Dover Lifeguard’s went into the last round of the National Arena League sitting at the top of the league with a pack of 5 clubs hot on their heels. The final Gala comes with double points for all teams meaning that the slightest slip up punishes the club’s harshly with all hoping for promotion to the premier league.

Bromley were hosting the Gala at the Crook Log pool and they were to take full advantage of the home pool from the outset. Megan Lee for Dover opened proceedings with a fine personal best time in the 100 IM and grabbed first place, the team then had some good results from the . The relays 13/u girls medley relay team finished 2^nd when Brooke Amos led the team off on the backstroke leg with Sara Wain producing a strong leg on the breaststroke, Sophie Waller on the fly and Zelie Quinn on the freestyle. The ladies open Medley team saw Devon Amos take the lead for Dover on the backstroke and Megan Lee extending the lead on the breaststroke, Megan Basford swam a strong fly leg and then Abbie Collins fought off a strong fight back from the other teams to garb the first place in a very close finish. The gala was proving to be a very close race too with all teams within a shot of the first place and Dover’s youngsters focussed on the job in hand. Hannah Wain romped to victory in the 11/u fly and freestyle. Milly Furneaux and Megan Lee continued their domination of breaststroke in the area when they both recorded victories in the open and 15/u breast. Megan Basford was in blistering form on the night and she took first place in the open freestyle and open Backstroke. Sophie Waller took first place in the 13/u butterfly and 2^nd in the 13/u freestyle and 15/u fly. Sra Wain took 2^nd place in the 13/u breast and more 2^nd places were delivered by Devon Amos (open fly) and Evan Waters in the 15/u freestyle. Sarah Quinn grabbed 3^rd in the 15/u back with Milly Furneaux 3^rd in the 15/u freestyle and Josh Morgan 3^rd in the 15/u breast. Going into the last set of relays it was all still to swim for as 5 clubs were now in contention for top spot. The 13/u girls freestyle team of Zelie Quinn, Hannah Wain, Brooke Amos and Sophie Waller took 2^nd place and this was emulated by the 15/u medley team when Gemma Lawson led out the team with Milly Furneaux, Megan Curtis and Sarah Quinn  just being touched out in a close finish. The girls squadron relay team were in the thick of it as the team all vied for the top spot. Devon Amos, Megan Lee, Sarah Quinn, Milly Furneaux, Sophie Waller and Megan Basford exchanged the lead with the other clubs and ended up just being touched out again into 2^nd place. This was to be the story of the night as when the points were totalled the Dover team had finished 4^th in the league. This was just 10 points from 1^st spot ( equivalent of 2 races) Indicating how close this top level gala was with 4 teams in with a shout of promotion right up to the last 2 races.

“I am immensely proud of our swimmers, our team gave their all but the close results went against us tonight. we will be back next year fighting for promotion again”

The last of the year’s development galas saw Dover’s youngsters in action at the Medway park pool when Black Lion swimming club hosted the event.

The Gala opened well with the breaststroke squadron relay team looking strong and coming in a very close 2^nd to the hosts. Evie Herrington led the team out and Ali Corbo, Helen Smith, Sam Fidock, Poppy Carr, Luis Corbo, Rosie Kilmurray, Alfie Herrington, Sophie Card, Ben Fidock, Sara Wain and Josh Morgan fought hard to be narrowly pushed into 2^nd place.

Abbie Collins grabbed a 1^st place in the first of the individual events in the 18/u back, this was quickly followed with more 1^st places for Harry Thirkettle (9/u free) and Helen in the 10/u back. The 9/u freestyle relay team of Sian Leech, Tom Fisher, Sasha Kilmurray and Harry Thirkettle then grabbed another first to grab more points for the team. Sara Wain opened the 2^nd quarter of the gala with another fine swim to take 1^st place in the 18/u fly, Luis Corbo (11/u back) and Rosie Kilmurray (12/u IM) both also took 1^st places. There were 2^nd place finishes for Sam Fidock (10/u fly), Eleanor Spence Welsh (15/u back) and Luis Corbo 12/u IM leaving the ‘guards in 3^rd place overall. The 15/u Medley team looked awesome as Dan Latham, Sophie Card , Ben Fidock and Sadie Milton stormed to victory The 18/u freestyle relay team of Max Pettifer, Dan Latham, Abbie Collins and India Ribbans looked impressive as the finished a very close 2^nd. As the gala progressed there were more 1^st places for Harry Bartram (11/u fly), Sian Leech (9/u back), Sophie Card (15/u fly), India Ribbans (18/u breast), James Smith (18/u breast), Keleece Bull (11/u free), Rosie Kilmurray (12/u back and Helen Smith (10/u breast).

The 15/u freestyle team of James Smith, Max Pettifer, Eleanor Spence Welsh and Gemma Lawson swept all of the opposition away as they took an impressive first  2^nd places from Kieron Menniss (18/u free and 15/u fly),Ashleigh Menniss( 10/u free), Finlay Evans (10/u free), Maria Evans (9/u fly), Ali Corbo (9/u fly), Alfie Herrington (12/u back) and Sadie Milton 15/u free the team had moved into 2^nd place overall. A win for the 18/u medley relay team of James Smith, Kieron Menniss, India Ribbans and Abbie Collins had the team closing on the hosts going into the last relay. The final event was the squadron freestyle relay and the Dover team fought hard with the lead changing hands over the 12 legs. Sian Leech, Sadie Smith, Keleece Bull, Lucy Nicholas, Gemma Lawson, Ali Corbo, Harry Thirkettle, Harry Bartram, Luis Corbo, Ben Fidock and James Smith were just edged into 2^nd place in the relay and the gala overall. There were medals of honour in the form of speeding tickets for, Josh Morgan (18/u back), Harry Bartram (11/u breast), Sam Fidock (10/u back), Ben Fidock (15/u breast), Sian Leech (10/u I.M), Max Pettifer (18/u fly), Keleece Bull (11/u back), Lucy Nicholas (12/u free), Dan Latham (15/u back), Sara Wain (18/u free & 18/u I.M) and Harry Thirkettle (10/u breast).

Coach Tim Hyde was impressed with the team’s performance, “Despite 12 speeding tickets where we get 0 points, this team still managed an impressive 2^nd place. This high number of speeding tickets is an indication of just how fast this junior squad is becoming. They are now knocking on the door of the senior squad.”

The fine season being had by the senior squad at Dover Lifeguard club rubbed off on the junior squad. The juniors finished a close 2^nd place in the Kent Junior league with a fine display of swimming and a 2^nd place on a tense night of swimming in Croydon.

Sophie Waller opened proceeding with a destruction of all comers in the 100 IM as she stormed to first place despite a poor start. Ed Smith grabbed points for the team as he touched in 4^th in the boys 100 IM. The 10/u girls relay team of Chloe Donaldson, Poppy Carr, Helen Smith and Sian Leech were narrowly beaten into 2^nd place and then the boys 10/u relay team stepped up an won a close race with fine swims from Sam Fidock, Lee Sheppard, Alfie Herrington and Ali Corbo Alfie Herrington then grabbed a fine 2^nd place in the individual 11/u butterfly, Rosie Kilmurray took 3^rd in the girls event. There were more 2^nd places for the 13/u freestyle teams with both boys and girls teams taken the runners up spot. Sophie Card, Zelie Quinn, Brooke Amos, Sophie Waller, Max Pettifer, Kieron Menniss, Robin Craft and Ed smith all looked strong as they took more points for the team.

In the individual events there were 1^st places for Lee Sheppard ((10/u free), Ed Smith (13/u back), Zelie Quinn (13/u back), Alfie Herrington (10/u back), Sophie Card(13/u fee) and Max Pettifer (13/u free). 2^nd places for Joe Bailey (12/u back), Poppy Carr (10/u breast + 11/u breast), Lee Sheppard (10.u breast), Max Pettifer (13/u Fly) and Helen Smith (10/u free) brought in more points for the team

The relay team continued to impress and Alfie Herrington led off the 9/10 freestyle team with support from Sam Fidock, Ali Corbo and Lee Sheppard they finished 2^nd in a very close finish.

Second place was to be the story of the night and the team fought hard to finish 2^nd on the night and see their league position mirror this result. “ this young team were impressive tonight and i have no doubt we will be in the fight for promotion next year”

Also competing across at the K2 pool in Crawley were Evan Waters and Megan Lee. Evan continued his recent form with new long course (50m pool) personal best times . Megan Lee was focused on her main objective in the 200 Breaststroke and she destroyed all comers as she romped to an easy victory but impressed by gaining the qualifying  time for the Olympic trials in March in the new aquatic centre in London.

Dover’s swimmers looked impressive last weekend as they took full home pool advantage to romp to the top of the Arena League division one South. Megan Lee opened the gala with a fine first place in the 100Im with a new personal best time. Lewis young also clocked a new personal best as he took 4^th in the men’s 100 IM.

Brooke Amos led the 13/u medley relay team off and Sara Wain, Sophie Waller and Sophie Card fought hard to take 2^nd place by the closest of margins. The boys 13/u medley team grabbed an impressive 1^st place thanks to strong swims from Joe Bailey, Kieron Menniss, Max Pettifer and Ed Smith. There were more relay success for the 15/u girls freestyle team of Gemma Lawson , Milly Furneaux, Srah Quinn and Megan Curtis who romped to an easy victory, leaving the other teams over 5 metres behind at the finish. The open Ladies Medley team also stormed to a superb 1^st place when Devon Amos, Megan Lee, Megan Basford and Abi Collins led from start to finish against some top class teams. The 15/u boys freestyle team grabbed 2^nd place when Evan Waters led the team off , Ben Fidock, Callum Haywood and James Smith all fought hard but were narrowly beaten on the touch.

The individual swims saw the team fighting for every place and point. There were superb 1^st places for Keiron Menniss (13/u breast), Devon Amos (open Fly), Hannah Wain (11/u fly+ 11/u breast), Ed Smith (13/u Back), Sophie Waller (15/u fly+13/u Fly), Evan Waters(15/u fly+ 15/u free), Megan Basford (open back), Megan Lee (open breast), and Milly Furneaux 15/u breast. This fine set of results was raking in the points for the team and there were also impressive 2^nd places from Sara Wain (13/u breast), Sarah Quinn (15/u free), Sophie Waller (13/u free), Devon Amos (open free), Ed Smith (13/u fly), Max Pettifer ( 13/u free) and Josh Morgan (15/u breast).

Going into the last set of relays the Dover team had a narrow lead but could not afford to take their eye off the ball as the other teams were fighting for points in this top level battle. The 11/u girls medley team took 2^nd place with good swims from Rosie Kilmurray, Poppy Carr, Hannah wain and Helen Smith. The 13/u girls freestyle team of Hannah Wain ,Sophie Card, Zelie Quinn and Sophie Waller were just pipped into 2^nd place. The 15/u medley team also took 2^nd with strong performances form Gemma Lawson, Milly Furneaux, Megan Curtis and Sarah Quinn.  Sam Fidock, Lee Sheppard, Alfie Herrington, Harry Bartram took 3^rd place  in the 11/u medley relay. The 13/u boys freestyle relay also took 3^rd with the team of Max Pettifer, Kieron Menniss, Joe Bailey and Ed Smith fighting against some strong competition.

The 15/u boys medley team were awesome as they led from start to finish thanks to a fine display from Callum Haywood, Josh Morgan, Evan Waters and Max Pettifer. The ladies open squadron team then stepped up to the mark and dominated a top class field of swimmers with Devon Amos grabbing the lead on the first leg, then Megan Lee, Srah Quinn, Milly Furneaux, Sophie Waller and Megan Basford extended the lead over each leg to complete a destruction of all of the other teams.

The Dover team now sit at the top of the league with just one round to swim . “This squad  has displayed the result of hours of hard work in the training pool. What makes this even more impressive is that this team is the result of coaching by a team of unpaid volunteers when some of our rivals have paid professional teams at the helm. We now have the chance of promotion to the premier league and we look forward to the last round with relish”

Last weekend saw an opportunity for Dover’s top squad to rest but nonetheless the second string team were in action. The day produced some very good swims with the team coming away with a large number of medals. Sadie Smith displayed some good form as she took 6^th place in the 50 breaststroke, received a speeding ticket in the 50 freestyle (exceeded the entry time), 5^th place in the 50 fly and 1^st place in the 50 backstroke. Poppy Carr took 2^nd place in the 50 breaststroke, 3^rd in the 50 freestyle, 50 fly and 100 I.M, and 4^th in the 50 backstroke. Lauren Challenger was 13^th in the 50 breaststroke and 100 I.M, and 12^th in the 50 freestyle and the 50 backstroke.  Tasha Hyde took 8^th place in the 100 I.M, 10^th in the 50 fly, 50 breaststroke and the 100 freestyle, and 7^th in the 100 fly. Megan Curtis was 9^th in the 100 I.M, 4^th in the 50 fly and the 50 freestyle, and 7^th in the 100 free and the 50 breaststroke. Eleanor Spence-Welsh was 20^th in the 50 fly, and 19^th in the 100 freestyle. Sadie Milton continued her recent surge to form when she recorded PB’s in every stroke and took 8^th in the 100 I.M, 12^th in the 100 freestyle and 9^th in the 50 fly.

There were good results for the boys also. Harry Thirkettle received a speeding ticket in the 50 breaststroke, 3^rd in the 100 I.M, and 7^th in the 50 backstroke. Sam Fidock was 4^th in the 50 fly, 3^rd in the 50 freestyle, 2^nd in the 50 breaststroke, and took gold in the 100 I.M and the 50 backstroke. Jake Challenger had a good session too taking 14^th in the 50 breaststroke, 15^th in the 50 freestyle, 9^th in the 100 I.M and 18^th in the 50 backstroke. Kieron Menniss grabbed gold in the 100 breaststroke, 3^rd in the 100 I.M, 6^th in the 100 freestyle and 5^th in the 50 fly. Dan Latham took 4^th in the 100 back, the 100 freestyle and the 100 breaststroke, 3^rd in the 100 I.M and 2^nd in the 50 fly. The best results of the day went to Ben Fidock who took home gold in the 50 fly, the 100 back, the 100 breaststroke and the 100 I.M.

Coach Tim Hyde said, ‘These swimmers have showed why they are fighting for places in our top squad and they show the depth that we now have in the Dover Lifeguard Squad.’

Dover lifeguards opened their National league campaign with a trip to the Mote Park pool in Maidstone on Saturday. They had been drawn against some of the biggest clubs in Kent but did not let them distract them from the task ahead and quickly settled into an impressive display of swimming.

Megan Lee opened the gala in the Ladies open 100 IM and she looked awesome as she took 1^st place to get the points coming in from the start. The 11/u girls relay team of Rosie Kilmurray, Bella Xu, Helen Smith and Hannah Wain showed great spirit as they grabbed 2^nd place in both the free and medley events. The 11/u boys also looked strong with fine swims from Lee Sheppard, Harry Bartram, Luis Corbo and Alfie Herrington to take 3^rd place in the frees relay and 4^th in the medley event.

The 13/u girls relay team of  Zelie Quinn, Sara Wain Sophie Waller and Sophie Card continued their recent good form and remain unbeaten as a team as they took 1^st place in both the  medley and free events. The 13/u boys were not to be outdone and the team of Joe bailey, Kieron Menniss, Max Pettifer and ed Smith took 1^st in the medley but were narrowly nudged into 2^nd in the freestyle.

The relay team continued to impress with their never give up attitude and this continued to pay dividends for the Dover team. The 15/u girls team of Milly Furneaux, Gemma Lawson, Megan Curtis and Sarah Quinn swept all before them as they took 1^st in both medley and freestyle and the open girls team of Megan Lee, Devon Amos, Abi Collins and Megan Basford were equally impressive leading from start to finish in both events. The Boys 15/u team of Evan Waters, Ben Fidock,Max Pettfier and James Smith took 2^nd in the free and medley events and the open age groups grabbed important points for the team with strong swims from Matt Farran, Lewis young , Josh Morgan and Evan Waters.

The individual swims saw 1^st places and maximum points for the team from Srah Quinn (15/u  100 back), Hannah Wain (11/u 50 breast and 50 fly),Sophie Waller 13/u and 15/u 100 butterfly and 13/u free), Devon Amos (open 100 back),Milly Furneaux (15/u 100 free and 100 breast), Megan lee (open 100 breast) , Megan Basford (open 100 free),Evan Waters (15/u 100 free and fly), Edward Smith (13/u 100 back).

This great haul of points was supported by 2^nd places  from Kieron Menniss (13/u 100 breast), Ed Smith 13/u 100 fly) and Megan Basford (open 100 fly). There were countless other good performances that were adding points to the Dover total throughout the night including 3^rd places for James Smith, Alfie Herrington, Lee Sheppard, Bella Xu and Max Pettifer. The squadron relays at the end of the night brought the crowd to their feet as the girls from Dover romped to another fine first place with Devon Amos leading the team off and taking the lead and this lead being extended by Megan Lee, Sarah Quinn, Milly Furneaux, Sophie Waller and Megan Basford . The Men’s event saw Dover’s relatively young team fighting against some strong teams and Matt Farran, Evan waters, James Smith, Ben Fidock, and Josh Morgan put up a brave fight and came home in 4^th place.

When the points were totalled at the end of the night the Dover team had won by a comfortable margin and had set a benchmark for future rounds.

Dover lifeguards hosted the first of the new season’s development gala’s on Sunday and they showed real class as they romped to victory. This series of galas has time restrictions in place to ensure the appropriate level of swimmer is taking part, with a speeding ticket, “badge of honour” awarded to any swimmer who breaks the time restrictions. This ensure that clubs all have the same chance to win as no points are awarded to the team but swimmers can then progress to the next level of competition.

The ‘guards broke the record for the highest number of speeding tickets in a single gala when they scooped 14 with impressive swims from Luis Corbo (11/u breast, 11/u back), Harry Thirkettle (10/u back),Helen Smith and Freddie Campbell (10/u 100 IM), James Smith (15/u breast),Alex Clay and Max Pettifer(18/u fly), Alex Harding (15/u back, 15/u fs),Freddie Campbell (10/ fs), Alex Clay and Josh Morgan (18/u IM), and Kieron Menniss (15/u Fs).

This number of “speeders” saw Dover being almost 90 gala points down but the rest of the team was also in fine form . There were first places and maximum points for India Ribbans (18/u fly), Sian leech (9/u fs), Sophie Card (12/u fly), Chloe Donaldson (10/u back), Brooke Amos (15/u breast, 18/u fs), Ali Corbo (9/u Breast), Sadie Milton (12/u fs), Lee Sheppard (12/u IM), Sam Fidock (9/u back), Eleanor Spence welsh (15/u fly), Abi Collins (18/u breast), Freddie Campbell (11/u fs),  and Harry Thirkettle (10/u breast).

There were also 2^nd places from Ben Fidock (18/u Back), Harry Thirkettle ( 9/u free), Harry Bartram (12/u fs, 11/u fly)), Sadie Smith ( 10/u fly, 9/u fly), Sam Fidock(10/u fly), Dan Latham( 15/u back), Joe bailey (12/u breast), Alfie Herrington (15/u Fly), James Smith (18/u breast), Ali Corbo ( 9/u fly) and Sadie Milton ( 12/u back).

The relay team were not to be outdone and they swam strongly throughout the gala with only 3 teams outside of the top 2 placings. There were seven first places for the relay teams as they demonstrated this young teams superiority across all strokes.

When the final points were totalled the Dover team had won by a comfortable margin despite the loss of points due to the high incidence of speeding tickets. There were individual awards to best Boy- Freddie Campbell, best Girl-Alex Harding ,  Best Overall Sadie Milton.

Dover Lifeguard club’s youngest squad performed well at the 2^nd round of this year’s Kent Junior league hosted by the ‘guards' at the Dover pool.

Rosie Kilmurray (41.78) and Alfie Herrington(38.34) opened proceeding in the individual events and finished in the 2^nd and 1^st place respectively in the 11/u butterfly. Poppy Carr grabbed a fine 2^nd place in the 11/u breaststroke in a time of 50.13 and she then stepped up in her own age group , the 10/u and took 2^nd place again., Brooke Amos( 13/u back-1.20.69), Zelie Quinn (12/u butterfly-1.27.52)and Kieron Mennis (13/u breast-1.26.21) all produced strong swims to also take 2^nd places in their respective events.

Lee Sheppard (10/u breast 50.16), Ed Smith ( 13/u fly 1.17.12)and his younger sister Helen Smith(10/u fly 51.58) all also recorded 2^nd place finishes to give the team valuable points in this very close competition.

There were also more impressive swims as the following swimmers took 1^st places and maximum points for the team. Lee Sheppard (10/u freestyle -34.25), Ed Smith (13/u back-1.13.52), Alfie Herrington (10/u back -44.81), Sophie Waller (13/u breast- 1.19.52 and 13/u butterfly -1.09.84), Sophie Card (13/u free- 1.08.40), Max Pettifer(13/u free 1.05.85), Zelie Quinn( 12/u back- 1.20.09).

This impressive set of results had put Dover in the fight for 1^st place with the team sitting in 3^rd place for most of the night. In the relay events the 9/10 year boys looked awesome as they won  the Freestyle and were 2^nd in the medley events, Ryan Waters, Alfie Herrington, Sam Fidock, Lee Sheppard and Harry Thirkettle, showed real team spirit and fought throughout.

The 13/u boys and girls relay team dominated on the night, winning their age group in the freestyle and medley events Max Pettifer, Ed Smith , Kieron Menniss, and Robin Craft combined to make a great team. For the girls, Sophie Caller, Brooke Amos, Zelie Quinn and Sophie Card led from start to finish in their events with all the girls producing near personal best performances to take 1^st place by a clear margin. The 11/u girls medley team also swam well to take 2^nd place in a very close finish , Sadie Smith, Poppy Carr, Rosie Kilmurray and Helen Smith  fought well with 3 of the girls swimming up at least one year showing the potential that this squad has. In the last event of the night, the squadron freestyle relay, Dover exchanged the lead with 2 other clubs and the team gelled well to finish 2^nd in a very tight finish. Helen Smith Lee Sheppard, Rosie Kilmurray, Alfie Herrington, Zelie Quinn, Harry Thirkettle, Sophie Waller and Ed Smith had the entire spectator area on their feet as the gala came to a close.

The Dover team had performed superbly but on the night they finished 2^nd place and now sit 2^nd in the league with just one round to. Promotion is a possibility but they will need to win the next round. Coach Tim Hyde was impressed with the whole team. “ everyone of these swimmers played their part to give us a good result against some tough opposition , their team spirit shone through tonight and they made us all proud.”

A team from the Dover Lifeguard Club successfully completed an English Channel relay swim on Saturday 20 August 2011.

The six team members settled themselves onto the Sea Satin and set off from Shakespeare Beach, Dover at 11.27am with Club Captain Lewis Young (16) swimming the first hour followed by Sophie Tills (18), Matthew Austin (14), Chelsea Callow (14), Abigail Oram (14) and Joe Denton (16) who all swum strong and determined 1hr legs.

Sea conditions were changeable and the sea temperature 18 degrees. Several of the swimmers suffered from seasickness & nerves but showed great strength of character to step up to the mark & complete their swims.

Night time closed in during the 10^th hour and Chelsea got her wish to swim in the dark! Abigail swam next and Joe completed the relay by climbing onto the rocks at Cape Gris Nez, France in a time of 11hrs 39 minutes.

Tanya Harding, Open Water secretary for the DLGC, was thrilled when the team successfully finished.  “This team has trained consistently and determinedly over the past 2 open water seasons and deserved to complete the English Channel relay and in an excellent time too!”

Dover Lifeguard’s older swimmers were also in fine firm at the ASA youth Nationals, the swimmers who travelled to Sheffield as part of the newly formed combined or “c” club , East Invicta eXcel were impressive as they raised their game to contend at this very high level of competition.

Katie Latham was in the bottom of the age groups (14-15 years) but she continued her recent impressive performances as she was the 2^nd 14 year old in the 100 freestyle, 4^th 14 year old in the 50 freestyle and 7^th   14 year old in the 200 freestyle. She was also 8^th in the 14 year age group of the 200 IM and  9^th in the 100 Back (14 years).

Megan Lee was the 6^th placed 16 year old in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke despite being just off of her best times, with team mate Milly Furneaux clocking an impressive 1.5 sec personal best time in the 100 breast to finish 19^th 15 year old. Devon Amos looked strong in the 100 backstroke (16 years) but nerves prevented her from improving on her entry time as she miss timed her turn.

Also representing eXcel were Astor pupil an City of Canterbury Swimmer Sophie Weymouth who showed great emotional maturity as she swam, and completed the 800 freestyle, a very tough mental race , despite having just heard of the death of her grandfather she finished 18^th in the 16 year age group. Canterbury and Excel Team mates Dan Seagrove Castle was the 11^th 17 year old in the 200 freestyle, with Ben Watson in the 18 year age group 18^th in the 200 freestyle, 20^th in the 100 back and 28^th in the 100 freestyle. Charlotte Davies was 8^th 17 year old in the 200 butterfy,11^th in the 100 fly and 400 IM and 13^th 17 year old in the 200 IM.

The ladies 4 x 100 Medley relay team of Devon Amos(back), Megan Lee (breast), Charlotte Davies (fly) and Katie Latham (free) were in good form as they smashed their previous best time set at the south east regional competition, by over 1 second but they were up against some very tough competition and finished 13^th nationally, an impressive result as this team had only trained together once prior to this top level competition.

Success for Sophie at the British Gas ASA National age group championships

Dover Lifeguard’s Sophie Waller returned from 5 days of competition in Sheffield at this year’s age group National’s as 200m butterfly National Champion in the 12yr age group, and  with other impressive results under her belt.

Sophie was swimming under the colours of the newly formed East Invicta eXcel which is composed of the very best “performance” swimmers in the area and she certainly made everyone aware that the new combined or “C” club had arrived in town.

The first day of competition saw Sophie competing in 2 events, the 200 IM and 100 Freestyle. In the 200 IM she looked impressive as she improved on her entry time with a massive 2 second personal best to improve on her ranking and qualifying for the final as 3^rd fastest. At this level of competition there is no margin for error and unfortunately Sophie was a little off form on the 100 freestyle but still managed a creditable 18^th place in her age group nationally. The evening session brought the 200 IM final and Sophie showed real class as she retained her focus and power to improve yet again on her personal best time to take 3^rd place and the bronze medal in a time of 2.30.10.

The 400 freestyle was Sophie’s first event of the next day of competition and Sophie showed that all the long hours of training she puts in at the Dover pool were paying dividends as she stormed to a massive 4 second personal best and 6^th place. The 100 butterfly saw Sophie again step up to the challenge as she produced a new best time in the heats of 1.08.13. The final was to prove one of the closest races of the day with less than half of a second separating 2^nd and 6^th place. Sophie produced another impressive personal best time of 1.07.26 but unfortunately was just touch out of the medal position to finish 6^th nationally overall.

Day 3 had Sophie competing in the 200 Freestyle and 200 butterfly. First up was the 200 free and yet again she demonstrated her huge talent to perform on such a massive stage to grab a place in the final with a time of 2.14.80.In the final she produced a great swim to clock a new personal best time of 2.13.30 to finish just off of a medal position again in 4^th place , with less that .15 separating her from the bronze.

In the 200 butterfly Sophie was awesome. She took the heat by storm with a huge 2 second personal best( 2.26.43) to go into the final ranked first. The final was to be a very tough race indeed and Sophie led for the first 50m. By the 100m point she had slipped to 3^rd  place, but Sophie showed the class of a true champion as she fought back from behind to take the Gold medal with another personal best  time of 2.25.70.

Sophie was now the 200m butterfly National Champion in the 12 year age group.

Open Water Dover Regatta

Dover Lifeguards approached the end of the season with more success at the Herne Bay open gala.

In The girls 9/10yrs 50m backstroke there were new personal best times and final places for Poppy Carr(47.07) and Sadie Smith (46.13). There were also strong swims in the girls 100m backstroke from Lauren Challenger, and there were more final places for India Ribbans, Megan Basford, Tasha Hyde and Abbie Collins. The boys were also in fine form as Kieron Andrino, Ryan Waters and Sam Fidock all clocked up new best times in the 9/10yrs 50m back. Kieron Menniss, Max Pettifer,Dan Latham and Lewis Young swam strongly in the 100m back with Lewis taking a final place thanks to a determined swim. Poppy Carr looked impressive in the 50 Breast when she clocked a new personal best to reach the final and took her time faster still in 54.27. The girls 100 breast saw some great swims from Lauren Challenger , India Ribbans, Megan Basford, Tasha Hyde and Abbie Collins with Megan, Tasha, Abbie and India all reaching the finals in their respective age groups.

The boys 50m breaststroke also saw Keiron Andrino, Ryan Waters and Sam Fidock swimming well and Ryan and Sam both reached the finals. Max Pettifer, Dan Latham and Kieron Menniss were Dover’s only competitors in the 100 breast and all 3 of the boys reached the finals despite the tough competition.

In The 25m butterfly Sian Leech, Sadie Smith, Poppy Carr , Ella Bateman, Harry Thirkettle, Sam Fidock,and  Ryan Waters all looked impressive , displaying good technique that will serve them well  as their swimming careers progress. Sam Fidock and Sadie Smith both reached the finals and took home medals for their efforts. The good form continued in the 100 fly, India Ribbans, Megan Basford, Tasha Hyde ,Abbie Collins, Kieron Menniss, Max Pettifer, Dan Latham and Lewis Young showed their young team mates how to perform when they clocked impressive times with all of the girls reaching the finals as did Dan , Max and Lewis.

Sian Leech, Sadie Smith, Poppy Carr and Ella Bateman all grabbed new best times in the 50 freestyle. Team Mates,Harry Thirkettle, Sam Fidock and  Ryan Waters also swam strongly and their older team mates India Ribbans, Megan Basford, Tasha Hyde ,Abbie Collins, Kieron Menniss, Max Pettifer, Dan Latham and Lewis Young all showed that their hard training gas paid off with medals and new times.

White cliffs 2011

Faversham Open air Development Gala

Video Link

The season of team gala’s closed for Dover Lifeguard’s with Head coach Tim Hyde testing his swimmers on their weaker strokes or at older age groups at the Faversham Development gala. The Gala is held in the 33.3 yard open air pool and therefore time achieved at the gala cannot be used for other competitions. This was however a chance to try out the strokes that many swimmers seldom get a chance to use in competition.

The  gala opened with the squadron breast stroke relay and the young Dover team did well to fight into 3^rd position thanks to strong performances from Ashleigh Menniss, Poppy Carr, Zelie Quinn, Brooke Amos, Sophie Card, India Ribbans, Ali Corbo, Ryan Waters, Luis Corbo, Alfie Herrington, Keiron Menniss and Josh Morgan.

India Ribbans opened the individual races with a fine 2^nd place in the 18/u back. There was a 1^st place for Lee Sheppard in the 12/u fly and another 2^nd place for the team when Brooke Amos showed great determination in the 12/u fly. The relay teams continued to impress with 2^nd places for all 3 teams in the next set of relays. The 9/u freestyle team of Harry Thirkettle, Sian Leech, Kieron Andrino, and Ella Bateman  showed the potential in the younger age groups whilst Luis Corbo, Helen Smith, Robert keen and Zelie Quinn were almost all swimming up an age groups and did well to take the 2^nd place. Matt Austin led off the 15/u medley team with strong support from Sophie Card, Dan Latham and Bobby Clay the team took a good 2^nd place.

In the next set of individual swims there were 1^st places for Zelie Quinn( 15/u back)Ali Corbo (9/u breast) and older brother Luis Corbo ( 12/u free). Supporting these fine swims were 2^nd places from Eleanor Spence Welsh (18/u fly) and Max Pettifer ( 18/u fly and 15/u fly). The 18/u freestyle relay team also grabbed 2^nd place in a tight race with Josh Morgan leading the team off, Eleanor Spence Welsh, Ben Fidock and Sophie Card all swum up a couple of age groups yet still stole 2^nd place thanks to some great team spirit.

The 2^nd half of the gala Saw Dan Latham take Dover’s only 1^st place in the individual races but there were 2^nd place in support from Sophie Card (18/u free), Robert Keen(11/u fly), Ella Bateman(9/u back) and Harry Thirkettle (9/u back). The 9/u medley relay team looked impressive as they took first place , Ella Bateman, Ali Corbo, Sadie Smith and Harry Thirkettle  led from start to finish. The 15/u freestyle team of Matt Austin, Max Pettifer, Bobby Clay and Sophie Card showed true class as they fought against some big opponents to storm home in first place.

The last quarter of the gala produced 1^st places from Ali Corbo (9/u fly) and Bobby Clay (15/u Free) with other fine swims to gain 2^nd places for Josh Morgan (18/u breast), Lee Sheppard (12/u back) and Kieron Menniss ( 15/u free).

The freestyle squadron relay was a very close race indeed but the Dover team of Sadie Smith, Helen Smith, Zelie Quinn, Brooke Amos, Sophie Card, India Ribbans, Harry Thirkettle, Sam Fidock, Luis Corbo, Lee Sheppard, Dan Latham and Ben Fidock held their nerve and showed true fighting spirit to finish in 1^st place. 

The gal result showed that the Dover team finished 5t but this was not the full story, all swimmers displayed some superb determination and that their weaker strokes are actually better than many of them thought.

Dover sent along a small but determined bunch of swimmers to the Kingsmead pool  in Canterbury the same day as the Faversham gala, with many taking part in both gala’s. This did not prevent the swimmers from producing some great swims. The format of this gala is that the top 6 combined times in the individual races qualify for the final, which is in fact a 200 individual medley swim to decide who is the best, or most rounded swimmer in that age. To make the IM finals is a tough challenge but the Dover swimmers were in determined mood.

The girls 9/10 50 free saw personal best times (pb’s) from Helen Smith (40.32) and Poppy Carr (40.87). The boys 9/10 butterfly saw Sam Fidock deliver a new pb (52.67) with team Mate Alfie Herrington putting in a storming swim to record a new pb f 38.64.

In the boys 11/over 100 butterfly all of the Dover swimmers improved on their entry times. Keiron Menniss( 1.37.76), Edward Smith( 1.18.43), James Smith (1.13.20), Josh Morgan (1.15.92) and Evan Waters ( 1.05.44). Helen Smith( 56.74) and Poppy Carr( 52.75)continued to impress with new pb’s in the breaststroke . Next up were the 9/10 yr boys in the backstroke and Sam Fidock (49.38), Ryan Waters( 49.73) and Alfie Herrington all gabbed new pb’s.

In the 11/over 100 back Kieron Menniss set a new best time of 1.33.69, a massive 15 second pb and team mates Josh Morgan ( 1.18.18), Ed Smith (1.15.13), James Smith (1.13.18), and Evan Waters( 1.08.04) all impressed with strong swims and new pb’s. The girls 9/10 back saw all 3 Dover girls grab new pb’s Sian Leech (54.77),Helen Smith( 48.44) and Poppy Carr (46.52). Sam Fidock continued his good day with a new pb of 55.39 n the 50 breaststroke, and in the 11/over boys  100 breaststroke James Smith smashed his previous best with a 14 sec pb of 1.29.37, his brother Ed also toom a new pb of 1.34.46 and Josh Morgan slashed 5 seconds off of his entry time when he touched in 1.22.20.

Sian Leech and Poppy Carr again grabbed new pb’s in the 50m fly with Sian in 59.29 and Poppy 51.59, Sam Fidock( 44.37) and Ryan Waters( 42.56) were not to be out done and they grabbed more impressive times in the 50 freestyle .

The 11/over boys were also on form in the 100 freestyle with Josh Morgan making a big 4 second improvement on his entry time to touch in 1.07.14 and Ed Smith finishing in 1.05.24. 

In the finals session there was a impressive level of representation from the Dover team and first up was Poppy Carr who finished  5^th in the 9yr 100 IM in 1.41.86. Alfie Herrington grabbed the silver medal and 2^nd place prize in the 10yrs boys 100 IM in a time of 1.27.29.

In the 12 yr boys  200 IM Ed Smith took the Silver medal and the cash prize that went with it when he clocked 2.44.01 and Josh Morgan finished 5^th in the 13 yr age group in 2.44.42. Alice Latham was 4^th in the 14 year age group in 2.44.40 and the 14 yr boys event was won by Evan Waters in a very close race in a time of 2.20.03.

The last weekend of this years South East regional championships saw Dover’s  Sophie Waller grabbed yet more National Qualifying times.

Sophie looked impressive as she took the gold medal in the 100 freestyle with a NQT ( national Qualifying time) of 1.02.48, she then  took a surprise Silver in the 200 Breaststroke in 2.52.00, another NQT. After a break for lunch she returned to her task and grabbed another Gold in the 400 IM in a time of 5.49.99, earning herself another NQT and the kno.wledge that she is now ranked 3^rd in the country on this event. On Sunday she took advantage of a bit of a rest when she returned for the afternoon session and completed a fantastic weekend with another NQT in the 200 freestyle.

The Margate sprint gala was a chance for the younger swimmers in the Lifeguard squad to record some up to date times and they did that with some relish!

In The boys 50 fly there were new pb’s for Kieron Menniss(39.49), Max Pettifer (33.74) and Josh Morgan( 33.96).Sian Leech grabbed new times on the 50 free ( 46.53), 50 breast ( 58.11), 50 fly ( 56.48) and 50 back (53.95).

Ryan Water was in great form as he took his times faster on every stroke , 50 back ( 50.35), 100 IM ( 1.54.18), breast ( 57.69) and Free ( 44.72). Team mate Harry Thirkettle also took a clean sweep of times- 50 Back ( 50.00), 100 IM ( 1.47.62), 50 breast (57.92), and the 50 free (40.48).

Max Pettifer has just come into the form of his swimming life and grabbed new times on the 50 free ( 30.53), 50 breast ( 43.47), 100 IM ( 1.20.07), and 50 back (39.57). Josh Morgan rose to the challenge well and he recorded new bests in the 50 back ( 36.89), 100 IM 1.16.52), 50 free ( 30.25), and 50 breast (36.74).

Kieron Menniss pushed his times up in the 50 free ( 34.59), 50 breast ( 40.84), 100 IM ( 1.25.41) and 50 back (41.94) . Joe Bailey also produced some fine swims  50 back ( 40.67), 100 IM ( 1.30.94), and 50 Breast ( 48.56).

Hythe hosted the latest round of the Development gala’s at the Dover leisure centre last Saturday and the Lifeguards very young squad were in fine form.

The gala opened with a 2^nd place in the squadron breaststroke relay thanks to strong swims from Ashleigh Menniss, Poppy Carr, Rosie Kilmurray, Brooke Amos, Alex Clay, Sophie Card, Alfie Herrington, Luis Corbo, Harry Bartram, Joe Bailey, Keiron Menniss and Callum Haywood.

Brooke Amos opened the individual vents with a new personal best in the 18/u back in a time of 36.47 which earned her a speeding ticket. Zelie Quinn grabbed 2^nd place in the 11/u breast with team mate Luis Corbo going one better in the boys 11/u breast to take 1^st place. Harry Thir kettle took 1^st in the 9/u free and Alex Harding also grabbed maximum points for the team with 1^st place in the 12/u fly. Sam Fidock looked impressive as he stormed home in 1^st place in the 10/u back and there were speeding tickets for Alex Caly (15/u breast) and Rosie Kilmurray (10/u IM). This great set of results saw Dover battling it out for the top 3 spots in the team points race with only a quarter of the gala gone.

There was 1^st place for the 15/u medley relay team comprising Danika Mote (bk), Keiron Menniss(br), Sophie Card( fly) and Max Pettifer (fs) with the team putting together some fine takeovers and strong swims. The 2^nd quarter of the gala opened with another speeding ticket for the Dover team thanks to India Ribbans in the 18/u fly (34.81). Harry Bartram and Luis Corbo grabbed more speeding tickets in the 11/u back and 12/u fly, demonstrating the great leaps this young squad is making in its performance. Max Pettifer took 1^st place in  the 15/u back and was supported by 2^nd places for Sam Fidock (9/u back), Poppy Carr( 12/u free ), Harry Bartram( 12/u free) and Danika Mote (15/u back) .

The 12/u freestyle relay team of Joe Bailey, Alfie Herrington , Brooke Amos and Alex harding swam well to take another fine 1^st place and maximum points for the team.

The 2^nd half of the gala opened with Zelie Quinn taking 1^st place in the 18/u freestyle (33.50) and this was quickly followed with 2^nd places for Josh Morgan (18/u Free),Harry Bartram (11/u fly), Matt Austin (15/u fly) and Sophie Card ( 18/u IM) there was also another speeding ticket for Brooke Amos with a time of 43.97 in the 12/u breast.

Emily Baldwin (bk), Luis Corbo (br), Zelie Quinn(Fly), and Harry Bartram were impressive as they comfortably won the 11/u medley relay and there was 2^nd place of the 15/u freestyle team of Matt Austin, Max Pettifer, Bobby Clay and Alex Clay.  The final quarter of the gala opened with yet another 1^st place for the Dover team when India Ribbans won the 18/u breaststroke, followed by speeding tickets for Callum Haywood (18/u breast 37.15) and Luis Corbo (11/u freestyle 37.92).

There were more 1^st places for Joe Bailey in the 12/u back ( 41.60) and Keiron Menniss (15/u freestyle 33.07). Sam Fidock took a good 2^nd place in the 9/u fly and Bobby Clay grabbed the last speeding ticket of the night in the 15/u freestyle (32.30). The last series of relays saw some of the most impressive swims of the night. There were 1^st places for the 12/u medley team of Brooke Amos (bk), Joe Bailey (br), Lee Sheppard (fly), and Alex Harding (freestyle)   and the 18/u medley relay team of Callum Haywood (bk), Sophie Card (br), India Ribbans (fly), Ben Fidock (free) and the team were still fighting to finish in the top 3. The freestyle squadron relay saw the Dover team build a good lead over every leg of the race thanks to stunning swims from Sian Leech, Rosie Kilmurray, Zelie Quinn, Brooke Amos, Alex Clay, Sophie Card, Lee Sheppard, Luis Corbo, Harry Bartram, Joe Bailey, Max Pettifer and Dan Latham.

The points totals at the end of the night had Dover in 3^rd place overall , “this was all about the younger swimmers tonight and they delivered the goods time and time again”.

Last weekend saw the entire Dover Lifeguards squad make their annual trip to France for the “Challenge international des 6 Bourgeois”  meet in Calais.True to recent form the ‘guards dominated in every age group with fine swims from every swimmer.

All swam the butterfly on Saturday with some impressive placings. Sadie Smith was 2^nd in the 8-9 yr age group. Rosie Kilmurray (4^th) and Helen Smith ( 8^th) were the highest placed Dover swimmers in the 10-11 age group. Sophie Waller romped to 1^st place in the 12-13 age group by a comfortable margin with team mates Zelie Quinn(2^nd), Mollie Allen ( 4^th), Sophie Card ( 5^th), and Danika Mote (6^th) all bringing in a large haul of points for the team. In the 14-15 age group the Dover girls were in total control as they tool all 6 top places. Katie Latham took 1^st with Sarah Quinn, Millie Furneaux, Alice Latham, India Ribbans and Abigail Oram taking the placings behind her. Megan Basford took first in the 16 year age group with Tasha Hyde 3^rd and Abbie Collins 4^th. Sophie Tills grabbed another 1^st place for the team in the 17 year age group with Siobhan Hollier 1^st in the masters.

The boys were as impressive . Sam Fidock was 3^rd in the 8-9 age group with Ryan Waters 4^th. Alfie Herrington took 1^st in the 10-11 yr age group, Robert Keen 2^nd, Lee Sheppard 3^rd, Luis Corbo 6^th and Harry Bartram 7^th. The 12-13 age group delivered 1^st place for Ed Smith, 3^rd for Max Pettifer,4^th Robin Craft, 5^th Kieron Menniss, Joe Bailey 7^th and Cameron Cook 8^th. Evan Waters looked impressive as he took 1^st in the 14-15 age group, Callum  Haywood 2^nd, James Smith 4^th, Josh Morgan 5^th, Ben Fiddock 7^th and Dan Latham 8^th. Matt Farran grabbed another 1^st place in the 16 year age grous, Joe Denton 2^nd and Lewis Young 4^th. Mark Seal stromed to a massive pb in the masters as he took 2^nd place.

The good results continued as every swimmer swam the back, breast and freestyle in an attempt to qualify for the individual medley finals.

In the Individual medley finals Rosie Kilmurray took 4^th in the 10-11 age group. Helen Smith was 6^th. Sophie Waller grabbed the gold medal in the 12-13 age group with Mollie Allen 2^nd ,Sophie Card 4^th, Zelie Quinn 5^th, Danika Mote 7^th. There was another clean sweep for the Dover girls in the 14-15 age group with Katei Latham 1^st, Mille Furneaux 2^nd, Alice Latham 3^rd, Sarah Quinn 4^th, and India Ribbans 5^th. The podium was also dominated by Dover in the 16 year age group with Megan Basford 1^st Abbie Collins 2^nd and Tasha Hyde 3^rd.  Sophie Tills then took the gold in the 17 age group. Siobhan Hollier added to the medal haul with a gold in the masters and team mate Julie Haywood dug deep and had the whole team cheering her on as she finished 4^th in the masters.

The boys stepped up to the mark as they delivered more medals for the team. Ryan Waters was 3^rd in the 8-9 age group with Sam Fidock 6^th. Lee Sheppard and Alfie Herrington fought a great race as they took 1^st and 2^nd place in a very tight race. Harry Bartram was 4^th, Robert Keen 5^th, Luis Corbo 6^th. Edward Smith took Gold in the 13-14 age group, Max Pettifer 4^th Kieron Menniss 5^th, Cameron Cook 7^th, Joe Bailey 8^th , Robin Craft 10^th, Chris Clarke 11^th. Evan Waters and Callum Haywood took 1^st and 2^nd in the 15 age group, with a domination of the podium by Matt Farran (1^st), Joe Denton (2^nd), and Lewis Young  3^rd in the 16-17 age group. The most exciting and close finish was in the masters as Mark seal came from behind to snatch 1^st place by a fingertip . There were other fine swims over the weekend from Lauren Challenger, Poppy Carr, Ella Bateman and Sadie Smith.

The Dover team took the overall gala trophy and also took 1^st, 2^nd and 4^th in the relays

This year’s south east region youth swimming championships held at Crawley and Guildford was the inaugural event for the newly formed “elite” squad made up from all of the best swimmers from the east Invicta area.  Clubs involved in the new combined or “c” club, named East Invicta eXcel, are Ashford, Faversham, Folkestone, Hythe, Canterbury, Herne Bay, and Dover. The objective of the new enterprise is to raise the standard of swimming across the area, developing swimmers at every standard and compete at the very highest level.

Dover Lifeguards were very well represented in the EI eXcel team. Katie Latham was in her usual good form becoming regional champion when she took 1^st place in the 14/15yr 50m backstroke and 14/15 50 freestyle in the first session. Megan Lee was also crowned champion in the 100 breaststroke in the 16 and over age group with a time of 1.13.59, grabbing a national qualifying time .Milly Furneaux was 5^th in the 14/15 100 breast and team mate Megan Basford was 6^th in the 16/over 50 back. The first session also saw good swims from Devon Amos (9^th 16/o 50 back), and Sarah Quinn in the 14/15 50 freestyle.

The next session saw the girls medley relay team grab 3^rd place and qualify for the national championships in Sheffield in the summers ranked 10^th in the country. Katie Latham took 4^th place in the14/15 yr  100 back and Devon Amos 5^th in the 16/over age group.

The next day delivered 2^nd places for Milly Furneaux and Megan Lee in the 50 breaststroke in their relevant age groups with both girls beaten by just a couple of hundredths of a second. Alice Latham, Devon Amos, Katie Latham and  Megan Basford also put in put in good performances.

Katie Latham also grabbed  7^th in the 200 freestyle at the end of a very long weekend of competition despite suffering from the effects of a virus that had drained her of all energy.

Dover Lifeguard Masters attended the East Invicta Masters Championships last weekend at Kings School, Canterbury. The squad have trained particularly hard and personal best times were realised by the majority of the swimmers.

Particular strong performances on the night saw Kaira Redman win 4 golds, and Philip Laflin win 3 golds. There were also gold winning performances from Heather Corby and Amelia Corbo.

The whole squad showed great determination in their swimming, which resulted in a overall 5^th place

Dover Lifeguard Club took 25 of their top swimmers to a week long training camp in Lignano in North East Italy . The swimmers faced 6 days of intensive long course training in the Olympic  pool . Along with 4 hours of pool training each day the swimmers also had 3 hours of land training, gym work, team sports and team building exercises. The swimmers racked up over 50 thousand meters of pool training in their time there and showed superb levels of fitness to cope with such an intensive camp.

They were lucky enough to have an opportunity to race with and train alongside 7 of the Italian National team who were at the site at the beginning of the week to prepare for the world Championships in Shanghai later this year  and at the end of the week they also got to meet Olympic Silver medallist Milorad Cavic.

Cavic, the former 50m and 100m butterfly world record holder ,who shot to fame following the controversial finish in the 100m butterfly at Beijing 2008 when he was touched into 2^nd place by Michael Phelps by just 100^th of a second, was an inspiration to the swimmers. He took time out from his own world Championship preparations to meet with all of the swimmers, chat with them on a one to one basis, host a questions and answers session, posed for photos with them and signed T shirts etc. 

Dover Lifeguards continued to test out their younger swimmers last weekend when they took the youngest ever team to Canterbury to take part in the Ashford Development Gala,

The evening produced some fine swims with 1^st place finishes for Luis Corbo (11/u breast, 10/u fly), Joe Bailey (12/u fly), Lee Sheppard (9/u breast, 9/u back), Poppy Carr (9/u back), Sophie Card (12/u breast), James Smith (18/u IM), and Alfie Herrington (9/u Fly). These results were supported with good 2^nd place performances from India Ribbans (18/u back) Sian Leech (9/u free), Ryan Waters 9/u free), Harry Thirkettle ( 10/u IM), Emily Baldwin (11/u back), Harry Bartram (11/u Back), Sadie Smith (10/u fly, 11/u free), and Chris Clarke (12/u Back). There were speeding tickets ( medals of honour when the time restrictions are broken) for Callum Haywood (18/u back 32.88), Sophie Card (12/u IM 1.26.02), Joe Bailey ( 12/u IM 1.29.42), Josh Morgan (15/u fly 35.09), Megan Curtis (18/u breast 40.40), and Freddie Campbell (11/u free 38.42).

In the relay events the team showed some true class with 1^st places for the 9/u free team of Sian Leech, Lee Sheppard, Poppy Carr and Ryan Waters and the 9/u medley team (all the same swimmers as freestyle relay with Alfie Herrington replacing Ryan Waters in this event). The squadron relay which is the climax of the night was comfortably won by the Dover team as they led from start to finish with fine swims from Helen Smith, Sadie Smith, Rosie Kilmurray, Sophie Card, Brooke Amos, Megan Curtis, Lee Sheppard, Luis Corbo, Harry Bartram, Joe Bailey, Max Pettifer and James Smith. 

The team had swum well but as they were fielding a very young team they had to settle for 3^rd place on the night. “ this was a good result when you consider we had swimmers swimming up to 4 years out of their age group in some cases and still delivering personal best times and points for the team. We will use this young squad to build the future elite squads for this area”

Individual awards went to,  Best girl-Megan Curtis, Best Boy- Max Pettifer and Best Overall - Sophie Card.

Last weekend Dover lifeguard swimmer and Sir Roger Manwoods pupil Katie Katham flew out to Dublin as part of the English schools team. The gala was the annual WISE ( Wales, Ireland, Scotland, England) school’s international event and Katie was lucky enough to be selected to swim in 2 individual events and 2 relays.  Katie had a superb weekend and is she was suffering from nerves, none were on display as she looked controlled and performed well at such a high level gala.  Katie grabbed 4^th place in the 100m backstroke, and led the 100 freestyle for the first 30m but her inexperience of long course competition showed as she was just pushed into 2^nd place in a very tight finish.

In the relay events Katie was placed on the Anchor leg (last leg) of both and she looked impressive as she demonstrated why she is such a great team player as she over turned a deficit in both the medley and freestyle events to take the England team to 1^st place in both races.  Katie returned home to Deal with 2 gold medals and 1 Silver, which is an impressive haul from her international debut. 

(Katie is on the left in the photo)

After finishing off the Kent Championships on a high, the youngsters of Dover Lifeguard’s squad attended the Terry Rossiter Memorial Gala at Margate with fundraising and fun firmly on the agenda.

Terry Rossiter was head coach at Margate swimming club for over 20 years and fought a brave battle against Cancer over the last few years with the help of the Pilgrims Hospice, but ultimately lost his fight last year. This gala was held in Terry’s memory and the Lifeguards embraced the idea of a fun night of swimming by attending in full Pirate fancy dress. The size of the Dover squad also meant that they fielded 2 teams with both sharing the swimmers and all of the club’s development swimmers taking part in a gala where the last thing on anyone’s mind was winning. The focus was firmly on having fun in Terry’s memory and everyone in attendance joined in with Mexican waves and loud music playing and a novelty relay at the end to include the whole Rossiter family , including Terry’s baby grandson.

The swimmers on both Dover teams were able to produce many good swims throughout the night, but by the end of the evening there were 3 clear winners, Margate swimming club had amassed the highest number of points , so won the gala. The Dover team won the best fancy dress, but the biggest winner was the Pilgrims Hospice who gained around £1500 from the evening of fun and swimming with money still coming in and the total not finalised yet.

Swimmers representing Dover were Ally Corbo, Luis Corbo, Sam Fidock, Harry Bartram, Lee Sheppard, Alfie Herrington, Freddie Campbell, Joe Bailey, Ed Smith, Chris Clarke, Ben Fidock , Max Pettifer, Matt Austin, Evan Waters, Matt Farran, Joe Denton, Harry Thirkettle, Ryan Waters, Jakub Tarchowski, Robin Craft, Kieron Menniss, Josh Morgan, Callum Haywood , Sian Leech, Sadie Smith, Helen Smith, Poppy Carr, Lauren Challenger, Emily Baldwin, Zelie Quinn, Rosie Kilmurray, Sophie Card, Sophie Waller, Megan Curtis, India Ribbans, Sarah Quinn, Alice Latham, Megan Basford, Megan Lee, Sophie Tills, Katie Latham, Ella Bateman, Ashleigh Menniss, Katie Fidock, Chloe Donaldson, Danika Mote, Gemma Lawson, Milly Furneaux, Ashleigh Oram, Tasha Hyde.

The final weekend of competition at this year’s Kent Championships saw the Dover team in the kind of form that nay club in the country would love to boast. On Saturday morning  the team had swimmers in 11 events and by the close of the session the ‘guards had taken 12 medals, 6 of which were gold, 3 silver medals, a 100% personal best rate  a number of National and South east region qualifying times .

Mollie Allen started the day with a fine 6 second pb in the 200 breast (3.06.02) to take 5^th place with Team mate Sophie Waller producing an impressive 4 second pb to take the gold in 2.53.49.

9 year old Alfie Herrington showed real promise for the future with a hat trick of Gold medals and pb’s in the 100 IM , 200 IM and 50 Butterfly.  Dover’s other 9 year old,  Lee Sheppard took Silver in all 3 events and grabbed the BAGCAT award for 9 year olds , giving an indication of the quality of the development programme at the club having 2 youngsters taking ist and 2^nd in so many events. Evan Waters continued with his good form with 2^nd in the 100 IM and 200 IM and 4^th in the 50 Fly. Matt Farran smashed the illusive 30 second barrier on the 50 back to take 5^th place and team mate Lewis young romped to new best time of 32,92 in his heat. Megan Basford grabbed a SER QT in the 200 freestyle with a massive 5 sec pb (2.14.25) with Katie Latham continuing her destruction of all comers as she took 1^st place in her age group, junior and open with a time of 2.05.84. Sophie Waller looked in control throughout as she gained a National Qualifying time in the 100 Fly, taking the gold medal on the way with a time of 1.09.00.

The great performance continued throughout the day with Lewis Young pushing to a faster time in the 100 FS of 58.39. Megan Basford grabbed another SER QT in the 50 FS (28.99) as did team mate Devon Amos (28.29)with the girls 3^rd and 1^st respectively. Katie Latham Then grabbed more gold in the 50 freestyle with a time of 27.34. Sophie Waller rounded the day off with a 2^nd place in the 200 back –her least favourite event but she still took a massive 11 seconds off of her time in 2.34.53.

On Sunday the relay events took place and in the morning Dover’s Boys produced some good swims against tough opposition, they all swam near or on their best times and the 13/14 freestyle team of Callum Haywood, Evan waters, Josh Morgan and James smith  swam well to reach the final.

In the afternoon the Lifeguard’s depth of girls was evident as they had teams in every event. The 16/u Medley and freestyle teams of Katie Latham, Devon Amos, Megan Basford and Megan Lee swept all before them as they took the gold medals in both events to bring the massive shields home to Dover. Every girls relay team reached the final, with every girl contributing to the most successful Kent Championships relay day for the ‘guards in many years. Every team bar one finished with a top 3 placing and the other team was only just narrowly pushed into 4^th place in a very tight finish. The Dover girls were impressive in the way they demonstrated how to swim as a team. In addition to the girls already listed there were awesome performances from- Milly Furneaux, Megan Curtis, Gemma Lawson, Tasha Hyde, Brooke Amos, Mollie Allen, Sophie Card , Sophie Waller and Sarah Quinn.

“ this is the best weekend we have ever had at the Kent Championships and the results that this whole team have produced have placed us in our highest placing for many years. This is indicative of the swimmers hard work in training and the dedication of the team of volunteer coaches have helped contribute to this success. We finish the Kent’s on a high and now look forward to the SER and Nationals”

Over the 3rd weekend of competition in the Kent Championships there were more stunning performances from the Dover team.

Club Captain Lewis Young was again in good form as he stormed to a massive 11 second personal best and 6th place in the 400 IM, he recovered from this swim to grab a 5 second pb and 3rd place in the 400 freestyle, narrowly missing a South east Region Qualifying time. Evan Waters was on form also as he took 3rd in the 50 Bk in a time of 32.32, 2nd in the 200 Fly, 5th in the 200 bk with a 3 sec pb and 7th in the 100 freestyle. Katie Latham continued her surge to the top of the rankings with 2nd places in the 100 Bk (1.05.25 NQT), 200 IM (2.26.30) and 50 Br (35.09). She then grabbed a massive 3 second pb in the 100 breast with a time of 1.15.79 to become Kent Champion and take home the Gold medal.

Sophie Waller produced some great swims over the weekend with personal best almost every time she raced. She was 4th in the 50 bk(34.97), 3rd 50 Fly (32.34), 2nd   in the 100 freestyle( 1.04.53), 50 freestyle(30.26) and 100 IM (1.12.83). She then became Kent champion for 3 events. She took Gold in the 400 IM (5.22.84), 50 Br(38.95) and 200 IM (2.33.60).

Megan Basford (Photo) found the form she has been promising in training as she produced personal best times in every swim over the weekend. Megan was 13th in the 50 breast (38.78), 9th in the 200 IM (2.31.26), 6th in the 100 freestyle (1.01.24) and 100 breast( 1.20.06) and 1st in the 100 back (1.07.22). Devon Amos was 8th in the 100 freestyle (1.01.50) and she was 2nd in the 100 back (1.07.76). New comer Sophie Card did not let the high octane atmosphere of her first high level meet phase her as she recorded 32.32 in the 50 breast. Milly Furneaux showed her superb style as she produced 1st place in the 50 breast (35.08) and 2nd in the 100 breast ( 1.17.71) both new personal best times. Alice Latham Followed her team mate home in bth races to take 6th in both the 50 Breast (37.84) and 100 breast (1.22.00). Tasha Hyde overcame a recent bout of flu to take a new best time and finish 5th in the 50 breast, Mollie Allen was 2nd in the 13 year age group with a time of 39.20 and Brooke Amos produced a good swim to grab a personal best in the 50 back with a time of 37.28.One of the best performances of the weekend came from another of Dover’s young boys, Alfie Herrington (Photo) who at 9 years old joins Team mate Lee Sheppard as the club’s joint youngest Kent Champion this year. Alfie looked impressive as he romped to victory in the 50 backstroke with a new personal best time of 43.19, taking the gold medal home, he was also looking on track for the 200 back gold as he lead comfortably but unfortunately he messed up a turn and was disqualified.

“The Dover team are showing that hard work and determination can pay dividends and with only one more weekend of competition to go, we are well placed in the club points league”

Dover Lifeguard’s continued to deliver impressive results at  the 2^nd weekend of the Kent Championships. On Saturday Sophie Waller delivered another gold medal when she cruised to 1^st place in the 12 year old girls 800 freestyle, becoming Dover’s latest Kent Champion.

On Sunday the men's open freestyle relay saw a determined swim from the team of Matt Farran, Callum Haywood, Evan Waters and Lewis Young as they finished 8^th.  9 year old Lee Sheppard (Photo) had a good day as he finished 4^th in the 50 back, and he then produced a fine swim to become Dover’s youngest champion as he took the gold medal in the 200 freestyle in a time of 2.53.97.

Kieron Menniss showed great determination as he grabbed a new personal best in the 50 breast with a time of 41.06 to finish 7^th. Evan Waters grabbed 3^rd in the 50 breast, 8^th in the 200 freestyle, and 6^th in the 100 back and then clocked a new pb in the 400 IM with a time of 5.03.73.

Sophie Waller continued her near domination of the 12 year age groups as she became Kent Champion in the 200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke. Gemma Lawson performed well as she continued her recovery from illness with new pb’s in the 50 fly and 50 back. Megan Basford saw her hard work in training paying off as she grabbed a new pb in the 50 back to reach the final. She finished 1^st in her age group and also took 4^th overall in the final. She then took 4^th in the 50 fly , with another pb and then grabbed 3^rd with a fine swim in the 200 back and a massive 4 second pb of 2.27.72.  Devon Amos was as impressive as she took 2^nd place in her age group in the 50 back and the 50 fly ,both personal best times and she then grabbed 2^nd place just ahead of her team mate Megan in the 200 back with a time of 2.27.69.

Katie Latham was impressive as she delivered a new event best performance in the 50 back in the heats, she then lifted the bar higher with an even faster time to take gold with another event best performance to be crowned Kent Champion in the 50 back with a time of 30.19. She then took 5^th in the 50 fly with a new personal best of 31.20.

Alice Latham and Megan Curtis grabbed new PB’s in the 50 fly with a time’s of 34.08 and 33.04 respectively. Mollie Allen took 4^th place in the 100 breast with another new pb of 1.28.04. The ladies open freestyle 4x 100m relay team of Devon Amos, Megan Basford, Megan Lee and Katie Latham were awesome as they finished a very close 2^nd as the Kent record time was very nearly beaten. Each of the girls delivered new personal best times to push all the way to finish 2^nd by a very close margin.

Coach Tim Hyde enthused “ the determination of this team of youngsters to succeed is impressive, The sky is the limit for them if they continue in this vein, our list of Kent Champions just gets bigger and bigger and we look forward to the coming weeks of competition”

The first weekend of the Kent county Championships produced a fine start for the Lifeguard’s . On Saturday the 1500m freestyle was held at the long course pool at Crystal Palace and Dover’s only competitor, captain Lewis Young, showed impressive form as he took 18 seconds off of his previous best time to take the bronze medal with a time of 18.03.

Sunday saw the ladies 4 x 100 medley relay and the Dover team of Devon Amos, Megan Lee, Sophie Waller and Katie Latham put in a strong performance but were just edged into 4^th place in the final in a very close finish. Lewis Young was then back in action in the 200 freestyle and he maintained his stunning form when he recorded a 4 second personal best time of 2.06.19 and take the silver medal. In the ladies 100 backstroke Sophie Waller clocked a new best time of 1.18.72 to finish 12^th. In the ladies 100 butterfly there were some good swims from the Guard’s. Tasha Hyde(16yrs) was 9^th,Megan Lee 10^th (15yrs) and Katie Latham 6^th ( 14 yrs). Evan Waters took the bronze medal in the 200 breaststroke with a 4 second personal best time of 2.45.42 and Sophie Waller romped to victory to take the gold medal and be crowned Kent Champion in the 400 freestyle with a new best time.

The afternoon session had the men's 400 medley relay and the Dover team finished 5^th with fine swims from Mathew Farran, Evan Waters, Lewis Young and Callum Haywood. Alice Latham and Megan Lee both recorded new best times in the 200 breaststroke with Alice finishing 4^th and Megan taking the gold and becoming Dover’s 2^nd Kent Champion of the day. Mathew Farran grabbed a new PB (personal best) in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1.06.25. Evan Waters took 6^th place in the 100 butterfly despite being just off his best time. In the ladies 100 IM  Megan Basford (1.13.26 ) and Devon Amos (1.10.23) recorded new best times to finish 15^th and 7^th respectively. Megan Lee finished 9^th and Katie Latham raced into the final and led from start to finish to clock up a new best time of 1.07.39 and take the gold medal.  Dover now had 3 Kent Champions, which is impressive for the first weekend of competition. Sophie Waller was 3^rd in the 200 butterfly and Lee Sheppard showed real promise narrowly missing first place by 2 100ths of a second in the 50 freestyle but still impressed as he took the silver medal in the 9 year age group .In the 50 freestyle there were also good swims from Callum Haywood who was just off his best and team mate Evan Waters clocked a new PB of 27.31.

This is a great start to the championships and over the coming weeks we can look forward to more impressive performances .

The all new Zonal competition was held at the Crystal Palace pool over the last weekend and Dover were one of the few Kent clubs to have swimmers gain entry times. This competition sits just below the national championships and was a good test for the ‘guards as the 3 regions were taking part, London, South East and South West regions.

In the 200 freestyle Katie Latham finished 11^th with a just below par swim with team mate Sophie Waller 25^th, Katie then finished 10^th in the 100 Back, just missing out on a final place. Megan Basford produced a PB for a long course pool ( 50m pool) in the 100 Back. Megan Lee then put together a fine swim in the 200 IM to record a 2 second PB . Sophie Waller returned to form on her 100 butterfly and recorded a time of 1.11.71.

Katie Latham then swam well to qualify for the final of the 100 Freestyle as 5^th fastest.  She then produced a storming swim as she led from start to finish to take 1^st place which is a huge success at this level of competition.

Alice Latham showed great focus when she swam the 200 breaststroke, she kept a cool head and steadily increased her pace to win her heat with a massive 4 second personal best time of 2.58.48. Megan Lee then showed the same style as she came from behind to grab a 2 second PB coming very close to a national time in the process with a time of 2.47.50 to finish 11^th overall.

Sophie Waller had to dig deep and she finished  15^th in the 800 freestyle.

Katie Latham was again on form in the 50 freestyle when she raced to a final spot with the fastest qualifying time. She then blasted out the rest of the competitors as she took gold in 27.67.

The last 2 weekends has given the stars of the Dover Lifeguard squad the chance to shine for their schools in the Kent secondary schools gala at Medway park in Gillingham.

The ‘guards showed their dedication to training was paying off when the produced some stunning results.

For the boys Evan Waters impressed when he stormed to victory in the 200 IM with a new personal best time, earning a place in the Kent team that will be competing against Surrey on the 1^st of April. Josh Morgan grabbed a PB in the 100 Breast, and James Smith stepped up to the mark and recorded 1.03 for 100 FS, another good personal best time. The girls were also swimming well with Tasha Hyde 4^th  in the 100 Fly, Alex Clay and Gemma Lawson both taking new PB’s in the 100 FS, Ione Walker took 4^th place in the 100 FS. Devon Amos clocked up an impressive swim in the 100 Back with a time of 1.06.  Alice Latham was narrowly beaten into 2^nd place in the 100 Breast and twin sister Katie Latham continued her domination of freestyle with a comfortable win in the 100 freestyle.

Successes at Icebreaker Gala

Dover Lifeguard Club were  joint hosts with Canterbury at the first Open gala of the year at the Kingsmead pool last weekend.

The gala started on Friday evening with the 800 and 1500 freestyle and Pam Flisher secured an 8 second personal best time in the 800 to take the silver medal and team mate Lewis young grabbed a fine 13 second pb and took the gold medal. Robin Craft was 3rd in the 12/13yr age group and India Ribbans took gold in the 1500 freestyle with a fine swim.

Saturday morning saw the ‘guards swimmers producing more personal best times and taking medals. In the girls 100 breaststroke Megan Curtis and Megan Basford stormed to impressive personal bests with Megan Basford taking 4th place in the final. Team mate Milly Furneaux grabbed 2nd and Alice Latham 3rd.The boys  100 back saw Matt Farran reach the final to finish 6th in a new personal best time with Joe Bailey also reaching the final in the 10/11 age group with a 3 sec pb. There were also personal bests from Callum Haywood and Robin Craft.

The girls 200 backstroke saw all of the Dover swimmers record personal best times. Mollie Allen, Ebony Wright , Devon Amos and Megan Basford  stormed to new best times with some impressive performances. The boys 200 breaststroke saw Edward Smith take a massive 7 second personal best. Ebony Wright pushed hard on the 400 freestyle and grabbed a 9 second personal best. The girls saw Megan Lee, Megan Curtis, Megan Basford, Devon Amos and Alice Latham produce great displays of sprint swimming to gain new personal bests. Sophie Card showed great potential as she started without a dive (she has not yet gained her competitive start award) but she came from behind the field ,who all had the advantage of a dive start to win her heat and a new personal best time. Devon Amos , Megan Lee and Megan Basford all reached the final with Devon taking the gold medal with another best time.

Joe Bailey continued his good form with new personal bests in the 100 fly and 100 freestyle and Alice Latham and Megan Basford looked impressive when they took big personal best times in the 200 IM.

Sunday started with the girls 200 breaststroke, Mollie Allen grabbed a 5 second pb, Alice Latham took 4th place , Megan Basford 6th and Megan Lee took the race by storm when she overturned the rankings to lead from start to finish and record a 3 second pb. Alfie Herrington powered to a 14 second pb in the 200 backstroke to take the gold medal. Josh Morgan was 6th in the 100 breaststroke final, Megan Lee was 2nd in the 100 fly and Tasha Hyde 4th in the 16/over butterfly final.

Lewis Young grabbed another personal best in the 400 freestyle, Joe Bailey took a new pb in the 50 freestyle and Callum Haywood snatched a Kent qualifying time with a new pb . Team Mate Lee Sheppard took a silver medal with a new best time.

In the girls 100 freestyle lice Latham, Ebony Wright Megan Basford and Megan Curtis all gained new pb’s Devon Amos continued her massive surge in form to take a new pb and she then went on to take gold in the final. There was second place for Megan Basford and 4th for Tasha Hyde. Joe Bailey took more best times in the 200 IM and 200 freestyle. Mollie Allen Ebony Wright and Devon Amos brought more personal best times in the 100 back.

The overall personal best rate for the Lifeguards was around 50% and considering the impact that the recent bad weather has had ,leading to training cancellations this is a good performance.