Banbridge LC Meet 2022
12 Jun 2022
Banbridge Open Long Course Meet took place in Craigavon’s South Lakes leisure on Saturday the 11th of June.
A squad of 13 Lakelanders’ swimmers, along with Head Coach Ben Wiffen, made their way to the fabulous South Lakes Leisure Centre long course (50m) swimming pool for the final club meet of the season. This meet provided the final opportunity for competitive swimmers to qualify for Swim Ireland's Irish Summer National competitions. As a bonus Banbridge swimming club had extended their invitation to clubs from all over Ireland. The chance to achieve qualifying times and compete against the best in Ireland was too good to miss.
Luke Aiken (17) competed in 4 races over the day. He swam the highly contested 100m and 50m Freestyle races as well as the 100m and 50m Butterfly, where he showed great technique in all swims. Finishing with two top 15 places and maintaining his PBs in all.
Kiril Chursin (16) started out with the 200m Breaststroke, placing 6th, following up with PBs in the 100m Freestyle and 50m Breaststroke, placing 5th in the latter. Kiril finished the day maintaining his PB in the 50m Freestyle event.
Ellie Dunlop (13), swimming in the 13/14 age group, was competing just a few hours after swimming in the winning Aquasprints Team. Ellie swam in the 200m Breaststroke and 200m IM finishing in fourth place in both.
Hayden James (15) had 4 great swims with PBs all round. Firstly, in the 100m Freestyle he placed 7th overall followed by the 50m Butterfly placing 10th. Swimming in the 200m Freestyle, he knocked an impressive 4.55 seconds off his previous time placing 4th overall. Lastly, Hayden swam in the 100m Backstroke, coming in 5th overall with a 2.49 second PB and his 6th qualifying time for Irish Nationals next month.
Molly Johnston (17) swam the 200m Breaststroke and the 50m Breaststroke. Both strong swims and securing a bronze medal in the 50m Breaststroke, gaining great experience for the Summer Nationals next month in Dublin.
Jamie Lannon (14) entered five events at the weekend. He got the competition off to a good start winning gold in the 200m Individual Medley. A strong Freestyler, Jamie battled his peers with exciting race finishes winning silver in both the 100m and 200m Freestyle and his second gold of the day in the 50m Freestyle. The highlight of the competition for Jamie was a 5 second PB and a gold medal in the 50m Breaststroke.
Izzy Lannon (15) also entered five events. She was very happy with her top 10 finishes coming 7th overall in the 400m Freestyle, 6th in the 50m Freestyle and 5th in the 100m Freestyle. Following head coach Ben Wiffen's advice, Izzy achieved another PB in her 100m Backstroke finishing 5th overall. In a very exciting race, Izzy overtook much of the competition in the final leg of her favoured 200m IM to win a silver medal.
Vita Lavrenova (15) competing for the first time swam well in the 100m Freestyle event and the 50m Butterfly race, a great experience for the new member.
Hannah Lynch (13) performed well after captaining the Aquasprint team to victory the previous evening, competing across three events, placing 5th in the 100m Butterfly, 7th in the 200m IM and had another great swim in the 200m Freestyle.
Anna Mc Dade (16), in a return to competition following injury, impressed with top 4 finishes in all events; 2 golds in her favoured Breaststroke leading the way in both the 200m and 50m races, silver in 50m Freestyle and went on to claim bronze in the 100m Freestyle. Anna is now looking forward to Summer Nationals with 4 Division 1 qualifying times under her belt.
Younger sister Kate McDade (14) was on top form; focusing on her Freestyle, she swam to impressive PBs across 50m, 100m and 200m events, achieving a further 3 Division 2 times, securing 5 qualifying times in total.
James Mongan (14) was delighted to see the fruits of his hard work in training with a 2 second PB in the 50m Backstroke, a 3.6 second PB in the 200m Freestyle bringing him a Top 10 finish, another great swim in the 100m Backstroke event before finishing his day with a whopping 5 second PB off his 50m Freestyle time.
Niamh O’Donnell (14) swam in five events. She produced new PBs in the 100m Freestyle, 50m Butterfly, touched the wall in 6th place in the 50m Backstroke, followed with PBs in both the 200m and 50m Freestyle events.
Club Gala secretary Michelle Reihill praised the swimmers’ efforts and commitment to their training, ‘particularly the young people balancing the pressures of exam preparation with their desire to also succeed in the pool.’ She wished all the swimmers well, particularly those going on to represent Enniskillen Lakelanders at National level in July.
The swimmers and their families are grateful for the guidance and support of the coaching team led by Head coach Ben Wiffen, as well as all the parents working in many voluntary roles to ensure the swimmers enjoyed another great Gala experience.
Many of these swimmers will now set their sights firmly on the National competitions held in July; the first being the 2022 Irish National Division 2 Competition will take place from 6th to 10th July in the UL Arena, University of Limerick, then those with Division 1 qualifying times will compete in the 2022 Irish Summer Nationals which will take place from 20th to 24th July in the National Aquatic Centre, Dublin.
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The annual Swim Ulster competition offers an opportunity for younger swimmers born between 2017 and 2012 to race over 25m sprints in all four strokes, in both individual and relay events.
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The Aquasprint league, sponsored by Forest Feast, is a starting point for the younger swimmers to compete in all strokes in individual and relays over 25m. Aquasprints are a great opportunity for children to build on what they have been learning in the pool with coaches Ben and Claire, adding speed to this and a competitive edge.
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