Coventry Level 3 LC Junior Open Meet

2 July 2005

Over the years, many of the Evening Post-sponsored Reading Swimming Club's top senior competitors had their first experience of a major 50-metre pool at the City of Coventry club's summer graded meet, and head coach Graeme Thomas took a fresh group of 15 young hopefuls to the top Midlands venue on Saturday.

Katie Hawkins, in her last meet as an 11-year-old, headed a field of 12 girls in her year under the aggregate "BAGCATS" table. (Points are awarded for a swimmer's best performance over each distance, making it possible in theory to compare one's time in the 200 fly with another's in the 200 back, for example.) This was despite the grading format meaning she was too fast beforehand to enter her top breaststroke events. Hawkins nonetheless won five golds in five swims, emphasizing her great progress in a season which has seen her reach her first Southern Counties championships, and comfortably took the award for top girl in her year.

Hawkins won the 100 and 200 free, 100 back and both the 50 and 100 fly – the last of these as the only entrant, although her time would have taken silver behind teammate Frankie Wilkins one year up.

Wilkins is another swimmer making big strides who qualified for Southern Counties and will increasingly be seeking A-grade meets next season, particularly in middle and long-distance freestyle events. Here she won all three butterfly events as well as collecting breaststroke bronze over 50 and 100 metres. This placed her sixth in her year under BAGCATS despite her programme covering only three of the five categories for which points are awarded, as she was too fast beforehand to tackle any freestyle event or the 200 individual medley.

Rachael Mills, also 12, was also ineligible for the three freestyle swims but did qualify for the IM, and won it by almost six seconds. Mills picked up a gold and two silvers in the backstroke events and placed fourth overall among the 15 girls in the year to Wilkins's sixth.

Emma James, a newcomer at this level, won a 50 backstroke bronze and also placed a solid fifth out of 12 in the 50 breaststroke.

The 200 breaststroke is a tough swim for the youngest swimmers in a 50-metre pool, and 10-year-old Georgina Wilkins passed the test with flying colours to win a bronze, just beating the four-minute barrier. The recent Evening Post-Swimmer of the month also placed third in the one-length breaststroke and fly and fifth overall among 13 in her year in what was also her first long-course meet.

Charles Davey was Reading's top boy on the day, another BAGCATS year winner as leading all-rounder among the 12-year-olds – a points tally of 757 across three categories giving him a clear margin. Davey won three swims – 200 free, 100 fly and 100 back – and placed second in the other three.

Peter Barkat, 13, collected his first away medal with an excellent 100 freestyle bronze in a field of seven. George Feast in the same year made the rostrum twice for a 200m back silver and a 50m bronze, and was fifth overall among 11 boys in the year.

Boys' fields on the whole were worryingly small – not one 12-year-old from any club tackled the 200 breaststroke, for example. Reading's Markus Orgill found himself one of only two 14-year-olds at the meet and in a series of two-horse races with Philip Harrison of Worcestershire club Wyre Forest. Orgill came out on top in the 50 and 100 back and fly and the 50 breaststroke, but his second place under BAGCATS was somewhat misleading as he swam only three categories to Harrison's five.

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