Abingdonian 2017

31 www.abingdon.org.uk Lent Term including Warwick, Nottingham High and Bromsgrove themselves. Entering both A and B teams at U15 and U18, the U15 A and B squads swam well in the 4 x 50m Medley heats resulting in both squads making the ‘A’ final, for which the A squad finished first in a time of 2:02:12. The U18s A squad also qualified for the A final in the U18 4x50m Medley Relay, finishing second in a time of 1:59:75, an agonising 0.5 of a second behind first place. Later, in the 4 x 50m Freestyle relays, the U15 A squad again led the field home in the final in a time of 1:50:44, whilst the U18s finished a creditable fourth in the event, only one second behind first place. Bath & Otter Cup 2018 This event saw a very youthful U18 squad, including two U14s who are still eligible to compete in this competition for another four years return to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Pool in London to compete in the prestigious Bath and Otter Cup. The squad punched well above their weight against over 80 of the top schools in the country including Millfield, Whitgift and Plymouth College. The morning session saw the team finish third in their 4 x 100m Freestyle Heat with all four boys setting new personal bests. The afternoon session consisted of the 4 x 50m Medley Relays, in which the team finished fourteenth in the country in a time of 1.58.93. Griffen Gala This year’s Griffen Gala saw Abingdon School team up with swimmers from Abingdon Preparatory School, The Manor Prep, and St Helen and Katharine School to include swimmers from U10 through to U18 to swim against the local Abingdon Vale Swimming Club (AVSC). Despite their best efforts the U18s came off second best whilst the U16s swam exceptionally to beat their counterparts 64 points to 62 with the result coming down to the final race of the evening! Having had an outstanding season, the U14s finished the term with another highly impressive display winning all seven of their races. Upon reflection, this has been a highly successful season for all involved; however special mention must go to the U14 squad. The U14 squad included Josh Roche, Daniel McNamara, Nicholas Skelton, Luca Frauenfeld and Scott Yap who broke 11 of the 12 U14 age group school records this academic year - without doubt a group to keep an eye on. Tom Donnelly