The Wear Valley level 3 swimming gala, was held on the 13th/14th of May. The following 16 Newton Aycliffe swimmers competed at the Gala (Top Row, left to right) Kate Carmichael, Sophie Wilkinson, Leah Smith, Niall Coulthard, Kate Tolley, Katelyn Craig and Kathrine Lee. (Bottom Row, left to right) Leo Maughan, George Wilkinson, Louis Shaw, Chloe Harding, Daisy Smart, Jake Andrews, Ethan Craig, Matthew Wimbury and Jamie Darnton.

All swimmers had a fantastic weekend in terms of finals made and medals won, in total 42 Personal Bests were made which is brilliant, as it shows how much each swimmer is developing. The swimmers who made finals were Kate Tolley, Sophie, Kate Carmichael, Katelyn, Leah, Niall, Jamie, George, Jake, Ethan and Leo.

One of the younger swimmers Mathew achieved a bronze medal at his first gala, and has a bright future in  swimming. The star of the weekend was Leah Smith achieving 8 gold medals and personal bests in every race. This gala was important for Leah and Niall as they are both competing in the North East and Region’s Championships on at the end of May, and the club hope to see more success there.