The first gala of the year certainly got 2018 off to a great start for Fermoy Swimming Club. 26 Fermoy swimmers headed off to the University of Limerick pool to compete in the Munster grade 1 gala. For some of these swimmers it was be their first ever Munster Gala.
Well prepared – both in the water and with information sheets read and discussed – they were hoping to swim well and, most importantly, enjoy their day.
After much persuasion from her coach Jackie Power, Aisling Diggin, at the age of 11, entered her first gala. It is very unusual to get a Grade 2 time at your first gala. Aisling hit her times for the 100m free, 50m breaststroke and her 50m fly making her a fully-fledged Munster grade 2 swimmer. Well done Aisling.
Ryan Ates followed suit, swimming his first gala and hitting his 100m free time, 50m breaststroke time and 50m fly time, not only making him a grade 2 Munster swimmer but he picked up a gold medal in the fly, silver in the 100m free and bronze in the 50m free. Another outstanding performance.
Sophie Baker was our next swimmer to become an official grade 2 Munster swimmer. Sophie already had her breaststroke time so added to this with her 100m IM – winning silver in this event – and her 50m backstroke. She also got a great pb in her 50m free and won silver.
Peter Verling got off to a great start, winning gold in his 50m breaststroke and getting his grade 2 time. He then went on to swim an impressive 100m IM, knocking 9.84 seconds off his time, not only achieving his grade 2 time but winning a bronze medal. Preferring the colour gold, he then went on to win this in the fly, getting his third and final time, making him an official grade 2 Munster swimmer.
Nefeli Pyrovolaki smashed her 100m IM time by 25.72 seconds to hit her grade 2 time, she then went on to get a great pb in her 50m backstroke and once again hit her grade 2 time. Nefeli then got the hat-trick with her 50m breaststroke meaning that she also is now a Munster grade 2 Swimmer.
Alexandra Ohrim was also competing in her first gala, smashing the grade 2 time by 3.5 seconds in her 100m free. She also achieved her times in the 50m breaststroke – winning gold – and butterfly – winning silver – and became an official Munster grade 2 swimmer.
Gemma O’Brien won gold and achieved her grade 2 time in the 100m IM and won bronze in the 50m backstroke. Luca Salvatori won silver in the 50m breaststroke. Rory Gill won silver in the 50m backstroke. Maeve Callanan got her grade 2 time and a silver in the 50m breaststroke.
Sam O’Brien smashed 11.66 seconds off his 100m free just missing the grade 2 time by a fraction. Patrick Kenny also smashed 15.40 seconds off his 100m free and Emma Darrer-Dalton 11.77 seconds off hers and then an outstanding 8.35 secs off her 50m fly.
Oisín Morrison swam a Grade 2 time in his 50m breast. Kayla Whelan knocked 6.23 secs off her 50m back and Mia Callanan 2.64 swam a great 50m breaststroke to achieve a grade 2 time.
Harry Bates, Adam Duggan, Fionn Fives, Aidan O’Brien, Padraig O’Toole, Katie Rice, Eabha Burke and Ionel Ohrim were all competing in their first gala and swam great times. Well done to all of you.
A big thank you to all the parents that travelled and supported the swimmers and helped with the gala. Thanks also to Coach Paula Finn whom attended on the day.
GERRY RYAN GALA
Congratulations to our 5 swimmers who travelled to the Gerry Ryan Gala in UL last weekend. It was a busy weekend, with plenty of great swimming, pbs, division times and medals for our dedicated group. Gala report to follow.
MEMBERSHIP
Please note that membership fees for term 2 are due to be paid by January 31st at the latest. Payments must be made using our online system, just click on the payments button on the home screen of our club website, and log into your account.
CLUB KIT
If anyone would like to purchase a club tee-shirt we have a number of sizes in stock, please contact 087/4191623 for more details. It’s lovely to see the Fermoy group togged out in the club colours at galas, please consider purchasing one for your swimmer and help us to raise vital funds for the running of the club. Our club half-zip tops are also now available to order directly from the swimkit.ie website, through the clubs section.
CLUB WEBSITE
Please check our website regularly for updates on upcoming galas, division times, progression details from grade 1 to grade 2 to grade 3 etc. We have a large volume of information under the competitive tab. You can also find results and times from previous galas here.
GOOD LUCK
Best of luck to our swimmers taking part in the Cork finals of Community Games this weekend, both individually and as a relay team. We wish you fast swimming and a fun day.
