Redditch mayor drops in to visit swimming club (From Redditch Advertiser)

Redditch mayor drops in to visit swimming club

1:10pm Wednesday 2nd January 2013 in Local

REDDITCH Swimming Club was honoured on the final day of its club championships with a visit from Redditch mayor Alan Mason.

He presented the ‘sprint medals’ to the successful swimmers that had competed in the 50 metre events a few weeks earlier.

This was the first year that RSC had been able to hold their club championships in their home pool at the newly refurbished Abbey Stadium; each gala attracting a full viewing gallery of vocal and supportive parents.

Thanks to the council, Redditch SC can also now host regular galas featuring teams from around the region. The annual club championships consist of nine galas, covering 46 individual events.

This year’s championships had a record number of entries with over 130 swimmers entering for almost 800 swims. The ages of competing swimmers ranged from seven to adults ‘over 40’ competing in the parents’ races.

No less than 51 club championship records were broken, some of which had lasted for more than 20 years. Additionally, hundreds of personal bests and county championship qualifying times were achieved.

Following the presentation the mayor watched the last gala and was very impressed by the standard of swimming demonstrated. He was especially delighted to see the faces of the seven and eight year olds light up with pride as their names were announced, accompanied by enthusiastic cheering from the crowd.

He said: “What a fantastic way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Redditch Swimming Club has always had a reputation for producing excellent swimmers that have gone on to represent the county, the Midlands and even Great Britain.

“Now with this superb facility here at the Abbey Stadium I see the next generation coming through and will be keen to see some of these swimmers making the same journey. I must congratulate the volunteer coaches, helpers and supporters for making this such a great club and providing this sporting opportunity for the young people of Redditch.”