Country club competitors record PBS
More than 100 swimmers, including visitors from Upper Hutt and QEII swim clubs, competed in perfect weather at the Swimming Nelson Marlborough Country and Town Championships at Hampden St pool on Saturday.
At this event, country clubs (Golden Bay, Motueka, Murchison, Waimea and Kaikoura) compete for trophies for the top country club, and the top individual registered with a country club.
Neither Murchison nor Kaikoura had swimmers entered, so the competition was between the remaining three clubs.
Swimmers from all Nelson Marlborough-registered clubs were eligible to win medals (for first to third) and ribbons (for fourth to sixth), and swimmers from clubs registered in other centres were eligible for visitors medals for events they won.
Some strong performances were seen by swimmers from all clubs, with many personal best times recorded and several swimmers posting qualifying times for national events.
Some impressive personal bests (PBS) included Ian Cadwallader (Nelson South) carving 42 seconds off his time for the 200-metre backstroke, Jaslyn Humphries (Nelson South) improving by 26 seconds in the 200m individual melody, Olivia Meikle (Waimea) taking 23 seconds off her best time for 200m breaststroke, and Eleanor Cox (Upper Hutt) recording an improvement of 20 seconds in the 200m backstroke.
Several swimmers were prominent for consistently improving times, with Caitlin Oldridge (Nelson) recording seven PBS from eight events, Samantha Smith (Nelson) achieving seven PBS from seven events, and Zoe Hunt (Waimea) six from seven events.
Sophie Elder, Libby Neill (both Nelson) and Bradley Limmer (Waimea) all posted five PBS from five events entered.
Kaiori Mcguinniety (Nelson South) and Fraser Neill (Nelson) continued their rivalry in the 15-and-over age group, with each earning reward for the hours they put into training.
Kaiori went under 30 seconds for the 50m backstroke for the first time, and won the 50m and 100m freestyle events in close finishes.
Fraser took out the 200m freestyle in a meet record time, and also won the 100m breaststroke and 200m individual melody.
Other records were set by Ellie Rukuwai in the 13 to 14 years 50m backstroke, and Grace Woodall in the 15-and-over 200m freestyle, eclipsing a record previously held by Amaka Gessler, who went on to represent New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games.
Several swimmers took home a swag of gold medals, including Caleb Grant, of Upper Hutt, in the 9-and-under age group, Chelsey Edwards in the 10 years age group and Stephanie Dean in the 9-andunder age group.
Hannah Bates, from QEII club in Christchurch, will be weighing the car down on the trip home with a clutch of medals.
A large group from the Nelson club will be sharing notes on winning gold, including Caitlin Oldridge (9 and under), Kaleb Johnston (10 years), Sam Mckenzie (11-12 years), Eddie Neill (13-14 years), and Fraser Neill (15-plus).
Skye Eden (15-plus), Ellie Rukuwai (13-14), Grace Woodall (15-plus) and Kaiori Mcguinniety (15-plus) from Nelson South were all multiple gold-medal winners.
Not to be outdone by any of these swimmers, Pip Dwyer (Motueka) not only dominated the 11-12 years age group, collecting six gold medals in the process, she also won the Ted Hockey Cup for top overall country club swimmer.
The trophy was presented to her by Swimming Nelson Marlborough life members Jos and Margaret Pattison.
The Crest Cup for the top country club at the championships was presented to Motueka club by Swimming Nelson Marlborough president Stephen Fryer.