Gavin Tipper Memorial Gala 8 Dec 2013
09 Dec 2013
Pershore Swimming Club sent a young development team to compete at the Gavin Tipper Memorial Gala at Wombourne, coming away with a very credible third place.
With several squad swimmers competing for the first time, Pershore were narrowly beaten into third place by much bigger clubs including eventual winners Kingsbury and second-placed Stourbridge but the local Vale side managed to beat Redditch (4), Camphill (5) and Bromsgrove (6).
Jack Betteridge claimed the teamÆs first points, coming third in the boys 13/u 50m fly (34.66) and this was quickly followed by Jasmine Taite grabbing second in the girls 13/u 50m fly (35.83). Daisy Tolley swam well to take the victory and maximum points in the girls 12/u 50m back (39.49) and there were also second places for Simon Sweatman in the boys 13/u 50m back (34.35) and Amy Weston in the girls 13/u 50m back (39.11).
The boyÆs 10/u medley relay team put in a good performance to take third place in 1.28.20 and there was also an excellent second place for the girls 12/u medley relay just behind Stourbridge in 1.13.30.
And after 15 events, Pershore found themselves back in fourth place on 54 points, with Kingsbury in the lead and Redditch in second position.
Hannah Woodcock produced the teamÆs second victory, this time in the girlÆs 10/u 25m fly (19.02) and Jamie Saunders added further maximum points winning the boys 10/u 25m free (16.70). There were also third places for the boys 13/u medley relay team coming home in 1.17.78 and Jamie West took bronze in the boys 12/u 50m breast (49.15). Isabella Woodcock then equalled her younger sisterÆs achievement, producing a dominant performance in the girls 50m breast (42.66) and Jack Betteridge also won the boys 13/u 50m breast (42.00). The girlÆs 9/u backstroke relay team came third in 1.39.58 to add more points to PershoreÆs tally.
After 30 events, Pershore had overtaken Redditch and climbed up to third place with 112 points.
There were two more second places for Pershore in quick succession, with Tolley added a silver in the girls 12/u 50m free (35.25) and the boys 11/u medley relay edging out Camphill in 1.24.79. Hamish Cross produced a strong performance in the boyÆs 10/u 25m back to take third place in 28.01 and the girls 9/u freestyle relay also came third in 1.23.06 just behind Kingsbury and Camphill.
William Clarke took second place in the boys 13/u 50m free (36.83) and Sweatman went one better in the boys 12/u 50m fly winning in 34.01. Melissa Radley came third in the girls 11/u 25m back (22.09).
There were also strong individual performances on the night from Alexandra Barry, James Thomas, Owen Kirby, Amy Townend, Charlotte Drinkwater, Hazel Clay and Luke Betteridge.
After 50 events, Redditch had stolen third place again from Pershore with only four points separating the teams leaving it all down to the age-group relays to decide the final placingÆs. Kingsbury remained in the lead, with Stourbridge just behind.
Three of the boys relay teams managed to beat rivals Redditch, with the boys 10/u and 11/u freestyle relay grabbing important second places in 1.11.00 and 1.10.29 respectively; the boys 13/u freestyle also beat Redditch in 1.04.85. Not to be outdone, the girlÆs 10/u freestyle team produced a solid display to take third place in 1.19.87 but more importantly edged Redditch out into fourth.
The boyÆs 12/u freestyle team came third in 1.09.11 and the girlÆs 12/u team freestyle team went one better coming second in 1.07.78, with Redditch only managing fifth place in this race. With one race remaining, Pershore built on their lead over Redditch, with an excellent third place in the mixed cannon team event won Kingsbury.
The final positions were Kingsbury 264 points, Stourbridge 262 points, Pershore 200 points, Redditch 196 points, Camphill 194 points, Bromsgrove 150 points.
Tom Naughton, PershoreÆs head coach, said: "This was a very good performance from the team and I was particularly pleased with how some of the younger swimmers dealt with the pressures of competition.ö