Kent Junior League – Round 2 - Eltham Pool September 2011
 
As the swimmers started to assemble in the afternoon outside Hythe Pool prior to starting their journey to Eltham for the 2nd Round of the 2011 Kent Junior League,  it suddenly became obvious  that the coach was missing.

After many hectic telephone calls to various members of the club and after several attempts to contact the coach hire company, it was decided that the coach was not going to arrive and there were  two choices not to go, or to arrange other transport.  This was what the swimmers had been training for and after a short discussion many parents, coaches and club officials decided they would drive and the convoy left for Eltham.
Grace Walker
 
Not the start that was planned for the evening ,but the vast majority of swimmers, parents and club officials made it safely to Eltham, in time for the warm up.  The other clubs competing in the round 2 gala were Ashford Town, Greenwich, Larkfield, Folkestone & Southwark Aquatics.

Hythe got off to an excellent start in the Girls 9/10yrs  4 x 1 Medley Relay with an excellent 2nd place. Max Hulbert swam really well to take 1st place in the 11 & under 50m butterfly, which set the scene for a run of 2nd and 3rd places with Saul Owen taking  2nd place in the 11yrs & under 50m Breaststroke. The excellent start put Hythe in 1st place after the first 10 events.

Events 15, 16, 17 & 18 were all excellent swims with Eliza Cloake, Saul Owen, Grace Walker and Charles Watson all taking first places. Grace took a long standing club record in her race reducing the 100m  11/12yrs Backstroke record by over 1 second.

The next few events did not go so well for Hythe with a group of disqualifications, with the highlight being the Boys 12ysr and under freestyle relay with Jack Chislett, Thomas Fox, Saul Owen and Max Hulbert taking 1st place.

After halfway the Hythe Team got back into their stride and finished strongly with Max Hulbert, Grace Walker and Charles Watson taking 1st places supported by the Girls 11yrs and under freestyle relay, and the boys 11yrs and under freestyle relay both taking 1st places.

After a difficult start and a struggle to get to the venue, the Hythe team had a mixed evening being placed 1st for a while, then dropping to 4th place and recovering to 2nd place to finish the gala in a credible 3rd place, just one point behind the 2nd place London Club. Disqualifications cost the team dearly  and without them the Hythe  Team would have been chasing 1st place. However, considering the travel difficulties experienced it was a very good evening with lots of good swims, a good number of 1st places, 14 new PB’s and one new club record. 

A very big thank you to all the parents and club officials that ensured our team were able to compete by providing transport to Eltham.