The Swim Ulster Age Group and Senior Championships was a major success story this year, with an impressive 2400 entries from swimmers across the province. This shows Ulster swimmers desire to compete. The event marked a revival of the sport after years of Covid-related disruptions and was testament to the resilience and commitment of the athletes, coaches and clubs involved.
One of the most notable aspects of the Swim Ulster Championships was the number of records that were broken at a regional meet. Swimmers from across the region were able to put in truly outstanding performances. Danielle Hill of Larne set a new LC Irish Record in the women’s 50m Backstroke in a time of 27.69. Grace Davison of Ards set an Ulster Junior Record on the 50m Butterfly in a time of 27.78. The Ards women set a new Ulster Junior Record in the 4x100 Freestyle in a time of 4.02.43. National Records are as always an example of a high level of competition on display, as well as to the calibre of swimmers who participated.
Perhaps most excitingly, the Swim Ulster Championships also showcased a wealth of bubbling-under talent in the junior ranks, with several young swimmers winning multiple events in their age groups. Many of these up-and-coming swimmers put in performances that have set them up for future success and they are beginning to cement their status as ones to watch in the coming years. With such a strong cohort of young talent emerging, there is every reason to believe that the future of swimming in Ulster is bright and more swimmers will join this list.
Swim Ulster looks forward to this already prestigious event continuing to grow along with the talent of our region. Operations Manager, Stephen Cuddy, had this to say, "What a great weekend of racing at Bangor Aurora, it was great to see such a large entry to the event, can I congratulate all the clubs who participated. There definitely was some very exciting racing and some very fast swimming, especially Danielle Hill who broke her own Irish record in the 50m backstroke, congratulations Danielle. This was our largest entry into our long course championship so a big thanks to our officials, volunteers and Linda Stoops and the staff for running the event so well.”