The Evening Post-sponsored Reading SC staged its third Allan Eyles Invitation Graded Meet at Central Pool on Saturday, the long-standing fixture renamed in in 2003 in memory of the club's late vice-chairman who died three years ago. Large fields from clubs in the Berks and South Bucks ASA joined the host club and new guests Basingstoke for a meet which showed swimming at its most inclusive – with those exceeding set times excluded from the results but getting "speeding tickets" instead.

The girls began with the 100m breaststroke, 13-year-old Grace Waldron Reading's first winner of the meet in 1:35.51, a silver for Louise Tayler-Grint (15) in the top age category and bronze for 14-year-old Rosie Boyt and 11-year-old Emily Taylor. A raft of good PBs included Isobel Keenan and Georgie Wilkins, fourth and fifth 10-and-unders.

The home club won four of the six age groups in the first boys' event, the 100 freestyle, via James Bradley, Conor Sandell, Markus Orgill and Daniel Jackson, with the top age category a particular Reading success as Darren Noakes and Peter Kirwan made a clean sweep of the medals with Jackson .

The afternoon's girls' freestyle event was over 50 metres, with 11-year-old Natalia Ciecierska-Holmes Reading's top performer with a narrow age group win in 37.26 and Zoe Knott showing up well for a silver in the 13s group.

In the event deciding the best all-rounders, the 100m IM, a number of speeding tickets left Thames Valley Junior League team members Barnaby Kempster and Matthew Alderman at the head of the youngest age group, while Orgill, Ewan Wise and Drew Samimi-Mawby swept the 14s' medals and Lewis Ross and Peter Kirwan finished top two in the oldest group. The boys closed the first half of the programme with the 100 fly, including another win for Ross.

As the evening got under way, the home club's older swimmers again took the eye through further clean sweeps in the top two categories in the 100m breaststroke, with silvers for Bradley and Alderman the pick of the younger entrants.

A very tightly contested girls' 100 free included 15 swimmers in the 13s group, where Slough's Rachel Ford crossed the line into speeding ticket territory and Reading's Grace Waldron took her second gold of the day in 1:11.34.

Five boys beat the 30-second barrier in the top age group's 50m free, with Jackson taking the gold by 0.07 in 29.13, and Will Tyrrell – with another year in the youngest age group ahead of him – won the 10-and unders.

Waldron won yet another gold in the IM, taking five seconds off her entry time in 1:21.50, and Reading   won both the youngest age groups, again in big fields, thanks to Eleanor Wood (1:39.11) and Eleanor Cawthorne (1:30.02). Pick of Reading 's boys 100m backstrokers to close the male programme were Sandell, Orgill and Jackson with age group golds. 

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*** A small group from coach Graeme Thomas's top squad tackled the heat of Aldershot Garrison Pool at the annual Berks and South Bucks "No Frills" meet, where no medals are awarded and swimmers compete only to improve their times.

 Fifteen-year-old Russel Korting added the 200m freestyle to his card for the summer's national championships, and 13-year-old Kristina Paige secured an improved seeding for herself at Sheffield by repeating her 100m butterfly qualification at Reading 's own Easter meet in the more demanding 50-metre pool at Crystal Palace at the Beckenham Open.

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Ten members of Reading's Masters section - Nigel Salsbury, Dave Stannard, Iain Gerrard, Catrin Basham, Karl Buchlotz, Kevin Chetwynd, Mark Barlow, Carole Eyles, Carolyn Fox  and Lucy Roper - competed in Swansea in the Welsh Open and delighted coach Gordon Carmichael with no fewer than 44 medals in the various senior age categories - 23 golds,  15 silvers (including two relays) and six bronze.

 

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