Success for Clapham Leisure Centre’s 7th Swimming Gala
Clapham Leisure Centre’s held its 7th Swimming Gala on Sunday, 8th December. The bi annual gala has become a popular event not only for the local community but for the young swimmers who enter who are enrolled on BETTER swim school lesson in BETTER pools from across London.
Swimmers in Stage 5 and above were able to enter and to ensure fair completion, the competitors were split into three age groups based on their birth year: 2012 and later, 2010 & 2011, and 2003-2009. The oldest competitor was 16, whilst the youngest was 5.
Heats entered included;
100m FREESTYLE
200m FREESTYLE
25m BACKSTROKE
50m BACKSTROKE
25m BREASTSTROKE
50m BREASTSTROKE
25m BUTTERFLY
25m FRONTCRAWL
50m FRONTCRAWL
The event was organised by the team at Clapham Leisure Centre along with the Community Sports team.
141 swimmers competed in 13 events, which required 85 heats. All four strokes were contested across a range of distances depending on swimmer age.
Waterfront Leisure Centre finished top with 179 points with Clapham coming close second with 168 points.
A huge number of parents attended, which created a fantastic atmosphere from the balcony. Many stayed until the end to applaud the winners as they received their medals and all competitors were awarded with participation certificates.
One parent said, “A huge thanks and well done to all organisers and competitors, the competition seems to grow even further with each gala!”
Preparations are now underway for the 2020 Summer Gala.