Wow, what an exciting and fun Saturday evening we had at the Ipswich Novice Gala!
Representing Diss Otters we had a team of 10 young swimmers aged between 8-13 from our Foundation and Development Squads. Many of the swimmers were competing for the first time away from Diss and were full of nerves and excitement at the start. We were up against teams from Clacton, Deben, Felixstowe, Leiston, Stowmarket, Ipswich and Team Waveney.
Our more experienced swimmers (those who had raced more than once before) set a great example for all the newcomers by leading the cheering on poolside and there was great support from all the parents and family in the spectator gallery. There were lots of high fives, fist bumps and smiles from all the swimmers and coaches. Everyone said they enjoyed the evening and had a lot of fun, which is the most important thing, and many of the swimmers said they had made new friends and met new teammates and were glad they came. Coach Scott was very impressed with everyone’s swimming and with the camaraderie and the great behaviour poolside.
Moving on to the Sunday’s competition we had 17 swimmers from Junior Performance, County and Regional Squad take to the pool. Taking home 13 medals and achieved an astounding 35 top 8 finishes, and an impressive number of new PB times, the 17 swimmers who competed did the club proud. Ipswich surprise certainly lived up to its name with 6 of the Diss Otters also taking home spot prizes including new kit bags, drinks bottles, hats, keyrings, goggles cases and even a new towel. There were certainly some happy swimmers throughout the day.
Head Coach Laura said “It was great spending the day with these swimmers they had an awesome attitude, great teamwork and there was some fantastic swimming and some huge personal bests. What I enjoyed the most was watching the swimmers take on board new feedback and implementing into their races”.
A massive thank you to Leanne for team managing and to all the parents who supported the swimmers. We hope you were all proud of your swimmers. We could really see the progress they have been making in their training sessions- great effort everyone!
Diss Otters swimming club caters for all types of young swimmers and trains at Diss Leisure Centre. The programme offers young swimmers the opportunity to develop key skills and have great fun in the process. They will help refine skills and technique and will assist you to become a great swimmer. There are various squads for all types of abilities and ages starting from foundation squad for younger swimmers to master’s squad for over 18s.
For more information please visit www.dissotters.co.uk and anyone looking to join the club please email headcoach@dissotters.co.uk for a free trial.