Slaney Sharks Swim Club

The photo didn’t lie. Bangor boasts an outstanding swimming facility, with excellent pools and a venue that is one of the best on the Island. Bangor Swimming Club hosted a fantastic event, made even more memorable by the expert commentary of Olympian Andrew Bree, whose insights throughout the weekend added another dimension to the competition. It was an extraordinary feat of physical endurance, as impressive as any of the swims over the weekend.

As mentioned previously, Áine, Emily and Oliver competed as part of the South East Development Squad, while Carl and Luke represented Slaney Sharks.

Emily and Áine had busy schedules across the two days, while Carl and Oliver raced twice on Saturday and Luke took to the water for four events on Sunday. The standard of competition was exceptionally high, but all of our swimmers performed admirably, recording new personal bests or coming very close to them in most of their races.

Áine once again led the way, producing an outstanding 11-second personal best in the 200m Individual Medley. Emily and Luke also added new PBs to their palmarès. Emily equalled her best time in the 50m Freestyle and posted impressive swims in both the 200m Breaststroke and 50m Butterfly, two events she has somehow managed to avoid until now.

Most events at meets of this size are run on a heat-declared winner basis. Swimmers are seeded according to their entry times, with each heat made up of competitors of similar ability. As soon as one heat finishes and before the swimmers clear the water, the next group is off the blocks flying over their heads. Popular events such as the 100m Freestyle, can have a huge number of heats. The Open 100m Freestyle in Bangor, for example, required 18 heats of ten to get through everyone, with competitors ranging in age from 11 years old to swimmers in their mid-twenties.

Swimming places a great emphasis on personal best times. PBs determine your seeding for your next race. However, while overall and age-group placings are decided by time, each heat is still very much a race in its own right. There is always a sense of achievement in touching the wall first-no matter how you get there.

Áine demonstrated this perfectly in the 800m Freestyle. Swimming to a carefully executed race plan, she produced remarkably consistent splits throughout, gradually pulling away from her competitors before finishing strongly. Had she been pushed harder, a new personal best would almost certainly have been chalked up. Her intelligent and disciplined swim caught the attention of commentator Andrew Bree and earned her a bronze medal in her age group.

Luke also found himself in the spotlight during his 200m Breaststroke. He surged into a big early lead, with Bree, a former elite breaststroker himself, praising Luke's long, controlled technique. At about the 175m mark, Luke seemed to tighten up and in an exciting finish a chasing swimmer started to reel him in. Luke dug deep, held on in a thrilling finish, matched his personal best time and secured a win in his heat, along with a strong age-group placing. But, something tells me he left a lot of time out there...

Overall, it was another superb gala organised by Bangor Swimming Club. The facilities, atmosphere and competition combined to create a memorable weekend, but ultimately it was the swimmers who made the event special.

A special thank you goes to Coach Fran and all of the coaches involved with the South East Development Squad for looking after our swimmers throughout the weekend. It is a fantastic initiative that provides valuable opportunities and experiences for young athletes, and one we hope will continue to thrive for many years to come.

And while we're on the subject of doing your best, a huge shout-out to Emma, Sinéad, Reuben and Róise, who begin their State Exams tomorrow.

Everyone at the club wishes you the very best of luck over the coming weeks. If you've prepared for your exams with the same dedication and commitment that you bring to training, you'll do just fine.

Best of luck from all at Slaney Sharks.

Best of luck to two more Sharks, Caitlin and Shannon who are in England this weekend competing internationally on the Irish Junior Tetratlon team. A great achievement in a tough sport that involves, swimming, running, equestrian and shooting.

As a matter of interest, what’s the Ryanair pony allowance these days?

This week is a little different for three of our swimmers as they head to the second running of the Ian Wright Memorial Gala in Bangor, Co. Down. The gala is held in honour of the late Ian Wright, a highly respected former Chairman and Team Manager of Bangor swimming Club.

Áine, Emily and Oliver will be competing in a number of events over the two days. Having earned selection to the South East Development Squad, they will be racing alongside other promising young swimmers from the South East, rather than under their usual Slaney Sharks colours.

The only Shark competing independently this weekend will be Luke, who, having realised he would already be almost halfway there on Sunday, decided to take the opportunity to check out another 50m pool (it does look nice) and enter a few long-course events while at it.

Make no mistake, this is a major gala with a large and highly competitive field. It promises to be a fantastic experience for all involved.

We wish Áine, Emily, Oliver and Luke the very best of luck, along with all of their teammates on the South East Development Squad. Swim well and enjoy the experience.

Apologies, I didn't see that Carl will be representing the Sharks over the weekend too. Best of Luck Carl, you have been flying recently - keep it up!

Best of luck John. 🤞

Here’s a fantastic opportunity for young (and not so young) swimmers to develop their skills, earn a qualification, and put their swimming ability to work.

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What a great three days’ swimming by the five Sharks competing at the Leinster and Connacht Championships.

Day three was another long but rewarding one. Luke qualified for the age-group 50m breaststroke final, set a big PB, and earned an unexpected but well-deserved qualification for the Summer Nationals. Numerous PBs, a gold medal in his age group (17 and over) in the 1500m freestyle, and finishing the weekend with a Nationals qualification, marked a great few days for the lad whose swimming has really come on in leaps and bounds this season. A fitting reward for all his hard work. He’s still buzzing.

Reuben qualified for two more age-group finals, coming fourth in the fiercely competitive 50m freestyle and setting a blistering new PB of 26.3 seconds in the process. To achieve such a high level while studying for his Leaving Cert is most impressive. Good luck with the exams and get the head down now!

On top of her silver medal on Friday, Romy qualified for more finals than anyone else on the team, across backstroke, butterfly and freestyle, and will be a very busy swimmer again come the Summer Nationals. A great weekends work.

Sarah K, powered to a Super Final in the 100m butterfly where she placed a superb sixth overall. Add to that an age-group final in the 100m freestyle and it suggests university life is agreeing with her as she continues her swimming career while studying and alternating her training between the college pool and Sharks sessions when home. Hopefully we’ll get to see her compete in the Nationals.

Emily R, the youngest member of the team at the weekend, only swam two races — one on Saturday and one on Sunday. After Saturdays’ fighting effort, she equalled her PB in the 100m freestyle on Sunday, in another one of her “tactical” races. It’s been a long while since she has been near her PB and was delighted with the result. Emily puts it down in part to being swept along by the great showing from the rest of the team, hard work and listening to her coaches.

My takeaways from the weekend were many. The organisers put on a great show, worthy of a regional championship. All the swimmers brought very high standards that were matched by the hundred or so officials who made the event happen and run so smoothly. Keeping tabs on all the race times, qualifications, regions, etc, was a feat worthy of the team at Bletchley park.

With summer finally kicking off, the arena was stifling. Sitting around in the tropical humidity was quite an endurance test, but the awesome swimming from our team made it bearable. A note to parents who find themselves sitting in the NAC seats for a long humid weekend: there are nearly always a few public lanes open in the warm-down pool. A quick plunge during a lull in the action works wonders for any supporter’s stamina.

Another big takeaway was just how much psychology — or frame of mind — determines the outcome for a swimmer. Luke, for example, wasn’t happy with his first swim on Friday. After a debrief with coach Nicky, where they analysed what might have gone wrong, along with a little reminder about technique and a motivational pep talk too, Luke left that first day with a shiny gold medal and a big new shiny PB.

I’ve said it before: it’s a pleasure to watch coach Nicky operate. Luke wasn’t the only swimmer who warmed into the meet under Nicky’s expert guidance, and I think everyone left very pleased with their overall performance. The small team of five Sharks came away with a Super Final appearance, National qualification times, two age-group medals, and many hard-fought PBs.

Thanks to Nicky again for giving up three long days to keep an eye on everyone. The superb results are a credit to him. And thanks to the parents and supporters who delivered their charges on time, suffered in the heat of the stands and took everybody home again after.

A great weekend’s work all-round. Well done everyone.

The good form from yesterday carried through to today. Romy and Reuben both making finals again. Prior commitments ruled Reuben out of his final, but it shows he’s on a rich vein of form. Romy swam close to a PB in the 50 backstroke final, again showing her backstroke prowess, but unfortunately couldn’t stay for her second final of the day, the 200 freestyle.

Emily swam a strong 200 freestyle too, again showing her strong finishing speed and narrowly missed out on a final place in her age group. Luke continues to chip away at his breaststroke times and swam another PB.

More to come on the last day tomorrow. I must say, I’ve enjoyed watching the team operate over the two days. Their humour, camaraderie and dedication to the task in hand, never fails to impress.

Beautiful morning up at the NAC (and it has been since twenty past seven😕) for day two of the Leinster & Connacht Senior LC Championships.

Warmup is well underway. Emily joins the team today.

But there are benefits to being a non swimming member of the travelling party too.

Best of luck again everyone – keep up the momentum from yesterday.

Afternoon Finals update Day 1:

Excellent 5th places for Sarah and Reuben in their finals, Reuben bettering his time from the mornings 50 Butterfly with a new PB. A big PB also for Luke in his 200m breaststroke. And a huge congratulations to Romy on winning a silver in her 100m backstroke. More to come from this lot over the next two days.

Morning session:

Great start to the weekend. Romy and Sarah made two of the afternoon age group finals each, and the lads made a final too! Oh and the young fella got himself a gold in his age group for the 1500m.