We are delighted to report that at the inaugural Swim Wales Recognition Awards ceremony which was held at the Marriott Hotel in Swansea last Thursday, Tenby's head coach John Amos was presented with a Certificate of Commendation in recognition of his continuing dedication and commitment to Tenby and District Swimming Club. John, ably supported by team manager Steph, has made huge sacrifices to make Tenby the successful club it is today and all members and parents would like to pass on their congratulations. Well done John! Thoroughly deserved!  The fruits of John's labours have once again been evident in the results achieved by our swimmers in competitions over the last few weeks.   Competition Results   On September 23, selected swimmers from Tenby and District Swimming Club, attended a triangular gala at Pembroke Leisure Centre as part of the Pembrokeshire Aces swimming team, who took on strong teams from Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire. Those taking part were: Gemma Amos, Sophie Arthur, Lewis Bridle, Daniel Brown, Elena Cicotti, Nathan Clarke, Bethan Davie, Johnnie Delahunty, Samu Jaakola, Andrew James, Jack Lear, Coral Lewis, Sam Lewis, Mike Nicholas, Niamh Slack and Holly Watkin-Rees. The Tenby contingent swam well and made an essential contibution to an overall Pembrokeshire victory. The overall points scores at the end of the competition were, Pembrokeshire 146.5, Cardiganshire 105 and Carmarthenshire 100. The following weekend, on September 30, the annual Dyfed Fast Water meet at Llanelli Leisure centre took place. This was again a team event, but this time the Tenby swimmers were representing the club rather than the county in a relay only competition. There were a few absences from the team due to various other commitments, but it has to be said that Tenby had a bit of an off-day with an above average number of mistakes and below average performances. In the end we were well beaten by teams from both Carmarthen and Llanelli who produced much stronger all-round team performances on the day. On Sunday, October 1, Tenby swimmers were again in action, this time the event being the annual RAOB Pembrokeshire Junior Team Championships. This competition, for swimmers of 10 years and under, was held at Pembroke Leisure Centre, and for several of our younger swimmers was their first taste of competetive swimming away from the Tenby pool.  The children selected to swim were: Kiera Slack, Jade Rowell, Carys Davies, Ffion Davies, Luke Dedoncker, Gareth Davie, Billy Kinear, Billy Truman, Jessica Wainwright, Madison Vickery, Lydia Dilks, Hannah Saunders, Carl Gwyther, Tom Kinnear, Jacob Knox, Hari-Llyw Truman, Chloe Rees, Niamh Slack, Daniel Evans, Adam Muskett, Rhys Davies, Lewis Bridle, Sophia James, Jade Thomas, Elinor Wainwright, Casie Paxton, Elliot Hoad, Edward James, Alex Thomas, Henrik Jaakola, Carl Gwyther and Madison Vickery. The Tenby team produced a battling performance and many of the swimmers set personal best times in their individual races. Overall, the Tenby team came out on top with a points score of 152. Well done everyone. The final competition covered by this report is the 2006 Llanelli Sprint Meet, which was held in Llanelli on Saturday. This is not a team competition, and it was pleasing to see a good entry of 22 swimmers from Tenby, exactly the same number that made the journey last year. However, the squads are constantly evolving, and it was nice to see a few new faces in attendance this year. Those who swam were: Andrew James, Matthew Brown, Mike Nicholas, Daniel Brown, Lewys Canton, Johnnie Delahunty, Matt Davie, Jack Lear, Lloyd Delahunty, Sam Lewis, Lewis Bridle, Sophie Arthur, Gemma Amos, Coral Lewis, Holly Watkin-Rees, Lauren Arthur, Bethan Davie, Sadie Griffiths, Angharad Lear, Rebekah Gwyther, Niamh Slack and Emma June Vaughan. Sprint meets such as this are held over 50m (two lengths of the pool), so the races take place very quickly. Starting with a warm-up at 8 am, the event progresses through the day, with races being held in all four strokes for different age groups in a morning and afternoon session. This is then followed by an evening finals session. The gala is very popular, with several clubs from England sending teams down to take part, mainly because the 50m sprint format is not common in other parts of the country. Consequently, there was a large entry, with 126 separate heats taking place in the morning session, and a further 122 in the afternoon. This type of event is perfect for swimmers who prefer the shorter high speed race format, and Tenby obviously has their share of these because our swimmers produced some good results. Medalists were: Daniel Brown, 1st 14yrs Breaststroke, 1st Butterfly, 1st Backstroke and 1st Freestyle (nice one Dan!); Andrew James, 1st 15yrs   Breaststroke; Mike Nicholas, 2nd 16/0 Backstroke; Coral Lewis, 2nd 14yrs  Butterfly, 3rd 14yrs Backstroke; Holly Watkin-Rees, 3rd 15yrs Butterfly; Matt Davie 3rd 13yrs Breaststroke; Johnnie Delahunty, 2nd 13yrs  Freestyle, 3rd 13yrs Butterfly; Sam Lewis, 2nd 11yrs Breaststroke, 3rd 11yrs Freestyle, 3rd 11yrs Butterfly; Jack Lear, 3rd 12yrs Breaststroke; Niamh Slack, 3rd 9yrs  Butterfly; Lewys Canton, 2nd 14yrs Backstroke. During the morning and afternoon sessions, those swimmers finishing in the first six positions in their heats scored points which were summed up as the day progressed. The top six points scorers in each age group then went through to the finals sessions in the eveining. For the swimmers of 12 and under, the final consisted of a 200m Individual Medley race, which is pretty tough going at the end of a very long day! However, for the 13yrs and over ages groups, the swimmers raced off in a freestyle 'skins' competition. This is basically a rapid knockout competion where first two of six finalisits are eliminated, followed by one of four, then one of three, until the fastest two remain to race for gold and silver. It is difficult for the swimmers to find the right balance of speed and stamina to last out the heats, knowing that if they hold back too much they will be eliminated, but if they go too fast they won't have enough in the tank to last to the final round. With only three minutes between the start of each heat, and overlapping boys and girls events, it is a very exciting spectacle for swimmers and spectators alike. The spectators packed in the gallery were kept on the edge of their seats throughout, and the Tenby competitors put on a great show. In the 14yrs age group, Daniel Brown was in full control. He paced his heats well and cruised to an impressive victory. However, Lewys Canton also performed exceptionally well in this age group to wrestle the silver medal away from some strong competition. Coral Lewis dug deep and showed a lot of determination to win silver in her event. In the 13yrs age group, both Johnnie Delahunty and Matt Davie swam very well. Matt swam his fastest freestyle heat of the day on his way to a bronze, and Johnnie won silver, only missing out on gold by a few hundredths of a second. Sam Lewis and Niamh Slack also made the finals after their strong swims in the morning and afternoon sessions, with Niamh keeping up the string of good performances with a solid fourth place. Earlier in the afternoon, the club's extreme sports specialist was once again in action. Whilst endeavouring to impress some gorgeous visiting swimmer-babes with tales of his bareback horsebox riding exploits, Andrew James took one too many backward steps by the training pool, and discovered that, although he can travel through the water at a prodigous rate, he has yet to master the act of walking on it! Can't have been much fun wearing those wet boxers all the way home!   Forthcoming Events   There are still a great many things coming up, including the following during the month of October: Tomorrow (Saturday) -       Speedo League Round One. Ages 11, 13, 15. Good luck to all those seleced! Saturday and Sunday, October 21 and 22 - Swim Swansea Junior Open. Ages 8&U, 9, 10, 11. Entries are closed. Saturday and Sunday, Octobner 28 and 29 - Pembrokeshire Age Group Championships. Ages 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 & Over. Details on board when available. All junior and senior squad to enter

 Club News   Just a reminder that there is a sponsored swim coming up next Friday, October 20. The swim will take place between 6 pm and 12 midnight. All members are encouraged to come along any time during the evening to swim for as long or as little as they want. If you have not yet received a sponsorship form, these can be obtained from the club.