Blaenafon Barracudas
BLAENAVON Barracudas recently held their annual club championships at Pontypool Active Living Centre.
It has been a very difficult year for the club since the closure of Blaenavon Leisure Centre and its swimming pool, the Barracudas home.
With swimmers travelling to various swimming pools across Torfaen due to the availability of appropriate pool time for training sessions, it was important for the club to hold this annual event to show the club was still operating and full of life.
There were 38 young swimmers aged seven to 16 taking part in the championships and a total of 36 separate events taking place, including butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle and individual medley.
The Barracudas demonstrated that that the club was still alive and able to compete at the highest level.
A total of 36 personal best times were set by the swimmers during the course of the championships and this alone demonstrated the commitment they showed to an enjoyable but competitive evening.
Many of the Barracudas' young swimmers take part in regular organised and competitive meets and club galas across the south Wales and Hereford areas.
Several of the Barracudas swimmers compete in the Western Speedo League as members of Team Torfaen who have finished third out of 18 teams after their recent win against Bath.
They are now set to compete in the finals.
The club would welcome any new swimmers who would like to join and develop their swimming skills and ability.
Interested swimmers can contact club chairman Kevin Rogers via email at kevin.rogers@btconnect.com.