Sutton swimmers snatch victory by just one point

Sutton trio Finley Hollingworth (left), Anna Woodhall (centre) and Evan Hawley with the winners' trophy.

It’s an indication of how Sutton are developing a strong squad of younger swimmers that they have been able to enter two teams into this year’s event.

And the A team carried all before them in a thrilling gala at Mansfield’s Water Meadows complex on Saturday evening to fight off competition from five other clubs, Worksop, Mansfield, Bramcote, Nottingham Northern and Sherwood B.

After a neck-and-neck duel that went down to the final races, Sutton emerged as winners by a single point from Bramcote Swimming Club. Many of the Sutton youngsters were in fine form and achieved personal-best times.

Meanwhile the B team tackled a separate gala at Bramcote Leisure Centre, where they came up against strong teams from five other clubs across the county, Kimberley, Arnold, Radford, Sherwood A and Carlton Forum.

Although they could manage only sixth, they still produced some fantastic performances and the effort of the swimmers could not be faulted, especially as most of them were young and relatively inexperienced.

The Stage One galas are designed for swimmers aged eight to 11. They comprise 41 events that require the youngsters to compete in individual races of either 25m or 50m. They also give them valuable experience of relay races, which necessitate teams of four or more swimmers competing against each other.

The chairman of the Sutton club, Andy Quinn, said he was delighted with the results from the latest galas at Mansfield and Bramcote.

“It’s great that so many of our younger members are now experiencing proper levels of competitive swimming,” added Quinn.

Sutton are now gearing themselves up for the second weekend of action in the county championships, which will be held this coming Saturday and Sunday at the Harvey Hadden pool in Nottingham.

They have started 2017 just as they concluded 2016 when they retained their title as First Division champions in the Notts Sports Centre League, where they won five of the six rounds to take 35 of the 36 points on offer.