Louth Swimming Club goes Dutch at international meet

Louth Swimming Club took their seventh annual trip to Holland to compete in the 21st Netherlands Invitational in Eindhoven earlier this month.
The Louth Swimming Club squad at the annual season highlight in Eindhoven EMN-190718-102737002The Louth Swimming Club squad at the annual season highlight in Eindhoven EMN-190718-102737002
The Louth Swimming Club squad at the annual season highlight in Eindhoven EMN-190718-102737002

It has become a popular trip and this time the club travelled as a team of 34 swimmers, seven coaches and a small army of parent supporters.

After an overnight ferry crossing to the Hook of Holland and a coach ride, they arrived at the Pieter van den Hoogenband Zwemstadion for their first afternoon of racing.

The 12 and under swimmers competed in the 25m pool and the over 12s in the 50m pool, with clubs competing from Belgium, Netherlands, India, Germany, Romania and the UK.

Every year, Louth SC separate the swimmers into teams, with the team gaining the most personal best swims winning the Eindhoven Trophy.

The honour went to Team McIntyre.

On the first day, the club served up lots of great racing, but after a good night’s sleep, they produced an even better day’s racing day two, with plenty of new PBs gained.

“Our swimmers behaved impeccably and were a credit to their parents and the club,” said club chairman Bob Wells.

“The atmosphere and the experience of racing in an international meet are certainly different from competing in the UK, and all the swimmers involved thoroughly enjoyed the whole weekend.”

In the 25m pool, Helena Field won a silver medal in the 50m freestyle, and swam to bronze in the 100m backstroke, but in the 50m pool Louth had more medal joy.

Chloe Bradley led the way with Louth’s only gold in the 50m butterfly and almost made it a double with silver in the 100m butterfly.

She swam to a second silver in the 50m backstroke and completed a four-medal haul with 50m freestyle bronze.

Libby Doubleday also returned to Lincolnshire with four medals, with a 50m freestyle silver, and bronze at 100m and 200m freestyle, and 200m individual medley.

Reuben Heywood won a medal hat-trick with silver at 50m butterfly, and two bronzes at 50m breaststroke and 50m backstroke, while there were medals for Lotti Wright (silver 100 fly), Phoebe Payne (bronze 50 free), Ruby Waring (silver 50 backstroke) and George Billington (bronze 100 free).

Most PBs in the 50m pool went to Tiann Wong and Evie Roscoe, both gaining eight out of eight, and in the 25m pool William Taylor won with six from eight.

Louth teams:

(25m) Team McIntyre – James McIntyre (coach), Helena Field, William Taylor, Henry Buckley, George Ellis; Team Hall – Owen Hall (coach), Millie Doubleday, Effie Kennedy, Jake Adams, Olivia Anstey; Team Ellis – Danny Ellis (coach), Conor Buckley, Hannah Taylor, Emiliyana Kokinova.

(50m) Team Thompson – Kate Thompson (coach), Chloe Bradley, Max Marritt, Eloise Burke, Evie Wright, Libby Doubleday, Alexa Milne; Team Roscoe – Ian Roscoe (coach), Lily Atkins, Ruby Waring, Leon Bailey, Will Thompson, Gabby Spencer; Team Wong – Simon Wong (coach), Phoebe Payne, George Billington, Luke Brumpton, Gemma Damms, Molly Carter, Holly Giles; Team Payne – Claire Payne (coach), Katie Roscoe, Evie Roscoe, Georgia Barnett, Reuben Heywood, Lotti Wright, Tiann Wong.