Reading's youngest swimmers kicked off the Thames Valley Junior League at Central Pool on Saturday with fourth place out of five in the first of the league's three rounds for 2006 in a meet dominated by Slough and Eton Dolphin.
The league – with individual races over 50 metres and relays over 100 - is for swimmers still under 12 as of the end of the year, and the meet gave a first-ever competitive swim for around half the Evening Post-sponsored squad.
Two relative veterans produced the home team's top swims of the night. Barnaby Kempster and Annette Hopson – both strong performers in the senior Speedo League team before Christmas – won consecutive heats in fingertip finishes as Kempster took the 11s freestyle in 34.89 and Hopson the 12s backstroke in 38.20.
Kempster also placed second in his fly swim and Hopson second in her breaststroke. Ellie Wood, also with the maximum two individual events in the 12s group, swam excellent seconds in both fly and freestyle, as did Georgie Wilkins in the 11s freestyle.
Next best were thirds for Olivia Paige (10s fly) and Bethany Staley (11s back).
Wood, Hopson and Wilkins ("swimming up" a year) also featured in Reading's best girls' relay swims of the night, joined by Georgia O'Brien for second places in both the medley and freestyle. Wilkins also placed third in her own year's relays, joined by Staley, Jenny Martin and Natalie Cawthorne for the medley and Staley, Martin and Francesca Alsina for the freestyle.
The top boys' relay performances came in the youngest category, 9-and-under, where Ruaridh Sheppard, Alex Cawthorne, James Babbington and Alex Bancroft secured two second spots.
Final scores:
1. Slough 181
2. Maidenhead 165
3. Wycombe 108
4. Reading 99
5. Amersham B 69.
Reading team:
Francesca Alsina, Natalie Cawthorne, Yasmin Dickinson, Lucy Douglas, Annette Hopson, Emily Marshall, Jenny Martin, Kate Metalli, Georgia O'Brien, Olivia Paige, Jodie Penny, Bethany Staley, Nadia Staley, Charlotte Watt, Georgina Wilkins, Eleanor Wood, Pippa Woods
James Babbington, Alex Bancroft, Jack Bodley-Scott, Alex Cawthorne, Niko Ciecierski-Holmes, Lewis Davies, Barnaby Kempster, Joshua Manning, Joshua Mulvihille, Morgan Nash, Oliver Payne, Ruaridh Sheppard, Jeremy Spanu, Jodvir Sidhu, Joe Statham, Joe Tichband.