National Arena Junior League Final 2024

Barry Alldrick

Poole Swimming Club

National Arena Junior League Final 2024: Sunday 15th September

At 9 am on Sunday, the team set off bright and early to make their way up to St. Albans in Hertfordshire for the National Arena Junior League final. Having qualified for the final in 2023, we again took on some of the bigger clubs. We knew this would be a tough challenge for a very young team. This year, the teams making it to the final were Guildford City, Maidenhead, Chelsea & Westminster, Wycombe District, Brompton, Basildon & Phoenix, Camden Swiss Cottage, Windsor, and Teddington.

Overall result

1st place - 282 points: Guildford City

2nd place – 212 points: Chelsea & Westminster

3rd place – 205 points: Basildon & Phoenix

4th place – 195 points: Brompton

5th place - 194 points: Wycombe District 

6th place – 175 points: Camden Swiss Cottage

7th place – 155 points: Windsor

8th place – 144 points: Poole

9th place – 137 points: Maidenhead

10th place- 116 points: Teddington

 

Top “3” Placings & PB’s

First place

  • Girls 11yrs 50m Backstroke: Polina K

Second place

  • Girls 11yrs 50m Butterfly: Charlie H
  • Mixed 11yrs 4 x 50m Medley Relay Team

Third place

  • Boys 12yrs 50m Backstroke Ollie C
  • Boys 9/10yrs 50m Backstroke Leo P
  • Mixed 11yrs 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay Team

PB Heroes

  • Caidee S: 100m Individual Medley: 1:18.95
  • Susy H: 50m Butterfly: 49.05
  • Leo P: 50m Butterfly: 38.55
  • Polina K: 50m Backstroke: 33.76
  • Florence C: 50m Freestyle 12 yrs: 30.91
  • Chloe E: 50m Breaststroke: 49.36
  • Zach A: 50m Butterfly: 38.11
  • Ollie C: 50m Backstroke: 34.24
  • Rimero J: 50m Freestyle: 36.42
  • Matthew R: 50m Breaststroke: 46.24
  • Jack F: 50m Butterfly: 33.15
  • Amare F: 50m Backstroke: 43.54
  • Leo P: 50m Backstroke: 39.32
  • Toby S: 50m freestyle: 33.30

In 2023, Poole SC made history today through having a team represent us in a National Arena Junior Junior Swimming League final for the first time ever. To make the final for the second time in a row is fantastic to see. Without doubt, the opposition was tough as we came up against some fast swimmers and strong opposition, but we dug deep and did our best. The Guildford team were impressive, and their swimmers swam brilliantly. That said, Poole swam well too and at the halfway point we found ourselves in equal 7th place. We pressed on well to finish in 8th place overall and with 80 teams competing in the League this year that’s an impressive result.  We had a very good PB rate, and Coach Chris was delighted to see that we raced without receiving any disqualifications.

A big thank you to the team captains, George C-J, Oli H, and Caidee S, for providing motivating words to the team before the gala. Their encouragement made a significant difference. The Junior Leagues promote teamwork, and I want to give a special mention to every individual who represented us in both the Poole Roar and the Poole Dragons teams throughout 2024.

A special mention to:

  • Team coaches on the day: Coach Chris & Coach Jan
  • Team managers on the day: Mike and Tammy
  • Team Officials: Bryan, Mark & Michelle
  • Coach Chris for providing additional “Junior Squad” sessions on Friday evenings
  • Head Coach Barry for organising the qualifying rounds
  • The committee for supplying us with brand new “Gold” swimming caps that swimmers received to mark the historic club occasion (they really stood out)
  • Our amazing parents and supporters!

A message from Coaches Jan & Chris:

“Today we took on the challenge, we raced hard and gave our best. Our goal was to finish as high as we could, race for the team and enjoy the day. We were impressed with the team ethic we had throughout the whole day. Win or lose - we supported each other. True sportsmanship is so important, and we would like to thank all our parents who supported us, waved their flags, cheered us on and offered their encouragement from the balcony. We know there were lots of supporters watching the livestream and results back at home too. A big thank you must go to the team of coaches who have done so much this year in developing these young stars. They are the future of the club, and we hope they will go on to achieve so much more - they have so much to look forward to. Thank you also to our team managers, our officials and the committee who work so hard behind the scenes and offer their support. And of course, thank you to all the swimmers who helped us to make it to the final this year in competing for the Poole Roar and Poole Dragons teams throughout the qualifying rounds. As a club we have so much to look forward to and we are indebted to everyone who has contributed to the Junior League throughout 2024”