Hart Swimming Club saw success in their return to Club v Club competitive swimming this past weekend. Hart SC finished joint 1st in their National Arena League Division 1 West swimming gala on points. But was narrowly placed into 2nd based on number of 1st place swims on the evening.
The National Arena Swimming League sees competitive swimming clubs across the country compete against each other over 3 rounds. The league operates on a promotion and relegation system with a national final early next year to determine the national champions.
Round 1 for Hart SC was hosted by Basingstoke Bluefins in the Basingstoke Aquadrome and saw 27 swimmers across 11/u, 13/u. 15/u and 16+ age groups represent Hart SC against other clubs.
Hart SC had some standout performances on the night, with many swimmers achieving personal best times on the evening. The 11/u and 13/u age groups showed the high caliber of talent that is emerging through the club.
Final scores from Saturday:
1st Amersham Swimming Club 168 PTS
2nd Hart Swimming Club 168 PTS
3rd Fareham Nomads Swimming Club 159 PTS
4th Basingstoke Bluefins 149 PTS
5th Newbury District Swimming Club 117 PTS
6th Chalfont Otters Swimming Club 112 PTS
Head Coach, Darren Buchan said “I’m absolutely thrilled with the result this weekend. Its been a very hard 18 months and we haven’t been able to compete in the National Arena League since 2019. Our swimmers came out fighting this evening with some amazing performances in the water. With the likes of Heidi, Ella, Francesca, Thomas, Ethan, Zack, Amelia, Amy, Raul and Ji Ji coming through the squads at the moment, we are really well placed for more success in the future! We hope we have done Hart and surrounding areas proud!”
Spencer Farmer, Chairman added “The club did brilliantly this evening. Massive thank you to Darren Buchan and Coach Will Fuller for all the work they put in on the evening. The atmosphere was electric. The result has placed us very high up on the League Table for Division 1 and sets us up perfectly for Round 2 on 12th November. Congratulations to everyone!”
Hart Swimming Club has also been running its 2021 Club Championships over the past few weeks as well. With over 200 swimmers taking part in over 40 different events. The events have been held at Hart Leisure Centre over 4 sessions, with one remaining.
Darren Buchan said “All the coaching staff couldn’t be prouder of all our swimmers, from our youngest swimmers aged 8 that have been competing through to our Master’s swimmers in their 50’s. The level of progression we are seeing across all our swimmers makes us proud. The number of personal bests achieved, we think, is a club record and its well deserved.
Next up for Hart Swimming Club is the Hart Open Meet, hosted at Hart Leisure Centre, which see’s swimmers from across the south and London come to Fleet to compete and try and achieve qualifying times for County and Regional & National Championships. That’s then quickly followed up by Round 2 and Round 3 of the National Arena League in November and December.