DEBEN Swimming Club dominated the Aldous Homes Trophy at their own Woodbridge pool at the weekend, their two sides sharing first place after a dramatic final relay.

DEBEN Swimming Club dominated the Aldous Homes Trophy at their own Woodbridge pool at the weekend, their two sides sharing first place after a dramatic final relay.

Instead of the usual A and B teams, Deben swimmers were mixed up and separated into the two teams of Deben Gold and Deben Black.

With both sides evenly matched throughout the competition, there were many first and second places from the Deben teams, with several races decided on the final touch.

It was neck-and-neck between Black and Gold throughout the evening, with only a few points separating the rival teams.

Eventually it was all to be decided on the final squadron relay, a 16-swimmer event in which both girls and boys from across the age groups take part from each team.

Deben Gold were lying slightly ahead on points at this stage and got off to a great start, taking an early lead in the last race. However, Deben Black fought back strongly towards the end of the relay to an eruption of cheering, bringing the team home with a nail-biting win.

This thrilling climax to the gala left the final scores all square for the two Deben teams, both finishing joint first with 193 points.

Elsewhere, Great Yarmouth finished in third place with 146 points, Felixstowe fourth with 117, Halstead fifth with 112 and Leiston sixth with 94.

There were some outstanding individual performances from Deben on the night with a total of 28 first positions going to the club.

Special mention must go the following Deben swimmers who not only won their races, but recorded personal best times as well - Mark Stevens, Lucy Adams, Adam Last, Ben Greenfield, James Attwater, Chloe Hembry, Ryan Smith and Owen Smith.