Even more success for Seagulls (From Bournemouth Echo)

Even more success for Seagulls

5:31pm Wednesday 7th July 2010 in

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Christchurch and New Milton Seagulls added another trophy to their increasingly crowded cabinet after a |weekend of success on two aquatic fronts.

At the Dorset Development Competition at Littledown, Seagulls’ swimmers took the top club award after amassing 1,364 points – almost 300 more than runners-up West Dorset Warriors.

Meanwhile, at Cheltenham, Seagulls were making history as the first Dorset club ever to reach a South West regional water polo final.

Since December, Seagulls have also won the Dorset Novice League, West Hants Novice League, Division Two of the National Arena Swimming League West and, in water polo, the Dorset Junior, KS2 and KS3 Leagues.

In the development meet, Seagulls had 47 different swimmers among the medallists sharing 50 gold, 41 silver and 35 bronze between them.

Seven of them also set competition best times (CBTs), led by Darren Price with three in the 15yrs breaststroke events and Alice Talbot and Casey Vatcher with two each.

Sam Webber and Ella Shaw were among the special award winners.

Shaw was the most improved female 400m freestyler with an improvement of 13.2 per cent on her ranking.

Webber – better known for the water polo skills that have taken him to national youth level – tied with himself as the fastest boy on the first day of the development meet, which excludes regional and national qualifiers and county medallists.

His times of 59.50 for the 100m freestyle and 2:21.52 in the 200m backstroke were both worth 463 points.

Head coach Barry Alldrick said: “This has tied up a very rewarding season, making the hard work, sweat and tears of coaches, swimmers and parents worth every gallon.”

Ferndown Otters’ Phoebe-May Notley won the fastest female titles on both days thanks to her freestyle times of 2:16.54 over 200m and 1:03.10 for 100m – worth 574 and 481 points, respectively.

Bournemouth Dolphins’ Stephen Littlefair was the fastest boy on day two with his 200m freestyle effort of 2:10.39 for 481 points.

Ferndown’s Morgan Long won ‘most improved’ awards in two categories – for the girls’ 200m freestyle (18.7 per cent) and for sprinting (50m butterfly 18.3 per cent).

The most improved male middle-distance freestylers were James Mules (Tornadoes) with 14.5 per cent in the 200m and Clayesmore’s Guy Purbrick in the 400m (13.2).

The awards for the so-called ‘form’ strokes went to Poole’s Maddy Kemp for her 200m breaststroke (23.5 per cent) and West Dorset’s Aaron Fryer for his 200m butterfly (20.8).

Ferndown’s Ethan Bell produced the weekend’s biggest improvement – 36.6 per cent in his 100m medley – to win the boys’ medley award.

Club-mate Jemma Green won the girls’ medley award with a 27.6 per cent improvement.

The improved male sprinter title went to Jack Olden of Bournemouth Dolphins (20.8 per cent).

In the skins knockout, 50m freestyle winners were Stephen Littlefair and Poole’s Katie Mills.

The backstroke skins were won by Casey Vatcher and Bournemouth Dolphins’ Abbi Axe-Browne.

This capped a fine week for 14-year-old Axe-Browne, who was first girl home in the British Heart Foundation Pier to Pier Swim and won two medals of each colour in the development meet.

Blandford won the most improved club award from Poole and North Dorset Turbos.

Top club: 1 Christchurch & New Milton Seagulls 1,364, 2 West Dorset 1,092, 3 Bournemouth Dolphins 957, 4 Poole 906, 5 Ferndown 595, 6 Tornadoes of S Dorset 548, 7 Clayesmore 242, 8 Weymouth 187, 9 Bridport Barracudas 184, 10 N Dorset Turbos 114, 11 Wareham 66, 12 Blandford 27.

• Bournemouth Dolphins’ Grace Kingsley won gold and silver in the 50m freestyle and backstroke, respectively, in the South West Sprints at Gloucester, while brother Mikey picked up three bronze medals in his age group to finish fourth overall.

In the South West open water championships in Weymouth, Jasmin Oliver-House won gold in her age group.

Dolphins’ Jack Johnson finished fourth overall and third in his age group in the one-mile Great London Swim.