The BSSC Arena League team have promotion in their sights for a second season running and their campaign started in style with a great second place finish in Division 1 round 1! The annual National Arena Swimming League (NASL) is the premier swimming league in England and Wales, with nearly 400 teams and over 16,000 swimmers racing in individual and relay events across three rounds of fast and noisy competition. Having re-entered the league via Division 2 last season, they gained promotion to Division 1 and now are aiming for promotion to the Premier Division.
Round 1 was contested at the Southbury Leisure Centre in Enfield and the BSSC team were racing against Haringey, Hillingdon, Potters Bar, Team Luton, Saxon Crown and Enfield clubs across thirty four individual events and seventeen relays in four separate age categories. The BSSC team put on a great performance with top 3 finishes in 18 of the 34 individual events (10 victories!) and 13 of the 17 relays (7 victories!). The female swimmers in the Open age category dominated the field winning all of their individual events, whilst the Open age category relay teams won all four relay events and the Open/Male 9/11 yrs teams won both their relay events.
The swimmers getting to the top of the podium were:
- 9/11 Yrs: Noah Conroy 50m Butterfly
- 13/Under: Molly Greatbatch 100m Breaststroke
- 15/Under: Ella Greatbatch 100m Breaststroke, Brandon Macdonald-Williams 100m Backstroke
- 16/Over: Callum Davis 100m Breaststroke, Emma Fields 100m Butterfly, Lucy Wheeler 100m Freestyle, Lauren Gore 100m Breaststroke, Niamh James 200m IM & 100m Backstroke
The seven victorious relay teams were:
- Open/Male 9/11 Yrs 4x50m Freestyle: Noah Conroy, Guy Spearman-Baines, Jenson Richards, Harrison Dodwell
- Open/Male 9/11 Yrs 4x50m Medley: Harrison Dodwell, Guy Spearman-Baines, Noah Conroy, Jenson Richards
- Female 15/u 4x50m Medley: Freya Hadnutt, Ella Greatbatch, Felice Chan, Erin Matthews
- Female Open 4x50m Freestyle: Laura Burgess, Niamh James, Emma Fields, Lucy Wheeler
- Female Open 4x50m Medley: Niamh James, Lauren Gore, Emma Fields, Laura Burgess
- Open/Male Open 4x50m Freestyle: Callum Davis, Jake Lloyd, Jacob Hayes, Daniel Chada
- Open/Male Open 4x50m Medley: Jacob Hayes, Callum Davis, Jake Lloyd, Daniel Chada
Round 2 happens early November with the same events, but a new set of club opponents and another great result will secure them a final fight for promotion in round 3 in December.
Thanks to all who supported the team on the night, in particular Coach Joe Collins, Team Managers Danielle Reilly, Kat Gore & Sarah Cass and officials Helena Pretious-White, Claire Fields & Rosie Somers.
9-11 Yrs:
- Guy Spearman-Baines, Harrison Dodwell, Jenson Richards, Noah Conroy
- Adeline Chan, Elspeth Lowe, Isabella Crotty, Isobel Lucas
13/Under:
- Benjamin Palmer, Eddy Cheng, Samuel Bird
- Emilia Cass, Lois Fields, Meha Patel, Molly Greatbatch
15/Under:
- Beau Reilly, Brandon Macdonald-Williams, Jack Deeks, Robert Gor
- Bobbie Macdonald-Williams, Ella Greatbatch, Erin Matthews, Felice Chan, Freya Hadnutt
16/Over:
- Callum Davis, Daniel Chada, Jacob Hayes, Jake Lloyd
- Emma Fields, Laura Burgess, Lauren Gore, Lucy Wheeler, Niamh James
