The BSSC Arena League team have promotion in their sights this season and their campaign started in style with an emphatic win in round 1! The annual National Arena Swimming League (NASL) is the premier swimming league in England and Wales, with nearly 400 teams and over 16,000 swimmers racing in individual and relay events across three rounds of fast and noisy competition. Pre-covid, BSSC competed in the Premier Division of the London league and in 2019 had maintained their position finishing 12th. The 2020 league was cancelled due to Covid and in 2021 BSSC did not have the capacity to compete so had to withdraw from the league, meaning a re-entry into Division 2 in 2022 and a desire to battle their way back up to the Premier Division!
Round 1 was contested at the Hertfordshire Sports Village and the BSSC team were racing against Harpenden, Hertford, Hillingdon C, Hoddesdon and Saxon Crown clubs across thirty four individual events and eight relays in four separate age categories. The BSSC team rose to the promotion challenge with top 3 finishes in 31 of the 34 individual events (16 victories!) and six 1st and two 2nd placed relay teams. The swimmers in the 16/Over category dominated the field winning all of their events and the BSSC team won round 1 with 217 gala points, 44 points ahead of their nearest rivals.
The 16 swimmers getting to the top of the podium were:
- 10/11 Yrs: Lois Fields 50m Backstroke
- 13/Under: Molly Greatbatch 100m Breaststroke
- 15/Under: Alice Longman 100m Freestyle, Ella Greatbatch 100m Breaststroke, Jacob Hayes 100m Backstroke, Kirsty Neill 100m Butterfly
- 16/Over: Alex Catton 100m Backstroke, Callum Cox 100m Freestyle, Callum Davis 100m Breaststroke & 100m Butterfly, Emma Fields 100m Butterfly, Laura Burgess 100m Freestyle, Lauren Gore 100m Breaststroke, Niamh James 200m IM & 100m Backstroke, Jake Lloyd 200m IM
Round 2 happens early November with the same events, but a new set of club opponents and another great result will secure them a final fight for promotion in round 3 in December.
Thanks to all who supported the team on the night, in particular coaches Benoit Grattepanche, Laure Grattepanche & Joe Collins, Team Managers Sarah Neill & Darren Gore and officials Claire Fields & Steve Burgess.
Full Round 1 team:
9-11 Yrs: Adeline Chan, Emilia Cass, Lois Fields, Guy Spearman-Baines, Noah Conroy, Zackary Haslett-Fossey
13/Under: Bobbie Macdonald-Williams, Felice Chan, Molly Greatbatch, Zoe Opiyo, Dylan Davenport, Ethan David-Tostevin, Samuel Bird
15/Under: Alice Longman, Ella Greatbatch, Imogen Tang, Kirsty Neill, George Grimwood, George Taylor, Jacob Hayes, Robert Gor
16/Over: Emma Fields, Laura Burgess, Lauren Gore, Niamh James, Alex Catton, Callum Cox, Callum Davis, Jake Lloyd
