to Rio de Janeiro to compete in the IPC World Short Course Championships.  Anita Linton has been selected to swim in the World Downs Syndrome Championships to be held in Taiwan in October 2010.

BRITISH GAS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 3/8/2009

Five members of the squad competed in the above event last week in Ponds Forge, Sheffield.  Pride of place goes to Claire Cashmore who set a scintillating new European record in the 200 metre Individual Medley race to gain fourth place in the Multi-disability competition.  She also broke the British record in the 100 metre Breaststroke to gain a Silver medal.  She qualified for three other finals, winning a Bronze medal in the 50 metre Freestyle.  Sascha Kindred won a Gold medal in the 100 metre Breaststroke and a Silver medal in the 200 metre Individual Medley.  Nyree Lewis qualified for two finals, winning a Bronze medal in the 100 metre Backstroke.  Fran O'Connor and Gemma Almond also qualified for two finals but finished outside the medals.

SASCHA MEETS THE SQUAD 13/7/2009

 
Four-time Paralympian, Sascha Kindred, visited the squad at training on Saturday.  He was very impressed by the commitment shown by the swimmers and coaches.  After the session, he spoke to the swimmers, their families and the coaching staff about how he has progressed through the ranks of Disability swimming.  He spoke in detail about  his struggle to win the Gold medal in Beijing against his young Australian opponent.  Afterwards he posed for photgraphs with his medal with each of the squad members and signed photos and T-shirts.  It was a very memorable occasion and it will have motivated the squad to train even harder as they strive to realise their dreams.
 

WORLD SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS 8/7/2009

Three members of the squad, Sascha Kindred, Claire Cashmore and Fran O'Connor have been selected by British Swimming to compete in the above event to be held in Rio de Janeiro in December.  This is following their fine performances in the Welsh Short Course Championships which were held last week in Newport.  Fran has been selected for the relay squad and her participation is dependant on the relay events taking place.  National Performance Director, Tim Reddish, said 'British Disability Swimming has selected a strong team with a focus to win gold medals'.  Nyree Lewis, despite breaking her own world record in the 100 metre Backstroke, missed the qualifying time by a mere 0.1 seconds.  Gemma Almond also swam a personal best time but failed to achieve the very tough qualifying standard. 

ANITA IN CLASS OF HER OWN 22/6/09

Anita Linton competes in the Downs Syndrome Masters 25 classification.  This is for swimmers aged 25 - 34 and, in the past year, she has set 8 world records - 25 metre Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly, 50 metre Freestyle and Backstroke and 100 metre Freestyle and Backstroke.  Well done Anita.

SUCCESS FOR SCOTT 2/6/09

Squad member, Scott Hadley, swam 3,000 metres non-stop recently.  He achieved the feat in Wednesbury pool and was presented with a badge and a certificate to mark the occasion.  His next goal is to complete 4,000 metres.  He is detrmined to do this and we all wish him well.  Keep up the good work, Scott.
 

AWARD FOR FRAN 3/4/09

Squad member, Fran O'Connor (18), had her achievemnets in the pool recognised at an awards ceremony held at Villa Park.  The evening was organised by the English Federation of Diability Sports (EFDS) in association with npower.  Hosted by Matt Teale from Setanta Sports, the evening was an opportunity for the achievements and contributions of disabled sports stars, teams, coaches and volunteers from across the West Midlands to be recognised.  Guests of honour were the Sports Minister, Gerry Sutcliffe MP, and the former Chairman and Life President of Aston Villa, Doug Ellis.
 
Fran, who swims with the Wyre Forrest Swimming Club, won the Young Female Achiever of the Year award in recognition of the thirteen British records she set throughout the year and the fact that she is the current British record holder for the 50, 100, 200 and 400 metre Freestyle events.  She was presented with her trophy by the Chair of the EFDS, Professor David Croisdale-Appleby OBE and Jordanne Whiley, the British Women's No 2 Wheelchair tennis player.
 

SWIMMERS' EXPECTATIONS 28/3/09

  1. Always bring the correct kit.
  2. Arrive 10 minutes before the start of the session.
  3. Listen to the coach's explanation of the session; do not talk while the coach is talking.
  4. Always start the session with a correct racing start.
  5. warm-up should be continuous and not a chance to catch up on gossip.
  6. Streamline off the wall, getting past the flags on every start and turn, working flykicks or pullout.
  7. Do not breathe for the first three strokes out of each turn.
  8. Do not breathe on the last five metres and always finish correctly.
  9. Do not go to the toilet in the middle of a set.
  10. Allow yourself to be overtaken without stopping.
  11. Aim to have a good technique at all times.
  12. Maintain speed into the turns.
  13. Use the pace clock.
  14. Act as a role model for younger swimmers, someone will be aspiring to be like you.
  15. Ask sensible questions.
  16. It's your swimming, take responsibility to listen, train well and challenge yourself.
  17. Analyse your performance and take a negative to achieve a positive.
  18. Remember: Whatever you do in training has to be perfect to achieve perfection in a race.

 

 

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