Regional Champs Ends on a High

Event: British Gas ASA South West Region Age Group Championships 2011 Venue: Millfield Date: 11th, 12th, 18th & 19th June 2011

Swindon Dolphin’s Regional Age Group qualifiers matched the achievement of their Youth counterparts by winning three gold medals at the South West Regional Age Group Championships at Millfield. This put Dolphin in ninth place in the overall championships medal table; the highest placed club in Wiltshire.

The Age Group Championships was dominated by Poole whose head coach Robin Armayan has made the remarkable achievement of developing the club from having just three regional qualifiers three years ago to this year topping the medal table with 20 first place finishes.

Dolphin’s top medallist was Alex Chantler-Mayne with gold in the 1500m freestyle and the 200m butterfly. National qualifier James Watson also took gold in the 100m freestyle and a further bronze in the 200m event. Watson also finished in the top 8 in the 200m individual medley and 200m backstroke which ensured a third place in the 11 years overall BAGCAT awards.

Dolphin enjoyed a total of 20 top 8 finishes and all swimmers who made it through to the evening finals impressively managed to step up their game and post faster times than in their heat swims. In the relay events, Abbie Hawkins, Lucy Bailey, Joanna Farley and Eliza Garrett acquitted themselves well to earn bronze in the 4 x 200m freestyle, and enjoying their regional championship debut were Georgia Dicks, Millie Jeans and Abigail Ross, all of whom performed well in their first major long course competition.

Following the National Age Group and National Youth Championships in July, Dolphin will not only finish the season with the highest number of national qualifiers of any Wiltshire club, but also be the only club to have had representation at all of this year’s major national level competitions. Achieving this on top of still being the only club in Wiltshire and one of only a few in the South West Region to hold Swim21 accreditation at competitive development and integrated masters level, puts the Club in an excellent position to build on this success next season.

Age Group Medals and Statistics GoldSilverBronzeCompetitorsTop 8 (Finals and HDW Events)Poole201692083Taunton Deane141182359Aquae Sulis126121450Cheetas Swim Squad11591743Plymouth Leander918112677Millfield7972054Penzance62 511Dinnaton6 41118Seagulls Swimming5551224Kelly College51111143Gloucester4341319Bradford on Avon433915Swindon Dolphin3 21220Swim Bournemouth2732545Weston-super-Mare2631127Severnside155916Exeter City1521620SX3 Swindon 251938Frome 2 414Newton Abbot 2 55Bristol Henleaze 1 12Clevedon 1 48Tewkesbury 1 58Trowbridge 298Yeovil 259City of Bristol 1312Torridgeside 125Warminster 116Soundwell 89Bodmin 47Chippenham 56South Dorset 45Salisbury 54Cirencester 44Barnstaple 64Keynsham 34Newquay 43St Ives Bay 43Kingsbridge 52Dawlish 42Ilfracombe 22Launceston 12St Austell 52Cheltenham 31Southwold 81Bristol North 21Tiverton 6 West Dorset 4 Truro City 3 Bristol Central 3 Carn Brea 2 Bath Dolphin 1 Tavistock 1 Backwell 1 Paignton 1 Corsham 1 Bishopsworth 1 Dursley 1 Wells Mallet 1

Combined Youth and Age Group Medals and Statistics GoldSilverBronzeCompetitorsTop 8 (Finals and HDW Events)Plymouth Leander39453086218Millfield22261667141Poole2017123590Taunton Deane1514144578Aquae Sulis137123679Cheetas Swim Squad135104155Kelly College86203187Bath University721310Swindon Dolphin6353753Penzance62 712Dinnaton6 41922Seagulls Swimming5552323Swim Bournemouth4774660Gloucester4363135Bradford on Avon4331016Exeter City3833649Weston-super-Mare2641530South Dorset2141717Melksham2 114Severnside1652118SX3 Swindon 254243Frome 2 613Newton Abbot 2 65Salisbury 2 1511Bristol Henleaze 1 62Cheltenham 1 67Cinderford 1 75Clevedon 1 78Kingsbridge 1 134Tewkesbury 1 1013City of Bristol 51624Trowbridge 21916Yeovil 21111Bath Dolphin 131Torridgeside 125Warminster 115Soundwell 1918Bodmin 77Chippenham 125Cirencester 55Southwold 175Truro City 105Barnstaple 104Keynsham 44Newquay 54St Ives Bay 43Dawlish 62Ilfracombe 22Launceston 12St Austell 82Bristol North 51Devonport 21Tavistock 21West Eng University 21West Dorset 12 Carn Brea 10 Tiverton 6 Backwell 5 Bridgwater 4 Paignton 4 Bristol Central 3 Corsham 2 Marlborough 2 Bishopsworth 1 Clayesmore 1 Durrington 1 Dursley 1 Lydney 1 Wells Mallet 1