SWIMMING: Trophy time for Rugby Swimming Club

Rugby Swimming Club held their annual awards evening on Friday at the Railway Club in Hillmorton Road, attended by squad members and their families.

There was no red carpet, but everyone had certainly come dressed to impress.

The club has been going since 1971 with members aged from six to…..well it would be rude to say who, but some soon to enjoy a ‘special 50th’ birthday.

A delicious buffet and bar was enjoyed, as each member brought a plate of something. Maybe next year we should limit the sausage rolls to under 1,000!

This was followed by speeches from the club chairman, Simon Rigg, who, after welcoming everyone, thanked various members including Leisa House, Sandra Kelleher, Steve James, and Jon Seaton.

The swimmers were then all invited up to thank their parents and guardians for all their help and support over the year.

He went on to the prize giving, ably assisted by Club President Ross Turner, aptly enough, as these two were joined by Karen Taylor and Rachel Lloyd earlier this year in winning Rugby’s first ever Great Britain Master’s relay title.

This was one of a number of notable achievements in 2016, including Coventry and District trophy wins, National Open Water titles, for Rachel and Kelly Dughmosh and first final appearances in the Mercian and Leicester leagues, and culminating in promotion to the Arena Premier League.

# Trophies won by swimmers at the club championships in September/October were presented, with a fabulously supportive atmosphere being shown by the whole squad throughout the prize giving ceremony.

Prizes are based on a decathlon type scoring system to find the true all-rounder in each age group. Many swimmers came away with silverware:

AWARDS:

Best in age group:

Girls 8 yrs – 1st place, Lucy Carlyon

Boys 8 yrs – 1st place, Logan Wilson Shrubb, 2nd Finlay Lloyd, 3rd Noah Unwin

Girls 9yrs - 1st place Annabel Crees, 2nd Emma Jones, 3rd Elizabeth O’Brien

Boys 9yrs – 1st Alfie Hebb, 2nd Ben Carley 3rd Farrell Hennigan

Girls 10yrs – 1st Erin Lloyd, 2nd Ella Marlow, 3rd Yanna Villasis

Boys 10yrs – 1st Toby Marlow, 2nd Kieran Jarvis, 3rd William Stamp

Girls 11yrs – 1st Jessica Mackenzie, 2nd Anna Farrow, 3rd Harriet Troup

Boys 11yrs – 1st Max Green, 2nd Ben Aitchison, 3rd James Armeson

Girls 12yrs – 1st Lana Wilson-Shrubb, 2nd Charlotte O’Brien, 3rd Erin Moran

Boys 12 yrs – Mackenzie Patchett Smyth, 2nd Tom Tyler, 3rd, James Phillips

Girls 13yrs – 1st Ceri House, 2nd Hannah Webber, 3rd Cerys James

Boys 13yrs – 1st Daniel Carey, 2nd Barney Dudkowsky, 3rd Toby Rigg

Girls 14yrs – 1st Regan Walker, 2nd Lauren Phillips, 3rd Eva Rath-Juanola

Boys 14yrs – 1st Matthew Seaton, 2nd Ben Jones, 3rd Max Taylor

Girls 15yrs – 1st Megan Williams, 2nd Maddie Haywood, 3rd Holly Cochrane

Boys 15yrs - 1st Thomas Parker, 2nd Rhys James, 3rd Ross Turner

Most Improved:

The following swimmers won prizes for most improved, voted for by the coaches.

Ella Marlow was first followed by Anna Farrow, and Emma Jones for the girls and the boys were Barney Dudkowsky, Ben Jones and Max Taylor, in that order.

New captains and

vice captains:

New captains were announced for 2017, these again being picked by the coaches.

The successful candidates were:

Senior boys’ captain Jack Carey and vice-captain Ben Jones.

Senior girls’ captain Megan Williams and vice-captain Lucy House.

The junior boys’ captain was James Armeson and vice was Max Green

Junior girls’ captain was Jessica Mackenzie and vice-captain was Anna Farrow.

Team Player of the Year:

This was jointly awarded to Jon Seaton, for all his work on the Rugby Open, and the committee in general, and Sandra Kelleher, for her sterling work, as Membership and Open Meet secretary.

Attending the evening after completing his first year with us was head coach James Dyer. James and his team Tony Hall, Devesh Chohan, Rory Grealy were thanked by the Chairman, as without them the achievements of the swimmers would not be possible.

And not to mention the numerous poolside helpers who also give their time generously.

The celebratory atmosphere continued after the prize giving with a disco and games, which were thoroughly enjoyed by both swimmers and parents! In some cases a little too much by some of the parents, as competitive instincts had to be curtailed at times, Cat Rimen, as always, generally speaking keeping order.