IN the first of the Worcester Winter League galas, Droitwich Dolphins were drawn to swim against Oldbury, Bromsgrove and Triple X from Birmingham.

This was a tough competition which produced many personal bests for Droitwich swimmers, even if they weren't victories

At 11 and under, the mixed squad of Victoria Barratt, Fiona Watt, Amelia Lui, David Fisher, James Hegan-Smith and Sam Bowen took an impressive first place in the freestyle relay. James Hegan-Smith took second place in the boys individual 50m freestyle and butterfly. Amelia Lui was second in the 50m backstroke.

In the 13 and under age group, Alex Dunn easily won the 100m freestyle and Charlotte Earl was second in the backstroke. They were joined by Hayley Williams, Josh Dale, Sam Foules and Simon Roberts to take second in the mixed freestyle relay.

The 15 and under team swam well with David Freckleton winning the 100m breaststroke and James Bourne taking second place in the freestyle and backstroke races. For the girls, Rachel Roberts swam to second in the breaststroke and Kate Hull second in the backstroke. They were joined by Alice Richardson and Jonathon Stock to take second in the mixed medley relay.

In the open age group Mark Draper took a very good first place in the 100m butterfly. The event was rounded off with a second place for the mixed freestyle team of Claire and Amy Holliday, Charlotte Llewelyn, Mark Draper, James Bourne and David Freckleton.

Droitwich finished third overall, having performed well against some tough opposition.

l Droitwich Dolphins Swimming Club bid a fond farewell to their coach Amanda Freckleton recently. A presentation was held at Droitwich Leisure Centre during the main training evening.

Swimmers and parents gathered on the poolside to hear chairman Gareth Holliday pay tribute to the last four years that Amanda has coached the Dolphins.

The club has grown in size and competed in a number of swimming leagues with increasing individual and team success under her instruction. She was presented with a Waterford Crystal Dolphin and a multi-function stopwatch.