Saturday 20th October,Home
1st: Cambridge A
2nd: Cambridge B
3rd: King’s A
4th: Cam. Alumni
5th: Imperial
6th: Brunel
7th: Leicester
8th: King’s B
9th: Cambridge II

Cambridge University Swimming and Water Polo Club (CUSWPC) welcomed local university teams from London and Leicester to their annual Relays Gala last weekend. Being the first gala of the year, this offers the team their first opportunity to test out fresh-legged new members in the water, while also getting in some great race practice early on in the season. With nine teams overall, there was fierce competition for the top placings in each race. Cambridge started off well with Dale Waterhouse winning the first men’s heats in the 100 individual medley well clear of the other competitors, in 1.01.00. The women had to work harder to keep the Alumni Otters at bay, with Jess Trevellick driving to remind us of her former glory in each of her four individuals (out of five!).

Erica Meissner, on the other hand, showed how they do it in America. She dominated her 100m backstroke with a significant 1.05.72 win, which would have been the first Blues time of the year, had the meet been officially timed. Following further fresher debuts by Joel Wilson and Dan Brackenbury in the 100m fly, Men’s Captain Tom Hill flew to the finish in his 100m breaststroke, placing an easy first in his heat. Cathy Breed impressed with her time in the women’s 100m freestyle, knocking seconds off her time achieved at trials only two weeks ago, and finishing third.

After these individual successes, there was a brief interval to get ready for the fast-paced relays. With the Blues entering two teams in the gala, everyone got an opportunity to take part in the relays: undoubtedly the best way to instill a sense of team spirit in an otherwise very individual sport.

The placings overall were not as impressive as in the individual swims, but Cambridge still placed within the top four teams for most relays. The programme ended with the consistent highlight of any gala: for the mixed 8 x 50m Freestyle relay, each team put their fastest four men and women to the test, in a flurry of take-overs and finishes. Fighting against King’s for most of the relay, Cambridge A managed to pull away towards the end with great swims from both Henny Dillon and Brad Dixon, finishing first in the final heat of the gala.

The final results were undeniably impressive. The Cambridge teams placed 1st and 2nd, with a landslide lead of eleven points separating them from King’s College London A team in 3rd. The Cambridge Alumni Otters came in at 4th. Imperial placed 5th, just ahead of Brunel – whose 6th place was admirable, considering they had arrived at the gala over half an hour late, and missed the first few events. In 7th and 8th places were Leicester and King’s College B team, followed by Cambridge’s second team, the Marlins, in ninth.

Such a remarkable start to CUSWPC’s competitive season made this an exhilarating debut for the team, almost half of whom are new this year. As an initial introduction to university level competitions, the new members did a fantastic job both in the water and on poolside, helping to create the charged atmosphere without which it would have been impossible to secure such a huge home win.