Record turnout for swimming team

TEAMIPSWICH Swimming had a record attendance at their last additional training session before the start of the Suffolk County Championships. Last Saturday saw 50 Team Ipswich swimmers attend a special session on starts and turns with Head Coach Dave Champion, British record holder Zoe Cray and assistant coach Nikki Merril.

TEAMIPSWICH Swimming had a record attendance at their last additional training session before the start of the Suffolk County Championships.

Last Saturday saw 50 Team Ipswich swimmers attend a special session on starts and turns with Head Coach Dave Champion, British record holder Zoe Cray and assistant coach Nikki Merril.

With all the hard work almost done, the whole club is now ready to defend its double championship performance from last year, not an easy task as Dave Champion points out: “Last year was a surprise for everyone but this year everyone will expect to fight hard for every point.

There are some great clubs in Suffolk with some outstanding coaches so you can take nothing for granted.”

With 82 Team Ipswich swimmers taking part and over 618 events entered, the Championships look to be one of the most competitive ever.

There will be swimmers ranging from first time racers, with one event entered, through to Zoe Cray, who at 32 will be the oldest and most experienced swimmer in the pool. Cray said: “It's not about age, it's about enjoying the excitement of winning and having the desire to do what's required to make winning a race inevitable.

“I'm having fun in the pool every week and the team at Ipswich are exciting to be around.”

The Championships start next weekend at Crown Pools and cover three weekends.