The Eels entered teams at the Championships over the weekend of the 15th /16th November. The event was held at the fantastic surroundings of the K2 pool in Crawley. For some, our seasoned gala swimmers this was business as usual, for others it was their first time completing at an event and a fantastic experience of competition swimming. For background these galas are completed under Swim England rules and our Eels competed alongside GB swimmers and international teams from Canada, Japan, Estonia & Portugal.
Whether it was smashing personal bests or conquering anxieties the Eels all had a
great time with plenty of ‘Hi 5’s’ and smiles all round. Yes, we had the odd disqualification, did not finish and some weird hybrids strokes never previously seen by mankind – ‘was that breaststroke, front crawl, or butterfly?’ Who knows but it didn’t distract from the successes and enjoyment of everyone present, swimmers and volunteers.
It was also a great opportunity for me and Pauline to see what has been working well and what we can improve on as a coaching team – ‘Stamina and sticking to the race stroke!’