A small team of ADASC members (Aberystwyth and District Amateur Swimming Club) headed to North Wales for one of the last galas of the 2024-2025 swimming season on Saturday, 5 July.

It was an early start in Holywell for the swimmers, but they were keen and motivated to do well against the best swimmers in North Wales.

The first competition of the day was the 200m freestyle.

Dylan May-John from Ysgol Bro Sion Cwilt, stepped up and performed brilliantly with a PB and came 5th.

Lili Macy from Ysgol Penweddig also competed in the 200m freestyle, in her first gala in nearly a year due to an ongoing knee injury.

She handled the nerves well and came 4th with a whopping 23 second PB.

In the next event, Dylan May-John was back in the pool, competing in the 50m fly.

It was another 5th place for him and another impressive PB.

Jack Foale, from Ysgol Penglais was looking forward to competing in his favoured event. He impressed with a bronze medal and a PB.

Edith Heron from Ysgol Penweddig performed well in this event and earned a PB.

The 100m backstroke was the next event and there was lots of success for our ADASC swimmers.

William Green from Ysgol Penglais had travelled to Holywell for his favoured event, searching for a national qualifying time.

He earned a 4th place and a PB but was a few seconds off a qualifying time.

Willam will compete at the Summer Nationals for the first time in the 50m back.

Edith Heron, also competed in the 100m back and narrowly missed out on a PB.

Lili Macy was over the moon to earn a silver medal in the 100m back but also just missed out on a PB.

The 200m breaststroke was next and Osian Jones from Ysgol Llanilar was eager to compete in the gala.

He swam brilliantly in what was his first time to swim this distance. With a fabulous new time, he was very happy to earn a bronze medal.

Edith Heron also performed strongly in this event and earned a bronze.

In session 2, Dylan May-John, was back in action in the 100m freestyle.

Showcasing his strength as a multi eventer, he earned another 5th place and a 4 second PB.

Owen Filmer from Yr Ysgol Gymraeg and Osian Jones also performed in this event and both earned impressive PBs.

Jack Foale and Oli Lerigo, both from Ysgol Penglais also competed in this event. Both earned a PB, with Jack earning a 6th place medal.

In the same event, the girls also performed well. It was a new event for Sophia Middleton from Yr Ysgol Gymraeg, who is a recently new member with ADASC.

She performed brilliantly and earned a 5th place medal. Gwych! Gwennan Filmer and Lili Macy both earned new PBs and earned a silver and 4th place medal respectively.

The next event was the 100m breaststroke.

Gruffudd Jones from Ysgol Llanilar competed in this event. He’s also another new member to the club but showed great grit and determination to perform well and earned a well-deserved 5th place and a new time.

Owen Filmer also performed well and earned a 6th place medal and Osian Jones smashed his PB by 17 seconds to earn a brilliant bronze medal.

Vice-captain Oli Lerigo also earned a new PB in this event but narrowly missed out on a medal.

Edith Heron performed well in this event as did Gwennan Filmer. Gwennan earned another PB and a silver medal.

Elsa Finney also performed well, earning herself a PB and a 6th place medal.

Caitlin Middleton also earned another PB but missed out on a medal. The next event was the 200m backstroke.

Gwennan Filmer earned yet another impressive PB and won a gold for her efforts.

Elsa Finney and Caitlin Middleton performed well and earned a bronze and 4th place medal respectively.

The last event of the session was the 200IM.

The heat of the day and the intensity of the events resulted in slower times for most swimming, but our swimmers gave it all, as usual.

Gwennan earned a silver medal, Elsa and Caitlin earned a 4th and 6th place. Owen earned a 6th place with an impressive PB and Oli Lerigo earned a well-deserved silver medal.

In the last session of the day, the swimmers were tired from the intense competition and humid atmosphere but they kept their spirits high and supported each other as usual.

It was fast and furious for the 50m freestyle. Sophia performed well and narrowly missed out on a medal.

Edith performed well and earned a PB for her efforts. Lili Macy narrowly missed out on a PB but earned a bronze medal.

Caitlin earned a great PB in a very competitive field.

For the boys, Gruffudd posted another PB with a great swim. Dylan and Owen also performed well with Dylan earning another 5th place medal.

Osian earned a great PB but just missed out on a medal. Jack performed well and took home a 5th place medal. Oli also performed well but just missed out on a PB in a very tough age category. In the 50m breaststroke event,

Sophia was flying with a new PB and a well-earned bronze medal. Edith also performed well in this event. Gwennan narrowly missed out on a PB and earned a great bronze medal.

Elsa and Caitlin, both earned a new PBs with Elsa earning a 6th place medal.

Gruffudd performed well, just missing out on a PB. Dylan May-John, performed well again with a 4th place medal with Owen Filmer narrowly behind him in 5th.

Osian Jones earned another PB and a silver medal to add to his tally. Oli Lerigo performed well and earned a fabulous 6th place in a very competitive age category.

The 50m backstroke was the last event of the day for our dedicated ADASC swimmers. Sophia performed well again with a PB and another medal, a 4th place this time.

Edith also performed well in a very tough age category. Gwennan Filmer has yet another great swim, going sub 35 seconds with a new PB, earning a gold medal.

Elsa and Caitlin both performed well but just missed out on PBs. Gruffudd swam well earning a 6th place medal.

Osian also performed well but just missed out on a PB.

All the swimmers performed so well at the end of busy swimming season in very warm conditions.

The coaches and poolside assistants were thanked for all their hard work and dedication week in week out at Plascrug Leisure Centre and well done to all the judges and timekeepers from ADASC who took part in the gala at Holywell.

Gwennan Filmer from Penweddig, Kaya Szmigiero and William Green from Penglais will be competing in the Welsh Summer Meet in Swansea National Pool from 30 July to 3 August.

If you are interested in enquiring about your child joining us at ADASC or wish to volunteer, please contact us on [email protected]