In the news for November
Arena League Round Two
It was back to Burgess Hill on Saturday 8th November for Round 2 of the National Arena Swimming League, where the team delivered a strong performance to secure 4th place overall.
The night featured several standout swims, including a brilliant win from the Girls 11 & Under Freestyle Relay team of Hayley, Isabel, Joelliane and Prisha, whose speed and teamwork earned them a well-deserved first place. In the individual races, Ellie stormed to victory in the Girls 13 & Under 100m Backstroke, while Joelliane doubled up with a win in the Girls 11 & Under 50m Breaststroke.
The team now looks ahead to the final round on Saturday 6th December.
Atlantis Christmas Cracker 29th & 30th November
November was wrapped up in style as 38 swimmers descended on Horsham for the annual Christmas Cracker Gala. Over the course of 180 individual events, our team delivered an unforgettable weekend filled with high-energy racing, festive spirit, and impressive performances.
Seven Gold medals were won by Aaron, Hana, Lucas, Maria, and Shekinah. Alongside the Golds, our swimmers secured 20 Silver medals, 28 Bronze medals, and 13 ribbons for 4th to 6th places. This remarkable medal haul reflects the depth and determination of the club, earning us 5th place out of 18 competing teams. Notably, Ojays finished with the highest points-per-swimmer average across all clubs in attendance.
The gala saw an outstanding 72 new or improved Kent qualifying times (40% of all swims), with 12 of those being automatic times. In addition, there were 111 PB’s achieved, 62% of all swims, with 81% of the swimmers recording at least one PB. This reflects the incredible progress our club is making, with swimmers continuing to build momentum, as we set our sights on the County Championships early next year.
A standout moment was the success of three swimmers who took home the prestigious Top Gun trophy for being the fastest overall sprinter in their age groups across the 50m events:
- Hayley (11)
- Ben (14)
- Ali (16)
This is a remarkable achievement, and we are very proud of them.
Once again our fantastic team spirit was on full display, with unbeatable support for teammates, cheering each other on, and creating an electric environment from start to finish. A huge thank you to our team managers and officials for their hard work and dedication, helping to ensure the weekend ran smoothly. We couldn’t do it without you!
Well done Ojays, we are very proud of you all!
For those who want to relive the weekend’s action, a professional photographer captured all the best moments. Photos are available for viewing and purchase here.
Volunteer News
None of what we achieve with our swimmers would be possible without the dedication of our parent volunteers. A warm welcome to our new Team Manager Lorraine, and to our new Judge Level 1 Trainee Officials Kate, Lori and Richard. Congratulations to Stephen on passing his Judge Level 1, and to Yik-yan and Tim on successfully completing their Judge Level 2. Caroline has started her J2S training to become a qualified starter. And finally, a huge congratulations to Mark, who has completed his referee exam and is now awaiting his final assessment.
If you’d like to join the team or find out more about the roles available, please email Caroline at [email protected]
More photos:
