Counties First Weekend Summary

Post date: Feb 10, 2016 9:37:44 PM

Counties 2016 – the First weekend

24 Barramundi swimmers took part in individual events on the first weekend of the ONB Counties Championship, in Aylesbury on 6^th/7^th February. All were a credit to the club and there were some great swims, lots of PBs, and many SE Region times gained. Despite being one of the smallest clubs, Didcot upheld their reputation for making the most noise in support of their teammates! Here’s the detailed roundup of results ….

Saturday

Saturday morning began with the boys 100m butterfly – not too many takers for that one - but Chris Sims, Nick Sims and Ollie Beard all secured PBs, with Nick and Chris qualifying for the final. More PBs followed in the girls 100m Breaststroke from Eliza Nicholson and Bethan Newland-Smith, with Eliza also securing her place in the finals. Eleven boys competed in the boys 50 free – Zack Hickton-Collins, Harrison Deeley, Chris Sims, Ben Newell, Alfie Baum, Ben Titchener, Alexander Nicholson, Finnley Clark, Nick Sims, Ollie Beard and Ed Burrowes. There were PBs for Zack, Harrison, Chris, Ben, Alfie, Ben and Alexander, with Zack, Ben Titchener and Alexander qualifying for the finals. Charlotte Smart competed in the 50 fly event, the only Barramundi girl to qualify, and Ed Burrowes was our only competitor in the boys 100 IM, gaining a new PB.

The lunchtime session saw the start of the 200m events, with Maddison Langley, Eliza Nicholson, Alice Bracher and Bethan Newland-Smith competing in the girls 200m IM. PBs were gained by Eliza and Maddison, with Maddison finishing in 5^th position overall in her age-group, having taken over 6 seconds off her PB! Then followed the boys 200 free with a great turnout - Zack Hickton-Collins, Chris Sims, Ben Newell, Alfie Baum, Ben Titchener, Nick Sims, Michael Fabes, Ollie Beard and Ed Burrowes all swam well. Zack, Chris, Ben, Ben, Alfie, Nick and Michael gained new PBs, while Ben Titchener and Ben Newell finished 4^th and 7^th respectively in the boys aged 13 age-group, with Ben Titchener gaining a SE Region accepted time.

Finals

Boys 100 fly

Chris Sims 4^th (& SE Region accepted)

Nick Sims 5^th

Girls 100 Breaststroke

Eliza Nicholson 8^th (& SE Region considered)

Boys 50 free

Ben Titchener 4^th (& SE Region accepted)

Alexander Nicholson 7^th

^{Zack Hickton-Collins 8th}

The boys 16U 4x50m medley relay team consisting of Alexander Nicholson (back), Nick Sims (Breaststroke), Dom Ward (fly) and Finnley Clarke (free) finished a creditable 9^th, out of 16 teams competing.

Sunday

Sunday morning kicked off with the boys 100 backstroke with a cracking start from Ben Newell, Alexander Nicholson and Ed Burrowes. All achieved new PBs and a place in the final for Ben and Alexander. Maddison Langley, Eliza Nicholson, Isabelle Langley and Lauren Kernan competed next in the girls 100 free. There were PBs for Maddison and Eliza, and a place in the final for Maddison and Lauren. There was a strong Barramundi field in the boys 50m Breaststroke with 7 boys competing – Joe Nimmo, Ben Titchener, Chris Sims, Alec Purvis, Nick Sims, Ed Burrowes and Dan Amphlett. There were new PBs for Joe, Chris, Alec and Ed, and finals places for Joe, Chris, Nick and Ed. This was followed by the girls 50 back, with 5 girls from Didcot – Heather Day, Maddison Langley, Isabelle Langley, Bethan Newland-Smith and Lauren Kernan. Isabelle gained a new PB, with places in the finals for Maddison, Isabelle and Lauren. Bethan managed to tie for 8^th place, but was pipped at the post in the swim-off for a place in the final – hard luck Bethan!

Sunday lunchtime events comprised of the boys 200m fly, 200m breaststroke and girls 200m backstroke. Ben Newell was the only boy brave enough to face the 200m fly and he did us proud – knocking 8 seconds off his PB! This gave him a finishing position of 4^th in the boys 13 age group, and also a SE Region accepted time! Maddison, Isabelle and Bethan competed in the girls 200m backstroke. The Langley girls both gained new PBs – Maddison knocking 6 seconds off and finishing in 4^th place for the girls 10/11 age group. There was another strong Didcot field in the boys 200m Breaststroke – comprising of Matthew Jarvis, Joe Nimmo, Ben Newell, Chris Sims, Dan Amphlett, Nick Sims and Ed Burrowes. Matthew knocked an amazing 11 seconds off his PB, with Joe, Chris and Ed also achieving new PBs. Medallists’ places were gained by Joe 8^th for 12y boys, Nick 2^nd for 15y boys, and Chris achieved 1^st place for 13y boys! Chris and Nick also achieved SE Region accepted times.

Finals

Boys 100 back

Ben Newell 6^th (& SE Region Considered)

Alexander Nicholson 7^th

Girls 100 free

Maddison Langley 5^th

Lauren Kernan 4^th (& SE Region Considered)

Boys 50 Breaststroke

Joe Nimmo 8^th (& SE Region Considered)

Chris Sims 1^st (& SE Region Accepted)

Nick Sims 3^rd (& SE Region Accepted)

Ed Burrowes 7^th (& SE Region Considered)

Girls 100 back

Maddison Langley 8^th

Isabelle Langley 8^th

Lauren Kernan 5^th (& SE Region Accepted)

Open boys 200 breaststroke

Ed Burrowes 6^th

Our boys open medley relay team finished in 10^th place (out of 17) in a time of 1:56.01. Well done to Ed Burrowes (back), Dan Amphlett (Breaststroke), Ollie Beard (fly) and Michael Fabes (free).

A special mention has to go to Isabelle Langley and Joe Nimmo who, despite sustaining injuries, showed great determination in completing their events. Hopefully they are both having a good rest this week!

Big thanks to all our volunteer officials, TMs and helpers this weekend! Looking forward to seeing lots more Barramundi swimmers next weekend for round 2!

Katie Sims