Diss Otters hosted our first December “Santa’s Splash and Dash” Open meet on Sunday 12th December at the UEA Sports Park, where we welcomed teams from West Norfolk, Thetford, Dereham, City of Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Norwich Swan, City of Ely, Norfolk Vikings, Team Ipswich and Wisbech competing across 18 events.
All of our Junior and performance squads were in action with ages ranging from 9 years old to 20 years old, with some swimmers competing away from our home pool for the very first and they certainly went home buzzing from the experience.
Our 25 strong team consisted of Damian Lemke, Matthew Tatum, Finlay Neve, Olivia Brewer, Tayla Goodswen, Ella Goodswen, Freya Reed, Eleanor Goldbold, Mya Sidwell, Olly Shadbolt, Abigail Fletcher, Elizabeth Ferrier, Jessica Freeman, Grace Cook, Kyla Dalliston, Jodi Brown, Portia Bloomfield, Pascal Van Enckevort, James Gurin, Benjamin Eastwood, Donald Perrin, Noah Blair, Jon Barber, Seren Jones and Sasha Spinks achieving 64 top 8 places. A total of 61 PBs were achieved across 111 swims and those all-important last minute county times were secured.
Medals going to Finlay Neve 200m Free (G), 50m Free (G), 100m Free (G), 50m Fly (G). Matthew Tatum 200m Free (G), 50m Free (G). Damian Lemke 100m Fly (B), 100m Breast (S). Benjamin Eastwood 50m Back (G), 50m Free (B), 50m Breast (S). Noah Blair 50m Back (S), 50m Free (G), 100m Back (S), 100m Free (S), 50m Fly (B). Jon Barber 50m Back (G), 50m Free (G), 100m Back (G), 50m Breast (S), 100m Free (G). Jessica Freeman 100m Free (B). Donald Perrin 100m Back (S), 50m Free (B), 50m Breast (B). Freya Reed 20m Fly (B), 50m Back (S). Grace Cook 50m Fly (S), 200m Free (G), 50m Free (S). Taylor Goodswen 50m Back (B). Ella Goodswen 100m Breast (B).
Noah Blair and Jon Barber brought home 5 medals a Piece. Grace Cook was exceptional leading from the start on the 200m freestyle, taking 13 seconds off her PB, winning the overall gold for her age group. Olivia Brewer was on fire taking a whopping 22 seconds off her 50m back to finish in the top 8 and Pascal Van Enckevort was on a mission when he swam the 100m back taking 21 seconds off to also finish in the top 8.