Swimming club is Britt special (From Redditch Advertiser)

Swimming club is Britt special

12:00pm Friday 1st March 2013 in Sport

HEAD coach Chris Britt believes Redditch Swimming Club’s achievements over the last 12 months have made them the top team in Worcestershire.

Britt was speaking as he introduced their annual awards ceremony at the Rose and Crown in Portway.

The club have a number of achievements to savour in 2012, reaching the finals of the Nuneaton and District and National Arena Leagues. They also finished joint second in a final of the Worcester League.

Redditch were also the top club at the County Championships, winning more medals across the various age groups than any other.

Paul Wilkes, Lucy Corden, Dan Ruckwood, Sophie Bridgman, Issy Griffiths, Poppy McGourlay and Megan Moss qualified for individual events of the ASA National Championships, while Issy Griffiths won a medal.

Dan Ruckwood reached the Olympic trials sem-finals, while Griffiths, Poppy Gourlay and Megan Moss were selected for the England Talent programme.

Laura Cranshaw won gold at the National Master Championships in one of the club’s highlights of the year. Britt paid tribute to the efforts of everyone involved at the club for making Redditch a success.

He said: “After a couple of brilliant years in 2010 and 2011, this has been the year when we have established ourselves as the number one club in Worcestershire and one of the top three clubs in the whole of the West Midlands.

“Every year we are getting stronger. The early signs for this year are positive, including a very good number of qualifiers for this year’s County Championships.”

The club also recognised the individual success of members by presenting trophies to those who won at the club championships and the British Age Group Category awards.

Luke Warren and Poppy Oliver were the best in the year nine age section, while the efforts of Joe Hamilton and Alice Oliver (year ten), Tom Page and Rosie Potter (year 11), Adam Beaumont and Sally Monk (year 12), Jack Harding and McGourlay (year 13) as well as Olvier Thomson and Franca Phlllips (year 14) were rewarded.

Gourlay was named the swimmer of the year, while Rosie Potter, 11, was the most-improved member of the club.