BSSC brother sister duo Brandon & Bobbie MacDonald-Williams were in action in the 1500m freestyle event on the final weekend of the Hertfordshire County Championships. Both recorded superb personal best times, with Bobbie taking over a minute off her entry time to come 4th in the female 15 year age group (19:53.25) and Brandon securing Silver in the 16 year age group, taking 17 seconds off the 14-15 year club record he set in November 2023 (17:01.13).
The final day of 2024 Counties saw the clubs of Hertfordshire battling it out across eighteen relay events. Thirty-eight amazing BSSC swimmers created twenty-eight relay teams and took to the pool for some fast and furious action.
All six BSSC A relay teams in the youngest age group (13/Under) events finished in the top eight in the County (three 4th place finishes, one 5th and one 8th) and the female freestyle team of Millie Cass, Adeline Chan, Isabelle Earley and Lois Fields secured Bronze ahead of Royston by 0.01 seconds.
The mixed junior championship (15/Under) medley team of Elliot Hall, Molly Greatbatch, Dylan Davenport and Felice Chan held off Hatfield to secure Bronze, whilst three other junior championship teams finished in the top eight (securing 5th, 6th and 8th).
For the second year running, the female championship medley was one of the most exciting events. The 2023 defending champions Niamh James, Lauren Gore, Emma Fields and Laura Burgess were yet again equally matched on every leg by the Hatfield team and there was nothing between them until the final length when Laura Burgess touched for Gold. The large club of Hatfield dominated in the five other championship relays, but BSSC took five fantastic Silver medals just behind them.
Congratulations to all BSSC swimmers who took part in a very successful 2024 Counties. Just qualifying for and competing in an event at a County level is a special moment, but so many of the swimmers took it a step further with recording personal best times, reaching their first County final, getting their first medal, or securing their first Regional level qualifying times. We also want to say a HUGE thank you to all the coaches, team managers, officials and volunteers who formed the massive support network required to make it happen. Keep an eye out for announcements of top club, top boy and top girl and check out our website for lots more photos.
Gold
- Female Championship Medley: Niamh James, Lauren Gore, Emma Fields, Laura Burgess
Silver
- Mixed Championship Medley: Niamh James, Callum Davis, Jake Lloyd, Lucy Wheeler
- Mixed Championship Freestyle: Lucy Wheeler, Laura Burgess, Dylan Davenport, Callum Davis
- Male Championship Medley: Jakey Hayes, Callum Davis, Jake Lloyd, Dan Chada
- Female Championship Freestyle: Laura Burgess, Niamh James, Emma Fields, Lucy Wheeler
- Male Championship Freestyle: Callum Davis, Jakey Hayes, Jake Lloyd, Dan Chada
Bronze
- Female Age Group Freestyle: Millie Cass, Adeline Chan, Isabelle Earley, Lois Fields
- Mixed Junior Championship Medley: Elliot Hall, Molly Greatbatch, Dylan Davenport, Felice Chan
Top 8 Finishes:
- Mixed Age Group Medley: 4th Lois Fields, Guy Spearman-Baines, Noah Conroy, Millie Cass
- Mixed Age Group Freestyle: 4th Lois Fields, Eddy Cheng, Millie Cass, Noah Conroy
- Female Age Group Medley: 4th Elsie Lowe, Isabelle Earley, Lois Fields, Millie Cass
- Mixed Championship Medley: 4th Jakey Hayes, Lauren Gore, Emma Fields, Dan Chada
- Male Age Group Freestyle: 5th Zack Haslett Fossey, Guy Spearman-Baines, Noah Conroy, Jenson Richards
- Male Junior Championship Freestyle: 5th Sam Bird, Elliot Hall, Jack Deeks, Dylan Davenport
- Mixed Championship Freestyle: 5th Jake Lloyd, Niamh James, Emma Fields, Dan Chada
- Mixed Junior Championship Freestyle: 6th Felice Chan, Erin Matthews, Elliot Hall, Dylan Davenport
- Male Age Group Medley: 8th Zack Haslett Fossey, Guy Spearman-Baines, Noah Conroy, Jenson Richards
- Female Junior Championship Medley: 8th Bobbie MacDonald-Williams, Molly Greatbatch, Erin Matthews, Felice Chan
Full relay squad list:
- Age Group Relays (13/Under): Adeline Chan, Anna Grimwood, Eddy Cheng, Elsie Lowe, Guy Spearman-Baines, Harrison Dodwell, Haydn Bird, Isabelle Crotty, Isabelle Earley, Jenson Richards, Lois Fields, Luca Tse, Millie Cass, Noah Conroy, Yana Patel, Zackary Haslett Fossey
- Junior Championship Relays (15/Under): Bobbie MacDonald-Williams, Dylan Davenport, Elliot Hall, Erin Matthews, Felice Chan, Jack Deeks, Meha Patel, Molly Greatbatch, Sam Bird, Zoe Opiyo
- Championship Relays: Beau Reilly, Brandon MacDonald-Williams, Callum Davis, Dan Chada, Emma Fields, Jake Lloyd, Jakey Hayes, Laura Burgess, Lauren Gore, Lucy Wheeler, Niamh James, Robert Gor
