The Ards Blair Mayne Wellbeing and Leisure Complex set the perfect location for Larne to compete in their Division 3B Aquasprint Final against Lecale and Olympia Swimming Club.
Larne could not have started better, achieving 1st place points for all Medley Relay events.
This pathed the way for excellent performances in the individual events with Larne earning 77 points on Backstroke, 65 points on Breaststroke, 71 points on Butterfly and 69 points on Freestyle.
Larne finished the event the same way as they started – achieving 1st place points for all Freestyle Relay events.
The Aquasprint Final concluded with the final scores being 190 points to Olympia, 280 points to Lecale and 370 points to Larne.
A massive congratulations to all swimmers from all 3 clubs and a special thank youto all of the organisers and volunteers for their commitment.
Banbridge at South Lakes was the host for the last long course gala before Division 2 and Division 1 summer nationals. This was the last chance for swimmers across our squads to obtain qualification times. As expected this gala was over subscribed and very busy.
In the Development Squad, Marco Allen, Alex Rea, Alexander Murphy, and Ethan Smyth had fantastic swims, lots of PB’s, very good racing skills on display. Marco obtained an additional Division 2 swim, followed with a 3rd place medal in the 50 Breaststroke.
Not to be outdone, Annabella Cole, Megan O’Mahony and Olivia Beggs swam some amazing races against much older, experienced competition. There were PB’s across the board, with Annabella Cole taking 1st in the 50m Breaststroke and 2nd in the 50m Butterfly.
Our Junior National and Senior Sqaud swimmers were at the event to hone their racing skills, and to obtain additional swims at the summer nationals.
For the Junior National swimmers, Asha McIlroy, Eve McKeown and Owen Wasnidge all swam well with Asha getting a PB in the 50m Breaststroke.
In the National Sqaud, Sophie Doran, Grace Coyle, Daniel Beggs, Maya Niblock and Charlie Morriss were very strong across a number of events. Sophie posted a PB in the 100m Freestyle, followed by Daniel Beggs in the same event. Charlie Morriss, placed 1st in the 100 Freestyle and 3rd in the 50m Breaststroke both with PB’s.
Well done to all swimmers, we now look forward to supporting our swimmers at European Juniors, Commonwealth and European Games, and Irish Summer Nationals.
The 2nd round of the Swim Ulster Aspiring Champions series took place in Bangor Aurora over the weekend.
27 athletes from across the entire competitive club represented #teamlarne over the 2 day meet,
For some this was their very first experience of racing in a long course pool (for a few it was their very 1st meet of any kind) while for others it was an opportunity to qualify for the Summer championships or Nationals.
From the development squad Ryan Cleland swam Best times in both the 100 free and 100 breast, Emma Robinson competing in her 1st Long course meet and Ellie Kane, competing in her 1st ever meet swam really well in the 100 free 100 and 50 breast and Marco Allen achieved an Irish Summer Championship Div II Qualifying time in the 100 Breast.
The Competitive squads saw great swims for everyone with Daniel Beggs and Aaron Caskey Qualifying for Irish Summer Championships and Pheobe Simpson Oliver Smyth and Eve McKeown posting times for the Div II meet in July.
The senior club saw new Qualifying times for Irish Summer open for Ellie Falls while Maya Niblock and Sophie Doran both swim best times and came agonizingly close to qualifying.
The athletes focused on Irish Nationals next month used this meet as a tough racing opportunity before final preparations start for their target meet.
Congratulations to every om a great weekend of racing.
Larne was back racing less than 24hours after the first aquasprint gala in Portadown, this time short course at the Swim Belfast Open in Lisburn. This gala provided our swimmers with additional competitive racing opportunities. Swimmers from the Academy, Development, Junior National and National sqauds were in attendance.
This meet was very well supported and especially offered our younger club swimmers invaluable racing experience.
Session 1
The girls got us under way with the 25m Backstroke, Faith Crawford out first followed by Hannah Rose Aiken, Iona Tweed and Maddy McDowell. A strong start with some PBs, Hannah Rose dropping 4 seconds and 3 top 10 finishes.
The boys were up next, Evan McFarlane, Isaac Lee, and Connor Sidwell all. The boys followed up with some PBs, 1 top 10 place finish with Connor dropping a 2.6 second PB.
In the breaststroke, Faith, Hannah Rose and Iona all hit PBs, with Faith finishing 5th. In the boys Francois Du Plessis placed forth missing out on a medal by 5 tengths of a second, dropping a 3,3 PB.
In the Butterfly, Faith Crawford claimed a gold medal 🏅 a full 3 sec9nds quicker than her nearest competitor in 2nd. Hannah Rose Aiken then dropped a 5 second PB and a top 20 finish. Not to be outdone, Iona Tweed hit a PB and an 8th place finish to round off a strong butterfly swim.
The boys again were up against very tough opposition but all had very good swims with Isaac Lee finishing 10th, and Connor Sidwell placing 13th with a PB in this event which he had not swam before.
In the 25m Freestyle Faith again got us off to a super start placing 3rd, a bronze medal 🥉 and a PB. Again, Hannah followed up with a PB and 13th place out of 44 competitors. Iona dropped a PB and a top 20 place finish, with Maddy McDowell finishing 9th and a 2.45 second PB.
Not to be out done, Evan McFarlane placed 7th, Isaac Lee placing 8n the top 20 with good swims. Francois had a fantastic swim finishing 8th out of 29 competitors and dropping a massive 9 second PB. Rounding off the session was Connor Sidwell with a 1.25 second PB.
Session 2
A change in event length from 25m to 50m, with the boys getting us started in 50m Freestyle. Francois Du Plessis again hitting a PB followed by Lewis Hughes in a very strong and competitive 10-12 year old category. Rowan McConkey and Jenson Evans both competing for the first time did really well posting 50 and 52 second times in their respective age categories.
The girls continued the good racing from the morning session in the same fashion, lots of PBs and strong swims. Annabella Cole placed 10th out of 86 competitors with a new PB, followed by Olivia Beggs smashing a whopping 11.26 seconds of her entry time. Last to go was Sophie Doran from our National Sqaud finishing in 2nd overall, a silver medal 🥈, a new PB with a 28.67 time.
A change of event brought us the girls 100m Breaststroke, Amilie McKeown got us racing with a super swim placing 5th in her age category and a 7.97 time drop for a new PB. Next up was Megan O’Mahony placing 16th overall with a PB dropping 2.43 seconds. Not to be out done by her sister, Eve McKeown placed 8th in her age group with a new PB and a sub 1 minute 29 seconds.
The girls were in action again with the 50m Butterfly. Olivia Beggs was first up with another monster swim , a 45.85 seconds swim dropping 9.15 seconds, which was a great result. The butterfly finished off with gold medal 🏅 for Sophie Doran, a 30.95 second swim a new PB and a Dave McCullagh International qualifying time – congratulations Sophie.
Finishing the off the 2nd session was the boys and girls 100m backstroke. First up was the boys with Daniel Beggs placing 4th overall in the 15 and over category. Daniel hit a new PB and was the highest placed 15 year old, especially nice given Daniel was swimming against 17 and 18 year olds.
Next up were the girls, Annabella Cole and Meghan O’Mahony. Megan finished 13th overall with a monster swim and PB dropping a huge 12.65 seconds which is really nice. That gave Annabella a boost who rattled off a new PB dropping 9.71 seconds off her entry time finishing 6th overall in her category.
Session 3
The final session got underway with the boys 50m Breaststroke, Lewis Hughes getting close to breaking the minute for the first time, with a new PB. For the girls Sarah Beggs swam a 50m Breaststroke for the 1st time and a new PB. In the 15 and over category Eve McKeown placed 9th overall almost going dub 40 seconds, with Kate Clark finishing up in 16th place, which was very pleasing.
The McKeown sisters were up again next in the 100m butterfly, Amilie swam first dropping another huge PB, over 9 seconds and picking up a 3rd place bronze medal 🥉. Eve spurred on by her sister’s performance dropped a 3 second PB in a very competitive event.
In the 50m backstroke Rowan McConkey posted a PB and placed 20th, in only his 2nd competitive swim. In the 15 and over category Daniel Beggs again his class outswimming much older swimmers to post a 31.38 and a new PB finishing 3rd overall. Annabella Cole stepped up next with a strong swim in the girls 50m backstroke with a 5th place in her category, and the highest placed 11 year old. In the 13-14 year old category Oliva Beggs continued her excellent form dropping another huge 10 second Pb for an 18th place finish. Continuing the great racing for the girls was Kate Clarkin placing 12th overall with a new PB against much older competition.
In the last event, the 100m Freestyle it was the girls who rounded off a wonderful day’s swimming for Team Larne. Up first was a double header with Megan O’Mahony and Olivia Beggs swimming in the same heat in lanes 7 and 8 with both girls posting new PBs. Kate Clarkin finished off her day with a good swim in a tough heat. Next up was Annabella Cole who swam a sub 1 minute 20 second swim for the first time and a new PB. Closing out the gala in the last heat was Sophie Doran in a new PB of 1.02.11, which was a great way to end the day’s racing.
It is fantastic to see the progress being made by our swimmers. Their dedication, committment, and indomitable spirit was evident for everyone to see. The best thing about our club, swimmers and coaches is the unwavering noise and support we all have for each other.
The Swim Ulster development meet series came to Larne this weekend.
A handful of our younger swimmers took the opportunity to race and practice their racing skills.
Fund raising for NI Hospice today at the development meet
The focus of the development meet series is on skills, specifically the turns in the medleys with Swim Ulster checking and assessing these specifically.
A number of quality swims and PB achieved today with some medals to add to the collection.
25 swimmers from #teamlarne competed at the Swim Ulster Regional Championships over the weekend.
A fantastic team atmosphere was on display across the whole weekend as athletes stepped up and produced season best performances across the whole weekend
Athletes ranging from Ulster Junior record holders and World Championship Athletes to those competing for the very 1st time.
The important thing for everyone is a commitment to focus on the process and to not judge performances by times alone. The ‘how’ is far more important at this stage.
The work on racing skills is definitely starting to pay off and the effort to race in the right way was clear to see from all.
It is a long season and this is very much just the start …….. But a good start.
103 swims contested
Personal Bests (TBC)
Club Records (TBC)
23 top 10 places
4 bronze
Mens medley relay
Mixed medley relay
Women’s medley relay
Lorcan Gourley 100BC
1 silver
Ben Woodside 100 BRS
4 Gold
Ben Woodside 200 BRS
Conor Ferguson 100 BC
Conor Ferguson 200 BC
Conor Ferguson 50 BC
2 Junior titles
Ben Woodside 200 BRS
Ben Woodside 100 BRS
1 Ulster record
Conor Ferguson 200BC
Finalists
Ellie Falls 50, 100 & 200 FS, 100 Fly
Giulia Allen 50 Fly
Zara Jane Melody 800FS
Ben Woodside 50 BRS
Lorcan Gourley 50 Fly
Jamie Clements 50 BC
Junior Girls medley relay
Junior mixed medley relay
Junior girls Freestyle relay
.
Special mention to
David Leggett for the largest PB on Day 1 in the 200 BRS
Thomas Leggett for largest PB on Day 2 in 200 BC
Cal Young McClinton for largest PB across the whole weekend in 800FS
What a year 2019 has been for Danielle Hill. Coming off an incredibly strong end to last season the #teamlarne ambassador picked up exactly where she left off with her 1st competitive outting of the season.
The British University and College Sports Short Course Swimming Championships held this weekend ment that Danielle wasn’t able to compete in the Ulster Championships however she was able to test herself against higher standard of opposition in Sheffield.
Racing in both the 50 free and 50 back Danielle headed off to race ‘in season’ before resting to compete at the European Short Course in Glasgow in 2 weeks.
The morning heats were a challenging affair with a large entry meaning that the girls had no Backstroke ledges and the heats were alternating with the boys heats.
Having safely negotiated the heats Danielle proceeded to lower the Irish senior record in the 50BC to 27.12 knocking over a second off her own time and 0.8 of the pervious record.
The 50 free also produces a new standard for Irish swimming with a time of 25.00 (with a slightly dodgy finish 😁)
The 1st box firmly ticked now we move on to Glasgow in December
Every year on the 2nd Saturday in November the Ulster swimming community gather to remember those who gave their lives in WWI & WWII as well as other wars since.
Swimmers past and present take part in a Gala made up exclusively of relays.
It’s an opportunity to gather our club members together swim fast and mark the weekend with a show of respect.
While the winners podium was dominated by Bangor it is pleasing to see that as a club Team Larne was represented in all bar 1 final and where we fielded 2 teams both progressed to contest the final.
The sense of ‘team’ is growing without the club and it was great to see so many turned out in club kit looking fantastic, racing hard and supporting each other.
Hidden within the 2senior relays, probably going quietly unnoticed were the 2 swims of the night, both by Danielle who posted the 2 fastest times ever swum by an Irish female in the 50 free.
A fantastic night of racing by everyone and a brilliant way to raise the curtain on a very big season.
Glasgow, Scotland, hosts the 20th edition of the LEN European Short Course Swimming Championships in Tollcross International Swimming Centre between 4-8 December 2019.
Swim Ireland are sending a team of 11 senior athletes and 8 juniors to compete in the 1st international meet of the year
#teamlarne would like to congratulate Danielle Hill and Conor Ferguson on their selection for the senior team.
Danielle will race in the 4 events she broke Irsh Senior Records in in the ISO the 50 & 100BC and 50 & 100 FS
Conor will race the 50 & 100 BC (events he is the Ulster Senior Record Holder in)
The team travel to Glasgow on Monday 2nd December and racing starts on the 4th
Keep an eye on the Facebook page for live links etc
On Saturday and small group of the clubs youngest swimmers took to the water on the start of their competitive swimming journey.
It was great to see 2 people racing for the 1st time👍
The purpose behind the development meets is to provide a shorter more accessible level as an introduction to competitive swimming. Skills are emphasised over time and sessions last about 2 hours.
The kicking races are an interesting addition to the program at this level and it’s good to see the need for a strong leg kick being emphasised (even if it doesn’t make for a great spectator experience) . And the ability to streamline is rewarded more than times in the medley events.
This is the first year Swim Ulster has tried to do this sort of format and there are a few teething issues but the principal matches our own club Development strategy of process driven coaching.
Anyway well done everyone who took part (i will get a full results list out soon) I was delighted with the progress being made and the skills on display.
🅿
TeamLarne 