Latest Club News

Matlock and District Spring Open Meet Results


Ashbourne swimmers had an AMAZING day at the M.A.D. Spring Open Meet last weekend.

We had 15 swimmers who entered 39 events with a total of 26 PB’s.

Plaques were awarded for those coming 1st - 3rd and medals for those coming

4th - 6th.

A total of 27 plaques were won - 10 x 1st, 14 x 2nd and 3 x 3rd and 5 medals - 4 x 4th and 1 x 5th.

Alexander Lewis , Jacob Brown, Holly Plumbly, Owen Richards-Jones, Daniel Margiotta and Isabella Margiotta all achieved 1st place in at least one of their races and the following swimmers achieved placings of between 2nd to 5th place in at least one of their races too: Ava Luxton, Ione Plumbly, Osian Richard-Jones, Mia Luxton, Alex Wilson, Jess Wilson, Amy Fowler, Rosie King.

It was Ava Luxton and Ione Plumbly’s first-ever gala too - what a fantastic start!

Well done to all of the swimmers.


Club Medals at Counties 2024!


We had an amazing 2 weekends at the 2024 Derbyshire County Championships with 12 swimmers flying the flag for Ashbourne & District Swimming Club this year.

Between them they swam in 45 events, gained 34 PB’s, with swimmers reaching the 50m or 100m on 11 occasions and 6 placings in the 200m+ heat declared winner races.

2nd place silver medals went to:

- Osian Richards- Jones in the 10/11 yrs 100m Breaststroke

- Daniel Margiotta in the 14 yrs 400m IM

- Isabella Margiotta in the 16 yrs 200m Breaststroke

3rd place bronze medals went to:

- Owen Richards-Jones in the 13 yrs 50m Breaststroke

- Daniel Margiotta in the 14 yrs 200m Butterfly

This was the first ever Counties for Alexander Lewis, Osian Richards-Jones and Olivia Austin and also, along with Skylar Murray, their first time swimming in a long course pool.

Alexander Lewis, Osian Richards-Jones, Jacob Brown, Owen Richards-Jones, Daniel Margiotta, Olivia Austin, Holly Plumbly, Connie Howe and Isabella Margiotta all gained new PB’s, plus Elena Andrews and Esme Hurst had strong swims in their races.

All swimmers were very supportive of each other on poolside. Thanks to all of the coaches, parent helpers and parent supporters. It was a fantastic team effort for Ashbourne :)

Chesterfield Winter Open Meet Results!

Last weekend, 10 Ashbourne Swimming Club swimmers competed at the Arc with some fantastic results.

24 events were entered in total, with 14 PB’s and 12 medals. Medals at this event were for placing first, second or third:

Skylar Murray (10) was awarded 4 medals, including a gold medal for both 50m backstroke and 100m IM.

Daniel Margiotta (12) also won 4 medals, with gold in the 50m backstroke.

Owen Richards-Jones (12) achieved 3 medals, including gold in the 100m freestyle.

Alexander Lewis (9) also won gold in the 50m backstroke.

Olivia Austin (10), Sophie Cartlidge (12), Alex Wilson (13), Connie Howe (14) and Isabella Margiotta (15) all achieved PB’s and Georgia Wilson (9) swam well in the 50m breastroke.

Some great results and a fun day was had by all.

Great results at the Derbyshire Grand Prix Series - Gala 2!

11 Swimmers entered 28 Events at Gala 2 of the Grand Prix Series, which took place at The Arc on Saturday. There were 26 PB's!

No individual medals were given out on the day, but swimmers placing in the top 6 were:

2nd - Holly Plumbly - 100m Breaststroke

3rd - Osian Richards - Jones - 100m Backstroke

4th - Osian Richards - Jones - 100m Breaststroke, Olivia Austin - 100m Freestyle & 100m Breaststroke, Evelyn McPayne - 50m Butterfly

6th - Alexander Lewis - 200m Freestyle & 50m Breaststroke,  Evelyn McPayne - 100m Freestyle

Brilliant effort from Alexander Lewis and Maddy Lurati - both age 9 years - swimming the 200m Freestyle.

Overall Awards for the Junior GP Series are presented to the top 3 scoring Girls and Open/Boys in each age group after completion of the series of galas, calculated on a points basis as follows: Swimmers will be awarded 6 points for a win, 5 points for 2nd place and so on, with 1 point for 6th place. We have a bronze medal winner!!!! Osian Richards-Jones was placed 3rd overall in the Open/Boys 10 years age group!

Very well done, Osian and well done to all the swimmers in this gala series - your hard work has paid off!

!

Grace placed 6th in British Down Syndrome Swimming Championships ! 


Ashbourne Swimming Club member, Grace, represented the club at the British Down Syndrome Swimming Championships. She was placed 6th in the 25m freestyle final competing against many other swimmers from across the country. 

Well done Grace - we are all very proud of you!

Dan Smashes it at DASA Distance Day! 


Ashbourne Swimming Club member, Daniel Margiotta, was our only athlete at the Derbyshire Amateur Swimming Association Distance Day last weekend, but he scooped an amazing 5th place in the 400m IM. He also secured a new PB.

Well done Dan - another very successful gala for you!

Matilda Raises £800 for Our  Club! 


Last month, Ashbourne and District Swimming Club member, Matilda Caton, swam in an open water swimming event called The Big Brutal Swim, a 5km race in Llyn Padarn, the deepest lake in North Wales. She set out to raise £200 for our swimming club, but smashed her target by raising an amazing £800!


Matilda finished the event in 1 hour 39 minutes, a fantastic 9th place out of 39 women, plus 28th place overall, out of hundreds of swimmers.


Matilda says, “Thank you so much for everyone’s donations and support over the past few weeks. We have certainly exceeded our original target!! I was able to complete my swim, with perfect conditions and finishing with a rewarding time, even after being kicked in the face within the first 100m!! To those out there, I highly recommend giving open water swimming a go! Thank you to the coaches of Ashbourne Swim Club for helping me succeed.”


You are awesome, Matilda! The club is VERY proud of you and the funds raised will make a huge difference to all of our swimmers.


If other swimmers or parents/carers have any Club fundraising ideas, please have a chat to a member of the committee.


PLEASE SAVE THE DATES


Wednesday 29th November 2023 (7pm - 9pm) - Club Champs part 1 - 200IM and SKINS only


Sunday 3rd December 2023 (2.30pm - 4.30pm) - Club Champs part 2 - 50m and 100m races


Friday 26th January 2024 - Annual Awards Evening


Tuesday 6th February 2024 - Annual General Meeting



DASA Short Course Champs Success!


The DASA Short Course County Champs gala took place on the 30th September/1st October, with 6 club swimmers entering a total of 24 events.

Isabella Margiotta (15) was placed 4th in 50m breaststroke and also 5th in both 100m and 200m breaststroke; Owen Richards-Jones (12) came 4th in the 200m breaststroke and 6th in both 100m breaststroke and 100m IM; Skylar Murray (11) was placed 5th in the 50m backstroke.

There were some fabulous new PB’s for Daniel Margiotta (13) and Maizie Goddard (14), and Jess Wilson (13) swam a strong 50m freestyle. Well done all and keep up the great work!

Club awarded SwimMark Accreditation!

We are very proud to announce that Ashbourne & District Swimming Club have yet again achieved Swim England’s quality standard for clubs!

After months of behind the scenes work by head coach Ian and the committee, the Club has received it’s re-affiliation certificate from the SwimMark panel. 


What is SwimMark ?


A great team effort and fantastic recognition for the Club!

Etwall Eagles Early Spring Sprints 2023

The Etwall Eagles Early Spring Sprints swimming gala took place on Sunday 23rd April, with 12 Ashbourne and District Swimming Club members attending, swimming in 39 events and achieving 29 PB’s, 23 medals and a trophy! 

Medal winners included Owen Richard-Jones (12), Daniel Margiotta, (12), Skylar Murray (10), Isabella Margiotta (14), Holly Plumbly (10), McKinley Cotton (14) and Sophie Cartlidge (11).

Mia Luxton (10), Holly Barber (11) and Amy Fowler (14) achieved brilliant PB’s. 

Holly Plumbly was also awarded the Top Girl trophy in the 10 year age group, after winning 3 medals and recording 3 PB’s.

An amazing achievement for them all!

MAD Gala 2023

The MAD Spring Open Meet took place on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th March.

13 Ashbourne and District Swimming Club members attended, swimming in 34 events and achieving 20 PB’s and 16 medals!

Medal winners included Daniel Margiotta (12), Orla Skerritt (9), Skylar Murray (10), Ellie Harrison (13), Sammy Poyser (13), Amy Fowler (14) and Rosie King (15).

Both Isabella Margiotta (14) and McKinley Cotton (14) won 1st place medals for 50m backstroke and 50m freestyle respectively.

Ralph Williams (10), Alex Wilson (12), Sophie Cartlidge (11) and Jess Wilson (13) all secured fantastic new PB’s.

A brilliant achievement for them all - well done!

Swimming Club Members Mollie and Rose swim with Ellie Simmonds OBE!

As part of a ParalympicsGB fundraising event last year, Mollie and Rose won a swim session with British former Paralympian swimmer,  Ellie Simmonds.

At the age of just 13, Ellie was the youngest British athlete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. 

Mollie and Rose got to chat with Ellie, hold her many medals and had a private swimming lesson with her!

What an amazing experience!

10 Finals and a Bronze Medal at Counties 2023

Ashbourne and District Swimming Club took a team of 14 swimmers to the 2023 Derbyshire County Championships which was set over 4th/5th and 11th/12th of February at the new Moorways swimming pool in Derby.

The Club was extremely proud of all the swimmers, with 4 members making the finals and one swimmer, Isabella Margiotta (15) winning Bronze in the 200m breaststroke.

Isabella also made finals for 50m backstroke, 100m backstroke, 50m breastroke and 100m breastroke.

The other swimmers who made finals but just missed medals were: Ellie Harrison (13) in the 50m fly  and 100m fly; Owen Richards-Jones (12) in the 100m breastroke and 200m breastroke (and first time qualifying for Counties) and Ellie Torpey (17&over) in the 200m breastroke.

Other swimmers qualifying for Counties for the first time were Holly Plumbly (10), who achieved a new PB in 100m backstroke and Jess Wilson (13) who had a fantastic swim in 50m freestyle.

Ashbourne Swimming Club accomplished an amazing 22 PB’s in total, including 5 for Daniel Margiotta (13) and 3 for Jacob Brown (10), plus PB’s for Connie Howe (14), Sammy Poyser (14), Elena Andrews (17&over), Esme Hurst (17&over) and Max Goddard (12).  Freddie Harrison (12) also had a brilliant swim in the 50m backstroke.

All the swimmers had a great experience at the fantastic new pool.


Friday 27th January 2023 saw our members get together to celebrate their successes over the past year and announce the winners of the Club Championships held on 26th November and 4th December. The annual awards and social evening was a great success with over 110 attending. The 4 main trophies were awarded plus 7 special achievement awards and all the age group champions announced.  For all the results see Results 2022

25 Medals Mark Ashbourne’s Start to 2023

Ashbourne and District Swimming Club took a team of 12 enthusiastic swimmers to the Ripley RASCALS 50th Anniversary Open Meet held on Saturday the 7th and Sunday the 8th of January 2023 in Matlock.

The weekend proved to be a great start for Ashbourne with the 12 swimmers competing in 40 events, gaining 23 new personal best times and a total of 25 medals, including 3 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze.

Highlights of the weekend’s racing were as follows; Ellie Harrison (12) won an amazing seven medals; 3 golds for 100m and 200m freestyle and 50m butterfly, 2 silver for 100m IM and 100m butterfly, and 2 bronzes for 50m freestyle and 200m IM. Isabella Margiotta (14) won silver in the 100m freestyle and bronze in the 200m IM. Sammy Poyser (13) won bronze in the 100m freestyle. Ellie Torpey (18) won the bronze medal in the 100m breaststroke.

Also winning a medal was Connie Howe (13) who won a 5th place medal in the 100m IM. Alex Wilson (12) smashed his PB in the 100m freestyle.  Bella Carolan (11) gained 3 new PBs. Esme Hurst (16) achieved a new PB and a 6th place medal in the 100m IM. Elena Andrews (16) swam well in the 200m freestyle. Daniel Margiotta (12) set 2 new PBs and won a 4th place medal in the 100m breaststroke. Freddie Harrison (12) got a new PB and a 6th place medal for the 50m freestyle.

Finally, it was also Owen’s day to rack up the medals! Owen Richard-Jones (12) not only won a bronze medal in the 100m IM but 5 additional place medals! Well done Owen and all the swimmers for a great start to the year. All targets are now set on the County Championships coming up in February!

New Long Course PBs Set

Congratulations to the small team of swimmers for Ashbourne & District Swimming Club that attended the County Long Course Competition on Sunday 11th December at Ponds Forge, Sheffield. 

Highlights of the day’s competition were Elena Andrews (16) setting new PBs in all four events she entered, Esme Hurst (16) beat her PBs in both the 50m breaststroke and butterfly events and Alex Wilson at just 12yrs did well in the 50m pool in both the 50m freestyle and 50m breaststroke. 


Meeting Local Swimming Hero Jacob Whittle plus Smashing PBs!

The third and final round of the Derbyshire Junior Grand Prix took place on Sunday 6th November at Alfreton Leisure Centre. 

Ashbourne & District Swimming Club took a team of 8 enthusiastic swimmers to this event aimed at younger swimmers. The team smashed most of their PBs with some excellent times plus met local swimming star and Olympian, Jacob Whittle, and even tried out his medals! 

Jacob Whittle, from Derbyshire, was the youngest member of the GB swimming team at the Tokyo Olympics and made the semi-final in the 100m Freestyle. He then moved on to the Birmingham Commonwealth Games with Team England, where he earned a gold and three silver medals - all in team events. Ashbourne’s swimmers were excited to meet a great role model like Whittle and tried his medals on for size! 

The highlights of the swimming results included Sophie Cartlidge (11) who smashed her current PB in the 100m backstroke by over 18 seconds! Holly Barber (10) had a fantastic swim in the 100m freestyle taking an amazing 12 seconds off her PB. Freddie Harrison (11) took a great 11s off his PB in the 200m freestyle. Holly Plumbly (10) swam well in the 100m backstroke setting a new PB and smashed her 100m freestyle taking over 5 seconds off her current PB. 

Elizabeth Harrison (9) gave it her all in the 50m breaststroke whilst Owen Richard-Jones (11) competed in the 200m freestyle for the first time setting a good first PB. Alex Wilson (11) tried his best in the 100m breaststroke and Daniel Margiotta (11) competed in the 200m freestyle for the first time and set a great time coming in 9th out of over 20 in his age.

Frighteningly Fast Times at Ghoul in the Pool!

Ashbourne and District Swimming club took a team of 7 swimmers to the annual Ghoul In The Pool Open Meet hosted by Belper Marlin SC at The Arc, Matlock on Sunday 30th October.  In total 11 medals were won with 11 new PBs set!

Isabella Margiotta (13) cast a spell at the spooky themed event by winning silver medals for all her events; the 100m backstroke, 100m breaststroke and 100m IM. McKinley Cotton (13) is going from strength to strength since joining the club earlier this year and also won a medal in every event entered last weekend; silver medals for the 50m and 100m freestyle and a bronze in the 100m IM. 

Sammy Poyser won a bronze medal in the 100m backstroke. Ellie Tarr (17) won bronze in the 100m breaststroke. Daniel Margiotta (11) won a medal for 4th place in the 50m backstroke gaining a new PB. Esme Hurst (16) worked her magic and shattered her PBs in both the 100m backstroke and 100m IM. And Jacob Brown (10) had a frighteningly fast time in the 50m butterfly beating his PB by almost three seconds!

It wasn’t just luck and magic that were with the team. These ghouls are dedicated and committed swimmers and their hours put in at the pool, paid off for them. The club was very proud to see them do well.  


Medals Mad at the Matlock Autumn Meet

Ashbourne and District Swimming Club's team of swimmers entered the MAD Autumn Open Meet on the 25th of September at the Arc, Matlock. 

A team of 15 swimmers attended on the day ranging in age from 10 through to 18 years old with both the youngest and oldest winning medals. In fact 19 medals were won in total with 5 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze plus an additional 6 medals for places 4th to 6th and 21 new PBs were set.

Gold medals were won by to Ellie Harrison (12) for the 50m freestyle, 200m freestyle and 50m butterfly, McKinley Cotton (13) won gold with a great new PB in the 50m freestyle and gold in the 50m butterfly. Isabella Margiotta (13) won silver medals in the 50m freestyle and breaststroke, plus a bronze medal in the 50m backstroke. Sammy Poyser (13) won silver for the 100m freestyle and 50m backstroke and a bronze medal in the 50m freestyle. Owen Richard-Jones (11) smashed his PB and won a bronze medal for the 100m breaststroke. 

More medals were won by Daniel Margiotta (11) who came 4th in the 50m breaststroke and 50m butterfly. The youngest swimmer, Jacob Brown (10), won a medal for 5th place in the 50m backstroke and set a new PB for the 50m freestyle. Elena Andrews (16) won medals for 5th in the 50m breaststroke and 6th place in the 200m freestyle. Connie Howe (12) set a great new PB in the 50m breast. Scarlett Andrews (12) swam well setting two new PBs. Setting at least two new PBs were Sophie Cartlidge (11), Esme Hurst (16) and Bella Carolan (11) and Alex Wilson (11) had a super swim in the 50m breaststroke. Finally, but not least Ellie Torpey (18), the oldest swimmer, won a medal for 4th place in the 200m freestyle.

Congratulations to all the swimmers who took part and, as always, displayed superb team spirit!


Young Swimmers off to a Great Start

Saturday 10th September saw the first gala of the season and 8 of Ashbourne’s younger swimmers attended the first round of the Derbyshire Junior Grand Prix Series at Alfreton Leisure Centre.

This series of level 4 galas are aimed at novice swimmers in Derbyshire to give them competition experience in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere, and to give them the opportunity to post qualifying times for the County events later in the season.

Ashbourne’s swimmers ranging from 9 to 11 years old attended and swam well to achieve some ne personal bests. Elizabeth Harrison (9) had a super swim in the 50m freestyle, Bella Carolan, (11) smashed her PB in the 50m freestyle, Daniel Margiotta (11) set a new PB and came 5th in the 100m IM. Holly Barber (10), Jacob Brown (10), Holly Plumbly (10) and Freddie Harrison (11) all had terrific swims in the 50m freestyle all setting new PBs. Owen Richard-Jones (11) smashed his PB in the 100m IM.

Well done to all the swimmers attending their first galas and gaining valuable experience. We will look forward to the next round in October.


16 Medals won by Ashbourne Swimmers

Saturday the 9th of July saw a team of 11 from Ashbourne Swimming Club attend the Frank Mansey Open Meet hosted by Ripley RASCALS at Alfreton leisure centre. Medals were awarded for 1st to 6th place and 16 medals in total were won by the swimmers, including 11 silver and bronze. It seemed that three must be the lucky number for Daniel Margiotta (11) as he managed to come third winning bronze medals in every event he entered! Daniel won bronze medals in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 100m back and 100m breaststroke!

Also winning medals was Ellie Harrison (12) winning silver in the 50m freestyle and bronze in both the 100m freestyle and 200m individual medley. Isabella Margiotta (13) the star of the day won silver in both the 100m backstroke and 100m breaststroke and then bronze for the 50m and 100m freestyle.

More highlights of the day’s competition included; Esme Hurst (16) setting new PBs in all four events she entered. Sophie Cartlidge (10) won a medal coming fourth in the 50m backstroke and managed to take an impressive 3 seconds off her PB. Amy Fowler (13) swam well in the 100m breaststroke setting a new PB. Jess Wilson (12) set a new PB in both the 50m freestyle and 100m breaststroke. Elena Andrews (15) had a great day with some new PBs including a great swim in the 200m IM. Freddie Harrison (11) had an excellent swim in the 50m freestyle setting a new PB and coming 5th winning a medal. Rosie King (14) did very well swimming for the first time in the 100m freestyle, 100m breaststroke and 200m IM setting some great times. Owen Richard-Jones (11) set a new PB in the 200m IM winning a medal for coming 4th. 

Congratulations to all of the swimmers!


Smiles All Round!

No 1 The Orthodontics Specialists who pride themselves on creating stunning smiles for their patients in their Mickleover clinic, have now put a smile on the faces at Ashbourne and District Swimming Club by sponsoring the clubs’ new coach and team manager shirts. This is a welcome contribution from a local business to support the club in the current difficult financial times. This sponsorship will help ensure the clubs professional attendance at open meets and galas. Anjli Patel, from No 1 The Orthodontic Specialists, presented the new shirts to Vicky Scotcher, club chair, on Tuesday.  Vicky commented “Not only will the team of volunteers and coaches look great, but they will be easily recognisable by officials and team members at events giving assurance to swimmers as well as boosting team confidence.” 

8 Finals and 3 medals including Gold at Counties

Ashbourne and District Swimming Club took a team of 16 swimmers to the 2022 Derbyshire County Championships

The club were extremely proud of all the swimmers with 8 swimmers making finals and 2 winning medals. It was great to take such a great group of swimmers to this event, especially as the 2021 finals were cancelled, resulting in a two-year gap for some swimmers.

Ellie Torpey won Gold in the 17yrs and over 400m individual medley and Sammy Poyser won Sliver in the 13yrs 50m backstroke and Bronze in the 100m backstroke.

The other swimmers who made the finals but just missed medals were Isabella Margiotta (13) in the 50m and 100m backstroke, Maizie Goddard (12) and Lucy Bartolomei-Walker (15) in the 50m butterfly and Ellie Tarr (16) in the 100m breaststroke. Sammy Poyser not only won 2 medals but also made the final for the 100m freestyle.

We also had some swimmers qualifying for the counties for the first time: Freddie Harrison (10), Jacob Brown (9) Daniel Margiotta (11) and Max Goddard (10). They all did exceptionally well setting new personal bests. In fact 38 new PBs were set in total by the club’s swimmers! It was Evie Gregory’s (17) first time at the counties, qualifying for 5 events and setting some great new PBs. This year was a great year for Isabella Margiotta too who qualified for 8 different events and made 2 finals. Connie Howe (12) set a new PB in the 50m freestyle. Keira Lee (16) broke her PB in the 50m butterfly and Esme Hurst (16) who only joined the club recently swam well in the 50m freestyle beating her PB. Daniel Margiotta had great swims smashing his PB by over 4 seconds in both the 100m breaststroke and 100m IM and Elena Andrews was terrific in the 50m freestyle gaining a new PB.

“We are delighted by the teams’ performance at the counties with PBs in virtually every single heat. I am especially proud of Ellie Torpey who won her first counties gold medal. Ellie has been a member of Ashbourne swimming club for many years and is currently Senior Club Captain. Ellie is also a qualified swimming coach and coaches not only for the club but also teaches for the leisure centre. Ellie is a pleasure to have as part of the club and this gold medal is well deserved and is an accumulation of years of hard work and dedication to a sport she loves. ” commented Vicky Scotcher, Club Chair

2 Bronze Medals and County Qualifying Times for Ashbourne Swimmers

Ashbourne and District Swimming Club entered the Winter Open Meet hosted by Chesterfield Swimming Club on the 4th and 5th of December at the Arc Leisure Centre, Matlock. Ashbourne's team of swimmers attended this level 3 gala hoping to get some qualifying times for the Derbyshire County Championships in February. They not only got their times but came away with two bronze medals as well.

As usual Ashbourne swimmers gave it their all with Isabella Margiotta coming third in the final of the 50m breaststroke 13 years and under and Samantha Poyser coming third in the final of the 50m backstroke for 13 years and under. Both girls did extremely well as Sammy narrowly missed another medal in the 100m freestyle coming 4th and Isabella who missed out on a medal but made the final for the 50m backstroke, she also came 4th in the final of the 50m freestyle and 4th in the 200 metres backstroke! 

Other swimmers who also swam well in the 100 m freestyle were Keira Lee, Evie Gregory, Sophie Cartlidge, Danial Margiotta, Freddie Harrison had a fantastic swim and achieved his first county time and lastly Elena Andrews had a superb swim in the 100m freestyle taking over 25s off her PB.  

More county qualifying times included Lucy Bartolomei-Walker in both 50m backstroke and butterfly, Evie Gregory in 200m freestyle, Daniel Margiotta in 50m backstroke. Scarlett Andrews smashed her PB in the 50m breaststroke and Ellie Torpey just missed a medal coming 4th in the 400m freestyle. 

The club had a number of great swims achieving lots of county qualifying times and puts us in a good position ready for the county championships in February. 

Ashbourne Swimmer Daniel Margiotta Comes First in 3rd Junior Grand Prix

On Sunday the 7th of November Ashbourne's team of young swimmers returned for round three of the Derventio Excel Junior Grand Prix gala held at Alfreton Leisure Centre. This was the final round of the county squad’s events specifically for young swimmers in the county. What a way to finish it with Ashbourne’s very own Daniel Margiotta (10) coming first in the 10 /11 years 100m breaststroke event. With an excellent swim Daniel also took five seconds off his own personal best time.

The other stars of the event were Freddie Harrison (10) who also had a great time in the 100m breaststroke and the 200m freestyle. Recent hard work and dedication really paid off in the girls 100m freestyle for Sophie Cartlidge (10) and Ellie Harrison (11) who both set fantastic new PBs with Sophie taking off over 13 seconds and Ellie taking off over 11 seconds off their times. Maisie Woodward (11) and Scarlett Andrews (12) also swam well in the 100m freestyle with great times.

Connie Howe (11) proved her resilience and great stamina in 200m individual medley with a terrific swim setting a new PB. Bella Carolan (10) had a strong swim and a new PB in the 100m backstroke.

A great finish to this round of galas which sets the swimmers up ready for the next open meet, Chesterfield Open Championships in Matlock in December. Well done to all the swimmers!

Ashbourne Swimming Club and are holding a free trial session for potential new members on Sunday 14th November. Contact the club through the website for more information. 

Ashbourne Swimmers Return to Competition and Meet Olympian!

Ashbourne & District Swimming Club attended their first gala post pandemic and took a team of 12 swimmers to the 2nd round of the Derventio Excel Grand Prix held on Sunday 10th October at Alfreton Leisure Centre.

Derbyshire Junior Grand Prix is a series of 3 galas aimed at novice swimmers aged 9-12yrs in Derbyshire run by the county development squad Derventio Excel. This is an ideal first gala not only post pandemic but also for a swimmer’s first ever gala, as it was for most of Ashbourne’s team. The aim was for the swimmers to gain competition experience in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere but they not only came away with new times, feedback from coaches, a great team spirit, but also autographs!

Attending the meet was 16-year-old Derventio Excel swimmer Jacob Whittle who swam in the Tokyo Olympics this summer. Jacob swam in the 50m freestyle and 200m freestyle in Tokyo and dived in to give a demonstration to the young swimmers of how the 50m freestyle should be done. Ashbourne swimmers were excited to meet him and all got their hats and shirts signed!

In addition to meeting Jacob other highlights were; Scarlett Andrews (9), Jess Wilson (11) and Connie Howe (11) all had great swims in the 100m breaststroke all beating their PBs. Freddie Harrison (11) smashed his 100m freestyle PB. Sophie Cartlidge (10) showed great determination in the 100m Breaststroke. 

Alex Wilson (10) swam well in the 100m Freestyle and set a new PB. Daniel Margiotta came 5th in the 100m freestyle beating his PB. Ellie Harrison (11) was outstanding in the 200m freestyle coming 10th out of 33. Maisie Woodward (11) had a great first gala setting a new PB in 100m Breaststroke. Bella Carolan (10) competed in 2 events as did Jacob Brown (9) and both showed great perseverance in the relatively long-distance events. Francesca Lawrence (11) was excellent in both the 100m breaststroke and the 200m freestyle setting great times. 

Following the first successful competition of the session, Chair of Ashbourne Swimming Club, Vicky Scotcher, commented:

“The club is on a high right now as we’re back, we’re strong and we’re moving forward from the past year. Our swimmers did us proud in the DX Junior Grand Prix last weekend. 200m or 8 lengths is a long way to swim as fast as you can and takes a lot of determination, so a huge well done to all the club’s young swimmers who attended and now are hopefully set to be the next Jacob Whittle and Adam Peaty! The club are thrilled to be competing again and we are super excited for our own championships in November as this is a brilliant event that brings the whole club together.”

Ashbourne Swimming Club will hold its club championships on 24th and 28th November and is a chance for the members to win a number of coveted trophies sponsored by local businesses Trouw Nutrition GB, Master Mover, Viva Hair and Beauty and Wyaston Nursery. 

Ashbourne Swim Over 31 Miles and Raise £865

Despite all the Covid-19 restrictions of the last 6 months Ashbourne & District Swimming Club have managed to complete the Swimathon they originally planned for March. Read more...

On Sunday 18th and Monday 19th October 31 swimmers took to the pool in their training bubbles to complete the Swimathon 5K Team Challenge. Swimmers from 8 to 16 years old were set targets starting from 1k each to complete within the session. They all absolutely smashed their targets!

The Club are so proud of all its members for not only swimming over 2000 lengths which is 31 miles but for raising £865 Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie. A big thank you goes out to Edie Hambleton, Ellie Torpey and George Robinson who all individually raised over £100!

The youngest swimmers were set a target of 1K that is 40 lengths and some even did 64 which is a mile! Max Goddard was the first to complete his 1K in just 24 minutes and went on to do 76 in total. As well as Max, Lewis White, Jacob Brown, Rose Davies and Bella Carolan swam over a mile.

The next groups target was 55 lengths, 1.3K which is like swimming football pitch 15 times! Our highest achievers in the group were Oscar Caton swimming 80 lengths which is 2K and Connie Howe swimming 78 lengths.

The older swimmers are machines and would have just kept going apart from the time constraints of the session. Isabella Margiotta, Elena Andrews, Ellie Torpey, Imogen Scotcher and Keira Lee all swam over 100 lengths easily! Ellie swam 3.4K in the one session.

Our coaches say it all…

“They demonstrated really good focus and determination. Some swimmers overcame serious anxiety and lack of confidence about completing the swim but did so with style.” Sheila Haswell, Coach.

“The swimmers showed a huge amount of grit and determination to achieve as many lengths as they could. A real challenge for all swimmers across the club.” Helen Armstrong, Coach

It has been hard work getting back in the water swimming since the leisure centre did not reopen initially when lockdown restrictions were lifted. The club started training at Belper leisure centre and then moved back to Ashbourne in October. “The Club is following all guidance from Swim England on social distancing which means the way we swim has changed slightly but at least we are luckily enough to be back in the water, as some swimming clubs aren’t. The Club have seen great enthusiasm and support from our members who continue to do us proud! Congratulations to everyone on their Swimathon achievements.” Vicky Scotcher, Chair.

Fun in the Sun!

The Club have been having fun in the sun during the summer with our trip to Spring Lakes water park. Great fun was had by all on a perfectly hot and sunny day! In fact, such fun was had we will plan to go again next summer. Thanks go to our gala secretary, Helen Torpey, for organizing the event! 

13 Medals Won at the Level 3 Licensed Short Course Regional Qualifier Meet hosted by City of Derby, on 14-15th March 2020 at the Arc Leisure Centre in Matlock.

Well this could have been the last gala we attend for some time but what a gala it was. We had a lovely team of 16 swimmers there. I was lucky enough to be poolside with them on the Sunday morning and they were a delight to be with. There was some real team spirit and camaraderie poolside!

We were delighted with everybody’s results as we had some exceptional swimming from all the usual swimmers plus Barney Tanner (14) was there at his first open meet swimming in the 50 meter freestyle and Ellie Torpey (15) who did some fantastic PBs in all of her events.

 We won 13 medals in total of which 2 were gold 4 silver and 3 bronze. The medal winners were;

 Gold

Silver

Bronze

 

Fantastic swims came from Evie Gregory (15) and Ellie Torpey who set new PBs in all of their events and Imogen Scotcher (14) who just missed out in a medal in the 50m breaststroke coming 5th. The 100m IM was the event of the gala for Katie Hanncok (14), Maizie Goddard (10) and Michaela Dick (17) who all swam new PBs in the event. Lastly well done to Jess Kaul who came 10th out of 32 overall in the 15yrs and over girls age group in total FINA points.

Ashbourne Swimmers Make 7 Finals at Counties and Win 5 Medals

Ashbourne took an enthusiastic team of 17 swimmers to the Derbyshire ASA County Championships over 2 weekends, the 15th/16th and 22nd/23rd February held at The Arc Leisure Centre, Matlock.

Fantastic swims came from lots of our swimmers including Kate Haswell (15) and Sammy Poyser (10) who won two medals each and Annabelle Croxford (12) who competed in an amazing 11 events and won a bronze medal in the 100m IM.

Kate won gold in the 1500m freestyle and silver in the 200m freestyle. Sammy won gold in both the 50m and 100m backstroke events. Sammy narrowly missed out on medals in the 100m IM and 50m freestyle coming 4th in both events and she also made the final for the 100m freestyle coming 6th.

Other finalists were Sophie Duckmanton (11) in the 100m breaststroke and 100 freestyle who had an excellent competition setting new PBs in all 6 events she competed in.

Maizie Goddard (10) made the finals for the 50m butterfly and 100m backstroke and also set a massive new PB in her 100m butterfly race. Ellie Harrison (10) competed in the 50m freestyle and swam amazingly well in the 50m butterfly and made the final!  

This year we saw some great swims from some young club members attending the County Championships for the first time, this included Daniel Margiotta (9) who competed in the 50m breaststroke and smashed his PB. We also had Josh Harrison (12) compete in the 50m freestyle who also beat his PB. Connie Howe (10) in the 50m freestyle set an excellent new PB. Sarah Brown (10) competed in 50m backstroke and breaststroke setting a new PB in the backstroke.

Isabella Margiotta (11) Competed in 9 events over the two weekends and set new PBs in every single event including smashing her 200m backstroke PB by 20 seconds. Elena Andrews (13) set new PBs in both the 100m IM and 50m freestyle. Ellie Tarr (14) was on form with her breaststroke setting 2 new PBs in both the 100m and 200m events. Also setting a great new PB in the 100m breaststroke was Imogen Scotcher (14). Swimming well in the 50m breaststroke was Edie Hambleton (11), Ellie Torpey (16) and Jess Kaul (15) who set a new PB.

Head Coach, Ian Duckmanton commented “A huge well done to all our swimmers for firstly managing to qualify and also for competing so well and setting so many PBs and personal achievements. Credit goes to the team who are a pleasure to coach!”