Blog 1028: Arena League

Unfortunately I was away for the first round of the Arena League, however the reports I have had back fill me with pride. After looking at the results and speaking to coaches, swimmers and parents, I get the feeling that everyone gave everything they had and I cannot ask more than that. The A team had a very tough draw with 5 teams that finished above us in the league last year including 2 that finished in the top 4. Whilst finishing 4th in the gala, which was probably a fair result, we have to remember that you get the same points if you finish 10 meters behind or .1 of a second behind, so the points totals did not reflect the performance the A team put in, with many swimmers doing personal bests and finishing close to the swimmer finishing first. This was a really tight gala and most races could have gone either way based on a few points of a second, so keep working on the details in training to reverse these results. The B team swam well above themselves going up against 5 A teams and finishing 3rd in the gala. The fighting spirit, grit and determination shone through and another amazing number of personal bests achieved. All the swimmers that competed did their club proud and therefore I have tried to keep the teams the same for the next round, with a couple of swimmers making it into the A team from the B and a couple being brought in to strengthen the B team. The next round is on November 12th and the tick sheets will be posted over the weekend. Please tick off ASAP. Keep up the good work.