Dunmow Atlantis had plenty to cheer about as 2015 came to a close, celebrating a number of successes.
Just before Christmas were the annual Club Championship finals.
It was a record breaking evening, with 134 personal bests, 51 improved Essex County Qualifying times plus 19 new Essex QT’s, including four first QT’s for Poppy Grey, Megan Archibald, Nicole Stanton and Ed Horrocks.
Following the races swimmers, coaches and parents all attended a presentation ceremony.
It was a true reflection of just how hard the squads had worked, with medals given to the top six swimmers in each age group for every event.
Awards were then given to the top boy and top girl in each age group - with Patrick Winnington, Jack Richardson, Josh Smith and Matt McLaughlin taking top awards for the boys and Lucy Le Huquet, Sophie Taylor, Chloe Moloney and Abbie Hart for the girls.
Assistant coach Darren Tucker was delighted to present a new award, Swimmer of the Year, to 11-year-old Damon Elliot, followed by a special award for Excellent Participation to 10-year-old Layla Ellis.
Worthy winners of the Jack Petchey awards were Rebecca Dack and Emma Sarginson, after which poolside assistant Les Edwards was presented with Honarary Lifetime President Award by DASC chairman, Kevin Simmons.
Having taken top spot in Division Two of the 2015 Essex Swimming League, senior captains for 2014/15 Rosie Musgrove and Louis Spong accepted the ESL shield from Essex County ASA president, Henry Watkinson.
The evening came to a close with the announcement of the club captains for 2015/16.
The junior captains were named as Sophie Taylor and Jack Richardson, with Abbie Hart and John Boyle as senior captains.
The busy pre-Christmas season continued with 15-year-old Meghan Maybanks flying the DASC flag at the ASA Winter National competition, held in Sheffield.
Meghan competed alongside some of the biggest names in the country, giving her usual polished performance in both the 50m backstroke and 50m freestyle events.
Lastly, DASC co-hosted a successful Christmas Cracker meet with Braintree & Bocking Swimming Club, with contestants from all over the area taking part.
It was the final opportunity for many to qualify for the 2016 Essex County Championships, and DASC did not disappoint, coming home with a massive medal and QT haul.
The club will now take an unprecedented 44 swimmers to the Essex competition, with a total of 282 swims between them.
Training now begins in earnest in preparation for the Championships, which start late January.
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