On 27th March 2015, TES entered a squad of 23 swimmers to the annual BSME Swimming event in Oman to compete in the BSME Swimming Championships. The competition was hosted by the British School of Muscat and held at the Sultan Al-Qoboos Swimming Complex. It was the 3rd time TES have entered the competition and the squad members were looking to perform well against some fantastic swimming schools.
14 of the best British schools in the Middle East took part in the event. TES were competing against the following schools: Al Khor International School Doha, Al Yasmina School Abu Dhabi, The British International School of Al Khobar, British International School of Jeddah, British School of Muscat, Compass International School Doha, Dhahran British Grammar School Saudi Arabia, Dubai English Speaking School, Jeddah Prep and Grammar School Saudi Arabia, King's School Dubai, Muscat International School Oman, St. Christopher School Bahrain and The Sultans School Oman.
The TES team entered the following age groups:
8 & U Girls - Olivia, Katie, Lara
8 & U Boys - Christian, Maxwell, Sam
9 & 10 Girls - Alannah, Darcy, Giocanda
9 & 10 Boys - Matthew, Manno, Max, Stuart
11 & 12 Girls - Kira, Sydney, Jomana, Alexandra
11 & 12 Boys - Omar, Maksut, Sam, Jack, William, Ali
Our swimmers swam against some very strong competitors from different schools in the Middle East and produced some amazing results well beyond what might have been expected. Most of the TES swimmers smashed their own personal best times and they came back with lots of 4th to 6th place ribbons and 1st to 3rd place medals plus the 2 most outstanding runners up trophies in the 9-10 boys category.
Max showed an outstanding performance when he established a new BSME long course record in 9-10 boys 50m butterfly with a time of 37.15 and he still holds the record in the 8 & Under boys 100m butterfly at 1:35.77. Max also won the 9 & 10 boys first runner up trophy followed by Matthew as second runner up.
Overall it was an extremely successful event and the TES squad achieved 26 medals with 10 golds, 8 silvers and 8 bronzes.
Well done to everyone that took part. It was a terrific weekend and the pupils were a credit to TES. Thank you also to the parents who supported and travelled with their children for the event.
Chal Burns