DXDS first outing!

DXDS Derventio eXcel's Development squad had its first Competition since the intake in September 2010. 8 of the swimmers took part, with a few of the swimmers unable to attend due to being part of the Belper Marlins team that gained promotion in Arena League on sunday.

The swimmers who were at Cambridge all eXcelled. This was the first meet where the swimmers have stayed away from home for a weekend. This was a big learning experience for most. All swimmers were very professional from their nutritional choices, the way they prepared for swims and the way they swam. It also proved a great social occassion and the swimmers were having fun and supporting each other.

All swimmers swam great, and we have seen great improvements in their training and racing abilities.

Krissy Tomlinson (DXDS/Ilkeston) achieved numerous massive personal best times, as well as reaching regional qualification in Backstroke. She also won 1 silver and 2 bronze medals.

Jess Cross (DXDS/Ripley) swam consistently just off her personal best times and came 6th in the 100m Backstroke, Jess is showing great improvements in her swimming particularly in her training.

Adam Forster (DXDS/Ripley) swam good personal best times in the 400m and 200m Freestyle and showed great attack on his races, before unfortunatley having to pullout of the rest of the meet with a shoulder injury.

Edward Borysiak (DX/Ripley) swam to multiple massive personal best times, including reaching his regional qualification times, demonstrating his all around improvements.

Jamie Ingram (DXDS/Ripley) swam 10 events with 10 massive personal best times and 9 medals 4 Gold's, 2 Silver's, 3 Bronze, showing his versatility and ability to transfer his skills between events.

Louise Ratcliffe (DXDS/Ripley) swam personal best times and won a Bronze medal in the 400m Freestyle. Louise has demonstrated very hard work in all her training.

Jess Laight (DXDS/Etwall) missed out on her personal best time in the 100m Breaststroke, but again has been emersed in a challenging environment.

I am extremely proud of all the swimmers this weekend, they are all working hard in training and their consistency has improved 10-fold. Most importantly this was a great learning experience for swimmers and their families and they had a FUN weekend.

Well Done All and Keep on working hard.

Dont forget some of the great swimmers in Derbyshire today such as Chris Steeples and Molly Renshaw started off in what was the development squad of their day, just showing what can be achieved in the Golden Waters of Derventio eXcel.