Social & News

New Head Coach Mansfield Swimming Club is to have a new Head Coach for the 2008 autumn season. Barry Tindall has been a swimming teacher/gala coach for seven years at Mansfield Swimming Club and has successfully secured the position of Head Coach to commence at the beginning of the next season. Barry is well known to the swimmers and parents and is well versed with the needs of young swimmers, as his two children currently swim for the Nottinghamshire County Swimming Team, N.O.V.A. as well as being Mansfield Swimming Club members. He will build on the success the club has achieved over the past season winning recent local gala trophies that include the Ashfield Cup, The Festival of Sport and the Arnold Trophy Gala. Mansfield Swimming Club has swimmers who compete locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Barry will help the swimmers identify personal goals and prepare a training schedule to meet their targets. Barry said “All swimmers have a passion to improve whether they are 9 years old and want to improve their stroke technique or are 15 years old and want to qualify for Midland or national competitions”. We would like to thank Gail and Paul Stockton, our outgoing Head Coaches for their hard work and commitment to the club over the past four years. They have resigned as Gail has had promotion at work and they will continue to coach at the club. left to right Tony Holmes - Notts ASA President, Maureen Shaw - Chair Mansfield Swimming Club, Barry Tindall - New Head Coach
Mansfield Swimmers results at ASA Senior  Nationals Championships 2008 All the Mansfield swimmers competing at the ASA Senior Nationals produced excellent performances. Top of the list was an excellent swim by Daniel Mills in the 1500m freestyle. Despite being still in hard training for the European Juniors at the end of July, Daniel claimed an impressive bronze medal. Daniel also swam a good 800m freestyle narrowly missing his PB. Kimberley Colton was her usual busy self and also produced some excellent performances. Kim reached the final of two events the 200im in which she finished 8th and the 400im in which she finished 6th. In both swims Kim produced a PB, along with PBs in two other event 50fly and 200m freestyle. Kim’s two other events 100fly and 400m freestyle were only a whisker away from her PB’s To cap a perfect set Alishia Palmer also produced a fine swim in the 800m freestyle to take two seconds off her PB and also swam the 400m freestyle where she produced one of her best swims again like Kim narrowly missing her PB Results are available from the following link www.britishswimming.co.uk/
Mansfield Swimmers at ASA Nationals and European Junior Championships 2008 Five Mansfield swimmers have qualified to take part in one of the top domestic swimming competitions the ASA Nationals. This year the Senior, Age group and Youth competitions are all held at different times. The Senior Championship are to be held in Liverpool from 10th – 13th July. The Age groups and Youth Championship are to be held at their usual venue Ponds Forge on 24th – 27th July and 29th July – 2nd Aug respectively. Mansfield will also be represented the at the European Junior Championships by Daniel where he will be one of the favourites to come home with a medal. You can follow their progress by logging onto the British swimming website see link below for live result streaming as well as comprehensive heat and finals results www.britishswimming.co.uk/   The swimmers competing are: Senior Nationals Alishia Palmer      400m & 800m freestyle Daniel Mills)          400m, 800m, 1500m freestyle Kimberley Colton  50m, 100 fly 200m, 400 freestyle & 200m 400 individual medley Age Groups Nationals Kerris Palmer     100m & 200m backstroke Youth Nationals Alishia Palmer     400m & 800m freestyle Amelia Taylor      100m backstroke Good luck and fast swimming.
Festival of Sport Another Saturday night and it's the turn of the 9,10's, 11's and 12's to show their competitive spirit in the name of Mansfield Swimming Club.  Yes it's the Festival of Sport Trophy Gala hosted by Falcon SC. A couple of late defections due to illness could not dampen the spirit of the team and it's enthusiastic supporters. After 16 events Sherwood, with some excellent swims held a 2 point lead over Mansfield with Falcon, Sutton and Arnold just behind. Mansfield kids then went into overdrive and over the next 16 events turned a 2 point deficit into a 6 point lead with 15 events to go. The youngsters then started to believe they could actually win this gala, then followed some nail biting races with kids and parents alike screaming the children on until we arrived at the cannon. As always the cannon brings out the best in a gala with an atmosphere to match any sporting event, Sherwood went into an early lead with us hanging in there in 3rd as the race progressed we went into 2nd, it went right down to the wire and Mansfield got the touch, but had we done enough to win the trophy.  Arnold 5th 96pts, Sutton 4th 179pts, in 3rd Falcon197pts, which leaves just the two teams and in 2nd..........Sherwood 214pts and the winners with 220pts yes you guessed it Mansfield.   We had 11 wins and 20 2nd places, overall a great team effort by all the squad, both yourselves and all the parents that attended were a credit to the club and that's what makes MSC special. Well done to you all !!!!!!!                     report by Dave Baguley
Brian Johnson It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Brian Johnson.  Brian gave so much of his spare time to Mansfield Swimming Club and was also past President of the Notts A.S.A. and the first President of the East Midland region of the A.S.A.  Brian will be sadly missed at the the club, our condolences are sent to Brian's wife Janet, sons David and Andrew and their families.
Midland Age Group Championships Congratulations to the following swimmers who competed in the Midland Age Group Championships 2008 held at Coventry on June 7th / 8th & 14th / 15th. Shannon Brown – 100FC, 200FC, 400FC, 100BK, 200BK, 100BR, 200BR, 200IM, 400IM – Finished 13th overall Kerris Palmer – 200FC, 400FC, 800FC, 100BK, 200BK, 100BR, 200BR, 200IM – Finished 15th overall Katie Banks – 100FC Philippa Staff – 100BR Ethan Tindall – 100FC, 200FC, 400FC, 800FC Your behaviour, your support & camaraderie was impeccable. You did yourself, your families and your club proud. With hard work and commitment we could strive and aspire to have a greater representation at next year’s championships. Next year’s county dates have just been confirmed.  County Champs 2009 Session 1,2 & 3            Saturday Feb 14 th   Beechdale Session 4,5 & 6            Sunday Feb 15 th   Beechdale Session 7,8 & 9            Saturday Feb 28 th   Mansfield Session 10                    Saturday Mar 7 th    800 m Worksop Session 11                    Saturday Mar 14 th  1500 m Retford Session 12 & Relays    Saturday Mar 21 st   Mansfield Start times to be confirmed Let’s start the hard work now and plan forward to ensure every swimmer reaches their true potential. Article wrote by Barry Tindall
Dan makes European Junior Championships Dan swam the race of his life by setting a new best time of 3.57.59, which was inside the Qualification time for the European Junior Championships. Daniel will represent Great Britain at the European Junior's in Belgrade, Serbia, in July this year.
Safety Notice  Please note that the use of roller skates or roller shoes is not permitted within the Water Meadows Complex.We ask that parents/carers ensure that children in their care do not wear roller skates or roller shoes to our club sessions. Please help us to maintain the excellent safety record that we currently enjoy. Thank you for your help.
Dan smashes record
Daniel Mills 17yrs--(Supported by, Nottinghamshire County Council, Mansfield District Council & Rainworth Skoda), was in fine form at the WISE (Wales, Ireland Scotland, England), Schools Swimming International held at Crawley Pool,nr London over the weekend 8/9th March 08. Mill's who has just returned from a 2 week training camp with the County Swim Squad (Nova Centurion Sc) in Florida, preparing for the Olympic & European Junior Championship Trials, swam a new Competition Record in the Senior Boys 400m Freestyle, to win the Event for ENGLAND in 4.01.51. He also was part of the Winning Senior Boys 4x100m Freestyle Relay team, who also smashed the competition record. Dan now starts his 3 week preaparation for those trials which start in Sheffield 31st March---6th April 08, where his aim will be to secure a place on the GB Team for the European Junior Championships, later this year in July.
Kimberley, our Golden Girl Kim Colton smashed her personal best time by a massive 2 seconds in the 400 Individual Medley final to clinch Gold at the British University Swimming Championships-16th February at Ponds Forge - Sheffield.  Kim who represented Nottingham University swam a fantastic race in a time of 5.00.15 to richly deserve her medal and her British Qualifying time. HOT OFF THE PRESS 17-02-08 Just heard that Kimberley has won bronze in the 200 Individual Medley, British University Championships at Ponds Forge, narrowly missing out on a British Qualifying time. Well done Kimberley, we are so proud of you.   Kim is also looking forward to a grueling training camp in Florida along with Dan Mills and some other Nottingham swimmers in the up and coming weeks.  The sun will shine but sweat will pour I'm sure.  No Mickey Mouse for them. Good luck both of you.
Falcon Open Sprint Meet Sunday 25th Nov This year’s event was about a month later than last year due to overbooking of the pool at Beechdale, it nearly didn’t take place at all due to urgent repairs to the pool on the previous Wednesday. The pool staff were still trying to get the pool up to normal temperature when we arrived, the girls were first to warm up and many commented on how cold it was, I told them it would make them swim faster. I had been left on pool side on my own with 19 girls and 11 boys to look after, Barry Tindall, Gary Butcher, Richard Collins & Rob Anthony were all helping out and officiating in some capacity. It was a great sight to see 19 blue hats of Mansfield swimmers take over lane 3 for the warm up, no one else dare get in with them!! Before we could get underway there was a problem with the timing system, so they had to go manual and this required more timekeepers, announcements were made and people arrived on poolside with their stopwatches, well volunteered Mrs O’Keefe and others.  The first event was the girls 100 IM I was trying to take splits for the girls on each stroke. All very easy when you have 1 girl in each race, not very easy when you have 3 in the same event as happened twice. 18 girls took part and there were 11PBs Katie Banks winning the 12 year age group, not a bad start to the morning.  Next it was the boy’s turn in the 50m back 8 boys took part, 6 PBs and 5 boys reaching the finals held later in the morning.  11 girls tried their luck at the 50m Fly, 5 PBs, 1 county time and 6 for the finals. It was the boys turn again in the 50m Breast, 8 boys took part, 3 PBs and 5 made it to the final, with 3 in the 10 years age group it should be an interesting fight for the touch. The last event of the morning session before the finals was the girls 50m free, 17 decided to give it a go! Ten recording a PB, with 6 making it through to the finals. For those who haven’t experienced the finals at the Falcon meet, all the finalists are introduced individually with loud funky music playing in the background and all their mates giving them a loud cheer. For some of our swimmers it was their first appearance in a final and there were some worried looking kids and some even more nervous parents in the crowd. Don’t worry,  Connor Parkin showed how it should be done by winning the 10years 50m Back, Kurt Hardy was third in the same race, both getting a PB. Next up was Ben Canavan Taylor in the 11year olds, his first ever final posted a new PB & breaking the 40second barrier in finishing 4th. In the 12years Oliver Hempsall and Ethan Tindall came in 3rd and 5th Girls Butterfly Finals 10 years Shannon Brown came second & Sophie Cann 4th.  11years, Phillipa Staff  had a PB finishing 3rd 12years, Katie Banks impressed winning with a new PB and Jess Collins made 6th also with a PB 14years, Amelia Taylor came home 3rd Back to the boys, this time Breast stroke, in the first race, the 10year olds we had 3 going for it! Brendan O’Keefe was just pipped in to 2nd place with a massive PB, Connor Parkin finished 5th and Kurt Hardy 6th, 11years, Asher Smith fought a very close race to come in 2nd with a new PB 12years, Oliver Hempsall smashed his PB by over 1.5 secs to pick up 3rd. Event 5 finals were the last of the morning session, the girls 50m free 10 years, Shannon Brown PB in 5th 11 years, Phillipa Staff 6th 12 years, Katie Banks was swimming out of her skin and recorded another 1st with a PB 13 years, Paige Tindall 5th and Laura Ellis 6th    14 years, Amelia Taylor powered home to win the final race of the morning session.    Just before lunch, it was announced that the top club was Calverton, no surprise! but in 2nd place overall was Mansfield just ahead of    Falcon and Leander. A very good mornings work from the Mansfield swimmers.    Fully refreshed from the excellent catering that Falcon put on it was on to the Boys 100 IM    We had 10 boys taking part, 7 making PBs and 5 in the top 6 placings.    Girls 50m Back 16 girls took part, 6 PBs and 3 qualified for the finals, It would have been 4 had some over zealous official not d/q Katie for    a  non continuous turn!!!!!    Boys 50m Fly 7 took part in the heats, 3 PBs and 4 making it through to the finals.  In the Girls 50m Breast, 16 girls set off, 8 making PBs and 4 making finals.    In the last heat of the day, the Boys 50m Free 8 guys took part, 1 made a PB whilst 5 made it to the finals.    Well done to Oliver Hempsall, Kurt Hardy & Phillipa Staff for making all four sprint finals some achievement.    Girls backstroke finals were first in the 11years Phillipa Staff  came 5th, in the 13 years Paige Tindall had a  good PB to finish 2nd, In the    14 year olds, Amelia Taylor was heard saying that “she was saving herself for this one” She certainly did, winning with a PB and a     new Championship record time of 32.88secs. Well done!    Boys next and the 50m Fly, in the 10 years we had both Kurt Hardy and Brendan O’Keefe, Kurt came home first   and Brendan 5th both    with another PB.    In the 12 years Oliver Hempsall finished 3rd and the 13 years Steven Catton also came home 3rd.    The Girls 50m Breast Phillipa Staff triumphed in the 11 years and Katie Banks followed up with a PB and  win in the 12years, Jess Collins    also  had a PB in 4th place.    Down to the last finals of the night, the Boys 50m free, in the 10years we again had 3 swimmers Connor 2nd, Brendan 3rd  and Kurt 6th.    Then in the 12 years Oliver Hempsall came in 5th and Ethan Tindall 6th.    So that was it, collect your trophies, and off for some well earned dinner.    In the overall Top club Points competition we managed to finish a very creditable 2nd behind Calverton , also many of our kids    recorded points in the top Boy and Top girl competition. A very successful afternoon. For the kids and the club Even though these events are extremely tiring I always enjoy being on poolside and what makes it even more enjoyable is seeing Mansfield Swimmers do well and coming up to me waving cups and medals in my face. The kids were all very well behaved and full of enthuasim and support for the other swimmers in the camp. They are a credit to the club and to their parents.    Thank you to all the kids that turned out, the parents who cheered them on, and to Josh and Emily for coming along to support us    with your plaster casts, hope to see you in the pool soon.    And last of all, Sorry to all those who swam and didn’t get a mention, you were all great.      All the results are on the notice board or can be obtained from the Falcon web site.      For all those that enjoyed this event there is a similar one run by Leander in January, but be quick as the closing date is the 3rd Dec.