The Evening Post-sponsored Reading Swimming Club’s under-12s made the long haul to Amersham for round two of the 2007 Thames Valley Junior League at Chiltern Pools.
As in round one, illness and injuries meant some of the younger team members had to double up and "swim up" in higher age bands. Reading's coaches were nonetheless looking for a big improvement on the last outing, and they got it as the team bettered its first round score by 52 points.
Ten-year-old Alex Cawthorne was again a winner. Swimming the maximum two individual events in his own age group, he won both. Cawthorne took the 50 breaststroke and 50 freestyle in times of 44.65 and 34.78, then "swam up" and recorded another breaststroke win in an even quicker 44.17.
Barnaby Kempster continued his winning run of previous weeks, taking the top age group's 50 back in a 36.08 PB in a strongly fought race.
Among the relay teams the 10s boys' team of Ruaridh Sheppard, Cawthorne, Hamish Scott and James Babbington won both the medley and freestyle events. The 12s quartet of Niko Ciercierski-Holmes, Sam Kemp, Kempster and Harry Nash placed second in their medley and took a freestyle third.
Olivia Paige, 11, placed third in her 50 fly in 46.11 in the best individual girls' swim, as the girls generally fared less well.
The youngest girls swimming the special medley relay – with no butterfly – placed third, via Anna Davies, Nicola Ryan, Abigael Sheppard and Sophie Walker, in her first competition of any sort. A further third went to the 11s medley team of Rosie Parkinson, Kathryn Wheeler, Paige and Pippa Woods.
The equally inexperienced boys' 11 years freestyle team also placed third as Patrick Stewart led off Jacob Lancashire, Alex Douglas and Jodhvir Sidhu.
As well as competing, junior club captain Barnaby Kempster helped control the warm-up, with former league swimmer Ellie Wood looking after relay takeovers at the far end of the pool.
Final result:
| Amersham A | 206 |
| Newbury | 178 |
| Maidenhead | 172 |
| Reading | 127 |
| Amersham B | 125 |
Team: Francesca Alsina-Reynolds, Alex Bell, Anna Davies, Lucy Douglas
Ashley Manners, Sarah Manners, Olivia Paige, Rosie Parkinson, Jodie Penny,
Nicola Ryan, Abilgael Sheppard, Beth Staley, Sophie Walker, Kathryn Wheeler,
Pippa Woods
James Babbington, Marcello Cau-Tait, Alex Cawthorne, Niko Ciecierski-Holmes,
Tads [correct] Ciecierski-Holmes, Alex Douglas Sam Kemp, Jacob Lancashire, Harry
Nash, Morgan Nash, Hamish Scott, Barnaby Kempster, Bruno Kempster, Hamish Scott,
Ruaridh Sheppard, Jodhvir Sidhu, Rickvir Sidhu, Patrick Stewart , Freddy Woods.