Santa Claus saw the arrival of Selby Tiger Sharks at John Charles Centre for Sport last weekend with plenty of gifts and Gold medals for the ever-successful swimmers. An outstanding number of competitors entered this Gala from across the county, but Selby held their own in all races.

One of many outstanding performances came from Olivia Mence achieving PBs in all her races including Golds in the 100m & 50m Freestyle. Speeding Tickets were issued for 200IM, 50m Backstroke and Breaststroke and 100m Backstroke. Danielle Cartman swam to victory in the 100m Back stroke and 50m breaststroke, a silver medal won for her 100m Butterfly and bronze in the 100m Breaststroke. Grace Bell also picked up a speeding ticket for her impressive swim in the 50m backstroke and smashed her previous times for the 100m breaststroke and freestyle, and the 50m butterfly. Club stalwart and choreographer Tia Mae Burden claimed gold in her 100m Butterfly, silver in the 200IM, bronze for the 100m breaststroke.

Grace Gibson kept the medals flowing with golds in 50m freestyle 50m backstroke and 50m freestyle. A further 4 speeding tickets were issued for her times in the 100m backstroke, 50m & 100m breaststroke and 100m freestyle respectively. Two gold medals followed Will Hyde after his 50m and 100m breaststroke another good swim in the 100m backstroke and 100 freestyle saw silver and bronze with the inclusion of a now familiar speeding ticket in the 50m freestyle.

Speeding tickets were also awarded to Nile Michael in the 100m Freestyle and Breaststroke a bronze medal followed in the 50m breaststroke. Family success continued with sister Erin demolishing her previous recorded times in the 50m Freestyle, Butterfly and Backstroke, a tremendous set of PBs for this up and coming swimmer. Yet another outstanding performance from Jonathan Monks saw him pick up four speeding tickets in the 50m backstroke and butterfly and in the 100 breaststroke and freestyle.

A determined Alice Moore was surely not to be out done in the physically demanding 200 IM and romped home with a gold medal along with another hard-fought gold in the 100m butterfly. The 100m breaststroke was another silver medal for young Alice who is quickly establishing herself on the gala circuit. Entering an eye watering 8 events including three 4^th place finishes and two 5^th place finishes, Alice is the one to watch in 2019.

Another regular swimmer and marathon gala entrant Megan Moore, in which 8 events saw her pipped to the post in several races but still managed to achieve 3 PBs for her efforts. Her medals haul is just around the corner in this fiercely contested age group. Keir Murie wasn’t phased by his 8 events recording 4 PBs and a silver medal for the 50m breaststroke and bronze in the 100m backstroke.

New girl on the block Tilly Murray entered 5 races and picked up two speeding tickets and four PBs while gaining valuable gala experience. A Tsunami of parents cheered Olivia Rowan on to gold medal place and a PB in the 50m breaststroke, and a bronze medal in the 50m backstroke which wrapped this performance up until the New Year.

Four PBs and two speeding tickets kick started Maddy Stevenson’s gala experience off with a superbly won gold in the 50m Freestyle, bring on 2019 for this capable swimmer. Bethan Wright maintained her consistently perfect performance with 5 PBs from 5 races, a gold medal in the 50m butterfly and bronze in the 100m breaststroke was only added to with a speeding ticket in the 50m breaststroke.

Firmly seated on the gala circuit is Gracie Pinder, a silver medal in the 50m backstroke followed by another silver medal in the 50m butterfly was accompanied with a bronze in the 100 freestyle. Her efforts were rewarded with a speeding ticket in the 100m breaststroke, watch this space for future golds in this event. Fearless Gracie entered the formidable 100IM destroying her previous time and sending shockwaves through the competition.

A record 9 events were entered by Lillian Cooper including the gargantuan and arguably her favourite event the 200IM in which she claimed a bronze medal. A silver medal rewarded her efforts in the 100m Butterfly and narrowly missing out in other events. A sturdy performance rounded not only Lillian’s performance off but that of all Selby Tiger Sharks swimmers.

In this gala alone 18 swimmers finished in 15 gold medal places with 23 speeding tickets awarded and an incredible 62 Personal Best times, not to mention 5 swimmers recording PBS in all their entered events. This club is brimming with excellent competitive swimmers bolstered on by the most emphatic of parental support. Santa and his reindeer maybe late this year, they’re bringing our medals home. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Selby Tiger Sharks.