RECENT EVENTS
Whatever the age or ability of our swimmers, there are competitions throughout the year in which they can compete. We have a regular programme of club competitions and operate teams from under 10 years to Masters. The club always has members competing for the East Midlands Region at the RLSS UK National Lifesaving and RLSS National Speed Championships,
Billingham Short Course
20th January 2017
Saturday 20th January at 7 am a squad of 41 swimmers leave Heanor to travel north to Billingham.
After the traditional stop at Scotch Corner we were all ready to compete at Billingham Life Saving Club’s annual competition. With such a great response from club members wanting to take part and with excellent support from parents and coaches we were able to take our biggest squad yet and field teams across all the age groups.
For some it was their first competition whilst for others a new age group but without exception everyone performed brilliantly and behaved brilliantly and were an absolute credit to the club.
Medals galore were presented and we particularly excelled in the team events with every relay having a Heanor team finishing in a top three position, there were some outstanding individual performances which again have been reflected in the overall medal total of 78 gold, 43 silver and 34 bronze, and some swimmers achieving some amazing gains on their times from last year.
Congratulations to everyone who took part and thank you to everyone involved in making this a successful result.
Crawley Open
2nd December 2017
The final competition of the year saw 5 members of the club travelling to the K2 Arena at Crawley to compete in the prestigious Crawley Open meet. This is one of the last remaining “traditional” lifesaving competitions comprising both SERC and speed events at the same competition.
The format of the competition has changed from all mixed categories to male and female categories which meant our team of 5, Calum Briggs, Joe Scurrah, Emma and Jayne Stallion and Ben Witz had to compete in the open male category for all events including all team relays.
The SERC was particularly challenging as the incident was based over the entire 50m pool but teams were still allowed only the standard time, giving an excellent display of skills and team work the team secured first position winning the open male category for HEANOR.
Nine further events followed with two members of the team competing in each and four in the relays again despite stiff opposition from some of the top teams HEANOR achieved 5 bronze positions.
Congratulations to Calum for achieving his first individual long course medal and to all those taking part for representing the club – this on the back of becoming NATIONAL CHAMPIONS last week.
National Lifesaving Championships
26th November 2017 - Leeds
Sunday 26th November saw members from Heanor competing in two national competitions.
Firstly the National Lifesaving Championships, to qualify competitors have to compete in regional heats to qualify to represent their region, from Heanor Joe Scurrah won the East Midlands region to compete in the open male category, and Courtney West and Emily Middleton won the senior girls category to represent the region in that category. Ben Witz represented Yorkshire region, having gained second place in that region. The event comprises four different elements, two simulated emergency response situations, a rope throw and a swim and tow. The East Midland team gained second place overall, our best result for many years, with Joe Scurrah taking second place and Emily and Courtney taking third. The open male category was won by Ben for Yorkshire. Congratulations to all for exceptional performances and gaining additional places for the East Midland Squad next year.
Secondly, the RLSS runs the National Club SERC championships after this event. Clubs are invited to enter SERC teams to compete for the National Club title, the team this year comprised Ben and Joe with Emma and Jayne Stallion, 15 teams entered their category in a complex SERC with a number of different factors set to test lifesaving skills and team work. HEANOR finished in first place, 33 points clear of East Kilbride and Crawley Town.
Well done to Heanor Swimming and Lifesaving club and everyone involved in supporting these club members to achieving national recognition.
Blyth Beach Festival
1st July 2017 - Blyth, Northumberland
Congratulations to the team from Heanor Swimming and Lifesaving Club who competed in the Blyth Coastal Challenge on 1st July and returned home victorious.
A squad of 52 competitors travelled to Blyth in Northumberland to take part in this is full day event, which requires athletes to demonstrate competencies in a range of both sea and beach events. The sea events on the day were particularly difficult due to high surf and strong undercurrents, but despite not having regular access to sea swimming Heanor were able to demonstrate their skills by winning both the open male and female categories in this event and securing top ten places in the other age categories.
The squad comprised members from the full age range of the competitive club from 5 years to members of the masters squad all of whom were able to contribute to the clubs winning point score.
In the 5 to 8 age category Callum Stevenson, Zac Stephenson and Kai Mcloughlin finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively with Callum taking first place in the board event and Kai gold in the sprinting and beach flags events, with all the girls in the same age category completing all events and finishing in top ten positions.
9-10 boys and girls completed all events with Alex White achieving 3rd place in the Board events and Ruby Palmer and Chloe Hallam matching this in the throw and wade events.
The 11-12 boys was won outright by Andrew Bridgewood who finished top four in all of his individual events, and Sarah Tomlinson taking third place in the girls’ category.
Winning performances continued throughout the day with Heanor taking the top three places in the male masters category and male open, with Richard Hallam and Ben Witz taking those respective titles and
Jayne Stallion and Emma Stallion achieved silver and bronze in the open females, and silver and bronze place was awarded to Sarah Rackham and Pam Barrowcliffe respectively in the female masters category.
By working together as a club, Heanor was able to make every swim and run count and as a result took the title from the home club.
Well done and thank you to everyone who took part and helped support all the athletes on the day
Saunton Sands
27-29th May 2017 - Devon
The children took part in a surf lesson hosted by Saunton Surf Club and parents and children took part in camp site games. A great weekend which was enjoyed by all.
Derbyshire Rookie Festival
20th May 2017 - Derby
Congratulations to everybody who competed at the recent Derbyshire Rookie Festival at Queens Leisure Centre, Derby. The competition saw Heanor take first place in every age category.
A special mention must go to our under 8’s team who despite being the only under 8 team in the competition, swam alongside the under 10’s and completed every event.
Thank you to all the poolside helpers on the day and well done everybody that took part.
RLSS National Speed Championships
Sheffield - Ponds Forge
25th & 26th February 2017
Heanor Swimmers raised the roof at Sheffield, Ponds forge on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26tth February 2017 whilst competing at the RLSS national championships. We started both days in the pool for 7 am with one of the largest squads we have ever taken – 35 athletes! Our athletes ranged from our novices at 12 years old, that were thoroughly enjoying their debut at the largest competition held in the UK for lifesaving and our Masters squad also thoroughly enjoying themselves at competing. We had a phenomenal weekend, with parents in full voice, coaches running around organising and swimmers being focussed and dedicated on achieving their best.
The club started their Saturday off brilliantly and half way through the day they had already claimed their first National champion in the gruelling 200m Super lifesaver thanks to Jayne Stallion for dominating the final heat in the last 60m to take the gold medal! Throughout the day we had numerous personal bests being achieved from every age group and team events were going along swimmingly. The first day then drew to a close and four older ladies who were exhausted from coaching all day and organising 30 + athletes decided to have their turn and took their positions in lane 4 to take part in the rope throw relay – Needless to say they did not disappoint and achieved a silver medal! Four men then decided not to be out done by their mother and coaches and Heanor Swimming club claimed their next National championships thanks to Ben Witz, Joe Scurrah, Calum Briggs and Mark wright after dominating the rope throw relay and achieving a gold medal each.
Sunday then continued the momentum with more outstanding swims and the team spirit at an all-time high, the weekend ended with the following statistics:
24 new club records
69 personal bests
5 national champions
3 bronze medals
9 silver medals
6 gold medals
50+ exhausted people started their departure back to Heanor after an incredible weekend! The following Friday arrived and after an electrifying atmosphere all week at training the celebrations continued as Jayne Stallion and Thomas Rackham were invited to join the RLSS UK Performance squad – A selection of athletes that are chosen based on their performance and ability at the national championships! They will be provided with an opportunity to be selected for international championships including Commonwealths – watch this space!
Billingham Short Course & Rookie Festival
14th January - 2017
A brilliant day had by all. Congratulations to Toby Torr who was able to defeat the obstacle with a small amount of help! It was brilliant to see your determination and lack of fear Toby well done! Everybody gave 100% to the competition and it was fantastic to see. The team spirit and support created a great atmosphere and a great team to be part of, well done and congratulations to you all. We came home with a grand total of 33 gold medals 27 silver medals and 28 bronze medals!
Sheffield Rookie & Short Course -
20th November 2016 - Sheffield
Well done to all the swimmers who competed. Well done to Lauren Voce competing in her first competition and well done to the teams who came home with the medals. Fantastic effort all round.
Yorkshire Speed Lifesaving Championships
8th October 2016 - Leeds
Well done and thank you to everyone who represented the club at the Yorkshire Speed Lifesaving Championships. Thanks also to coaches and parents who stepped up to time keep again, without those elements we can't compete.
Congratulations to first time competitors at a speeds competition, Ben Hallam, Jodie McLoughlin and Katherine Watson, you all did great swims and I hope you enjoyed it. We took 18 competitors and achieved 33 personal best times, breaking 7 club records in the process, so congratulations to Tom Rackham, Jayne Stallion and Ben Witz.
These three also achieved top three positions in their events.
We also had a number of swimmers achieving top ten finishes which considering the quality of competitors at the event was a fantastic achievement. A great but tiring day with some great team swims,v particularly the 12-14 boys who were asked not only to swim up an age category but suddenly found the manikin considerably heavier!
Gillian
Regionals - 16th July 2016 - Retford
Well done to everyone from Heanor who competed today and a special mention for Lizzie, Tegan, Emma and Joe who go through to the Nationals to represent the East Midlands..
Rookie Festival - June 26th 2016 - Bramcote
Well done to everyone who took part in the Rookie Festival, Everyone put in 100% and did fantastic, thankyou for representing the club so well. Thanks to the coaches for all their support and training at club.
Blyth Beach- 11th June 2016
Thank you to everyone who helped Heanor compete at Blyth Beach Festival, whether as a competitior or helper, and I think both roles are equally challenging but all vital to enable us to compete, and compete we did, right into second place! A fantastic achievement for the club against some of the strongest clubs in the sport, and some of the top competitors. We achieved some fantastic results and I know everyone tried their hardest. For those who have been previously they pushed even harder and achieved more than before and for us who were competing for the first time I hope you will be joining us again next year. Fantastic results well done and thanks again.
Gillian
Rookie Festival - 11th June 2016 - Derby
Another brilliant competition! We had a total of 36 competitors and a squad of about 70 so thank you coaches and parents for coming along to support. We had a few first timers with Ruby Blake and Jodie McLoughlin so a huge congratulations to you both we hope enjoyed yourself! Tom, I hope you were made to feel welcome and enjoyed yourself too! The support for siblings and competitors was fantastic, the crowd really does help to spur the swimmers on and it was brilliant so thank you! There were a few close races and no matter what happened or how people felt everyone put in 100% so well done!
The results- Under8 yellow gold. Under 8 black silver. 8-9 yellow gold. 8-9 black bronze. 10-11 yellow silver. 10-11 black fifth. 12-14 black bronze 12-14 yellow fifth. The incidents also looked good from what I could see most of you did all the right things so well done! Well done it was a great team to be part of!
Blyth Pool - 21st May 2016
Well done to everyone that competed at Blyth! Some brilliant swims and plenty of medals / PBs. A big shout out to Richard and Jon for both competing with no practice.
Well done Heanor !!
