Teletots Busy Weekend
The young swimmers of Lisburn City Swimming Club had a very busy weekend competing in the last 2 galas of the Teletot League against 2 of their most opposing teams yet. Friday evening saw the team travel to Ards Swimming Pool to compete against a very strong team. Lisburn have faced stiff competition from Ards over many years and each year, both teams get stronger.
The medley relays proved just that as both teams won 2 apiece. The points were even going into the backcrawl event where Namona Teggart just pipped the Ards swimmers to clinch first place. Also winning their backcrawl events were Amy Seawright, Keelan Logan and Chloe Richards. At this stage, Ards had gained a 6 point lead. The breaststroke events proved to be just as competitive with the 98&U boys and both the 97&U girls and boys tying on even points with Ards. Cameron McAteer, Georgia Dick and Kyle Hayes all had to settle for 2nd place. Andrew McIvor claimed victory for the 2000&U boys, winning by 2 secs ahead of the nearest Ards swimmer. Rebecca Sands also claimed victory for the same age group, winning with a clear 3 sec margin while Zoë Smyth won her race in a new personal best time for the 98&U girls.
In the butterfly events, Lisburn proved to be stronger, winning the majority of points. Rebecca Clarke took victory for the youngest age group, along with Amy Seawright for the 99&U girls. Adding another win to her evening was Zoë Smyth, just pipping training partner Ruth Russell who claimed 2nd place for the 98&U girls. As always, the teletots is a team event with all points counting towards the final tally. Alex Walker and Natasha Pollock had to settle for 2nd place but still gained valuable points for the team
At this stage, Ards were still slightly ahead with now only a 4 point lead going into the freestyle events where, again, the wins were evenly matched between both clubs. Rachel Bethal laid down the gauntlet against Ards by storming to victory for the 2000&U girls in a fantastic time of 16.76. Amy Seawright rounded off her fantastic evening by winning her freestyle event. Andrew Edgar just missed out on victory for the 2000&U boys by 500ths of a sec. Alexandra Hunter won for the 98&U girls with Zoë Smyth finishing just 300ths of a sec behind in 2nd place. Teletot Girl Captain, Georgia Dick came through for victory in a very close race with Natasha Pollock finishing 3rd, 300ths of a sec separating the first 3 places. Kyle Hayes and Teletot Boy Captain, Callum Taylor had to settle for 3rd and 4th place.
Ards still had a 4 point lead so it was going to be the Freestyle Relays which would be the decider. Lisburn won 3 of the 4 relays which gave them the overall win by just 4 points.
Lisburn then had to compete again on Sunday evening against Bangor, another opposing team but this time, it was on home turf. Bangor got off to a good start winning 3 of the 4 medley relays but Lisburn soon pulled this back by claiming the majority of points in the backcrawl events. Andrew Edgar won his event as did Neil Salters, Zoë Smyth and Alex Walker, giving Lisburn a 4 point lead going into the breaststroke events.
Namona Teggart took 1st place for the breaststroke, with Keelan Logan and Ruth Russell following, all gaining valuable points.
Rachel Bethel, Ruth Russell, Alex Walker and Natasha Pollock all took the honours for their respective age groups in the butterfly events to give Lisburn a 14 point lead for the individual freestyle events. Rachel Bethel took first place, well ahead of the other swimmers. Neil Salters took the honours for the 99&U boys as did Cameron McAteer and Kyle Hayes. Ruth Russell won for the 98&U girls, breaking a long standing club record in the process.
Valuable 2nd and 3rd place points throughout the night came from James Hayes, Chloe Richards, Anna Connolly, Lauren Gourley and Gareth Hill. All points contribute to the overall score and can make the difference between winning or losing. Lisburn won 3 of the 4 freestyle relays to give them an outstanding win by 28 points.
Lisburn City have won all their teletot fixtures which puts them into the final which will be held on Friday, 5th June. All parents and supporters are encouraged to come along to this evening to support the team, where the atmosphere is electric and to see lots of nailbiting swims. Lisburn are the current holders of the Teletot Shield so will be hoping to be victorious once again. Good luck to the team for the final.
