Winter Yorkshires Concludes with Success
The first batch of Winter Yorkshires has wrapped up, bringing plenty of positives to kick-start the season.
Representing City of Wakefield, we had 27 swimmers competing in 134 races, bringing plenty of opportunities to kick-start the season.
The trio of Keefe swimmers—Rose, Aimee, and Emilia—continued their strong starts. Rose showcased her form with two top-10 finishes and several personal bests after a challenging year. Emilia contributed to the team's success with a medal in the 50 breaststroke and narrowly missed another in the 100 breaststroke, finishing in 4th place.
Sibling power was a prominent theme throughout both weekends. Elze Pakalniske and Herkus Pakalniskis impressed in the latter weekend, collectively achieving 14 top-10 finishes, including 5 second-place and 2 third-place finishes across multiple events.
Another notable sibling duo, the King brothers, had their moments too. Rory secured 4th place in the 50 breaststroke and tallied four top-20 finishes overall. A highlight was Rory's 200 IM, which would have been a contender for “swim of the weekend,” but a small infringement on his breaststroke turn led to a disqualification. Meanwhile, Ralphy shone at the lower age group Yorkshires, achieving 2 out of 4 PBs and earning a special mention for his bravery after a head injury before the last warm up of thew weekend.
Unfortunately, not all siblings had the same fortune. An injury sidelined Sophie Axworthy, but Imogen stepped up, earning a top-10 finish and several excellent PBs following her transition to the Calibre squad.
In the lower age category, Phoebe Goodhall earned her first medal at this level, taking 3rd place in the 50 backstroke, just edging out Elze. She also achieved five top-20 finishes during her first visit to Ponds Forge. Another first-time attendee, Molly Fletcher, had an impressive weekend, setting numerous PBs across her eight events. Had her birthday fallen on the right side of the Yorkshire weekend, Wakefield could have had three swimmers in the top 6 of the 50 backstroke, showcasing the depth of talent.
Naomi Broadley continued to demonstrate why she was selected for the National Age Group Development Pathway for the 2024/25 season, qualifying for 10 events and achieving 4 top-10 finishes. This sets a solid foundation as she aims for national times this season.
With Rory’s DQ, the "Swim of the Weekend" accolade was still up for grabs, and it goes to Daisy Ball for her technically excellent 100 backstroke. Daisy can sometimes be a little ‘glass half empty’ about events she doesn’t particularly enjoy, and as backstroke has never been her favorite, she definitely worried coach Harvey during her pre-race briefing. However, that didn’t transpire, and I have my suspicions that she actually quite enjoyed it too! Here’s to many more 100 backstrokes, eh Daisy?
Notable mentions include Jess Hampshire, who had some very technically tidy swims throughout the meet, and Grace Avery, who looked very strong with her aggressive breaststroke, narrowly missing out on top-10 finishes. Additionally, Jess Wilson bounced back from a challenging start to the season with 4 PBs, showcasing excellent fly kicks, while Will Byram continued his return from injury in the open age category, looking sharp across the shorter distances. We look forward to seeing him firing on all cylinders as he aims for his first national times later this year.
The weekend concluded with a top-10 percentage of just under 20% - a fantastic start to the season and a huge congratulations to all that took part.
Special thanks to our team managers and coaches across the weekends - Tracey Ball, Joanne Evans, Karen Byram, Beccy King, and Martin Wilson.
Next up - NER's!
