SWIMMING GALAS

Twenty four boys of mixed ages went to Bedford to swim against their team which was made up of mostly B team swimmers. They were well matched and there were some very exciting races. One of the most exciting I have watched since my time at Maidwell was the under 9’s breaststroke in which Rory Peppiatt fought to the very end to grab his victory within a nanosecond of his opponent.

The under 12’s were particularly strong and won all of their events without exception. Thank you to all who swam so well but particularly to Frank Sale who has captained the team for the last year and for whom it was the last gala during his time at Maidwell. It was good to end on a high note!

Final result
Maidwell Hall  142
Bedford Prep  124

CL

St Faith's requested that we bring a combined under 12’s and 13’s, under 11’s and under 10’s to the swimming gala which was to take place at the The Leys School in Cambridge. There were 15 boys selected in all so most of the boys had to swim in many events. This proved exhausting and challenging particularly for the seniors who had to swim 50 metres for all their individual events. Swimming in a pool which is unfamiliar and in which training has not taken place is quite different to swimming in the home pool where distances are known between the flags and the end (backstroke swimmers) and start blocks are a complete novelty! It was therefore all credit to the boys who swam extremely well despite the strength of the opposition.

Particular mention must be made of the under 10’s whose results were excellent and whose races and relays, for the most part, were won. They were clearly delighted by this result and they deserved to be for their performance was outstanding! Lochie Payne, despite being an under 9, was selected to swim with the year above and won each of his races.

Thank you to the parents for coming all that way and supporting, to Mr Schofield for driving the minibus and giving so much support but most of all to the boys who always make such an effort and who never allow themselves to be daunted by the opposition.

Overall scores:

St Faiths – 92
Maidwell Hall – 70

CL

Once again we took two teams to the Stowe Prep Schools' Relays. This is an under 11 event and one for which the boys are eager to be selected. Twelve teams were involved in swimming both medley and freestyle relays.

After the heats the A team had qualified for the Cup Final and the B team the Plate Final. Each had to knock at least 2 seconds off their heat time in order to be placed first, second or third. The A team swam both the Medley and Freestyle finals as if their lives depended on it and came in third in both. The B's swam extremely well against some very challenging opposition but, sadly, they were unplaced.

It was a very exciting afternoon. The boys involved were not only a pleasure to be with but they provided spectators with a gripping spectacle.

Humphrey Fitzroy Newdegate, Fergus Wright, Sam Whitbread and Patrick Bullard received Bronze medals for both relays. Jasper Upton, Jack Peppiatt, William Barrow, Kai Sampo and Milo Smith swam for the B team.

All year groups were involved in the swimming gala on 8th May held here at Maidwell against Bedford. Our under 11's and 13's swam against their A's, and the under 9's, 10's and 12's against their B's.  Although the final outcome was defeat for us the afternoon did present spectators with some outstanding swimming and it would be fair to say that the breaststroke results particularly were most encouraging.

Thanks to all who helped to make the afternoon a success and to parents who as always offered their loyal support.

This was the last gala for our current under 13's who have been an extremely dedicated and successful team throughout their time at Maidwell. They have been an absolute pleasure to coach and will be greatly missed.

This was a senior swimming gala held at The Leys School, Cambridge at which we were represented by Under 13s, Under 12s and some Under 11s who were swimming a year young. This is a new fixture for us and one which we all enjoyed. We were very well supported by encouraging and enthusiastic parents and the races were all extremely close.

As always there were some particularly impressive performances and the Under 13s managed extremely well swimming 50 metres (something they have not had to do at other galas).

On Thursday November 30th thirty eight children travelled to Kimbolton to compete at all levels from under 9's to under 13's. There were some impressive individual performances as well as a superb team effort.