Croydon Amphibians Swimming Club held its 6th gala on Sunday 22nd November as part of its annual Club Championships. At this penultimate gala there were over 100 swimmers taking part from all sections of the club, with ages ranging from 6 years old to 19 years old. The events swum at this particular gala were the 50 metres breaststroke and the 100 metres backstroke. Both events were swum by boys and girls of all ages and each event was divided into smaller age categories in order for more swimmers to be awarded prizes for their achievements. This gave some of the younger competitors a chance to compete for a prize, potentially for the first time. Almost a third of female swimmers competing in the 50m breaststroke had never participated in this event before, and so were new to this level of competition.
Despite the age of some of these swimmers, it was clear that parents, swimmers and other club members were all impressed by their abilities, as they were about the older and more experienced swimmers. "I think that all the swimmers performed brilliantly tonight," said Nick Hallam, chairman of CASC, after the event. "The team spirit was excellent," he continues, "it was really nice to see younger swimmers staying to cheer people on and the older swimmers always encouraging their peers."
Not only was there an impressively positive atmosphere, but there were some equally as impressive results to mirror it. Hannah Nelson, 15, broke the club record for 50m breaststroke in the 14-15 category, doing so by almost 3 seconds. Ava Kelly, aged 9, also broke the record for the same event in the Under-10s category.
Croydon Amphibians has been an established and respected club for many years and has competed on county, regional and national level, but their true talent really shines when they are competing within the club alone. It's at events like their club championships that you can see how their young swimmers can grow and thrive into exceptionally talented individuals.
By Zoe Nicholls, Wallington High School for Girls
