National Qualifying Roundup
After an exhausting qualifying window with 7 meets in just two months, we can all breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy a quiet couple of months to the summer. With such a young squad it's been a massive learning curve for so many, unfortunate illnesses and ongoing injuries also play their part, but a lot of what we normally take for granted, has had to be relearned along the way with a new coaching team in place this season.
The qualifying window makes the process of selection for Nationals a painful and stressful experience. The Top X on rankings after the final weekend go to British, the Next Y go to English. We had another two in the running right up until the final pair of weekends. No one knows for sure until all the results are in the system and the final list is published. For Jessica Hubery we thought a phenomenal 1500m swim would bank her a place in the English Nationals, an event she qualified for in the year previous, it must have been particularly tough. She was on the list for the 400m Freestyle, we thought she’d added the 400m Freestyle too, but that final weekend of racing brings out fast times across the country. Kiera Binns was also in the running for the English Nationals up until the end of the NER Open/Youth Championships for the 200m IM and 400m IM events, a last chance also came about by sending her to Plymouth Leanders last chance qualfiier. Alas, it wasn’t to be this year, we know where the weak spots are and where we need to improve next year after some reflection over the course of the season, it’s a bitter pill to swallow but often experiencing failure drives the ambitious ones to push harder.
But Phoebe Weatherill earning a place at the British Swimming Summer Championships (one up from the English Summer Nationals) is one to be celebrated.
Smashing out PB after PB and forcing herself into the top flight for the 100m Butterfly going from a starting time of 1:10.73, and over the course of those 9 weeks that time dropped to 1:07.60 at the finals of Swim England NER Age Group Championships which puts her just behind the big guns in the region - but she's never qualified for English Nationals (nevermind British) having endured a torrid season last year. As a bonus, dipping beneath 30sec for the first time in May puts her among the big names in her age group.
There are other events being primed for next season, but this time we’ll settle for an excellent reward for a season of hard work. Well done Phoebe Weatherill we are all very proud of you!
Of course, the hard work starts now. Simply qualifying isn't enough. Arriving at either of these championships and challenging for the finals and then the medals is the order of the day. To achieve that will require big PB's on the day, no matter what your ranking heading into it. Reaching finals will be very difficult for everyone - so heads down, bank as much hard work as possible before the big day arrives, and for the group who just missed out, it's now their job to push her through it.
And for those just missing out this year, there’s been plenty of progress over the course of the season, dust yourselves down and let's get a head start for 2025.
