by the Year 7 and 8s finishing third in the London League A final, earning them qualification for the Grand Final. The Tonbridge Cup was an exciting addition to the swimming calendar this year, attracting our full U18 team and an U16 team composed of Year 9s, due to Year 10 and 11 mock examinations. The seniors managed a very strong performance, beating Harrow, St Pauls’, Sevenoaks, Winchester and Tonbridge – all of the opposition. Despite showing great determination and spirit, the U16s were not able to achieve the same, putting us in fourth overall. The Bath Cup was the highlight of the year for the two senior relay squads. Richard De Rome made a special effort to join us in the role of motivational speaker despite not having the speed required to compete in the team, In the freestylewe swamthefifth fastest timeout of 79 schools, making thefinal for the first time since 1985 and settinganew, four second faster, school record WATER POLO L ast year the Senior Water Polo team made huge strides towards becoming one of the strongest sides
undoubtedly influencing two great team performances. In the freestyle we swam the fifth fastest time out of 79 schools, making the final for the first time since 1985 and setting a new school record by four seconds. We also finished fourth out of 90 schools in the medley, setting a school record of two seconds faster. On the wider swimming stage, Sandor Apponyi from Year 7 became Surrey Champion in the 50m breaststroke as well as claiming silver and bronze in the 100m and 200m events. Year 8’s Jacob Crowther also qualified for nine Surrey county and five regional times this year. With swimmers of this calibre lower down the school, it is clear that Dulwich first round of the national competition, and schools like Trinity beaten along the way. For many of the team, this was the last year to help it reach the national finals again. Unfortunately, this was not going to happen: a few results during the semis didn’t go our way, meaning that we didn’t reach the final, a result that does not reflect the hard work and dedication of the team. Fortunately for the future of Water polo at Dulwich College, there is a lot of young talent coming through. One example is Ethan Staunton, who has been training with the GB team for the past two years and who was recently selected to play for Team England at the EU Nations tournament. This talent, coupled with more hard work from the boys, will undoubtedly reap rewards for the College. Lastly, none of this progress would be possible, of course, without the time and effort of Ms Palmer and Mr Kis, the coaching team. College swimming will continue to prosper in the coming years.
in the country. The sport’s popularity across the whole school has increased and the numbers at training sessions have grown from year to year, with the team putting in a remarkable amount of time and effort this season. There has also been no shortage of flair shown this year, too, with players like Max Bliss making their debuts in the Senior team despite only being in Year 10. Last year, the College saw the Senior team make the National Finals. This was a considerable leap for the College, as the sport had only just started gathering support; nevertheless pressure built this year for a repeat performance. The first few tournaments of the year showed promise for the rest of the season, with a clean sweep of victories coming in the opening rounds of the London Schools League and the
Richard De Rome (Year 13)
Fortunately for the futureofWaterPoloat DulwichCollege, there is a lot of young talent coming through
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