Tight finish sees Hornets just lose out
HINCKLEY Hornets Swimming Club lost out on being crowned Division 2 Champions by two agonising Gala Points in the National Arena Swimming League.
It came down to the last race of the night to decide who would win the Gala and the league title with three teams all within three points of each other.
Hinckley did manage to win the last relay but Orion Swimming Club from Birmingham managed a 3rd place which was enough to claim the overall victory.
It has been a fantastic campaign for Hinckley, who made this year’s final, which took place at Hinckley Leisure Centre by virtue of coming 2nd place in round one, again by two Points and winning Round 2 by a massive 34 points.
The final which saw six teams from Birmingham, Nottinghamshire, two from Oxfordshire, Bedfordshire and of course Hinckley battle it out in the first ever round of the Arena League to be held at Hinckley’s new Leisure Centre.
The Hornets got off to a perfect start with Carys O’Reilly and Isaac Peace winning the first two races.
However, Orion and Wantage both came back with wins themselves and it quickly became a three-way battle for top spot.
On the night Hornets had 15 wins in individual & Relay events, which was the most of any of the teams.
The atmosphere on poolside was electric and the noise was deafening as Hinckley’s brave young swimmers battled for every point.
Hinckley finished second on the night and in the league overall and gained promotion which means next year they will be competing with some of the biggest clubs in the country who have international level swimmers in their teams.
Hinckley’s B Team also had a successful series in the Leicestershire Autumn League.
In what is normally a series for Leicestershire club’s B Teams, this year, saw some teams from out of the county like Nuneaton, Corby & Rushden send their A Teams.
Despite this, Hinckley qualified for the eight team final with a win in round one and second place in round two.
They managed to come a creditable 7th on the night and in 7th in the league table which was a fantastic achievement, having not made the final for a number of years.
Over the series Hornets have had over 40 individual and relay wins which really shows the depth of swimmers the club have. Hinckley swimmers have been representing the County with pride over the last couple of months.
At the Swim England National Intercounties Gala, Carys O Reilly. Dan Kennedy and Jamie Kettle helped Leicestershire achieve its highest ever finish of 8th place.
In swimming terms Leicestershire is not as big as many of the Counties that have Big Cities and Catchments and really did punch above its weight beating the 2016 position of 15th place.
Also representing Leicestershire in the Bedforshire Junior Invitaional Inter-County Gala and helping them to a 5th place finish were Lewis Cotterell, George Moore, Jenson Johns, Macy Norton, Carys O Reilly, Sam Munroe & Daniel Kennedy.
Hinckley Hornets Swimming Club is run by volunteers and after many years service two of those volunteers have decided to step down from their roles.
Clive Clarke, a local Policeman in Hinckley has been the club’s Chairperson for the last seven years and has overseen quite a few changes, many improvements, and put in many hours behind the scenes.
He has led the way in the club getting Swim England’s nationally recognised accreditation “SwimMark” which ensures the club is run to the highest of standards and in line with the sports governing body.
Clive also spent a lot of time and effort, helping persuade the Council to make Hinckley’s pool one of the best competitive pools in the country and fundraising for the club’s electronic timing equipment, which will benefit many of Hinckley’s residents for a number of years.
Clive will continue to serve on the club’s committee.
Judy Smith has been with the club for over half a century.
She has done so much for the club and has taught a number of Hinckley’s residents to swim.
After being club President for a number of years she has decided to step down from the role to spend more time at home.
The club would like to thank Clive and Judy for their help over the years.
There was not much rest for Hinckley’s swimmers who continued to train over Christmas.
On January 6 it will be round one of the Winter League and the following week sees the start of the Leicestershire County Age Group Championships at Hinckley Leisure Centre.