Last weekend Driffield Swimming Club hosted a Friendly Gala at the sports centre, inviting Bridlington, South Holderness and South Hunsley clubs to compete.
This was a 13 and under gala with open and vice captains present to support and organise their younger swimmers.
Friendly galas give youngsters the chance to compete without any pressure of being in a league. It was a big day for the six Driffield children who had never swum in a gala before. Harris Bowman, Charlotte Hall, Craigie Jacques, Sophie Lawson, Max Morley and Lucy Rowe all overcame their nerves with their debut swims.
The first races of the afternoon were the medley relays, each team swimming firstly backstroke, followed by breaststroke, butterfly and finally freestyle.
The first win of the day went to the nine year and under girls. Kezia Cartwright, Charlotte Hall, Lucy Morley and Craigie Jacques gave it their all.
Amongst some other great swims here were the 11 and under boys who put in a cracking effort with nine year old Harvey Roberts showing a great confident backstroke, eight year old Charles Haynes swimming a lovely breaststroke in only his second gala, John Jacques showing his strong butterfly and newcomer Harris Bowman swimming a brilliant freestyle home.
There was a shortage of Driffield 11 year old boys so Harvey Roberts, William Hakner and Charles Haynes all swam up an age group in the relays.
Next came some of the individual events: Max Morley, in his first ever gala, won the nine year old boys freestyle race. After 18 races Driffield were in first place with 40 points followed closely by South Hunsley with 37 points.
The breaststroke relays were next with the 13 and Under boys team having a great win. Jack Emsley, junior captain George Sheader, Andy Rogers and James Haynes made up the winning team.
More individual events followed: Sarah Wade won the 11 and under butterfly showing a good strong stroke followed by Caitlin Muirhead winning the 11 and under breaststroke in style. Andy Rogers was so far ahead in the 13 and under backstroke he seemed to be swimming alone. Well done to you all!
Finally came the freestyle relays. These are always exciting to watch as this is the fastest stroke. The boys 13 and under team swam too fast and got a speeding ticket. Well done to Andy Rogers, Jack Emsley, Charlie Rice and George Sheader!
When the final results were announced, Driffield knew it would be a close-run gala. The winners were South Holderness with Driffield just one point behind in second place.
Team manager, Josie Clark, was happy saying: “Another great afternoon of swimming including some brilliant performances by all of our six newcomers to galas.
“They should be very proud of their achievements.
“Also a massive thank you to our poolside helpers who work tirelessly to ensure our home galas run smoothly. Special mention must go to Stewart Blackburn who did a great job in his new role as referee.”