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ASA South West Region News (30 unread)

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British Gas ASA Youth Championships (50m) 2009, incorporating the National Championships - Day 4

Posted: July 31st, 2009, 4:02pm CDT

Day four proved to be successful for the Multi Disability swimmers as they claimed three European Records. Stephanie Millward (Swansea Performance) set new European figures for the S9 category in the Womens Multi Disability 100m Butterfly. She swam to a new Record of 1:10.61.

Millward said: "I was very pleased with the swim. I was looking forward to it this morning and thought hopefully I would swim fast. I was pushed all the way by Rhiannon (Henry) who I train with sometimes so I knew she would swim fast today but I was very pleased to get the European Record. Trainings been going very well. It is hard work, my coach Billy Pye pushes me just that little bit too hard but its definitely worth it."
UnLtd Sport Relief launch 'Make it Happen' Awards for 11-21 year olds

Posted: July 31st, 2009, 3:45pm CDT

UnLtd Sport Relief Awards are funded by Comic Relief and provide opportunities for young people to bring communities together, to help promote understanding and solve problems through sport, arts and recreational activities.

The UK wide funding programme is for 11-21 year olds, who are prepared to go the extra mile and use their passion for sport and arts to bring respect and understanding to their communities by setting up their own projects.
FINA 2009 World Championships Swimming - Day 6 Evening Session

Posted: July 31st, 2009, 3:36pm CDT

British Gas swimmer Fran Halsall impressed on her way to winning the silver medal in the womens 100m Freestyle final as she swam under 53 seconds for the first time in her career.

The Olympian got a good start and turned in third place at the 50m mark behind fastest qualifier Libby Trickett (Australia) and 2008 Olympic champion, Britta Steffen (Germany).

Steffen, who held the world record going into the final after a 52.22 effort in the first leg of the German 4x100m free relay on Day 1, lay in second place behind Trickett at the turn but it was Halsall that had the best finish. The British record holder stormed through the final 50m as she over took Olympic medallist Trickett to win the silver medal in a new British record time of 52.87.
British Gas Mens Water Polo team take on Holland

Posted: July 31st, 2009, 2:58pm CDT

Friday 7 August 2009 (7pm) - Salt Ayre Swimming Pool in Lancaster
Great Britain v Holland (match 1)

Saturday 8 August 2009 (6.30pm ) - Manchester Aquatics Centre, Manchester
Great Britain v Holland (match 2)

Currently preparing for the LEN European B Water Polo Championships in September, the British Gas mens water polo team see two tough home matches against Holland as a vital step in their preparation and are inviting you to come and watch for free as they battle it out to take top honours.
Thousands line Plymouth streets for Tom Daley's homecoming

Posted: July 31st, 2009, 8:28am CDT

Thousands of people lined Plymouths streets on 31 July 2009 to welcome home diver Tom Daley after he won the 10m diving gold medal at the World Diving Championships in Rome.

A civic reception with the lord mayor was held for the 15-year-old, followed by an open-top bus tour along Plymouths Royal Parade.

Tom showed his gold medal to the crowds and highlights of his performance were shown on a big screen in the citys piazza, where he was interviewed.
FINA 2009 World Championships Swimming - Day 6 Morning Session

Posted: July 31st, 2009, 7:52am CDT

The British Gas Swimming team lowered two British record after putting in a strong performance in the heats on day six of the swimming programme at the FINA World Championships.

The mens 4x200m Freestyle relay team swam just outside of the British record as they secured qualification to the evening final. The British Gas team, which featured Robbie Renwick, Andrew Hunter, David Davies and David Carry, put in an impressive performance as they finished second in their heat with a time of 7:06.11.

Renwick swam the fastest leg for the team and set a new British 200m Freestyle record time of 1:46.11 as he put the team in an excellent position as Hunter took over the race. The rest of the race saw Hunter, Davies and Carry put in strong performances as they ensured their place in the final.
British Gas Tri-Nations Swim Meet 2009

Posted: July 31st, 2009, 7:34am CDT

1/2 August 2009 - Crystal Palace

As the British Gas senior swimming squad are finishing their World Championship campaign in Rome, some of Britains most promising swimmers will be battling it out for international honours at the British Tri-Nations.

The 40-strong British Gas Tri-Nations team will face tough competition from strong Canadian and Russian squads as it aims to emulate last years position at the top of the points table.

Last years event, held in Quebec, Canada, saw the British contingent depart with 44 medals, comprising 20 gold, 14 silver and 10 bronze, after a very successful meet.
British Gas ASA Youth Championships (50m) 2009, incorporating the National Championships - Day 3

Posted: July 31st, 2009, 7:23am CDT

The Boys 17yrs British Age Group record for the 800m Freestyle fell three times at the National Youth Championships (50m), incorporating the National Championships (50m) 2009 today as the swimmers at Ponds Forge continued to smash records.

Thomas Sunter (Co Sheffield) lowered the old mark by almost a second and knocked more than 22 seconds of his PB with his Heat 9 swim of 8:14.70 but in Heat 10 Martin Cremin (Stirling Swim) took nearly another second off the British record with his 8:13.75.

With the final heat still to go, in-form Thomas Allen (Swim Flint) annihilated both times, clocking 8:03.31 to take the gold in the Boys 17/18rs category and the National Title. Only Job Kienhuis (NZE) went faster clocking 7:55.12 and earning himself a commemorative medal.
FINA 2009 World Championships Swimming - Day 5 Evening Session

Posted: July 31st, 2009, 7:19am CDT

The British Gas womens 4x200m Freestyle relay team secured the bronze medal after knocking another four seconds off the European record they set in the heats.

The final relay team, which featured Jo Jackson, Jazmin Carlin, Caitlin McClatchey and Rebecca Adlington, showed their strength as they performed impressively to take the bronze medal.

The Chinese and American team took the race out quickly from the start and Jackson swam a good leg and handed the race over to Carlin in a time of 1:55.98. Eighteen-year-old Carlin, who swam the fastest time of the team in the heats, showed her potential again in the final as she swam to a time of 1:56.78 and put the team into second place. The third leg saw McClatchey come up against World 200m Individual Medley champion Ariana Kukors and she put in a new personal best time of 1:56.42.

Double Olympic champion Adlington took the anchor leg for the team. The Chinese and American teams were turning within the world record and Adlington kept her stroke rate high to ensure she was close to them. Adlington fought off Federica Pellegrini's challenge to seal the bronze medal and the new European record after touching in a time of 7:45.51. The Italian did everything she could to give her team a fourth place finish, closing the gap from eighth at 600m, by swimming the fastest 200m of all finalists (1:53.45).
British Gas ASA Youth Championships (50m) 2009, incorporating the National Championships - Day 2

Posted: July 30th, 2009, 5:58am CDT

28 July to 2 August - Sheffield

World and British records tumbled as swimmers put in a series of personal bests on the second day at Ponds Forge. It got off to a fantastic start with the heats of the Mens and Womens MD 100m Freestyle producing a new World record for Heather Frederiksen (Co Salford) and British record for Ben Procter (Newquay).

Frederiksen lowered the World mark to 1:06.55 in the last of the womens heats, qualifying first on points for the finals. She continued to look strong and her time of 1:07.35 in the evening session was enough to take the National Title with a points score of 966, ahead of Louise Watkin (Kelly Coll) with 901 points and Rhainnon Henry (Swansea Perf) with 896 points.August 2009 - Sheffield
FINA 2009 World Championships Swimming - Day 5 Morning Session

Posted: July 30th, 2009, 5:47am CDT

The British Gas swimming team enjoyed another successful morning in the pool as the womens 4x200m Freestyle relay team lowered the European record on their way to qualifying for this evenings final.

The womens 4x200m Freestyle relay, which featured Caitlin McClatchey, Jazmin Carlin, Hannah Miley and Rebecca Adlington, showed their strength as they knocked almost a second off the European record and took the Championship record after they finished in a time of 7:49.04.
FINA 2009 World Championships Swimming - Day 4 Evening Session

Posted: July 29th, 2009, 2:54pm CDT

British Gas swimmer Dave Davies took another second off his British record in the 800m Freestyle in a final that saw six seconds knocked off the world record. Davies, who specialises in the 1,500m Freestyle, took five seconds off the British record in the heats and he knew that the final was going to be fast after Oussama Mellouli swam just three seconds off the world record in the heats.

The Olympic silver medallist (pictured in foreground) started the race well but turned at the 100m mark in sixth place. He fought back through the next two laps to turn in fourth. Chinas Lin Zhang and Mellouli (Tunisia) were turning well within the world record at the 300m mark and the Brit was increasing his pace to keep up with the leaders.
PM Backs Volunteering Scheme

Posted: July 29th, 2009, 1:42pm CDT

Gordon Brown has announced his support for a programme designed to attract more people to volunteering. The National Talent Bank has been created to tackle the recession and will share talent between the private, public and third sector. It is intended to act as a liaison between companies forced to reduce their working hours, frontline volunteering opportunities and third sector organisations.

The scheme will run initially for twelve weeks and will offer support to existing volunteering programmes to provide additional help to businesses and individuals affected by the current economic climate.
Working Document - Activities, Key Performance Indicators and Affiliation Fees

Posted: July 29th, 2009, 1:37pm CDT
The document available for download below is a summary compiled by Alison Usher, Regional Director, ASA South West Region of proposed income / expenditure relating to delivery of programmes in the south west which are aligned with ASA strategy.

The Region currently has a mismatch between its income levels and desired forward budgets to deliver programmes, including those requested by elected discipline representatives. Earlier this year, ASA SW Technical Committees were asked to review their budget submissions and as a result, some development activities have sadly had to be postponed or curtailed.

The Finance Working Group noted that the Region's affiliation fees, currently made up of a universal £1 fee per member and £40 fee per club, have progressively fallen well behind those collected in other regions. In fact it is difficult these days to think of any sustainable annual service that only costs £1, around the cost daily newspaper / milk etc. The impact of such affiliation fees elsewhere is enabling increased or sustained development activity to take place.

The Finance Working Group believed it would help to try and identify how the different regional asa categories benefits were weighted within proposed spending to see if a universal fee across all categories was still appropriate, or whether flexibility on the fee per category could serve the Membership better going forward.

The embedded powerpoint presentation given to the Members Forum and proposed budgets demonstrate that either
- staged increases in affilation fees will be necessary providing corresponding deficits and underspend are carefully managed, and / or
- some programmes or activities may need to be cutback accordingly.
At current regional club and affiliation fee levels, deficits against proposed spending would be around £40,868 in 2009/10, £50,601 in 2010/11, £65,516 in 2011/12 and £76,568 in 2012/13.

For example progressively raising regional club and category 1/2/3 fees to
- £50 and £2 / £3 / £1.50 (reduces deficit to £15,026)
- £60 and £2.50 / £4 / £2 (reduces deficit to £9,608)
- £70 and £3 / £4.50 / £2.50 (reduces deficit to £3,906)
The County Treasurers, Finance Working Group, Board representatives will be considering options for the best way forward prior to Annual Council.
FINA 2009 World Championships Swimming - Day 4 Morning Session

Posted: July 29th, 2009, 12:45pm CDT

The British Gas Swimming team continued their good form as they secured four semi-final places after good performances at the Championships.

The mens 200m Individual Medley saw both James Goddard and Joe Roebuck reach the semi-final after good swims in heat number nine. The British Gas swimmers were competing alongside Beijing Olympic silver medallist Laszlo Cseh and they knew it was going to be tough to progress to the semi-final.
British Gas ASA Youth Championships (50m) 2009, incorporating the National Championships - Day 1

Posted: July 28th, 2009, 11:19pm CDT

28 July to 2 August 2009 - Sheffield

Claire Cashmore and Heather Frederiksen both set new European marks in the Womens MD 200 IM. Cashmore (Co Leeds) was pushed all the way by fellow SM9 swimmer Louise Watkin (Kelly Coll) but pulled away on the breaststroke leg and touched first in a new record of 2:37.36, almost three seconds ahead of Watkins 2:39.96.

The time was a bit of a surprise really because I didnt really feel that fit but when I saw I was ahead of Louise I thought this must be good, she said. I knew I had 2:37 short course so I felt it was in me over long course and in the end I was just trying to bring it home.
FINA 2009 World Championships Swimming - Day 3 Evening Session

Posted: July 28th, 2009, 11:12pm CDT

Gemma Spofforth became Britains first long-course World Champion since 2003 after a world record breaking swim in the 100m Backstroke. British Gas swimmer Spofforth went into the final alongside team-mate Elizabeth Simmonds and they had tough competition from new world record holder Anastasia Zueva (Russia) and Olympic silver medallist Kirsty Coventry. The British record holder Spofforth, who finished fourth in the Olympic 100m Backstroke final, swam close to the old world record in her heat and it was clear that she had more to come.

The final got under way and saw Zueva take the lead and the Brit turned in second place at the 50m point. But Spofforth showed her strength through the final 25m to take the title from Zueva. She took over half a second off Zuevas world record after finishing in a time of 58.12 and won her first World Championship medal and GB's second ever individual swimming medal since Katy Sexton in 2003 (Barcelona) in the 200m backstroke.
FINA 2009 World Championships Swimming - Day 3 Morning Session

Posted: July 28th, 2009, 8:12am CDT

David Davies took five seconds off the 800m Freestyle British record as the British Gas swimming team secured one final and three semi-final places after strong performances through the heat session. Davies took to heat four alongside Italian Federico Colbertaldo and Robert Hurley (Australia) and was looking to post a quick time to reach the final next day.

The Olympic silver medallist dominated the first half of his race but as the race entered the final 400m Colbertaldo began to close in on the British Gas swimmer. Davies showed his strength in the final 100m as he touched in a time of 7:45.89 to knock five seconds off his own British record time and qualified in fourth place for the final.
FINA 2009 World Championships Swimming - Day 2 Evening Session

Posted: July 28th, 2009, 2:44am CDT

Sarah Sjostrom (SWE, 15 years old) and Ariana Kukors (USA, 20) made their respective marks on the swimming world by winning the womens 100m butterfly and 200m individual medley respectively in World Record times in a session notable for five world records and the failure of Aaron Peirsol (USA) to qualify for the final of the mens 100m backstroke.

British Record holder Hannah Miley fought all the way in the 200m Individual Medley and looks strong ahead of her main 400m IM event. The British Gas swimmer went into the final ranked as the third fastest athlete after breaking the British Record in the semi-final. Miley had a good start but turned in eighth place at the 50m mark and had to fight back on the Backstroke leg to move to sixth.

The Olympic 400m IM finalists strongest 50m was through the Breaststroke leg and she moved to fifth place. The leader of the race Ariana Kukors (America) was turning well under the world record as the race entered the final 50m. Miley touched home in a time of 2:09.91 in sixth place overall to better her Olympic 200m IM result by five places.
The Energy Award for outstanding contribution to youth volunteering

Posted: July 27th, 2009, 11:44am CDT

vinspired.com are on the lookout for people who have helped ignite young people's passion for volunteering. Providing energy and enthusiasm people who offer support without being in your face, the undercover talent spotters in your community who help to hook you up with the people and projects that rock your world.

Get them recognised!
The Energy Award gives a staff member the chance to be recognized for the energy they have given to supporting young volunteers in your area to achieve the amazing things they have.
FINA 2009 World Championships Swimming - Day 2 Morning Session

Posted: July 27th, 2009, 9:29am CDT

The British Gas swimming team enjoyed a promising morning in the pool as the swimmers toppled one European and two British records as they secured places in three semi-finals. Elizabeth Simmonds and Gemma Spofforth both booked their places in the 100m Backstroke semi-final after clocking new personal best times in the heats.

Spofforth, who finished in fourth place in the 100m Backstroke Olympic final, has been working on her speed throughout 2009 and this was evident in heat number eleven. Spofforth took the lead early on and set a new Championship record after finishing first in her heat and just missed the world record by 0.01 seconds.

She qualified as the fastest athlete for the semi-final and broke her own European and British record by almost half a second after touching in 58.78.
Plymouth Leander are 2009 British National Age Group Club Champions

Posted: July 27th, 2009, 9:03am CDT

2009 British National Age Group Club Champions

Plymouth Leander have become the 2009 British National Age Group Club Champions for the first time after five days of intense competition at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield. Their margins of victory in being named GB's leading age group swimming programme and successfully defending their Top male Club Award from 2008 were nearly 130 points, and packed with landmark moments for British swimming.

PL's tally of 32 medals (13 gold, 11 silver and 8 bronze) if not the greatest, certainly one of the largest hauls the competition has ever seen since National Age and National Youth Championships were split into two competitions back in 2002.

British Age Group Records were also the order of the day, with Matthew Powell taking both the 14 years 100m Freestyle (52.59) and 100m Butterfly (56.56) records, whilst Jack Smith claimed his first British mark in the 13 years 200m Freestyle (1:58.18).

Matthew Rose set Scottish National Age Group records in the 13 years 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m Freestyle.
FINA 2009 World Championships Swimming - Day 1 Evening Session

Posted: July 26th, 2009, 5:32pm CDT

Six new World Records were amongst the highlights of the opening day as Joanne Jackson and Rebecca Adlington won the British Gas swimming teams first medals, taking silver and bronze respectively in the womens 400m Freestyle. Their final was set to be one of the fastest in history and it didnt disappoint as Federica Pellegrini became the first woman to break the 4:00 mark for the 400m Freestyle.

The race had the home-crowd and the British Gas team on their feet as Jackson got off to the best start and turned in the lead at the 50m mark. Pellegrini took the lead from Jackson at the 100m point and the Olympic bronze medallist remained just on her shoulder for the remainder of the race.
FINA 2009 World Championships Swimming - Day 1 Morning Session

Posted: July 26th, 2009, 5:13pm CDT

The opening day of the swimming programme saw the British Gas swimming team qualify five final and three semi-final places after some strong performances throughout the morning.

The race that everyones eyes were on was the womens 400m Freestyle with Olympic bronze medallist Jo Jackson and double Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington facing up to world record holder Federica Pellegrini. Adlington went in heat four and secured a time of 4:05.70 on her way to finishing second in her heat. Jackson was drawn in heat five and she led through the race as she won in a time of 4:03.48 and the final heat saw Pellegrini look to impress in front of her home crowd.
British Gas ASA National Age Group Championships 2009 - Day 5

Posted: July 26th, 2009, 4:56pm CDT

22 to 26 July 2009 - Sheffield

The last day saw the final events in the pool contested and seven champions named BAGCAT winners. Matthew Johnson blew away the rest of the field in his final, and perhaps most impressive, pool event of the Championships. Knocking almost 10 seconds off the British Age Group Record in the boys 14-years 400m IM he finished in a time of 4:28.40.

Winner of the BAGCAT award, Johnson will be leaving the pool with nine gold medals (200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 1500m freestyle, 100m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke, 200m backstroke, 200m butterfly, 200m IM and 400m IM) and six British Age Group Records. Tomorrow he will compete in the open water event at Rother Valley Country Park in an attempt to claim his tenth medal of the Championships.
FINA 2009 World Championships Diving Day 9

Posted: July 26th, 2009, 11:24am CDT

Mens 10m Synchro Final

The British Gas Diving squad secured third place in the medal table at the FINA World Championships and the final event of the competition saw Tom Daley and Max Brick finish in ninth place.

Favourites Liang Huo and Ye Lin won the event to take China's medal tally to 7 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze in these Championships. David Boudia and Thomas Fincham of the USA finished second, 25.74 points behind, with Jose Antonio Guerra Oliva and Jeinkler Ernesto Aguirre Manso third on 456.60, just 0.24 adrift.

Although Liang Huo and Ye Lin both missed the entry on one of their most difficult dives, the 207 B (3.5 somersaults Back Pike, they did so similarly and without breaking synchronisation! China's lead over Cuba decreased to 11.16, not enough to shake their confidence. Liang Huo and Ye Lin moved ahead by almost 9 points in the two optional rounds, scoring nine "tens", demonstrating their technical perfection.
FINA 2009 World Championships Diving Day 8

Posted: July 25th, 2009, 11:09pm CDT

10m Platform Synchro Men - Prelims and 3m Springboard Synchro Women - Final

British Gas divers Tom Daley and Max Brick succeeded in reaching their first World Championship final as they put in a good performance to leave them ranked in tenth place for their 10m Platform Synchro final.

The new pairing have only previously competed at two competitions and started their event with confidence. They scored well in their required dives, the Inward ½ Somersault piked and the Front 1 ½ Somersaults piked, and went into the first optional round of dives in sixth place. Daley and Brick dropped a couple of marks for some splashy entries in rounds three and five and moved to tenth place. The duo reached their first major international final with a points score of 396.36 and took tenth place overall.
FINA 2009 World Championships Open Water Swimming Day 3

Posted: July 25th, 2009, 10:10pm CDT

25km events - Ostia, Rome

Angela Maurer (GER) added another 25km gold to her FINA World Championship collection winning the 25km at Ostia Beach. She now has eight medals from various FINA Championships - 4 bronze, 2 silver, and 2 gold. Maurer touched home in 5h 47m 48s, with silver medallist Anna Uvarova (RUS) finishing in 5h 47m 51s, and Federica Vitale (ITA) taking bronze in 5h 47m 52s.

Maurer explained: "My goal in Rome was a medal and I got gold," noting that "with waves it is important to swim in the lead", and that although she likes the heat and the waves "today there was a little too much".
FINA 2009 World Championships Synchronised Swimming Day 8

Posted: July 25th, 2009, 9:46pm CDT

Team Free Final

Russia won its sixth gold, once more beating Spain and China, who took away silver and bronze. Russia totalled of 99.167 (including two perfect 10s), with Spain (in their "skeleton" swimsuits depicting human bones) second in 98.167. One point also separated the silver from the bronze, conquered by an inspired Chinese team (97.167).

The British Gas Synchro team capped off one of the most successful performances from a British Synchro team at a World Championships with a top 10 finish. The team of eight swimmers completed a Native American inspired routine that included sit lifts and highlights throughout the programme.
British Gas ASA National Age Group Championships 2009 - Day 4

Posted: July 25th, 2009, 9:03pm CDT

22 to 26 July 2009 - Sheffield

As the penultimate day got underway, the stands filled with excited friends and family who watched on as more British Age Group Records were set.

Matthew Johnson took three steps toward a repeat of his 2008 10-gold-medal haul by taking the titles in the boys 14-years 800m freestyle, 100m breaststroke and 200m freestyle events. The City of Sheffield swimmer finished the 800m strongly pulling away from the rest of the field to finish in a time of 8:18.90, ahead of Joseph Poynter (Bournemouth D) whose 8:20.57 won him silver.