A SWIMMING club in Oxfordshire continues to go from strength to strength, tasting success at both a local and national level this season.
Abingdon Vale Swimming Club began the season last autumn with an impressive showing in the Premier Division of the West Midlands League.
Over three rounds, the team placed second, then third, and in a thrilling finale, won their final gala with a score of 230 points, forcing rivals Braunstone (225 points) into second.
This gave Abingdon a final league position of fifth, the club’s best result to date.
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The fun continued at the Oxfordshire and North Buckinghamshire Counties Championships, as 55 Abingdon swimmers aged from 10 to 25 competed in 330 individual events and 32 relays.
Highlights included 39 gold medal finishes (14 by 11-year-old Leone Bandini), and victories in both the medley and freestyle relays for the 10-12 and 13-14-year-old boys, and men’s open teams.
In the overall team championship, Abingdon placed third on 890 points, behind two Buckinghamshire clubs – Maxwell with an impressive 1,754 points and City of Milton Keynes, who finished second on 1,420 points.
Three Abingdon swimmers met the tough qualification standard to compete in April’s British Championships at Ponds Forge in Sheffield.
Ellen Bagley, Kayden Sillah and Can Tugcetin, all 17, were followed eagerly by their teammates back home, and they did not disappoint.
The three swimmers posted multiple personal best times, two club records and collectively qualified for one ‘Priority Paris’ final (for under-23s), and four junior finals.
Last month at the South East Region Summer Championships, Abingdon cemented their position as the leading Oxfordshire club.
Twenty-eight individual swimmers and 10 relay teams qualified for one of the toughest regional competitions in the country.
They made 18 finals and broke 10 club records in the process.
Head coach Amanda Ford said: “All our swimmers have been training hard, particularly focusing on process skills, which has given more amazing results this year.
“We are so proud of the development they are all making as a team in this incredibly tough individual sport.
“Our club is growing very quickly and the standard of swimming keeps rising.
“We really appreciate the work of the coaching team and a small army of volunteers.
“I am so proud of what our team are continuing to achieve year-on-year.”
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