SWIMMING: A thrilling junior gala at Deben Pool saw Ipswich swimmers battling the Woodbridge side for points – and finally claiming just a two-point victory.

By Debbie Watson

SWIMMING

A THRILLING junior gala at Deben Pool saw Ipswich swimmers battling the Woodbridge side for points – and finally claiming just a two-point victory.

The dramatic recent event combined 50m sprints with 4x25m relay races and predominantly gave a competitive stage to novice youngsters.

Named the Gosling Junior Gala, the meet offered some spectacular swims throughout the night and saw personal bests smashed by a number of up and coming youngsters.

Until the closing stages spectators were left to guess the eventual winners, with Ipswich and Deben both well ahead of Lowestoft, West Suffolk and Oulton Broad.

It took the last few mixed relays to decide the final victor during a nail-biting closing session.

Ipswich eventually claimed the trophy by just two points with Deben as runner-up. The Ipswich girls coming out top, beating Deben by nine points, but the Deben boys got their own back by winning the boys event tally by five points with Ipswich as runner-ups.

Team points: 1st Ipswich 238 pts, 2nd Deben 236 pts, 3rd Lowestoft 198 pts, 4th Oulton Broads 175 pts and 5th West Suffolk 147 pts.

Further congratulations from this event belong to Peter Keeley and Chris Vinter, of Ipswich, who took and passed their timekeepers practical on this evening.

Girls Individual Results

10-year-olds – butterfly, 1st Kathryn Watson 47.29, backstroke, 1st Genevieve Clarke 44.98, breaststroke, 3rd Gemma Leggett 51.72, freestyle, 2nd Genevieve Clarke 41.93, 10/11 yrs medley relay 1st 1.23.67 and 10/11 yrs freestyle relay 1st 1.10.87.

11-year-olds – backstroke, 1st Grace Tricker 40.82, breaststroke, 1st Hannah Bailey 47.39, freestyle, 1st Alex Seal 37.71, butterfly, 1st Grace Tricker 47.80.

12-year-olds – breaststroke 5th Alex Seal 51.97, freestyle 5th Holly Barker 41.73, and backstroke, 5th Holly Baker 49.55.

13-year-olds – freestyle 2nd Sarah Gilson 33.54, butterfly, 1st Catherine Worsfold 37.93, backstroke, 1st Helen Powley 38.61, breaststroke, 1st Molly Rhodes 42.29. 12/13 yrs freestyle relay, 2nd 1.07.42 and medley relay 3rd 1.17.59.

Boys Individual Results

10-year-olds – butterfly, 2nd John Mason 46.97, backstroke, 2nd Daniel Sadler 48.84, breaststroke, 4th John Mason 55.85, freestyle, 3rd Brendon Marsh 41.80, 10/11 yrs medley relay 4th 1.32.83 and freestyle relay 2nd 1.14.40.

11-year-olds – backstroke, 2nd Brendon Marsh 47.71, breaststroke, 1st David Kershaw 48.57, freestyle, 2nd Sean Lynch 40.19, butterfly, 3rd Stuart Gilson 55.09.

12-year-olds – breaststroke, 3rd James Bigley 51.26, freestyle, 1st Keiron Long 38.29, butterfly, 1st James Bigley 43.34, backstroke, 4th Matthew Rutterford 48.40,

13-year-olds – freestyle, 1st Tom Taylor 33.50, butterfly, 4th Andrew Cleeve 42.52, backstroke, 1st Chris Taylor 36.35, breaststroke, 2nd Gavin Barker 44.49. 12/13 yrs freestyle relay 2nd 1.04.29 and medley relay 2nd 1.13.92. G/B Squadron 16 x 25m freestyle relay 2nd 4.35.86.