Soundwell Swimming Club

Gloucester Sprint Meet Report

2016-09-01T10:11:00+01:00

This weekend was the first open meet of the season for Soundwell swimming club. It was full of excited swimmers ready to get back into the swing of racing after the summer break. There was a great turn out from all squads totalling 58 swimmers, which led to soundwell coming third in overall points. The girls scoring 1482 just beat the boys with a score of 1417 points.
With this being the first competition of the season all swam beyond expectation with many swimmers being on or under personal best times. This was exceptional performance from all the swimmers and leaves me with expectations for the season to come.

Jon Wills
Soundwell swimming club

"you must practice perfection before you can achieve perfection"

Fast 5 Meet Report

2016-07-04T09:28:00+01:00

-The final regional level competition of the year was held this Sunday at the GL1 leisure centre in Gloucester. The meet consisted of five individual races, all four 50m events and the 100 IM. With all regional qualifiers invited to compete, it promised a high level of competition.

There was a big emphasis on the process of racing within this meet and not on the final outcome, times came secondary to swimming smart. With lots of emphasis put on turn speed and under water phases all swimmers managed to achieve a goal on every swim.

Soundwell swimmers performed at an exceptional level yet again and took home two gold medals for Heather Witcombe 14yrs & Sophia Sotreiou 11/12yrs, two silver medals for Jasmine Stone 15yrs & Sam Taylor 11/12yrs and finally a Bronze medal for Jake Turner 11/12yrs.

A special mention should go out to those who have achieved their first regional medal, as this is a major achievement at a high level of competition and shows their ability over all stoke disciplines.

With the level of performance from all our swimmers within this meet, I as a coach feel very proud for the hard work and dedication that our swimmers put into every session, and long may it continue.

Jon Wills
Head Coach

"The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure"- Vince Lombardi

Bristol Central Development Gala Meet Reoprt

2016-07-04T09:26:00+01:00

The Bristol Central development gala was the first gala for many of the swimmers from C and D squad. The night started off with lots of very nervous swimmers and but with the support of our older swimmers; Alice Kerslake, Neve Foreshaw, Millie Wreathrall King and Amber Perry their nerves soon went away. We had whole stack of PB’s and lots of smiley faces by end of the evening. The parents looked really pleased and incredibly proud of their children. It was the first time that some of them had dived from the starting blocks and competed in a race.

There was a great atmosphere on poolside, we had new volunteers helping the club and the event run smoothly. Laura Miles (Danny and Josh Miles Mum) and Sharon Bryan (Maya’s Mum) stepped up and took charge as Chaperones and they did a brilliant job of organising the swimmers ready for their races. Karen and I really appreciated their hard work on a busy night.

Dave and George Clements took on the role of club official and timekeeper. They both did a really super job of recording all the race times which we will share on the website.

Karen and I would like to thank all the parents’/carers’ who came to support the Soundwell swimmers, hopefully it will be the first of many more galas to come.

Best wishes

Claire and Karen

Soundwell Level 3 Meet Report

2015-12-02T14:25:00+00:00

The weekends is over and Soundwell’s second ‘County Qualifier’ is done and dusted.

A massive thank-you goes to the Referees, officials, coaches, chaperones and volunteers, many of whom once again gave up their entire weekend, to support the meet and for keeping everything running so smoothly. It goes without saying that without such support the meet simply would not have happened.

Thanks also go to Gloucester City for coming to the rescue when the GL1 equipment was causing some issues with the smooth running of the meet on Saturday. However once sorted the rest of the meet ran without issue and ultimately the weekend was a great success.

All the swimmers were a credit to their clubs and produced some excellent swimming. Everyone present over the weekend created a great atmosphere and it was pleasing to get people saying they enjoyed the meet...I certainly enjoyed it, although it did get a little chilly in the box at times.

As mentioned above we received many compliments over the weekend on how people had enjoyed the meet so let’s hope we can keep building the support base within the club to continue staging the meet for many years to come…your help really is invaluable.

Last but not least, apologies must go to Thomas Pooler who, due to a slight error on my behalf, was unable to compete in the 50 Free on Sunday.

Darren

Arena R2 A team report

2015-11-16T11:56:00+00:00

Round two of the national arena league for Soundwell A team was at Millfield. With yet another competitive draw left Soundwell with a tough job on their hands.
With delight Soundwell still managed to pull through and place a very respectable 3rd place behind Swim Swansea and City of Cardiff. Gaining another 4 gala points, it left all in anticipation to the outcome for the rest of the galas to play out through out the day.
Unfortunately Soundwell A just missed out on the regional A final by 20 points. However we enter the regional B final in poll position. We still have a tough gala on our hands with the likes of Exeter city on our tail.
I am extremely please with the performance of all our swimmers in both the A and B team and look forward to the final.

Jon Wills
Head Coach

Arena R2 B Team Report

2015-11-16T11:43:00+00:00

The 2nd round for our B team was over the bridge in Newport.
With great facilities and a quick pool, but unfortunately on the day a few DQ's cost us a first place finish.
A disputed disqualification on a relay take over, which we had won the race by a good 10 metres. I was stood directly behind the blocks and could clearly see the take overs and as I explained to the referee you can start to move from the blocks as long as your feet are still in contact with the block but to no avail. With only 7 points between 1st place Tornadoes of Dorset, 2nd Dawlish and us finally finishing in 3rd place position t was a very close fought gala.
An extremely harsh decision as our swimmers really showed a fantastic team spirit as it came down to the wire.
I have to mention Lucy watts who showed what it is to be a captain encouraging all especially with our younger swimmers.
Well done to everyone who took part some great racing.
Thank you to our officials for there support, Lou foster and Ashley Barnett pool side and just another day for me to be so proud of our great team SOUNDWELL SC.

Julian Lewis

Gloucester Sprint Meet Report

2015-09-21T10:17:00+01:00

Sunday 20th September 2015
GL1 Leisure Centre

With the warm up of the Challenge shield on the previous day Soundwell swimming club were well into the swing of competition. With a mix of all four 50's, 100 IM and relays, it gave all a chance to get some early personal best times, which came in abundance from across all ages and strokes . With those PB's came a stack of Gold, Silver and Bronze medals which made Soundwell the top visiting club with a total of 3,373 points. This performance again reiterates the hard work that all have put into the first few weeks of training, long may it continue.

Jon Wills
Head Coach

Henleaze Challange Shield Report

2015-09-21T09:59:00+01:00

Saturday 19th September 2015
Horfield Leisure Centre

Soundwell produced some great performances at the Henleaze challenge shield this year. Swimmers produced personal best times off the back of only a few weeks of hard distance training, which leaves them in great condition for the upcoming season. Unfortunately though after a close run race throughout the whole gala Soundwell came a close second.
There was also a great turn out from parents showing their support for the whole club especially in some of the relays. A special mention should go out to the officials that helped out at the Gala as the home club showed its appreciation.
Great effort and turn out by all!

Jon Wills
Head Coach

Gloucester County Champions 2015

2015-03-15T13:12:00+00:00

2 Swimmers Qualify for British Championships

2014-12-22T15:04:00+00:00

Congratulations to 13 year old Ella Theobald who has qualified for the 50 metres freestyle and 15 year old Will Cole who has qualified in 11 events for the 2015 British Championships to be held at the London Aquatics Centre. Event winners will represent Great Britain at the European Junior Championships, the Youth Olympic Festival and the World Championships.

More information can be found here.

Top 50 in the UK

2014-12-17T08:53:00+00:00

Soundwell Swimming Club have made history after competing in the National Arena Western League Premier Division Final for the first time.

The National Arena Swimming League has 400 teams participating in 7 Regions around the Country.

The South Gloucestershire club finished 7th out of 64 teams in the South West of England and Wales. This ranks them top 50 in the UK and is the best performance by any Gloucester County club for more than a decade.

The B Team also performed with distinction in Western division 2 at Horfield, winning their final gala with an impressive 17 point margin to finish 9th overall in the league.

With Olympians like Ruta Meilutyte and James Guy, along with European Junior and Youth Olympic swimmers regularly competing for large City, Town and School club’s; Soundwell’s remarkable rise throughout 2 divisions over the past five years to sit at the top of the Western Region’s Premier Division is a phenomenal achievement.

Head Coach Matt Puddy said: ‘’To make the Western Final was a proud moment for our club. Our swimmers, coaching team and management committee deserved this result. I would like to congratulate everyone involved.’’

Final positions: Plymouth Leander 324, Millfield School 302, City of Cardiff 219, Swansea Aquatics 248, Swim Bournemouth 176, Taunton Deane 174, Soundwell 170, Bridgend County 136

Soundwell L3 County Qualifier

2014-12-01T16:04:00+00:00

What a fantastic weekend for Soundwell Swimming club and our first ‘County Qualifier’ open meet. Congratulations and many thanks to our team for organising the meet and working extremely hard to bring this all together.

A big thank you to the Referees, officials, coaches, chaperones and volunteers, many of whom gave up their entire weekend, to support our meet and for keeping everything running so smoothly. A special thanks goes out to Claire Kerslake, ‘the voice of Soundwell’, who took on one of the most challenging roles and was a star. To put it simply, without ALL our volunteers this meet could not have gone ahead.

The weekend again showed the commitment of our head coach by taking the lead competitors Marshall role for the weekend. However roles such as this are where we will need volunteers to take the lead in future in order for Matt to concentrate on the coaching of our children.

Many complements were received from both parents and visiting coaches saying just how much their children and swimmers had enjoyed the meet and how well run it had gone. One club was quoted as saying it was the best meeting they had attended in years..!! The atmosphere around the pool really was special and is something that was evident throughout the entire weekend.

And on to the children… All important times, PB's, trophies and speeding tickets were gained, but more than anything else the smiling faces and camaraderie really stood out. Our club is currently at an all time high and collectively WE must keep this ball rolling forward. Therefore, to get the very best for your children the club needs you.

We encourage all parents to please come forward and be part of your children's future success. Volunteers, Chaperones, Officials, Committee Members, all contributions are invaluable. A list has gone on the notice board to sign up so please come forward to help nurture and invest in your children's development.

I look forward to your support and thanks for making this weekend a success.

Success breeds success,
Julian Lewis

Mini Series Table 2014

2014-10-22T09:00:00+01:00

Following the clubs fourth win from five rounds on Saturday 18th October, Soundwell SC have won the 2014 Mini Series. Congratulations to Paul Laughey, his team of volunteers and every swimmer involved.

Position	Club	Gala Points	Series Points
1st	Soundwell	1099	29
2nd	Severnside Tritons	1041	26
3rd	Clevedon	854	19
4th	Keynsham	574	10
5th	BishopsCentral	517	10
6th	Bristol North	449	8

9 Swimmers Selected for National County Team Championships

2014-10-18T08:30:00+01:00

Congratulations to Anna Soteriou, Ella Theobald, Evie Reed, Georgia Pirret, Jedd Woodruff, Joel Williams, Ben Phelps Will Cole and Connor Laughey who represented Gloucestershire County in the Inter-County Teams on Sunday 19th October 2014.

Henleaze Shield Triumph

2014-09-15T09:35:00+01:00

Soundwell Swimming Club won the Bristol Henleaze Shield at Horfield Leisure Centre for the third time in 5yrs on Saturday 13th September. The club opted to send a mixed squad with 20 of 50 events being swam by new swimmers. This provided an even playing field, as several of our opponents were missing junior swimmers who were competing at another gala on the same night. The club has only been back training for two weeks and emphasis is placed on training rather than competition and times. Many of our swimmers opted to wear training costumes which would of decreased their performance and encouraged them to work harder. Overall, our swimmers performed exceptionally well. We led from start to finish and had 19 event victories. Congratulations to everyone involved.

1st Soundwell 186
2nd Clevedon 160
3rd Weston Super Mare 157
4th Bristol Henleaze 148
5th Southwold 95

3 Swimmers Selected for England Programmes

2014-09-10T08:45:00+01:00

National Squad
Will Cole - November in Loughborough & January in Coventry
Anna Soteriou - November in Reading

Talent Identification
Freya Bradley - November in Bournemouth & January in Marlborough

*Age @ 31st December

Will Cole is Fastest Boy in South West History

2014-08-25T08:00:00+01:00

15yr old Soundwell Swimming Club member Will Cole now holds two ASA South West records - here.

ASA National Championships - Press Release

2014-08-18T09:00:00+01:00

This summer Soundwell Swimming Club went to the National Championships with 14 swimmers who had qualified for the country’s premier age, youth and senior swim meet. Bethan Tomlinson, Georgia Pirret, Evie Reed, Anna Soteriou, Ben Tompson, Joe Parker, Will Cole, Sam Lewis, Joel Williams and Jedd Woodruff all qualified for individual events. Hannah Evans, Jorji Longdon, Luke Height and Connor Laughey all qualified as part of the clubs first youth relay teams. The South Gloucestershire club also assisted with the preparation of its University/College members; James Dawe, Will Harrison and Pixie Lale-Klasicki. Each swimmer did themselves and their club extremely proud and came away with some excellent swims and invaluable experience.

In the girls category, Evie Reed, 15, had a superb 100m butterfly to make her first ever semi-final and finish 9th. 16 year old Ben Thompson was back to his best to clock one of the teams fastest boys times. Ben also qualified for the 200m butterfly semi-final. Will Harrison and new recruit Pixie Lale-Klasicki both qualified for their respective finals. Will Cole who was recently selected for his first International meet in September set new personal bests and qualified for finals in several of his events. Will now ranks as one of the fastest junior boys in the country for the majority of strokes. In the 200 metres freestyle Will clocked 1.53.32 and broke his second ASA South West record.

Head Coach Matt Puddy said: “Overall, I am absolutely thrilled with the performances. This year we have doubled our number of National qualifiers and produced two National relay teams. We are without doubt one of the strongest teams in the South West and are now beginning to make an impact Nationally. As always, remember the more you put in, the more you get out.''

17 National Qualifiers

2014-07-28T12:58:00+01:00

Youth / Senior

Bethan Tomlinson (18yrs)

Georgia Pirret (17yrs)

Hannah Evans (16yrs)

Luke Height (17yrs)

Connor Laughey (17yrs)

Ben Thompson (16yrs)

Joe Parker (16yrs)

Evie Reed (15yrs)

Will Cole (15yrs)

Age Group

Jorji Longdon (14yrs)

Sam Lewis (13yrs)

Joel Williams (13yrs)

Jedd Woodruff (12yrs)

Anna Soteriou (12yrs)

Other

James Dawe - Loughborough Uni (20yrs)

Will Harrison - Bath Uni (19yrs)

Pixie Lale Klasicki - Millfield (18yrs)

Top Club at Gloucester City Level 3

2014-07-16T11:20:00+01:00

At the conclusion of the season, at GL1 Leisure Centre in Gloucester. Soundwell Swimming Club were declared top club at the Gloucester City Level 3 Open Meet, beating nearest team Ledbury & District to the title by 335 points. The result was helped by some fantastic performances from Freya Bradley (Top female overall), Katie Clements (16yr winner), Ollie Johnson (15yr winner), Maddie Barnett (15yr winner) and Ella Theobald (13yr winner).

79 swimmers from South Gloucestershire's premier swim team took part in the two day competition. The club dominated the event from the off and every member swam extremely well. Several new C & D squad swimmers were also present and had an extremely successful weekend.

The clubs thanks goes to Louise Foster who spent an incredible 20hrs poolside chaperoning the swimmers. Steve Witcombe, Simon Foster, Rob Ireland and Jacqui Mackenzie also all passed their Judge 1.