It was also a chance for the two GB 2012 squad swimmers to get a chance to swim in a high- pressure environment against the senior swimmers. The incentive for the junior swimmers was selection onto the GB Junior (for females born 92,93) and Youth teams (Females born 91 or later) that would compete against the best in Europe and the world respectively later in July this year.
This was a very exciting meet for the Bridgend girls to complete against the top swimmers in Great Britain and it was testimony to the characters of Hayley and Sara that they performed so well. Both girls have had a tough schedule over the last couple of months, with Hayley winning her first Wales Schools cap in the WISE UK Schools meet in Crawley, and Sara taking the 100m breast gold in the same meet. This was followed by the earlier than usual Welsh age groups in Swansea and then on to Sheffield.
Hayley qualified for these trials following her superb multi-medal winning performances at the British Age groups last July and she showed her potential again with several PB swims, most notably in the 200m butterfly, where she comfortably got inside the tough qualifying time of 2:22.96 to gain selection onto the Wales Youth squad for next year. This is a fantastic achievement for Hayley, as the qualifying times for next years Welsh teams have been tightened significantly as we progress towards the Commonwealth games in 2010.
For Sara it was the 100m event where she excelled. Her PB going into the competition was 1:13.10 and during the evenings event she was placed in the same heat as World silver medalist Kirsty Balfour. The intensity of the competition pushed Sara to a time of 1:11.60 winning a place in the following morning’s finals. This time is over a second inside the qualification time for the GB team for the European Juniors and places her firmly at the top of the GB rankings for her age, but unfortunately Sara is too young having been born in 94 and the selection policy states you must be born in 92/93, so being fast enough doesn’t always get you in the team! It is even more disappointing as the European juniors this year happen to be in Belgrade, Serbia, where Sara won a silver medal for GB in the European Youth Festival last July. There is an outside chance that a place on the GB team for the World Youth Championships could be possible, but it’s in the hands of the GB selectors.
Next stop for Hayley and Sara will be an international meet in Oslo, Norway in May, when fellow Bridgend County swimmer Bethan Davis, of Brackla, will join them. All 3 girls will be representing Wales in a team that will be headed by their home coach at Bridgend, former Commonwealth games swimmer Phil Melhuish. The swimming season will culminate with the British Nationals in Sheffield in July, where the big incentive will be selection onto the Wales team for the prestigious Youth Commonwealth Games in Pune, India in October.
This was another great meet for Bridgend County Swim Squad members under the guidance of former Commonwealth swimmer Phil Melhuish. Bridgend County swimmers have represented Wales Schools, Wales Youth and Great Britain within the past year, and have been very successful in winning medals and topping the National rankings. The success is testimony to the hard work from the swimmers, parents and coaches and adherence the training program set by Phil. These are exciting times at Bridgend County as we look forward to the autumns opening of the new Swimming centre at Ynysawdre.
