LEDBURY and District ASC swimmers showed great form after their Easter break with 24 new personal best times and 25 first places to win their second round of the PGL Junior League held at Gloucester.

Swimming against teams from Gloucester, Beaufort and Pontypool, wins from Lucy Bennion, 50m butterfly(13/u), Annabelle Wilce, 25m backstroke(12/u), George Bennion, 25m breaststroke (11/u), all in new personal best times, helped Ledbury to a a seven point lead by event 10 which they steadily increased throughout the gala.

Katie Batley had a terrific gala winning both the 10/u backstroke and butterfly races, both in new times and being especially pleased to break the 20 second mark in the butterfly. Joe Bloxsome was even faster in the boy,s event, recording a 18.85 pb but as this is a graded meet, he was awarded a speeding ticket rather than points! Patrick Blake also swam a pb in his fly and although recording the same time, the finishing judges decided the Pontypool swimmer touched first. Bradley Smith picked up a speeding ticket in the 50m breaststroke, 10/u age group, no points but a great pb. Also in the 10/u age group Liam Almond was victorious in the backstroke then went on to swim a fast freestyle to win the race and break the 18 second mark, with Victoria Watkins finishing a close second in the girl's race, also in a new personal best time.

Heather Farmer swam consistently well during the gala and was the winner of the 12/u freestyle. Having worked hard with his freestyle stroke count in training Mark Hinton was anxious to prove himself worthy of the 50m swim in the 13/u age group. He was rewarded with a win and over a second off his previous best time.

Not to be outdone in the following girl's race, Charlotte Wilce knocked over half a second off her time but was beaten to the touch.

Rachel Lea and Luke Rycroft set fine examples to the younger team swimmers as they tackled their least favourite event, backstroke. Similarly Thomas Stokes and Hannah Bloxsome were selected to swim their 'worst' stroke and although they may not have enjoyed the race, all four celebrated new personal best times.

Ruari Smith Cooper was strong on his backstroke recording a new time in both the 11 and 12 year age groups. Olivia Powell was very determined to keep her team place and put in two great 25m breaststroke swims breaking her existing time both swims. James Middleton also managed a new time in his breaststroke as did Josie Rycroft and Annabelle Wilce.

The nine years relay swimmers were outstanding winning all their eight relays by at least 10 metres,

Maximum points for the girls squad, Emma Fitzpatrick, Lucy Stokes, Anabel Dereham, Olivia Hunt and Patty Holloway but unfortunately the boys, George Oliver, Chris Leitch, Joe Bloxsome, Charlie Green, David Middleton and William Pinnell suffered a disqualification in the breaststroke.

Notable swims from Amy Tyler and Richard Jones in the 13 year age group and Jessica Hunt in the 11 and 12's age groups plus a debut team swim for Alex Jupp all helped LADASC win a total of 15 relay races. Although way ahead in points it is a matter of pride to excel in the final event, the cannon.

David Middleton got off to a great start with Anabel Dereham battling to maintain the small advantage.

Despite having just completed their age group relays, Thomas Stokes, Victoria Watkins, Heather Farmer, Ruari Smith Cooper and Arron Almond were determined they could manage one last sprint and they gave it their best increasing the lead for the fastest swimmers, Luke Rycroft and Rachel Lea to finish the gala with a convincing win.

Final points were, Ledbury 170, Pontypool 149, Gloucester 136 and Beaufort 86.

Club coach Viv Jones said: "This was a good win for us but more important was the improvement shown by so many of the swimmers, being a graded meet many are too fast to swim their best stroke and it is a good opportunity to compete on a different one. We have built up a committed squad who are training hard and enjoying it and it's great to see their confidence increasing as they go from strength to strength."