Local Swimming Club Receives Prestigious National Award

Halesowen Swimming Club has been awarded Swim 21 status following an in depth assessment process by the Amateur Swimming Association, the sport’s national governing body.  The Club has been automatically awarded Sport England’s Clubmark status as a result and is only one of three nationally to have achieved these standards.

 Chairman Duncan Edmonds said, “Everyone is delighted to have achieved Swim 21 status and is due to the hard work and dedication of all the swimmers and volunteers at the Club.  Swim 21 sets standards for swimming clubs to achieve for swimmer and coach development, administration and working with partners and we have been able to demonstrate high standards in all of these areas.  We now look forward to further developing our relationship with Dudley Leisure Services and delivering a quality competitive swimming programme in Halesowen.”

 Halesowen Swimming Club runs an accredited swimming development programme including learn to swim, competitive swimming, adult swimming, Water Polo and Biathlon competitions.  If you would like to learn more about the activities of the Club why not drop in and see them in action on Friday evenings from 6.15pm at Halesowen Leisure Centre.

West Midlands League Round 1 – 12^th October 2002

Senior Swimmers at Halesowen Swimming Club were in action in the first round of the West Midlands league at Tamworth on Saturday 12^th October.  The team started strongly and after 26 events lay in joint second place with only four points separating the top four teams.  By event 34 the team had fought its way into a two-point lead and after a series of tremendous performances held off local rivals Brierley Hill to finish second in a thrilling end to the gala.  

Individual victories came from Matt Cherry, Amy Piper and Katie Summerfield in the Freestyle, Andy Papworth in the Breaststroke, Michael Edmonds in the Backstroke and Verity Emms and Louise Williams in both the Butterfly and Backstroke.  Relay team victories came from the 13 and under girls team of Jenny Evitts, Michelle Jenks, Emma Price, Amy Piper and Louise Williams with the Open men’s team of Stuart Brown, Matt Cherry, Danny Leaper, Andy Papworth, John Pridden and Stewart Reading supplying a win in the medley relay and a thrilling Freestyle relay victory in the final event of the evening.

Final point scores were Eckington 210, Halesowen 200, Brierley Hill 198, Rugby 174, Leicester Belgrave 162 and Kingsbury 94.

Midland Districts 2002

Another successful weekend for Halesowen swimmers at the ASA Midland District Age Group Championships saw Louise Williams qualify for the National Age Group Championships, in the very last event of the competition the girls 12 years 200m backstroke. Louise will now swim at Sheffield on the 6^th August, in her first ever National Championship event.

Personnel best times where also achieved by the following swimmers

Boys 10 years 50m Backstroke               Daniel Summerfield            43.22 35^th

Boys 11 years 50m Backstroke               Michael Edmonds              39.40 28^th

Boys 10 years 200m Frontcrawl             Daniel Summerfield             2.55.23 –

Girls 12 years 400m Frontcrawl              Louise Williams                   5.12.66 24^th

                                                              Amy Piper                        5.04.67 15^th

Boys 10 years 200m Breastroke             Daniel Summerfield             3.54.51 34^th

Girls 12 years 100m Backstroke             Louise Williams                  1.16.84  15^th

Girls 11 years 50m Frontcrawl                Ricki Ashman                     34.42 62^nd

Girls 12 years 50m Frontcrawl                Amy Piper                           32.37 45^th

Girls 12 years 200m Backstroke             Louise Williams                 2.42.27 11^th

Congratulations to every one who took part in this year ASA Midland District Age Group Championships.

Simon Hillson

Chief Coach Halesowen S.C.

Full results can be found on the ASA Midland District website –

www.midlandswimming.org.uk

The first week end of the 2002 ASA Midland District BAGCAT championships at the International Pool in Coventry saw all the Halesowen swimmers who took part produce long course personnel best times, with several moving up their age group rankings considerably. For most of them it was the first time they had swum that particular distance in a 50m pool, which is a big difference from swimming at Halesowen.

The results are as follows:

12 years Girls;        Louise Williams -              200 IM         33^rd

                                                                   100 FC         38^th

                                                                   200 FC         28^th

                                                                   800 FC         18^th

                                                                   50 Fly           21^st

                             Amy Piper -                     100 FC         22^nd

                                                                   200 FC         8^th

                                                                   800 FC         10^th

10 Years Boys;        Daniel Summerfield -         50 FC           52^nd

                                                                        200 BK         30^th

11 years Boys;        Michael Edmonds -            200 BK         34^th

Full results can be found on the ASA Midland District website –

www.midlandswimming.org.uk

The most un-luckiest swimmer of the weekend was Amy Piper who took over 3 seconds off her entry time in the 200 FC, to finish with a time 0.02 seconds outside her National Qualifying time for the event. So close yet still so far away.

Next weekend sees all four of the above in action at Coventry again, and they will be joined by Rikki Ashman, and Scot Taylor.

Simon Hillson

Chief Coach

Mercian Summer League Round 3 – 5^th July 2002

Senior swimmers from Halesowen Swimming Club were in action for the last team fixture of the season in the third and final round of the Mercian Summer League on Saturday 5^th July at Bromsgrove.  The team achieved a creditable third place on the night after trailing in fifth place after 12 events.

There were six first places on the night from Michelle Jenks, John Pridden and Kate Summerfield in the Backstroke and Matt Cherry in the Freestyle.  Relay wins were achieved by Karen Moore, Kate Summerfield, Phillipa McAndrew and Isobel Bruce in the Medley and Natalie Spencer, Sam Hart, Abbi Hadley and Laura Mitchell in the Freestyle.  The team also achieved 8 second place finishes.

All team swimmers now look forward to a good break in the summer before returning to action at Leamington on 7^th September.

Final point scores Bromsgrove 186, Redditch 183, Halesowen 179, Wednesbury 169, Triple S 158 and Stratford Sharks 155.

Nuneaton Junior League Round 3 – 15^th June 2002

Junior swimmers from Halesowen Swimming Club encountered tough opposition in the third and final round of the Nuneaton Junior League on Saturday 15^th June at Stetchford.  The team achieved a 5^th place finish but did remarkably well considering the long list of absentees and a string of disqualifications on the night.  Special mention goes to the team managers for their efforts in rounding up swimmers at very short notice and to Simon Driver and Chris McKenna who were representing the Club for the first time.

Wins were very hard to come by on the night with Michael Edmonds in the Backstroke producing the only individual victory.  The 9 year-old freestyle team of Maria Goodwin, Beth Hart, Hannah Jones and Emma Shirvington produced an excellent win and the 8 x 1 freestyle team of Maria Goodwin, Richard Phillips, Isabella Piggott, Stefan Ashman, Josie Evans, Daniel Summerfield, Laura Mitchell and Sean Taylor rounded off the night with an exiting win in the last race.

Individual 2^nd places were secured by Abigail Henderson in the Butterfly and Michael Edmonds in the Backstroke, the 12 years freestyle relay team of Rikki Ashman, Robyn Downes, Laura Mitchell and Natalie Spencer, the 9 year old boys relay teams of Stefan Ashman Matthew Henderson, Jonathan Hunt, Laurence McLaughlin and Richard Phillips who never seemed to be out of the water all night! And the 9 year-old girls of Maria Goodwin, Beth Hart, Hannah Jones and Emma Shirvington.

Final point scores were Boldmere 175, Warley Wasps 154, Orion 154, Cheadle 148, Halesowen 125 and Evesham 119.

Nuneaton Junior League Round 2 – 12th May 2002

Junior swimmers at Halesowen Swimming Club roared back into contention in the Nuneaton Junior League by grabbing a hard fought second place in the second round of the competition.  Although the team went into second place early in the evening they were pushed all the way and narrowly held off close rivals Orion.

There were individual wins on the night for Josie Evans the Freestyle and Michael Edmonds in the Backstroke and relay wins for the nine year old boys team of Stefan Ashman, Matthew Henderson, David Hunt, Laurence McLaughlin and Richard Phillips.

The final points scores were Worcester 229, Halesowen 147, Orion 142, Braunstone 136, Bromsgrove 116 and Dove Valley 116.

Midland District Team Events – 12th May 2002

Halesowen Swimming Club entered 28 events in the 2002 Midland District Team event held in the 50 metre pool at Coventry.   This events gives swimmers from the Club the opportunity to compete in a long course pool and is an invaluable experience in their development.  The day proved to be enjoyable with many swimmers expressing surprise at how different and hard it was to swim in this length of pool.

Special mention goes to Daniel Summerfield, Sean Taylor and Michael Edmonds who were in the pool at 8.30am in the morning at Coventry and were still in the pool 12 hours later at 8.30pm in the Junior League gala at Worcester.  Extra special mention goes to Tina Taylor for providing a world class Taxi service and Sue and Steve Summerfield  and the increasingly blonde Simon Hillson who not only braved this 12 hour marathon but were also at Wolverhampton all of the following day for the Haden Hill open – well done to all of you!

Mercian Summer League Round 1 – 27^th April 2002

The team was in action in the Mercian Summer League Round 1at Wombourne on Saturday 27^th April.  The Mercian League gives us the opportunity to pick a wider variety of swimmers and it was extremely encouraging that the team produced an excellent 2^nd place and actually led the gala after 12 events. 

The team achieved 10 first places with individual wins for John Pridden in the IM, Kate Summerfield and Anthony Shipton in the Butterfly and Richard Ruston in the Breaststroke.  Our relay teams performed will with wins for the medley team of Abbie Hadley, Laura Mitchell, Natalie Spencer and Louise Murphy, the medley and freestyle team of Jamie Roome, Sean Taylor, Anthony Shipton and Daniel Webb, the 10 and under medley team of Kimberley Mack, Corrie Edgar, Hannah Cuthbert and Grace Emms and the Open women and men’s freestyle teams of Kate Summerfield, Phillipa McAndrew, Jenna Edwards, Karen Moore, Peter Mitchell, Stewart Reading, John Pridden and Matt Cherry.

Final points scores were Solihull 216, Halesowen 195, Droitwich 168, Ettwall Eagles 168, Oakengates, 151, Wolverhampton 140.

Worcester Winter League Final – 21^st April 2002

Halesowen B were in action at Droitwich in the Worcester Winter League C Final.  This team performed well with 16 PBs being recorded on the day.  The team recorded 3 second places by Peter Mitchell in the Butterfly, Richard Ruston in the Breaststroke and Ashley Sturman in the Backstroke.

Final points scores were Orion 172, Bromsgrove 135, Triple S 103, Halesowen B 84 and Droitwich 82.

Worcester Winter League Final – 21^st April 2002

The senior ‘A’ Team were in action at the final of the Worcester Winter League at Droitwich on Sunday 21^st April.  Competition was every bit as tough as expected but with some excellent swims the team produced a deserved 3^rd place finish.

The team achieved 5 first places on the day by Rick Andrews and Michael Edmonds in the Backstroke, Andy Papworth and Scot Taylor in the Breaststroke and the mixed Open Freestyle team of Phillipa McAndrew, Matt Cherry, Kate Summerfield, Andy Papworth, Verity Emms and Rick Andrews.

Final points scores were Stourbridge 165, Redditch 152, Halesowen 134, Broadway 88 and Oldbury 58.

Nuneaton Junior League Round 1 – 13^th April 2002

Junior swimmers at Halesowen Swimming Club found the going tough in the first round of the Nuneaton Junior League on 13^th April and battled hard all night to finish in fourth place.  Wins on the night were hard to come by with Josie Evans, Michael Edmonds and the 9 year old boys Freestyle relay team of Richard Phillips, Matthew Henderson, Laurence McLaughlin and Stefan Ashman providing some welcome cheer.

The team achieved 7 second places with Richard Spoor, Sean Taylor and Simon Harris in the Breaststroke, Anthony Shipton in the Butterfly, Michael Edmonds in the Backstroke and the relay teams of Matthew Henderson, Richard Spoor, Stefan Ashman, Richard Phillips and Anthony Shipton, Daniel Webb, Ashlee Guttridge and Sean Taylor.

The final scores were Hinkley 179, Camp Hill 178, Broadway 168, Halesowen 148, Dove Valley 119 and Leicester Neptunes 94.

Worcester County Championships and Age Groups – March 2002

43 members of Halesowen Swimming Club were in action at the Worcester County Championships throughout March and recorded the best set of Club results for a number of years.

Rick Andrews continued his outstanding form at County level and produced Championship winning performances in the 400 and 1500 Metres Freestyle.  There were also wins in the age group competition for Michael Edmonds, Verity Emms, Phillipa McAndrew, Amy Piper, Stewart Reading, Scot Taylor and Gareth Webb who produced 20 first places between them.

Chief Coach Simon Hillson was delighted with the results and said, “This has been a memorable first County Championships with the Club for me.  Out of the 242 events in which our swimmers took part they achieved an incredible 179 personal best times.  To have 74% of performances swum in record times is impressive by anybody’s standard.  More importantly we have 8 swimmers who have achieved 21 District standard times and Rick Andrews has also achieved the national standard in the 100 Metre Backstroke.  My congratulations go to all swimmers for their achievements and are just deserts for all of their hard work over the past months.”

Warley Wasps Trophy Gala - 23^rd February 2002

Halesowen Swimming Club’s junior team were in action again at the Warley Wasps Junior Trophy Gala on Saturday 23^rd February and missed out by just one point on second place.  The team were in close contention all evening and after being only one point behind after 36 events they were unable to make up the deficit despite a thrilling finish to the final relay event.

The 9 year old team produced the best performances of the evening with wins for Stefan Ashman and Beth Hart in the Freestyle and Maria Goodwin in the Backstroke with Hannah Jones and Emma Shirvington joining the victorious girls Freestyle relay team.  There were also wins for Corrie Edgar in the Breaststroke, Josie Evans in the Freestyle and Michael Edmonds in the Backstroke.

The team will be in action again at Stetchford pool in the first round of the junior league on 13th April.

The final points score were Stourbridge 187, Warley Wasps 152, Halesowen 151, Wyre Forest 105 and Fox Hollies 74

 19th January 2002, Worcester Winter League Rd 1            

Swimmers at Halesowen Swimming Club secured a brilliant win in the first round of the Worcester Winter League and finished 35 points ahead of closest rivals Solihull.  The team grabbed wins in 25 out of the 40 events and 27 members of the team swam personal best times.

 New Chief Coach, Simon Hillson was delighted with the victory and said, “I could not have asked for more from the team and am thrilled with the performance.  The nature of the win was equally matched by the tremendous support from the dedicated volunteers that went to make my first night with the team truly memorable.  We can now look forward to what promises to be a great year”.

Worcester County Championships

38 members of Halesowen Swimming Club were in action at the Worcester County Championships throughout March and some excellent performances resulted in over 100 personal best times.

Rick Andrews in the 200m Backstroke and Andy Papworth in the 100m Breaststroke produced outstanding performances to become county champions.

Rick Andrews also finished 2^nd in the 100m Backstroke and 200m and 400m Individual Medleys with Verity Emms achieving 2^nd place in the 13/14 age group 50m Backstroke.

Third place was achieved by Cherie Partridge in the 12 years 100m Backstroke, Emma Price in the 12 years 400m Freestyle, Darren Godwin in the 12 years 50m Freestyle and Butterfly, Scott Taylor in the 13/14 100m Breaststroke and Laura Smith in the 17/18 200m Breaststroke.

The club had a raft of top 10 finishes including, Louise Williams, Stacey Wallin, Sean Taylor, Katie Summerfield, Richard Ruston, John Pridden, Stuart Millership, Abigail Henderson, Jenny Evitts and Stuart Brown.

The future looks bright for the Club with many swimmers competing in the lower of combined age groups.  1st place was achieved in their own age group by Michael Edmonds, Scott Taylor and Verity Emms and 2^nd places by Stuart Brown and Abigail Henderson.

Anyone aged five and above interested in swimming is invited to a free trial lesson at Halesowen Leisure Centre on Friday nights from 6.15pm.

Gala Report - Warley Wasps Trophy Gala - 24.02.2001

Halesowen Swimming Club narrowly missed victory in the Warley Wasps Trophy Gala on Saturday.  A strong twelve year old team recorded five wins on the night by Robert Butler, Elizabeth Edmonds, Katie McAndrew, Kirk Rome with the medley team also including Fay Sheppard.  The senior swimmers also put in an excellent performance with Isobel Bruce, Steve Hill, Jo Millership, John Pridden and Charlotte Rhead amongst the winners.  The team also recorded eleven second places.

Anyone aged five and above interested in swimming is invited to a free trial lesson at Halesowen Leisure Centre on Friday nights from 6.15pm.