Swimmers Enjoy BUCS Finals Success Against the Odds

Swimming has never been the most popular of sports. At school, it was the sport you always forgot your kit for, or happened to have a dentist appointment suspiciously booked for that exact one hour every week. Here at UEA though, we have a dedicated and talented team.

UEA is not exactly famous for having a strong swimming team. For this, you might look to Loughborough, Stirling or Bath. However, things look like they are changing for UEA.

The team is very small, and competes in BUCS competitions: BUCS short-course, long-course and team competitions (for non-swimming folk short-course is a 25m pool, and long-course is 50m).

Unfortunately, the team were not able to compete in Derby Day this year, due to Essex University not having a suitable pool. This was soon forgotten though, because for the first time in around 20 years, UEA's swimming team qualified for the UK Second Division Final that took place in Sheffield last Saturday (10th March).

Earlier this academic year, at BUCS short-course, a relatively small team of 22 swimmers undertook the journey to Sheffield, to compete at Ponds Forge against some of the most talented swimmers in the country. Three finals were reached, ranking these individuals in the top 10 nationally (of University swimmers), including the men’s relay team.

Then, in the new year, in another BUCS short-course competition, an even smaller team made the trip north to Sheffield due to exams, injuries and illnesses. However, once again UEA rose above adversity; three finals were reached, and there would have been four had the girl's relay team not been disqualified.

In a later BUCS team competition UEA took the smallest team on record, made up of just 10 swimmers (half the size of your usual team), to the Southern Second Division Final. Knowing that they did not have their strongest team available, the swimmers hoped that they could produce a performance that would enable them to remain in the division.
 

The ten swimmers had to cover the ten events (plus relays) between them. Considering there are normally about 20 swimmers in a team, they performed out of their skins. Not only did the team not lose (as predicted), but they came fourth in the South (Second Division), meaning they qualified for the UK final.

The team were ecstatic with the results and looked forward to the final. Yet typically, there were last minute problems before the event. Dropouts and injuries meant the team were once again left with only 10 swimmers. However, once again the group pulled together in true UEA team spirit, and managed to finish in a creditable seventh, after having qualified in tenth position.

This ranks the team seventeenth nationally, and has certainly enhanced UEA’s name to the swimming world. For such a small, depleted team, the results have been outstanding.