The Swim England South East Championships 2019 for the 15 and Overs were held over the first bank holiday weekend in May and Sevenoaks were represented in Wycombe by the following female qualifiers: Eleanor Allen, Lilie Chambers, Amelia Childs, Maddy Glen, Megan Marter, Zoe Naylor-Perrot, Edith Norton, Jasmine Wallace and Daisy Widdowson.
The Boys who qualified and competed were Louis Hayes, Jacob Hudson,
Christopher Lee, Aiden McMillan, Zachary Raymond, Nathaniel Rodrigues, Benjamin Strebel, Euan Terry.
The South East Region hosts many strong large Clubs, ranging from Thanet, Guildford and the City of Oxford, meaning that the qualification standard is incredibly difficult; with only 10-18 swimmers allowed to enter the varied distances and events.
Despite this criteria, Sevenoaks’ 17 Swimmers amassed numerous heat swims and personal bests, resulting in a total of 30 finals and 9 medals.
Lilie Chambers (15) kicked off the medals Saturday evening, winning a bronze in the 50m Fly, followed later the same evening by breaststroking duo Maddy Glen (16) and Jacob Hudson (15) winning Bronze respectively in the 100m Breaststroke.
Louis Hayes (15) over 3 days, managed to secure Golds in the 100Free, 100m Fly and 50m Fly, Silvers in the 200m Free and 50m Free and a Bronze in the 50m Back.
Sevenoaks too competed in the 4x100m Freestyle and 4x100m Medley relay events in pursuit of national qualification. Jasmine Wallace, Edith Norton, Maddy Glen, Amelia Childs and Lilie Chambers rotated for both relays and finished in strong top 10 places. Robert Allen joined the pool for the boys relays alongside Benjamin Strebel, Aiden McMillan, Euan Terry, Jake Hudson and Zachary Raymond.
Both sets of relay swimmers await for confirmation of National qualification along with those competing in individual events and will find out by the end of May.
Thanking all coaches at Sevenoaks Swimming Club, parents and volunteers, Head Coach Keiron Piper was extremely proud of all his swimmers. “Hard work pays off and there is more to come!”
The 14 and Under Regionals will be held over two later weekends in May and the Club are confident that the age groupers will follow suit from their older peers and excel at their Regional Championships to be held in Crawley.
