Hatfield National Qualifier
June 21-22 saw the Pink Army host our Level 2 National Qualifier. The meet was so popular this year that it was oversubscribed and some rejections had to be made to try and fit everything into our allotted time. Running a meet takes a large amount of organisation and a lot of effort from all involved. Without our amazing team of volunteers this wouldn’t be possible so a huge thank you to all who stepped up and helped in any way!
With a full program of events from 50s to 200s of every stroke, plus 400 free and three medley events, the weekend was jam packed with racing. Heats and finals made for an exciting three sessions. The weekend also held opportunities to purchase new swim suits and equipment at Aqua Swim Supplies stall, talk to Wuka about period wear, discuss all things Tropics with Louise and treat oneself to an ice-cream from Lolliedollies. As usual, we had lots of compliments from the officials and coaches about how well they were looked after by our catering team. We are becoming very well known for our array of freshly baked goods on offer!
There were lots of good swims from swimmers of all ages and many PB’s were achieved across the weekend. The goal for many though, were those elusive Winter National times. To qualify for Swim England National Winter Championships, swimmers must achieve the qualification times in a level 1 or 2 meet between September 2024 and the closing date of 26 November 2025. Hatfield swimmers who met those time standards this weekend were Ever Ives in the 200m free, Alexandra Nurney in the 200m back & 50m free and Lucas Hartley in the 100m fly. They add these new qualifications to those they already had as well as other swimmers already qualified. So far they are:
Daniel Belsey 200m, 400m, 800mm free
Oliver Baskerville 100m, 200m back
Lucas Hartley 50m, 100m free, 50m fly, 50m breast, 100m IM
Ever Ives 100m, 400m free
Caitlin Hartley 50m, 100m, 200m breast
Alexandra Nurney 50m fly, 100m free
Ashley Ransome 50m, 100m breast
There were also some swimmers who were very close to the times they needed and will be looking to get them in the coming months. For now, we look forward to Wycombe, open water championships and summer National meets before a well-earned summer break.