DROITWICH Dolphins smashed all opposition to gain promotion to Division 2 in the National Arena Swimming League.
In the final round of races the Dolphins were up against the other top four teams from Division 3 West, Bromsgrove, Cheadle, Haden Hill, and Solihull A. All were hoping to gain one of the top two spots which would guarantee promotion.
The Dolphins were in excellent form, and brought out all the stops, improving 98 per cent of their times from the previous two rounds to win the gala by an impressive thirty-seven points to claim top spot over all.
The team achieved 21 victories, 11 second and 11 third place finishes out of 50 events.
For the second gala running the most dominant performance came from the Open Ladies team who again did not drop a single point all night.
Ruth Hadley lead the way with victories in the 200m Individual Medley, 100m Backstroke and 100m Breast, Rebecca Hadley won the 100m Butterfly and 100m Freestyle, Anja Kristy and Georgia Appleton supported them to win the 4 x 50m Medley relay and they were joined by Elize Smith and Ashleigh Turner to claim victory in the penultimate event of the night, the 6 x 50m Freestyle Relay.
The boys 11 under team were also on impressive form, only dropping one point on the night, with wins for Will Hughes in the 50m Butterfly and Freestyle and for Patrick Florendo in the 50m Backstroke. They were joined by Ross Clark and Harry Grech to win both their 4 x 50m Medley and Freestyle Relays.
Head Coach Chris Hadley joined the team to celebrate their achievement, “This was a fantastic result for such a small club and is a credit to all the swimmers who have competed for the team claiming victory in all three rounds.”
“This is a real boost for the swimmers and shows them all what can be achieved with hard work and determination. They are all a credit to Droitwich Dolphins Swimming Club.”
Other impressive performances on the night went to Huw Hillson who won the boys 15/Under 100m Breaststroke and 100m Butterfly. George Grech won the 100m Breaststroke in the 13/Under age group where Guy Duffy, Oliver McCullough and Alex Munro joined him to win both their 4 x 50m Medley and Freestyle relays. Ashleigh Turner won the girls 100m Backstroke in the 15/ Under age group and Aaron Biddle won the 100m Backstroke for the men’s Open team.
Aaron was joined by Tom Evans, Chris Jenkinson, and Tim Quiney to win the 4 x 50m Medley Relay and by George Grech and Huw Hillson to claim a great victory in the final event of the night the 6 x 50m Freestyle Relay.
Dolphins return to training in January in preparation for the Worcestershire County Championships and the West Midland Regional Championships in April.
