Sheffield’s Ponds Forge was the host pool for the 10th Derventio Excel April Level 1 Meet where 39 Pioneer 79 Swimming Club members aged between 10 and 19 competed over two days. This competition is well attended year upon year, and attracts some of the best clubs and swimmers in the country. This year was the largest group of swimmers Pioneer 79 have entered for this competition and between them they did exceptionally well, returning with a bucketful of medals and personal best times. The event was a Level 1 competition and within the British Summer National Competition Qualification Window, this allows swimmers to produce times which would hopefully place them within the top 24 in their age-group within their chosen events. Should swimmers still be placed within the top 24 places at the end of the qualifying window, they will receive an invitation to compete at the British Summer Nationals in July, the next 20 fastest swimmers in each event will receive an invitation to attend their respective ‘home nation’ Summer Nationals, these usually take place either the week before or after the British Summer National Championships.

12 year old Ethan Naisbitt competed in the Multi Disability Class however he thoroughly enjoyed competing alongside the ‘able bodied’ swimmers. By doing so, he achieved some phenominal results, taking gold medals and setting new personal best times in every event he swam, an incredible achievement. Ethan’s largest pb of the weekend was in the 100m Backstroke where he knocked an unbelievable 6 seconds off his previous best time of 1.39.93 at the Lancashire County Championships just 2 months earlier! His mum, Ann was delighted to see the beaming smile on Ethan’s face after each event, “it was a pleasure to see him so happy, Ethan has worked extremely hard in training to get to where he is now, we never in our wildest dreams anticipated him to swim to this standard when he started with the club just 2 years ago. The commitment by all swimmers and coaches at Pioneer 79 and the input Ethan himself has received on technique has been incredible. Ethan’s dream of competing at the Paralympics one day may not be off the cards yet!”

Another swimmer who had a great competition was 13 year old Charlotte Collin. Charlotte set herself 5 new pb times over the 2 days, although not quite in the medals, her swims were exceptional, whilst her older sister, Eleanor won a silver medal in the 100m Breaststroke. 14 year old Ellie Ward, having only 18 months ago decided to quit swimming, however, after having a 6 month break, she has returned to the pool more determined than ever before. Since returning, she is enjoying her training and has found the ‘thrill’ of competing again. Her improvements have been incredible, having knocked over 12 seconds off her 100m Breaststroke time, and almost 5 seconds off her 50m Breaststroke. Ellie’s time currently ranks her with a strong possibility of being invited to the ‘English’ Summer National Championships, which will take place the week following the British Summer Nationals.

Tom Gilroy’s gold medal swim of 27.06 resulted in him not only winning the gold medal at this competition, but currently places him in 13th position in his age group for the British Summer National’s. With only the top 24 being invited to compete, the chances of him receiving his invitation are looking extremely positive. Tom also won the gold medal in the 100m Backstroke, however his time on this occasion was slightly slower than his personal best time.

Elodie Smallwood’s performances over the weekend were extremely pleasing. Having had a short spell of disappointing swims, she is now showing promise of returning to her top form with extreme determination. Elodie was hitting times that were on or extremely close to her personal best times, she is exceptionally focussed and dedicated to her training, and the skills and techniques she has learned when put into competing resulted in her achieving 1 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals in Sheffield.

Day 1 Medallists:

Elodie Smallwood – 15/16yrs 200m Individual Medley – Gold (2.28.54)

Ethan Naisbitt – 13yrs 50m Freestyle – MD Gold (37.62)

Ethan Naisbitt – 13yrs 50m Backstroke – MD Gold (45.19)

Tom Gilroy – 17+yrs 50m Backstroke – Gold (27.06)

Mia Smith – 10/11yrs 50m Breaststroke – Silver (44.44)

Lily Gregg – 10/11yrs 100m Backstroke – Silver (1.22.47)

Katie Hale – 10/11yrs 400m Freestyle – Silver (5.23.66)

Katie Hale – 10/11yrs 100m Freestyle – Silver (1.12.55)

Katie Hale – 10/11yrs 200m Individual Medley – Bronze (2.57.76)

Katie Hale – 10/11yrs 50m Breaststroke – Bronze (44.75)

Joe Murray – 17+yrs 100m Breaststroke – Bronze (1.09.37)

Elodie Smallwood – 15/16yrs 400m Freestyle – Bronze (4.35.17)

Harry Robinson – 12yrs 200m Backstroke – Bronze (2.39.93)

Harry Robinson – 12yrs 50m Backstroke – Bronze (35.24)

Day 2 Medallists:

Tom Gilroy – 17+yrs 100m Backstroke – Gold (59.70)

Ethan Naisbitt – 13yrs 100m Backstroke – MD Gold (1.33.85)

Ethan Naisbitt – 13yrs 100m Freestyle – MD Gold (1.22.30)

Elodie Smallwood – 15/16yrs 200m Butterfly – Silver (2.25.91)

Eleanor Collin – 15/16yrs 100m Breaststroke – Silver (1.16.25)

Elodie Smallwood – 15/16yrs 400m Individual Medley – Silver (5.12.02)

Harry Robinson – 12yrs 200m Individual Medley – Bronze (2.41.91)

Harry Robinson – 12yrs 100m Backstroke – Bronze (1.14.71)

Elodie Smallwood – 15/16yrs 200m Freestyle – Bronze (2.12.14)

Other swimmers who competed at this competition included:

Beth Hartwell, Baylie Seery-Kelly, Mikaela Shackleton, Simone Ellson, Ellie Perris, Leah Williams, Meghann Leaver, Alice Harding, Ben Makin, Tom Baynes, Ben Turland, Charlotte Collin, Ellie Ward, Mariette Braithwaite, Abi Murray, Ella Williams, Isabel Cockerham, Olivia Nicholls, Ben Makin, Kara Pedley, Rachel Waters, Katherine Waters, Kenzi Ormerod, Ruby Cain, Mia Nobbs, Sam Curran, Isabel Martin and Josh Baynes.

Each and every swimmer that competed in Sheffield did themselves and the club proud. An endless list of new personal best times were set and for many, this was the first time they had competed at this venue. We, as a club are extremely pleased and excited to see the results from our swimmers, we have an incredible group of talented swimmers who thoroughly enjoy their sport and this shows with their continuous results and improvements at each competition.

Pioneer 79’s website is currently undergoing reconstruction and out of use, so at present, should you be interested in enquiring about our successful Learn To Swim Section or our Training Groups, please feel free to search for us on Facebook – ‘Pioneer 79 Amateur Swimming Club – Learn To Swim’ or ‘Pioneer 79 Amateur Swimming Club – Training Groups’, here you can drop us a message and we will be able to contact you. Alternatively please feel free to email us - pioneer79lts@gmail.com.