Broadway star swimmers making waves

Nineteen members of the Walsall club took part in the Christmas County Qualifier in Wolverhampton and brought home 12 medals while setting a total of 44 personal bests.

Jake Birmingham proved to be Broadway's golden boy as he powered to victory in the 50m backstroke.

Birmingham, 15, capped a successful meeting by bagging a silver in the 50m front crawl.

Megan Butler and Amy Perfit were also if fine form as they added to the medal count.

Butler, 14, took silver in the 50m and 100 backstroke events while 19-year-old Perfit claimed silver in four categories – 50m front crawl, 100m front crawl, 200m individual medley and the 100m individual medley.

The success story continued with Harriet Shepherd landing a notable hat-trick.

The 14-year-old picked up three bronze medals following impressive swims in the 200m individual medley and the 50m and 100 front crawl.

And there was a first open meet medal for 11-year-old Millie Harmon in the 100m breast stroke.

The success rounded off an impressive year for the club under the guidance of long-serving coach Alan Bagnall.

Bagnall said: "I was delighted by the success at Wolverhampton. It's nice to see all the hard work the youngsters put in reap some reward.

"They are very dedicated and deserved the success. We have a number of talented young swimmers coming through and things are looking good for the club at the moment."

Bagnall's attention will now turn towards the County Championships in Stafford in February.

He said: "We have had a really good year and we are looking forward to an even better one in 2016. We have the county event in February and we start our Nuneaton Mini-League campaign in April."

The club boast between 35 and 40 competitive swimmers, but have a total membership of around 170-200 covering all age groups from beginners to competitive swimmers.

Bagnall said: "We are a small club compared to most of our rivals, but we are a proper club. A lot of our members learn to swim with us and then go and compete for the club.

"We have some good swimmers here and the aim is to get some of them into the Midland District Championships later this year. That is just one step down from the National Championships."

The club are based at the University of Wolverhampton's Walsall Campus, in Gorway Road, and also train at Barr Beacon Leisure Centre.

Anyone wishing to join the club should contact Alan Bagnall on 01922 409 760 or send an email to broadwayswimmingclub@hotmail.co.uk.