‘The Swimming highlight of the year has certainly been the tour to China for the Olympiad, but there were also impressive performances at all age levels’
SWIMMING CAPTAIN’S REPORT
SAILING
JAMES REDSHAW (YEAR 13) T he Swimming highlight of the year has certainly been the tour to China for the Olympiad, but there were also impressive performances at all age levels, including at the Bath Cup, where we had a team that will be able to compete for years to come and surely only get better. The tour to China started with early morning training sessions in a local Shanghai pool. Our first gala, against DC Shanghai, was a successful meet, with Josh Gooding, Jack Ramsey and Martin Phu looking impressive in their wins. Next we went into Suzhou, where once again we were put through our paces by Miss Palmer and Mr Wakely in an early-morning training session to prepare us for the Olympiad in Beijing. This was a great experience, as we competed in the national stadium of China against boys who live all over Asia. We saw some great success in the pool across the age groups with outstanding performances from Sam Williams, Ethan Staunton and Sandor Apponyi. The last race of the gala saw the senior freestyle relay, where the Beijing and London teams were separated by 0.01 seconds. Considering the Beijing team included Asia champions, to be that close from winning was an incredible achievement. All the boys involved in Swimming want to thank Miss Palmer for the effort she puts into turning up before 7am for training sessions – even if at the time we were not her biggest fans! We have all seen improvements over this year and this is down to her. ISAAC EDEY (YEAR 11) I n an incredibly unlucky tournament the U16s were cursed with the hardest Finals group, featuring Trinity and Bolton. Our first match against Bolton was very close, but unfortunately we let it go at the end of the gaming, ending with a 5-8 loss. In our match against Trinity, which we needed to win by a margin of three goals, we started enthusiastically and seemed to dominate the match 4-2. As we pushed for a last goal we somehow managed to concede two and Trinity held out for a disappointing 4-4 draw, landing us in the fifth and sixth place play-off. However, we managed to maintain our pride with a last-second goal against Manchester Grammar to claim fifth place. U16 ESSA WATER POLO
Below : The U14 team.
W hen you speak of taking a trip to France, the instant images that spring to mind are the Eiffel Tower and leisurely cycling over bridges in Paris. But on this trip, was no time for rest and relaxation. After arriving in the early hours of the French morning at Rockley Le Lac in Mimizan, our first day involved trail riding, windsurfing and paddleboarding. Windsurfing was a challenge to stay balanced on the board and find the wind at the same time, but many managed, speeding into the far horizon of the lake by our campsite. Paddle boarding, on the other hand, reminded me of a Gondola, since you stand on a board with a paddle in order to move. Balance proved to be the key here – which many of us found out the hard way. The next day, a Tuesday, we were surprised to wake up not to the beautiful sunrise that made us think of The Lion King but grey clouds and huge puddles from the pouring rain. This was to be the first day of sailing – for some of us, for the first time ever – and despite the cold we were buzzing with anticipation. We got into pairs and headed out on boats called Picos. Pico sailing in the wind and rain is amazing once you got the hang of it. Many of us feared we would capsize our boats, but concentrating on keeping it balanced meant we arrived to the pontoon dry. Wednesday bought with it sunshine (thankfully) and another day of sailing, and this time we went in four- man crews in bigger Dart boats that had a main sail and a smaller jib sail. It was a great day and an amazing experience. After a trip to ‘Aqua Land’ the next day – which was spent basking in the sun in fresh water swimming pools and rushing down flumes – and a diving competition and kayaking, our final activity arrived: raft building. After packing bags and cleaning sandy tents, we spent our last hour building our rafts. Then, after vigorous planning, the racing took place. In the water one boat reigned supreme as the rest broke up, leaving the occupants wet. With that last competitive and fun activity over, we dried off, changed and had our last presentation with prizes before our sad goodbyes, leaving Le Lac behind with the sun glistening on the water. This trip was absolutely amazing. It was great to try so many new things, especially Dart sailing. The water was beautiful and the atmosphere was perfect. DARRIUS KUDIABOR THOMPSON (YEAR 11) Rockley Le Lac
JAMES REDSHAW (YEAR 13) National Schools’ Sailing Championships June 2014
F or the third year in a row, four Dulwich boys competed among 25 different schools in a fleet of 43 Firefly boats in the National Schools’ Sailing Championships at Itchenor Sailing Club. On the first morning, we all set sail in our Fireflies for a day of practice drills and coaching before a miniseries of races in the afternoon to gear us up for the next day’s competitive racing. When the real racing started, the Dulwich boats’ eyes were opened to the pace of some of the other teams, but, thankfully, both boats improved as the day went on, with James Redshaw and Jasper Freeman finishing the day exactly in the middle of the fleet. The other boat, with Charlie Dee and Ben Taffs, found it slightly harder in difficult conditions but did well to bounce back on the final day with four good results. Sadly, though, the consistency of these results wasn’t good enough to improve our overall positions. All four of us had a great time in the sun and we all learned from other sailors who sail together more frequently. We look forward to next year, when we will hopefully be returning to compete once again. A special thank you must go to Miss Lofts who, for the third year in a row, organised and ran the trip for us. We must also thank Dr Parsons for accompanying us down to the south coast and putting up with us for the week. Overall, it was a great experience for us and we all feel extremely fortunate to have had this opportunity in our Dulwich careers.
U14 ESSA WATER POLO
ETHAN STAUNTON (YEAR 9) A t the end of a very busy Water Polo season the U14s successfully qualified for the ESSA National Finals. We were one of the top six teams in the country and excited to be playing in the championship finals. First were the group rounds, where we won two of the three matches, qualifying for the semi-final. This was a close match against Manchester Grammar school, resulting in a 5-4 win to us with our winning goal scored with just nine seconds remaining on the clock. In the final we came up against a strong Bolton Grammar School side that had already beaten us in the group stages, so we knew it would be tough. The final was played with great sportsmanship on both sides and Bolton won 4-2 in a great game. We are a new team – many having only taken up Water Polo at the start of the school year – so to achieve a silver medal at the first time of asking was a tremendous result.
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