Day 3, Saturday and we are half way there. The girls 400m free is the first event and Aer Lingus have three swimmers in the final. Tara English proves to the quickest of our swimmers in this one and takes the bronze. Not to be outdone, cometh the hour, cometh the man. Club captain Gavin Truman steps up and takes gold in the u/16 boys 400 Free, a triumph for hard work and persistence as he said himself!

In the 200 back, Wendy O’Neill takes bronze. One of the races of weekend was about to take place. Templeogue fresh from winning the 4 x 100 metre freestyle in a record breaking time, where lining up a possible double by taking the 4 x 100 IM relay title from the current champions and junior record holders Aer Lingus. Something had to give and what took place was truly memorable.  A speech from Alan beforehand settled some nerves, but the tension was palpable, (and the was just in the balcony).

Tara led them off with an inspiring 100m backstroke, Catrina continued her fine form for the breast stroke, Sarah maintained their position giving her all in the fly leg, Rachel went into the water with a slight lead and stayed ahead right to the end. All four girls swam to their optimum, giving it everything and got to the wall less than a second ahead of Templeogue, with both teams inside the old record by over 2 seconds.

The smiles at the end of such a race are what it is all about, the early mornings, the hard work, the injuries, the pain, all forgotten as the girls basked in the glory of setting a new Irish Junior record and winning the 4 x 100 IM title for the second year running.

To end the evening, the senior girls took bronze in their event and the u/16 boys took silver.

Sunday and the end is nigh, Wendy O’Neill takes silver in the women’s 800 meters, Catrina picks up another gold in the 200 IM, and Gavin’s weekend continues to bear fruit with a silver in the boys 200 IM. Catrina entered the pool again for the 200m Breast as hot favourite and duly delivered the gold. Barry Murphy ended Aer Lingus’s interest in the competition with another gold in the  50m freestyle, winning impressively.

What a weekend, everyone ended the weekend exhausted but that is not the end of the story, Barry and the rest of the Irish team, including Andrew Meegan; depart from Dublin to a training camp in Slovenia in preparation for the European Championships.

Catrina, Gavin, Conor, Sean, and Sarah have to continue training, preparing for the British Age Group competition, whilst Rachel, Aisling, and the 3 boys mentioned above are travelling to the UK Schools in early September, so unfortunately no rest for the wicked.

Special mention to Ellen Keane, who will represent  Ireland at the International Paralympic Games (IPC). The event is being held in Eindhoven, Holland and runs from the 15-25 August.

So to close, congratulations to Alan Turner for preparing his swimmers so well, well done to all those who competed, if I mentioned all of the PB’s that where achieved I’d be typing for another 4 hours.

Well done to the parents who participated in timekeeping, turn judges or one of the many other jobs that have to be performed to make these events run efficiently.

And from the swimmers, thank you Mammy…!

Article courtesy of: Paul Nevins

]]> http://www.alswimclub.com/blog/2010/07/28/irish-youth-open-championships-day-3-and-4-report/feed/ 2 http://www.alswimclub.com/blog/2010/07/27/irish-youth-open-championships-day-1-and-2-report/ http://www.alswimclub.com/blog/2010/07/27/irish-youth-open-championships-day-1-and-2-report/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:29:18 +0000 admin http://www.alswimclub.com/?p=1250 [...]]]>

Last weekend from Thursday 22nd of July to Sunday 25th, saw the last competition of the national swimming calendar, the Irish Youth and Senior Championships, and if you expected this to be a top competition, you were not about to be disappointed.

An international flavour was added by the arrival of teams, from Scotland, France, Egypt and South Africa, so, after the Long Course Nationals where many of the events were dominated by the USA team, there was definitely a mood among the Irish swimmers that things were going to be different this time around, and to be fair they were.

Thursday kicked off with the heat and humidity in the NAC being at it most uncomfortable best for those not competing, a long 4 days loomed. However it wasn’t long before the action got serious and the medals started to flow as early as event 3 in the girls 200m free. Rachel Nevins took bronze in the u/15 category after a pulsating battle with teammate Tara English.

Gavin Truman gave a sneak preview of what was to come later in the competition by claiming bronze in the boy’s u/16 200 free. Sarah Taaffe went one better a short time later and delivered the first silver medal for Aer Lingus in the u/15 200 fly.

The last events of Thursday where the 4 x 100 Freestyle relays and we sent out teams in three of the 4 races, the senior girls added to the tally of bronze medals and the u/18 boys and u/16 girls, collected more silverware. In the girls race Templeogue set a new Irish junior record and this was to help focus some minds on Saturday.

So all in all, a good start.

Friday kicked off with more sprints and Aer Lingus strike gold for the first time at these championships, Barry Murphy powers down the NAC pool to win the 50 Fly, Catrina English doubles the gold tally in the u/15 100 breast minutes later, not to be outdone Tara claims bronze in the 400 IM, and Gavin Truman grabs another bronze in the u/16 boys 400 IM in a fantastic race. The medals continue to be collected by Aer Lingus swimmers as Barry Murphy, who now trains in the USA claims second place in the senior men’s 100 breast.

Again the evening closes with relays, this time its the 4 x 200, again three teams take to the pool, and this time its silver for the seniors girls and u/18 boys, but the u/16 girls raised the bar and took the gold.

Article courtesy of : Paul Nevins

Day 3 and 4 Report to follow tomorrow….

All photos courtesy : Kieran Berry.

Aer Lingus Swim Club team photos from the Irish Youth Open Championships at the NAC. Well done to all swimmers on some great individual and team performances. Full Swim Meet report to follow shortly…

After rising to the rank of A- list celeb with his last article, a newly sun tanned Maurice McCrohan makes a welcome return to our website. Enjoy!

“…I was reading though last years Division 2 results getting myself and young Sinead psyched up for the Div 2′s. I scrolled down the list of club names and noted there were dolphins, sharks and jets among the competition!

I don’t wish to send the ALSC Committee into an apoplexy of EGM’S to consider changes of the club name and logos!. After all Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton are three stand alone football names,all of which have official and even unofficial nicknames!. But this did get me thinking that the best sporting clubs all have a nickname or a legend. Everyone knows who the All Blacks, Springboks, Kangaroos,Pumas etc are!.

Lions, Tigers and Bears cross the sporting globe and sporting codes. San Antonio basketball and north London’s Tottenham have their Spurs. Sometimes there are loose connections between names. Boston Celtics and Glasgow Celtics share an Irish flavour reflecting the complexion of support from the local community.

In other cases they could not be more diametrically opposed, Crossmaglens GAA and Glasgow’s Rangers! I knew a Glasgow Celtic fan who’s obsession with his rivals Rangers was such that he would not let his kids watch the Power Rangers.I said there is no connection between the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers franchise and Glasgow Rangers!. He stared at me with the glazed look of the deluded and snapped back,”…well why isn’t there a green one then…”?

Across the water,Sunday league football comes up with some wonderful plays on words!. The London Indian league has a Real Madras!. A Scottish pub league contains Dyslexia Untied and a Surreal Madrid!

So what of a moniker for Aer Lingus? Aer Lingus Swimming Crew sounds too much like an English football hooligan firm! The airport links give rise to the more obvious “Jets” and “Flyers”!. Perhaps the
Aer Lingus “Frequent Flyers” judging by the quantity and quality of the swimmers at Galas!

Mindful of our pending trip to a french speaking part of Switzerland, the boys may be called locally the Aer Lingus Garcons!. I hope the overall performances at Neuchental do not lend us to being dubbed
L’Escargots!

So if you think a nickname is a good idea, please respond with your own ideas.Equally,if you feel why change what is already well known,please let us know.

All views are welcome!…”

Boys U15 who finished 2nd in 200m IM relay

Girls U12 who finished 4th in 200m Free relay

Boys U12 who finished 3rd in 200m IM relay

…proving that our swimmer’s talents extend way beyond the pool ( just don’t get on the wrong side of the bunch below ),  X Factor here we come…!

ALSC Girls U12 who came 1st in 200m IM relay

ALSC Boys U15 who came 1st in 200m Freestyle relay

ALSC Boys U12 who came 4th in 200m Freestyle relay

ALSC  Boys Division 1 Squad Photo.

Well done to all swimmers, the team have got off to a great start in both individual and team events. We’ll have more photos and a full gala report soon.

Photo courtesy: De Photo

For more Division 2 Gala photos click on the De Photo logo on our website.

Gala report from Coach Paolo;

“…Here we are again……….. back from Limerick after competing in the Irish Age Groups Div 2 Gala. Three days of intense and exciting competition took place in an atmosphere, which was very warm in every sense.

The Gala was well organised, presenting only minor flaws. Everything went relatively well and sessions ended within the scheduled timeframe. We had a small team of 4 girls (Sinead, Megan, Ciara and Eilbhe), all of them in the under 12 Age group, one boy in the same Age group (Derek) and one in the under 16 (Michael). So the team was small in numbers but grand in spirit and attitude. They cheered and supported each other all the way throughout the three long days of competitions.

The first day we started with the girls in the water for the 100Bk. They all got fantastic Pbs with Eilbhe lowering hers by more than 3 seconds and Sinead missing the final for 0.04. Then it was Michael’s turn with the 200IM in which he swam very close to his Pb and almost made the podium.  Ciara, Megan, Sinead and Eilbhe had a fantastic medley relay, which almost made the final.

On Saturday we had a very good day with swimmers, both girls and boys, getting Pbs again in almost all the events they swam and with Derek making finals in the 100 Fly and Fc and missing the Division 1 time only by 0.08. Michael also made the final in the 100 Fly finishing second and getting the first medal for our team. The girls made the Fc relay final, in which they ended 4th, despite a minor accident in the heat. They showed a great attitude and fought really well. Megan’s face (and voice) whilst cheering and encouraging the others after her own leg was priceless and also the official photographer noticed that.

The final day had in store more excitement for us. We started really well with Derek swimming a fantastic 200Bk and winning the gold medal. Then in the same event Sinead lowered her Pb by 4 seconds with Ciara getting another Pb as well. But we hadn’t finished yet! Michael made the final in the 100 Breast and a few minutes later, in a well paced race, Derek won another medal getting also Division 1 time in the 200 Fc. He got the Bronze but should have been awarded Silver, since a swimmer with D 1 times was allowed to race. All our complaints were dismissed with silly excuses. In the 200 Fc for the girls, the final event, Sinead got another fantastic Pb by 3 seconds.

Overall it was a very good Gala for us and the team showed a good sense of comradeship and friendship with boys cheering and supporting the girls and the girls returning the favour at every swim. Michael, who was the only one from the Seniors squad, deserves a special mention. He mingled very well with the youngest swimmers and was always present to support them during races almost at risk of missing his own swims.

Parents were fantastic, always helpful and cheerful; they never interfered with the coach’s work but were always ready to bring their support and contribution in a discrete and relaxed way, making his life much easier. That contributed to create a joyful and serene atmosphere amongst the children who enjoyed the experience in and out of the pool.

Last but not least, I have to mention and thank our fabulous Team Manager, Noeleen, who did a great job taking care of every aspect of our trip to Limerick and kept us well fed throughout the long weekend……………………….with a little help from the local Chinese.

Once in a while you see something that causes your jaw to drop. This is one of those moments…

How long can you hold your breath? It reminded me of an ALSC training drill. You know the one; you’re asked to swim underwater as far as you can without breathing. A full length is an amazing feat, a real sight to behold. Well this clip takes it to another dimension; it’s a real mind bending experience. Fasten your seatbelt and hold on.

This is world champion free diver Guillaume Nery base jumping at Dean’s Blue Hole, filmed on breath hold by Julie Gautier.

Dean’s Blue Hole is the world’s 2nd deepest blue hole or underwater sinkhole. It plunges 202 metres (663 ft) in the bay west area of Clarence Town, Bahamas. If that’s not a big enough challenge check out Zacaton, Mexico, which is even deeper at 335 metres (1,099 ft).

Sorry to spoil the illusion, Nery said he never reached the bottom; the distance is so far as to make it impossible. Nery says, “…This movie is an artistic project, a fiction…” It was shot over the course of four afternoons. Swimming 25m underwater is nothing to sneeze at after all!

Oh, just to let you know the song is called “You make me feel” by Archive.

]]> http://www.alswimclub.com/blog/2010/06/24/breath-on-hold-a-dive-into-the-abyss/feed/ 0 http://www.alswimclub.com/blog/2010/06/14/photos-from-aer-lingus-swim-club-gala-may-23/ http://www.alswimclub.com/blog/2010/06/14/photos-from-aer-lingus-swim-club-gala-may-23/#comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 20:00:11 +0000 admin http://www.alswimclub.com/?p=1091

All photos courtesy of: Brian Whelan

www.flickr.com/photos/brianmwhelan/