Want to Join the Club?
So you've been accepted to study at the prestigious Imperial College and want to join the best club that the uni can offer? Then Swimming & Water Polo is for you!
Come and find us at Freshers' fair on Tuesday 4th October for some more info (and freebees!). Then pop along to one of our free introductory sessions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (7th, 8th & 9th) in Ethos Pool.
Don't know where to find us? Freshers' Fair details will appear here shortly.
Still confuzzled? Send an email to us: swimming@imperial.ac.uk for assistance galore.
End of Year Awards
On Tuesday 22nd March, the Swimming and Water Polo Club hosted their end of year dinner and awards ceremony at "As Greek As It Gets" on Earl's Court Road.
The Catania Trophy for Best Swimmer went to Florian Brock in recognition of a record-breaking swim at the BUCS Long Course competition in February. The other awards presented on the night were:
Best Newcomer: Alex Charleson
Best Male Swimmer: Jaime Gonzalez de Chaves Otaola
Best Female Swimmer: Maria Graney
Best Male Water Polo Player: Ian Welch-Phillips
Best Female Water Polo Player: Hannah Collins
Most Improved Swimmer: Oli Wilkie
Most Improved Water Polo Player: Daryll Khoo
Most Valuable Member: Florian Brock
Lifetime Achievement Award: Joe Gandy
Lifetime Achievement Award: Vera Gielen
Lifetime Achievement Award: Sarah Benett
The meal and night out were a fitting end to an excellent year for the club with all awards very well deserved.
Imperial Swimmers Victorious in ULU League
In the final ULU gala this year, swimmers from Imperial College went up against Queen Mary and King's Colleges. The team was eager to build on victories in the first two galas, but the girls Water Polo finals in Loughborough falling on the same weekend meant that Imperial started the gala with only three girls, and not enough for a relay team.
However, IC was not to worry as Kings had brought along a few extra swimmers and kindly offered a few to swim in the relays. As the swimming got underway it was soon clear that, despite missing a few star swimmers, IC was still taking the lead.
Some sterling swims were seen and with Imperial out in the lead, the race for second place was hotly contested. By the end of the gala, Imperial had notched up an impressive points tally, surpassing the rivals and making it three out of three galas won this year. A notable mention goes to coach Przemek who stepped in as starter and lead official at late notice.
After the gala all headed to the union for a points run-down and presentation of the ULU trophy to the Imperial Team.
Text by Peter Kirwan
Girls water polo make it through to BUCS Final
On Sunday the IC girls' water polo team deservedly qualified for the BUCS trophy final after playing incredibly well throughout the season. They played a gruelling three consecutive matches and impressed in all of them. Initially the girls were down a couple of goals in their first match, and their second, but their determination and team-work brought them back to win their matches 9-5 against UWIC, 8-3 against Warwick and 13-4 against Exeter. By the end of the day it was clear that IC girls were a formidable force!
By winning their matches on Sunday the girls' team have won the southern second division trophy league and so in the final will go up against the winners of the northern division.
On Sunday the top goal scorer was captain; Sarah Bennett. However, the season's top goal scorer has been tightly contested between Sarah, Vera Gielen and Hannah Collins, leaving the final as a decider as to who claims the title. Special mention has to go to our goalie on Sunday, Anna Joy Drury, who played despite being very ill. She made some amazing saves and appeared to be completely on the ball despite her illness. The only thing she failed to realise was they had actually won the first two matches, rather than lost them, like she thought!
The team consists of girls from all disciplines, from Chemists to Medics, and they all came together as an incredible team to achieve their well-deserved success.
Since the girls won their group, South East England, they now will move up to the 1st division to compete against teams like Oxford and Cambridge in the championship. In the first round the girls had an incredible goal difference of over 60 points. Throughout the season they have not lost a single match and are beginning to appear invincible. Let's hope that this continues right through to the final and on to next year.
The girls could have not performed as well as they did if it hadn't been for their fantastic coach, Adam Walzer. Who encouraged and supported the girls even through the hardest and most stressful matches.
At the end of this year unfortunately both Vera Gielen and Sarah Benett will be leaving, after 5 and 3 years respectively, of being part of the water polo team. They will be greatly missed and next year the team hopes to continue the great successes that they have brought to the club. Congratulations also go to the IC mixed water polo team who won the ULU league after a nail-biting final game against UCL.
Text by Alexandra Charleson
2011 Varsity Match Report
Imperial College 9 - 8 Imperial Medics
Right from the outset the Imperial College team looked to dominate the game with goals coming from the BUCS women's Water Polo finalists. Two goals by Sarah Bennet within the first 3 minutes and a third from Lisa Goers lead to a cracking first quarter score: 3-1 to IC.
The second quarter saw further excitement as the Medics tried to close the gap which the girls had made at the start. Ian Welch-Phillips opened the scoring for the IC team and then followed it up with a second, this time from a penalty. However, the medics were clawing at the feet of the IC team and had narrowed the gap to 5-4 by the half way point.
With tension high and still all to play for, both teams went into the third quarter with something to prove. Once again the IC team were first to open the scoring with a great goal from Stefano Longo. But, with two late goals from the Medics, the fourth (and final) quarter started as a tie; with neither team willing to budge.
An early goal from the Medics put them into the lead for the first time in the game. Excellent play by the IC team, however, counteracted this travesty only 15 seconds later with another goal from Stefano. And IC then went back ahead after a terrific goal from Daryl Khoo.
The Medics, not wanting to take another beating, fought back to once again equal the scores, leading to the most nail biting final 3 minutes of the game. Even when IC went ahead due to another brilliant goal by Ian W-P, the game went on till the very last second; the Medics eventually beaten by the clock whilst in a last ditch attempt to salvage their dignity.
IC reins victorious again, but with the Medics drawing ever closer, next year's Varsity match will be one not to miss!
Text by Thomas Trimnell
Swimmers in command of "the situation"
Over the last two weekends, the IC swimming team have gone out and tested their credentials on a national level, proving themselves to be a formidable force.
Two weeks ago the swimming team took a small squad of swimmers to the BUCS south regional team event, taking on teams from all over southern England from Bath to Southampton and beyond. Both the girls and guys teams performed brilliantly, with special mention going to Hannah Collins and Jaime "quiet man" Gonzalez, for fantastic displays in the 100m IM and 200m freestyle respectively. As the gala went on it was clear that Imperial were in the hunt to reach the BUCS final up in Loughborough, brushing aside competition from other universities to be in a promising position halfway through the afternoon.
More good swims followed the mid-gala interval, however the team narrowly missed out on a position in the final to the University of London swimming team. This was particularly galling given that IC had been told that they had reached the final, only for that to be taken away due to errors in calculating points.
The swim team soon brushed off this disappointment on their way up to Sheffield to compete in the BUCS Long course national championships.
It was clear from the first day of the gala that the team were in good nick, when the men's freestyle relay team qualified for the B final, after which results only improved. Hayley Rigby narrowly missed out on a place in the 200m IM final, and had to settle for a reserve place. A new addition to the squad Chris Jones made an instant impact when he qualified easily for the final of the 50m breaststroke narrowly edging Florian Brock out of the "situation".
Both men's and women's medley relay teams then went on to qualify for their respective B finals, on a day which would be capped by Chris coming 5th in the 50m breaststroke, and the men's freestyle relay team of Chris, Niki Peric, Jaime Gonzalez and Thomas Whitehead-Clarke smashing their time from the previous day by 4 seconds to come 2nd in the B final, leaving them 12th in the country. The weekend was capped on the Sunday with Maria Graney narrowly missing out on the final for the 100m backstroke for reasons unknown, and a great performance from the girls' medley team in their final, again improving on their time thanks to a tactical master-stroke from Alex Charleson.
All in all a fantastic 2 weeks of swimming, and a suitable farewell gift to the swimming club coach Sergio Catania who will be moving on after over 5 years with the club. His enthusiasm on poolside will be missed, but the club hope to build on the success that he has brought, and go from strength to strength in the coming years.
Text by Thomas Whitehead-Clarke
Student Membership of the ASA available for just £5!
CALLING ALL SWIMMERS!! Below are forms detailing how you...YES YOU!!... can become a member of the ASA, and therefore swim in galas outside of uni competition. The fee is only £5, and if you are interested in swimming in galas outside uni its perfect for you! If plenty of us do it, it means we can rock up to masters meets as a team, and compete at times of the year when regular galas have finished.
Information Sheet and Membership Form
