The 2018 Irish Minor Schools Swimming Gala took place on 11th February. St Mary’s Primary School was to be represented by 4 pupils. Lauren Burns-Atkin (P6), Mychaela McEvoy (P6), Cathal Hill (P5) and Samantha Burns-Atkin (P5). To get there, the swimmers had to qualify through the Ulster Schools Gala back in October 2017.
Unfortunately, due to illness Cathal could not attend, but the three remaining girls did the school proud and put on a great overall performance.
This year Swim Ireland reintroduced heats and finals, with only the top ten swimmers in each discipline able to make the final.
First up to compete was Samantha in the 50m Free and 50 Breast Stroke. Samantha swam well and was around the same time as her entry times. She narrowly missed out on the 50 Free final but swam her heart out and did herself proud. She finished 14th in the Freestyle and 15th in the Breast Stroke.
Next up was Mychaela and Lauren in the 50 Breast Stroke. It was a strong field of swimmers and Mychaela swam well, she was around her entry time and finished 25th overall. Lauren went into her heat as one of the fastest swimmers, it was a tough heat and she finished 3rd in the heat but still made the final.
Lauren’s 50 Breast final was next up, she swam her heart out and got another PB, its was very tight between the top four swimmers and Lauren managed to hold on to claim 3rd place and get a Bronze medal. An incredible achievement for her and one that she should be very proud of.
The final events were 50 back for Mychaela and 50 Butterfly for Lauren. Mychaela took over 2 seconds off her PB and finished 10th, meaning that she made the final. In the final Mychaela again managed to beat her previous time and even picked up a place, meaning that she finished 9th overall. A brilliant achievement!
Lauren finished off with the Butterfly and maybe was a little tired after her Breast Stroke exploits. She swam well but just missed out of the final this time.
All the swimmers should be proud of themselves, this was a great day and hopefully we can repeat it next year.
I would also like to mention Sophie Quinn and Matthew McKevitt who swam at the Ulster Schools Gala in October. They both narrowly missed out on qualifying for Dublin. Hopefully these two will keep working hard and we may see them representing the School in Dublin next year.
Well Done Everyone!
If this has inspired you to think of trying swimming as a sport, Banbridge Amateur Swimming Club holds regular trials. It is a friendly club with a strong family feel. If you are interested in attending one of the trials please contact the club via email – BASC.clubsec@gmail.com
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