Aquastars, City of Salford and City of Bristol top the podium

The Swim England Artistic Swimming Combo Cup started with a bang as Bramcote Aquastars, City of Salford and City of Bristol took to the top step of the podium during the opening session in Sheffield.

More than 750 swimmers are competing at Ponds Forge throughout the day as young swimmers aged from 9-18 get the opportunity to showcase their routines to help their club come away with the Combo Cup trophy.

The results from the opening session leave Aquastars, City of Salford and City of Bristol all level at the top of the Combo Cup leaderboard with 18 points apiece from the first three events.

It was Bramcote Aquastars won the first gold medal of the competition thanks to their impressive display in the Division 1 15 & Under event.

Their team was made up of Lois Banadaki, Theodora Ghindea, Isla Baskill-Conroy, Grace Grant, Jessie Yates, Heidi Wallace, Ava Eatherington, Emily Knight, Isobel Fleming, Abigail Robotham.

Aquastars were awarded a score of 54.6333 for their routine with 16.5000 for execution, 22.1333 for artistic impression and a mark of 16.0000 for difficulty.

The clubs coach said that seeing the smiles on the girls faces made all the hard work worth it.

“These girls are a great group so I really enjoyed doing the choreography for this routine.

“The team all really support each other and just having them all together here on this great day has made it special.

“They absolutely smashed the figures, the lifts went well so I’m really proud of them and seeing the big smiles on their faces while they performed made all the hard work worth it.”

With 10 swimmers in the team, they also earned an extra bonus points in the race for the Combo Cup.

Hythe Aqua finished second after scoring 52.4333 points to earn them the silver medal with Chelmsford City Swimming Club completing the podium (52.8000).

Salford take gold on artistic impression score

A competitive 13-15 Division 2 competition saw City of Salford and Rugby finish with an identical score for their routines.

However, Salford took home the title after they received a higher mark for artistic impression for their combination routine.

It was a high-paced and energetic display from the Manchester based side who scored 62.2000 with an artistic impression mark of 25.6000 that was 0.4 higher than Rugby’s total.

Salford’s team of Ailsa Fox, Frankie Derbyshire, Grace Jenkins, Lotti Horsman, Neve Lambert, Sophie Flemming, Sophie Huang, Ysabel Brook combined to win the gold as the club look to retain the Combo Cup crown.

Rugby had to settle for second despite an incredible routine with City of Bristol scoring 61.9000 as they finished narrowly behind the top two to secure bronze.

‘I’m so proud and happy for them’

City of Bristol, City of Salford and Bramcote Aquastars shared the podium, in the Division 1 13-18 round.

City of Bristol were today’s gold medalists with an impressive overall total of 56.6333. They scored 22.9333 in Artistic Impression, 17.0000 in Execution and 16.7000 in Difficulty. The talented team consisted of: Matilda Lewis, Kira Patel, Lauren Edwards,  Libby Stephens, Sophie Bourne,  Yana Fry,  Daisy Jones, Holly Steele, Isabella Lawlor and Rosie Henderson, with teammates Jasmine Kay and Hannah Boyd as reserves.

Narrowly behind in second place was City of Salford, who fell just short of the winning total with 56.2667. The team’s Artistic Impression was scored at 22.2667, while their Execution and Difficulty were scored 17.2000 and 16.8000 respectively. Amelia Pearson, Amelie Reece, Amy Holgate,  Annabel Pattison, Autumn Malpus, Helen Huang, Isabella Maw, Lily Waddicker, Mae Fanning and Sabine Melia made up the team, with Charlotte Cohen as a reserve.

Taking the final spot on the podium was Bramcote Aquastars with a total of 55.5000. The Aquastars had an Artistic Impression score of 22.0000, a Difficulty score of 16.1000 and an Execution score of 17.4000 – which was the highest Execution score of the top three teams. Sarah Pickard, Jennifer Powick, Jessica Bartlam, Emily Goodger, Emma Novakova, Olivia Woodrow-Smith, May Williams, Heidi Woolley, Evelina Racyte and Scarlett Bolt were today’s bronze medalists.

An honourable mention goes to Cheltenham Swimming & Water Polo Club who just missed out on third place by a few points, with a score of 55.0333.

City of Bristol’s coach Laura Perry on her enjoyable experience at the event.

She said: “I think just spending time with the girls is so enjoyable. They’ve all been absolutely amazing in the last couple of months and have worked so hard – especially in the last six weeks.

“The last high risk move was my favourite part of the routine but seeing them all come together as one at the end was the best moment. I’m so proud and happy for them.”

You can follow the Combo Cup standings and results here.

Images: Will Johnston Photography.