Chippenham swimmer Branwen Harris has recently returned from representing England at the Commonwealth Lifesaving Championships in Durban, South Africa following an invitation to an England trial - after doing well at the University Championships (BUCS) and the nationals earlier in the season. Despite being an accomplished swimmer this was a remarkable achievement having only taking up the lifesaving discipline during the previous year.
Branwen represented England in the following events:
- 4 x 50m Obstacle Relay - Finished with silver medal in a time of 2:00:15 LC (British record) - 1 metre fences placed 12.5 metres from each end of the pool - so there are 2 for each relay swimmer.
- 4 x 25m manikin relay - Finished with bronze medal in a time of 1:39:52 LC (British record) - Have to pass the manikin within a 5m allotted space, and the manikin's head can't go under.
- 4 x 50m medley relay - Performed the third leg which used a thorpe buoy and finished with a bronze medal in a time of 1:52:00 LC (British record) - 1st swimmer = 50m freestyle, 2nd swimmer = 50m freestyle with fins, 3rd swimmer = 50m with thorpe buoy, 4th swimmer = 50m with fins and towing the thorpe buoy with the 3rd swimmer holding on to it
- 50m manikin carry (Individual) - Ranked 6th and finished 4th with a new personal best time of 39:00 LC - 25m freestyle, dive down 1.8m pick up the 7.5 stone manikin pull to the surface then tow the manikin on your back to the end (25m).
Branwen competed in the England national team which finished 3rd overall behind Australia and South Africa national teams respectively.
Newsflash
We need more licensed officials to run events and to complete behind the scenes roles. Why not start to train as an official? Its not as daunting as you think. Most of the training is done on pool side at a pace that suites you. Join a Judge 1 course to see what it is all about. Questions? Please ask Darren Hall or e-mail the club This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
If you are a parent of a CASC swimmer and have an hour or two to spare each week please contact a member of the committee either on poolside or via the 'contact us' link above as we are always looking for help from committed parents. Support is welcome both on poolside and behind the scenes with club administration / management functions.