Club News

Table Quiz in aid of club funds

Following the success of last year, Nigel has agreed to organise another Table Quiz.  This will be held on Friday 2nd March 2012 in Banbridge Rugby Club.  7.30pm for 8pm start (Warm up @ 7.45pm)!   As well as providing good night’s craic all proceeds will go towards club funds.

We hope to see as many as possible on the night as this is a great opportunity for us to socialise relax and hopefully have some fun.  Ballot tickets will be in sale @ the desk from Saturday 28th January 2012, so you could still be a winner even if you cannot make it on the night! 

Finally, if anyone would like to donate a raffle prize this would be much appreciated.  We look forward to your continued support.

Superb Day at 3rd Development Gala

On 15th January 28 swimmers travelled to Ballymena to compete in the third Swim Ulster Development gala. The purpose of these galas is to allow us to compete against other swimmers of the same age and to progress to the Swim Ulster graded galas by improving their times and confidence. For many of the younger swimmers, this is the first chance for them to swim 100 and 200 m events in a competitive setting. All the swimmers had a super day with the medal tally adding up to 6 gold, 10 silver and 5 bronze. In addition there were 23 top 10 finishes with 27 pb’s being achieved and 37 new events swam.

Aquasprint Team's Second Strong Challenge

Banbridge met a strong Ards team last Saturday who steamed ahead in the relay events. The only team to squash their winning ways were Group D with the team of Olivia Knox, Alex Donnelly, Ellie Purdy and Eunan Quinn who had a great win in the Medley Relay and were just pipped at the touch in the Freestyle Relay in a very close finish.

In the Breaststroke events Groups B and D girls gave a tremendous performance when they gained 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd with Jessica Robinson, Rebecca Pinkerton and Caitlin Kearney for the B group and Olivia Knox, Ellie Purdy and Emma McElderry respectively for the D group.

Group D boys had many excellent results with Captain Alex Donnelly, Eunan Quinn and Ryan Porter who had great swims on the night. Group C boys saw William Pinkerton ahead at the touch in the Breaststroke event with Harry Farson swimming well in all his events.

Groups A and B boys meet tough opposition but Dawson Patterson, James Whan and Patrick Doyle swam every event with sheer determination.  In Group A young Julia Knox had a tremendous night of swimming coming first in the Fly and freestyle with second place in the Breaststroke and third in the Backstroke.  Lauren Armstrong in group B swam a superb race in both Backstroke and freestyle gaining her first places.  Not to be out done by her little sister Captain Olivia Knox gave an outstanding performance of the night when she came first in all four events with team mate Ellie Purdy securing second place in Breaststroke and fly.

Other swimmers whom contributed and gained valuable points on the night were Group A Aidin Quinn, Ruby McNiff, Zoe Kilpatrick, Dane McCullough, James McKee, Sam Johnston and Niall McGeown. Group B Lauren Lyttle, Anna Long, Declan McGeown, Luke Milligan and James Smith. Group C Sophie Mount, Charlotte Farson, Eimear McMullan, Hannah Hubert, Harry Dougan, Daniel Kilpatrick,  Rory McNiff and Christopher Morrow. Group D Charlotte Campbell, Kathryn Allenby, Matthew Brown, Aaron Brown, Harry Long, Thomas Nixon and Joshua McAdam

First Outing for Aquasprint Team

An outstanding Performance from group A swimmers in the first gala of the season at home to Larne.  For many it was their first experience of competition. Julia Knox and Dawson Patterson were exceptional when they won all their events. With their team mates Aidin Quinn, Ruby McNiff, Zoe Kilpatrick and the boys Dane McCullough, Sam Johnston, James McKee and Niall McGeown greatly contributed to a fantastic overall performance.

Group B James Whan and Patrick Doyle were like two peas in a pod taking alternative first and second places with great results also from Niall McGeown and Luke Milligan. The girls Caitlin Kearney, Jessica Robinson, Rebecca Pinkerton and Lauren Armstrong had great swims in all their individual events.

Group C Sophie Mount and new comer Hannah Hubert performed well along with Eimear McMullan and Charlotte Farson for the girls. The boys had an excellent gala with outstanding swims from Harry Farson, William Pinkerton, Daniel Kilpatrick, Rory McNiff and Harry Dougan. Also a great effort from Anna Long who couldn’t understand why she was swimming Butterfly but gained a great second place you see Anna, you can swim Butterfly!

Outstanding contribution from Team captains Olivia Knox and Alex Donnelly who were hot on their heels of a tough Larne side and a great effort from team mates Eunan Quinn, Ryan Porter, Matthew and Aaron Brown and Joshua McAdam along with the girls Emma McElderry, Charlotte Campbell and Kathryn Allenby. 

Well done to our other swimmers who contributed on the night James Smith, Ellen Wright, Conor Woods, Christopher Morrow, Harry Long and Thomas Nixon.

Irish Short Course Championships

The Irish Open Short Course Swimming Championships were held in Lisburn Leisure Centre from 16th – 18th December, and an impressive seven swimmers from Banbridge A.S.C. qualified for this event.

Daniel Chambers and Graham Stevenson produced great swims in the 50m backcrawl and 50m freestyle respectively. Megan McKenna swam an outstanding 100m freestyle and secured a personal best of 1.03:63. Cameron McDonald also gained personal bests in both the 200m and 400m freestyle events.

A special mention must go to three swimmers who reached ‘B’ finals in their events: Jenny Wilson in the 50m freestyle, Allyce Nixon in the 50m breast stroke and Patrick Morgan in the 50m butterfly.  This competition is the National pinnacle of Short Course Championships in Ireland and the success of our swimmers is a reflection of all the hard work put in by themselves and their coaches. Well done to everyone!

Halloween Qualifying Meet in Lisburn

Banbridge swimmers attended Swim Ulster’s first qualifying gala of the year in full strength.  A massive haul of medals was accumulated over the weekend, along with Pb’s in virtually every race.  Among the medals that were scooped, there were 6 golds, 14 silver and 17 bronze.  We had 55 top ten finishes and a fabulous 69 personal best times.  Gold medal winners were Allyce Nixon for 100 breast stroke, Cameron McDonald for 200IM, Graham Stevenson for 1500 free, Olivia Knox for 50 fly and Jenny Wilson for 100 free and 100 fly.  A tremendous achievement for swimmers and coaches to see their hard work producing such tangible results. 

Club records were also smashed at the weekend.  Cameron McDonald flew up the pool in the 100m free in a time of 59.78, becoming the first swimmer in club history to swim under a minute.  Not to be outdone, Patrick Morgan swam 50m back in 30.85 breaking the club record of 31.45, and 26.03 in 50m free, crashing through the previous record of 26.98.  Jenny Wilson also broke a club record, this time swimming 50 free in a fantastic time of 29.68, becoming the first female under 30 seconds in this event.

Second Development Gala Qualifiers

Well done to Ellie Purdy, Harry Farson, Aidin Quinn, Eunan Quinn and Michael Rafferty who travelled to Larne last Sunday for the second Swim Ulster development gala of the year. These galas give swimmers the opportunity to gain qualifying times for the Swim Ulster Graded galas and progress to the next level of swimming excellence, pocketing some medals in the process.

Ulster Minors Schools Gala

Eleven club swimmers took part in the recent Age Groups 1-3 Minor Schools gala in Ballymena.  For many it was their first gala representing primary schools within the district.  Congratulations to all who swam superb times.  Medal winners included Julia Knox, Jessica Robinson, Becki Pinkerton, and Eunan Quinn

PTL Gala 

Banbridge swimmers faced their first PTL gala of the season with Newry & Mourne.  Only a few swimmers were missing from the team and the Banbridge PTL squad was ready for action. The swimmers looked strong and hopes were high. Several superb new swimmers to the club, Daniel Chambers, Lauren Robinson, Aaron Keegan, Abbie McCullagh and William Pinkerton joined the team in a bid to remain in the First Division.

It was an excellent gala with a lot of extremely close races. Special mention also goes to the largest group of boys who certainly pulled their weight in several relay races: Ross Johnston, Adam Bell, Eunan Quinn and Ryan Porter.

Club Kit 

New Club Kit is now available to order at the Swim Desk.  Club colour black and red Hoodie and T Shirts are printed with Club Logo and Swimmers initials.  Swimwear, googles, training accessories, mesh bag and kit bags are also available to purchase.

Training Session NAC

Registration 2011