North East Championship 2023

September Sprints - John Charles Centre, Sunday September 10th 2023

Second place overall achieved - out of the 22 clubs!

If you thought that things couldn’t get any better for Armthorpe Kingfishers… well, they just did! Twenty-two swim clubs from all over the region, with upwards of four hundred swimmers, travelled to Leeds for the annual DARTES September Sprints, with all races over 50m plus the 100 IM. Armthorpe had 38 swimmers competing across A and B squads, age groups, boys and girls. For four swimmers, this was their very first competition - so they now have official times and their first PBS! Have no doubt - these will be the first of many!

There were 60 PBS altogether, including xxx brand new ones from the four “newbies”. 55 medals were achieved overall for swimmers finishing in the first three places of each event. Notable performances were abundant - but special mention has to go to the following swimmers who achieved places in the top three in the Top Girl / Top Boy categories:

Top Girl categories:               

Aged 10 years (26 swimmers)

Georgie Arnold 2nd place (23 points)

Aged 11 years (34 swimmers)

Sofia Sanders 1st Place (24 points)

Maisy Ebbage 2nd place (23 points)

Top Boy categories:

Aged 9 years (10 swimmers)

Joshua Whiteley 3rd place (13 points)

Aged 10 years (22 swimmers)

Stephen Tuffrey 2nd place (22 points)

Seven swimmers got medals or a speeding ticket in at least 4 of their 5 races:

Georgie Arnold 10 year old girls (5)

Maisy Ebbage 11 year old girls (5)

James Ellis 11 year old boys(5)

Emily Kirk 10 year old girls (5)

Lucas Johnson 13 year old boys (4)

Rodger Murray 10 year old boys (4)

Stephen Tuffrey 10 year old boys (4)

There were eleven Speeding Tickets altogether… meaning that those swimmers swam faster than the permitted cut-off time for their grade. They are, therefore, like “hen’s teeth” ie very rare and much sought after!

The atmosphere and team spirit from the Armthorpe contingent, throughout the whole day (despite a 8.00am warm up… in Leeds for the morning swimmers) were each OUTSTANDING and all team managers, coaches and officials from the club could not have been more proud! A HUGE thank you once again, to all parents, relatives, carers and friends who supported us and cheered on our swimmers!

Our next meet will be the Doncaster METs - to be held at Adwick across the weekend afternoons of 21st / 22nd October 2023. Swimmers aged 11 years and upwards will swim each event over 100m, with younger age groups swimming over 50m, plus the 100m IM.

You won’t want to miss it!

Pete and Mary 

Bridlington Seaside Special  July 7 8 9th 2023

60 Armthorpe swims.

A fantastic venue with a panoramic view of the sea and a great cafe and facilities was the back drop to a well organised meet. Spectator seating tickets were snapped up quickly so those who arrived late on the first morning were a little disappointed, but this was the only negative (tickets were available again for the afternoon). Everyone at the club was very friendly and accommodating and it was good to see so many smiling faces. Doncaster had a good representation with Adwick and Edlington as well as our 11 swimmers who were all very well behaved and were a credit to both their parents and the club, so a big thank you to our swimmers!

Whilst the warm up took a full hour, with only 10 minutes for each category, one lane was permanently open for sprints to all swimmers which allowed time to soothe some last minute nerves on backstroke stroke count and perfecting their starts for example. The kids absolutely loved it with music on full blast during warm up! All kids who weren’t swimming, were dancing.

The breadth of events allowed the opportunity to try new swims and distances. 200m IM, 200m back, 200m free, as well as those trying 100m for the first time, gave a chance to develop confidence and race craft.

Whilst there will always be some disappointments for the swimmers, like not getting that time, or the medal they wanted, they all accepted the learning this offered. There was some learning for the coaches too to focus on starts, turns and finishes and a bit more stamina development would really help tweak an already strong group of swimmers. Our swimmers’ stroke technique is noticeably high quality against the rest of the field. There were some huge personal bests and a massive medal haul. The most sought after medal being the ‘speeding medal’! At last, a positive acknowledgment for swimming too fast!

Overall it was a fantastic weekend and definitely an event that we should return to and perhaps with a bigger contingent so we can enter the team relays… Thank you to the parents for taking the time to travel and your spectating endurance, and especially to the swimmers, who were all awesome! Well done.

Jonathan Tuffrey

BML Home Gala Results Adwick July 1st 2023

The final BML of this year was held at Adwick on Saturday 1st July. Our opposition was, as usual Barnsley, Wakefield and City of Sheffield swimming clubs. With second place pretty much guaranteed, barring absolute disaster, Armthorpe Kingfishers swimmers were, as ever, raring to go. By the half way point, we were solidly in second place, but, as last time, it all hinged on the final race - the canon. In this event, each team fields eight swimmers comprising  four boys and four girls across all age groups: 10 years, 12 years, 14 years and open age. Despite their very best efforts, our canon team came in 3rd behind Sheffield and Wakefield. So… overall, we gained 3rd place in our “home” gala, ONE point behind Wakefield in second place. HOWEVER, our team’s consistent performance across all four galas, means that we gained SECOND place in our league, ensuring League 2 participation next year. This is a superb outcome for Armthorpe - a small, village club with a membership of just over 100 swimmers - competing against three city clubs with much larger memberships.

It has been a privilege to be part of Armthorpe Kingfishers during this gala season. Our team of around fifty swimmers have swum their hearts out, with some swimmers competing in multiple events. From eight year olds to eighteen year olds, everyone has played their part with determination, commitment and endeavour. Every one of them deserves our praise and recognition for their achievements. Their team spirit has been inspirational, and pride has shone from their faces.

Thank you AGAIN to our fantastic supporters who have cheered us on all the way, and to our club volunteers - team managers, coaches and officials, without whom none of this would be possible. – Mary Firth

I have delayed commenting on this gala as we had some queries regarding the eligibility of some swimmers from Wakefield and City of Sheffield. These have now been resolved and as you can see from the final results these have changed the final league positions with Wakefield being demoted and Barnsley remaining in Division 2. Our position of 2nd place remains unchanged.

I am very pleased with the performance of our teams over the 4 galas and to remain in this division is a good achievement. Individual times can be seen on our notice board and the overall points position is attached. - Pete 

Scarborough Summer Splash @ Sports Village

Grace's Report

I was nervous because it was my first gala I went to on my own but everyone was so friendly and enjoyed it so much! 

I got 5 PBs and got 2 medals and 2 speeding tickets overall. I am most proud of competing the 200 IM because I knocked 7 seconds off my original time. We got to watch a new race I have never seen called skins and it was a lot of fun. 

I’d love to go back because it was so much fun and even got asked if I wanted to train with the Scarborough swimming club on a saturday due to us coming to Scarborough often.

Jorvik Sprints Leeds Saturday 17th June

The Jorvik Sprints were held at the John Charles Centre, Leeds, on Saturday 17th June. Armthorpe Kingfishers’ team was, once again, full of energy (despite the very early start for some!), enthusiasm and effort! This brilliant venue inspired our swimmers to some outstanding performances, with lots of medals, a fair number of PBs and an overall 3rd Place finish out of NINETEEN clubs - truly amazing from a small village club!

This was a HUGE Meet, with over 400 swimmers competing. Notwithstanding, there were some truly notable achievements in the Top Girl and Top Boy categories across a range of age groups:

Stephen Tuffrey - Top Boy in the age 9 Years category - 12 swimmers

Georgie Arnold - Top Girl, and Sophie Barley 3rd in the age 10 Years category - 25 swimmers

Laurence Chapman - Top Boy age 14 Years category - 26 swimmers

Alexander Drury 2nd in the age 10 Years Boys category - 16 swimmers

We see it as such a privilege to support, coach, team manage and officiate for this very special group of young people. At every training session and Meet, they always give 100% and are genuinely pleased, and share in, each others’ successes. The senior swimmers are fantastic role models for the younger ones, who benefit so much from seeing the commitment, positivity and focus shown by them.

Our next Meet is the final BML Team Gala, to be held at Adwick Leisure Centre on Saturday 1st July - with a 5.15pm warm up. We are currently in second position in our division - and fully expect to maintain that - hopefully closing the points gap between us and the City of Sheffield who lead the division.

Be there! We need your support! There’s plenty of room for spectators, so bring friends, grannies and granddads etc and come and cheer us on!

Thank you!

BML Division 2 Gala Round 2 Report

Final Result : 

1st City of Sheffield - 154, 

2nd Armthorpe - 120, 

3rd City of Wakefield - 115, 

4th Barnsley Metro - 99

This was another really good result for us. We had a few swimmers who were competing for the first time and they certainly did not let us down well done to everyone. I haven't got the the Individual times yet but when I do I will put them onto the Notice Board.

Our second BML Gala was held at Stocksbridge Leisure Centre, Sheffield on Sunday 7th May… and WOW… it was so CLOSE! From start to finish, our team worked its socks off, fighting for every point in a wonderful display of commitment and determination.

We were in second place, by ONE point, at the half way stage - with every swimmer giving 100%. Places were so tight at the finish, that the result hinged on the final race - the canon - where double points were up for grabs!

Undeterred, our canon swimmers went off like rockets and the result we needed was never in doubt for one minute… they came in second, securing SECOND place overall in the competition behind a VERY  strong Sheffield team!

This win consolidated upon our overall second position at the half way stage of the BML League with two more galas to go.

Gala performances depend on hard work from a whole range of people. A massive thank you to our intrepid band of supporters, whose cheering, as always, kept us going - you were brilliant. Thanks also to our coach driver who navigated the hills and narrow roads of Stocksbridge with great skills and the occasional thrill, and got us there “in one piece”! Our team coaches / team managers once again delivered - as they always do - and their hard work is so much appreciated.

The next BML is on 3rd June at Dearneside, Barnsley - warm up 4.15pm. See you there! 

Pete & Mary

DONCASTER METROPOLITAN TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP 2023 Bridon Shield Report and Results 2023

Mets Team Results 2023

John Harriman Competition Results from Sunday 23rd March at Adwick

BML Division 2 Gala Round 1

On Sunday March 12th, Armthorpe Kingfishers travelled to Aspire, Pontefract, to compete in the first of this year’s BML Team Galas. This was such an exciting opportunity for all swimmers, but especially for our younger swimmers, some of whom were competing in their first ever Gala. The venue was amazing - a ten lane infinity pool within a lovely sports complex - but it was eclipsed by Armthorpe’s team spirit, endeavour and performance! Each was off the scale!

After 49 races, just under two and a half hours of swimming, with the result balanced on a knife edge, Armthorpe gained a brilliant second place with 134 points - just two points behind the winners. A remarkable result against three city teams.Very well done to all the swimmers, and a huge thank you to all the parents and friends who came to support and cheer on the swimmers; many thanks also to Wakefield for hosting the event, to our competitors from Wakefield, Sheffield and Barnsley, and to the officials. See you next time!

I have now reviewed the Gala times which are impressive with 52 PBs; so very well done to everyone. This is especially impressive when 32 legs of the relays started in the water, from which it is very difficult to PB from. 

It is difficult to pick out individuals from such a good team performance but congratulations to Ozzie Ellis who went under 30 seconds for 50 Free for the first time and also Nic Honeybone's 25.78 also for 50 Free. 

Age group 'Team of the Day' has to be the 12 year old girls team who came 1st in all but one race and that was a 2nd place, earning the club many points.

There were, however, a lot of DQs on the day we had 4, Sheffield 3 and Barnsley and Wakefield 8 which makes a big difference to the final points. I am pleased to say our relay teams didn’t have any “flyers” and this shows good control and discipline.

The points scores are accumulated throughout the season but for Round 1 were:

City of Sheffield: 136 

Armthorpe:134 

City of Wakefield: 105 

Barnsley Metro: 90

A good Team Performance. Well done to all!

Mary/Pete