Swimming to Success at the ESSA National Swimming Finals
It was an early start for the RGS Junior Swimming Relay Teams as they set off from RGS Worcester on Saturday morning to travel to London for the ESSA National Swimming Finals. The coach was full of excited pupils, parents and staff on the journey down to the London Aquatic Centre. The Aquatic Centre was host to the 2012 Olympic Swimming events, so it was an incredible experience for pupils to have the well-deserved opportunity to swim in the same pool as previous Olympic competitors.
The Girls’ and Boys’ teams qualified for the National Finals in both the Freestyle and Medley Relay events, which was already a superb achievement. There were understandable nerves in the first two events but pupils competed well and did improve their qualifying times. In the Freestyle Relay Heats, the Girls finished just outside the top ten in 13th place and the boys finished 21st in the Medley Relay which was a very commendable result in a national field.
In the second race, both teams seemed much more comfortable with their surroundings and showed real determination and resilience. The Boys’ team were up against some really strong opponents in the Freestyle Relay and came in 29th place. This impressive performance from both teams resulted in qualifying for the Medley Relay Final.
The Girls were incredibly focused throughout the Relay Final and managed to hold their own against other schools that have their own onsite pools. The Girls dropped down a couple of places towards the end of the race, but they finished in 9th place overall with another improved time. To achieve a place in the Final and be to be ninth in the country was a simply outstanding result.
Mr Stuart Davis, Head of Year Seven and Swimming coach said of the event, “It was my second visit with RGS Worcester to the London Aquatic Centre and the National Relay Finals and it was another memorable day. To reach the Medley Final was the icing on the cake, and the pupils in the teams should be incredibly proud of their achievements”.
Many thanks go to Mr Mark Hill, another of our fantastic coaches, and Director of Sport, Mr Keith Fowles. Special thanks must also go to all the RGS parents who were there to support on the day. It was certainly a day that everyone will remember and has demonstrated the strength of swimming and determination of pupils at RGS Worcester.
The future is bright for our Swimming teams and both the Boys’ and Girls’ teams will be back in training soon for their next round of competitions.