With the qualifying times for Gerry Ryan Memorial Gala competition now harder then the Munster Championship, I knew the class of swimming was going to be high. And with clubs from Munster, Leinster and Connaught it was a real inter-provincial competition. We had 11 swimmers competing, and with the closure of our pool since Christmas it was going to be a hard task for our swimmers to make the impact they are now known for. This to my amazement was wrong, even though they did not shine on the longer distance they all did very well on the shorter distance with some even making finals. Speaking to other swim club coaches over the weekend they all said that we were the best swimming club at the swim meet who don't have a pool (swim coach humour) so even though we were not in as many finals as we have become used to we still left our mark on the swim meet.
I will not single out any swimmer at this meet as some people swam very well while others did not, but the swimmers who did not swim well did not let this get them down, but smiled and said Ah well! This is something I found very refreshing and shows that these athletes are now understanding the life of an athlete, the ups and downs.
With our pool being under reconstruction, the committee are trying very hard to keep the club going with swimming in Roscrea and UL and Pilates in Nenagh. So on behalf of the swimmers who raced this weekend thank you for all the hard work.
On a personal note, Gerry Ryan was my swimming coach and it was an honour to be able to bring a swim team to a meet in his honour - Gerry RIP
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