Bath Cup success March 2016
The Eastbourne College swimming squad recently enjoyed an inspirational trip to the London Olympic Aquatic Centre to compete in the Bath Cup, the national independent schools annual relay event. The team comprised five boys and five girls.
Freestyle
After heat 1 of the freestyle relay, the girls had already secured their place in the final – all with personal best times. They went on to finish in sixth place with further personal bests and a new school record for Bethany Tagg (Year 12, Blackwater).
The boys also had a great first freestyle heat, going through to the finals in second place. After a couple of regulation team changes from the opposition and a very close run race, they finished in fourth place narrowly missing out on a podium position.
Medley
In the afternoon, the girls cruised through to the medley finals in sixth position. They achieved further personal best times in the final, raising their game once again to finish in fifth place overall. Yet another school record was broken by Bethany – this time for butterfly.
The boys then took their places on the blocks and produced some amazing performances to qualify in second place. With the pressure on, the opposition again made their regulation team changes and second and fourth places in the final were separated by just 0.18 seconds, with Eastbourne finishing in a very creditable fourth place.
Every team member performed at their highest level. The swimmers have been putting in extra training, usually before or after school, in local pools while the new College Project 150 pool is under construction. An excellent example of how dedication, determination and sheer hard work can bring success.
