The changeable and mixed weather is a sure sign of one thing – we are in the middle of traditional British summer. As I write, the success of the Olympics has not long passed and England’s exploits in Euro 2020 seem like a distant memory. For our swimmers at Cranleigh Swimming Club, these sporting events have been a welcome distraction – we are currently in the middle of our summer break. Once again we are out of the pool, but the good news is that this time it is self-imposed.
Since I last wrote, we wrapped up last season with a few of our swimmers representing the club at the South East Regional Festival of Swimming. In the Senior event at High Wycombe on the first weekend, Lucy Andrews (Backstroke) and Sophie Moore (Individual Medley and Breastroke) represented the club. The Junior event at Crawley the following weekend saw Lana Howells-Davies (Backstroke) and Eve Webb (Butterfly and Breastroke) swimming for the club. It was a strange event, with no spectators allowed and swimmers being kept away from coaches and the pool other than for their events. When combined with the reduced training and minimal competition that all swimmers have had to prepare for the event, it was no wonder that many swimmers (from all clubs) found the event very challenging. In these circumstances, our swimmers’ efforts were excellent, coming away with a number of PBs and top 8 finishes.
It should also be mentioned that we could have had more representation, with several other swimmers achieving Regional qualifying times. But with the strange nature of the event, some chose to skip this year, deciding to focus on next season instead, and allowing them to potentially get away and enjoy the increasing freedom at the beginning of the school holidays.
As I mentioned in the last article, the end of the season saw the end of our time under our Head Coach, David Whorlow. With the Regional Festival of Swimming closing out the last day of the season, this was the last event for David. We are incredibly grateful for everything he has done for the club and although the circumstances were strange, seeing our swimmers from our village club swimming at a Regional event is a fitting testament to the standards that David has helped us achieve. We are hopefully close to announcing our new Head Coach, so watch this space.
All things being well we will be back soon to start the new season. We begin training on the last day of August and have our Open Meet (where swimmers from other clubs join our swimmers to compete in a gala) scheduled for Sunday 10th October. The hope is then to be competing in galas again throughout Autumn, targeting county and regional championships next year. If the last two years have taught us anything, it is that we should be cautious planning too far in advance, but we are hopeful that we will see some kind of a return to normality. Exactly what a normal Open Meet means in these new times is not yet clear. But we shall adapt and face the challenges ahead, and always do our best.
If you are interested in joining Cranleigh ASC, visit our website: www.cranleighsc.org
