Cotswolds Sport
Pershore second at Midlands meet
6:10am Friday 10th February 2012
PERSHORE Swimming Club could not have asked for a better start after entering the Midlands PGL League for the first time in more than five years.
Coming up against Redditch, Wyre Forest and Cheltenham, it was clear it would be a hard battle for points.
In the end, Pershore fell just two short of Redditch with 148 but were hit by the competition’s penalty system more than most.
League rules disallow swimmers who qualify for the Midland districts and those going above stipulated times were awarded zero points.
Pershore fielded swimmers in age groups at least one year older than their own in a bid to beat the system.
However, many of their members were still too fast and they picked up 10 speeding tickets in total.
Two of Pershore’s nine-year-olds were penalised after winning races in the age group above their own.
Lizzie Vizard (13 and 14 butterfly), Makenzie Christys (11 and under breaststroke), Isobel Cumming (nine freestyle), James Thomas (nine freestyle), Chris Vizard (10 and under butterfly and breaststroke), Sam Doyle (10 and under freestyle), Callum Sanderson (12 and under freestyle), Joseph Doyle (12 and under butterfly) and Luke Betteridge (nine butterfly) all won.
Together with the eight relay successes, Pershore’s victory total amounted to 18 and their one disqualification proved the least of all the clubs competing.
Both the boys’ and girls’ teams in the 13 and 14-year-old medley relays won with victories also going to the boys’ 12 and under, 11 and under and nine medley teams as well as the freestyle for the girls’ 10 and under and boys’ 12 and under.
Meanwhile, on the first day of the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Championships, Pershore sported two qualifiers for the 800- metre freestyle in the 12-year-old age group in Drew Jones and Tazmin Pugh.
Jones set a new personal best in the heats, while Pugh added a gold medal to last year’s 800m title with a superb swim in Hereford and now tops the UK rankings for her age group.
The 1,500m freestyle is on Sunday at the same venue when Jones will be joined by his brother Angus and Pugh, who is again looking to repeat last season’s success.