25th July 2010 - Sutton & Cheam win Tom Dwyer Memorial Trophy

Sunday saw Sutton & Cheam's first team at Whitgift School for the final of the "TOM DWYER" MEMORIAL TROPHY, a handicap knockout competition open to all first and second teams of clubs affiliated to the Surrey County Water Polo Association. In the final, Sutton were up against Avondale 2, who were given an 8-goal start on handicap.

The first quarter ended 8-2 in Sutton's favour to bring the score to within 2 goals on handicap (8-10). Avondale then fought back strongly in the second quarter to restrict Sutton to just 3 goals to 2 against, and at the end of the 2nd quarter, Sutton trailed by just a single goal (11-12) on handicap score.

However Sutton took the lead early in the third quarter and accelerated away with 7 unanswered goals, which put the game beyond Avondale's reach (18-12). A further 6 goals in quarter 4 gave Sutton a convincing 24-13 win.

With just seven players, Sutton had to be careful but a well-organised defence with Mike Smith immense in defending the 'pit' gave them victory. Matt and Olly Holland shared goal-keeping duties and both got their names on the score sheet. Scorers for Sutton were Stephen Bayles (6), Ed Freeman (5), Neil Coles (5), Andy 'Mole' Lawrence (3), Matt Holland (3) Olly Holland (2).

Team: Mike Smith, Stephen Bayles, Ed Freeman, Neil Coles, Andy 'Mole' Lawrence, Olly Holland, Matt Holland

17 & 18 July - Fareham Open

Nearly 30 Sutton & Cheam swimmers descended on the Fareham Nomads Open Summer Meet at the Quays, Southampton and returned with 18 Medals and a whole basketful of PBs and County Qualifying times, as well as a ranking of 8th best club of the 30 clubs entered.

April Hedges took 2 gold, silver and a bronze to give her overall 2nd place in the Top Female 9 Years age group. This could have been one better had April not false started in the 200m Individual Medley.

George Brown won 1 Gold, 4 silver and a bronze; and Michael Rees; 3 gold and 2 bronze to place them 2nd & 3rd places respectively in the Top Male 10 Years age group. Not far behind In the BAGCAT competition were Lois Martin and Katie Heape, 8th and 10th respectively in the Top Female 10 Years age group; and Ross James and William Ward 6th & 10th respectively in the Top Male age 11 years.

More medals came from Nicole Barron with gold in the Girls Age 14, 100m back; Rosie Heape with silver in the Girls Age 12, 50m freestyle and sister Katie, a fantastic bronze in the Girls Age 10, 50m Breast.

On top of that there were close calls for Michael Rees, Brooke Tafazolli, Chris Carr, George Brown, Jake Meffan And William Ward, all taking 4th place in their respective races.

Swimmers: Adam Smith, Alfie Brown, April Hedges, Ashley Castle, Brooke Tafazolli, Charlotte Carr, Christopher Carr, Daisy Meffan, Danielle Carbery, Declan Courtney, Ellie James, Elliot Kimber, Eve Tidy, George Brown, Harry Brown, Jake Meffan, Katie Heape, Killan Courtney, Lois Martin, Louis Meffan, Michael Rees, Natalie Andrew, Nicole Barron, Noah White, Reanna Howells, Rosie Heape, Ross James, Samuel Rees, William Ward

18-Jul Hat-trick of League Titles for Sutton & Cheam's Under 21 Ladies

A dominant 6-1 win over Beckenham (putting their earlier 3-3 draw into perspective); and a 5-2 win over Croydon gave Sutton & Cheam's Ladies Under 21 team their third London League Championship Title in three years.

Although there were some great individual performances, above all it was the superb team spirit that was the foundation of the team's success. This was evident even before the games started with some of the team coming from Hailsham, others racing from an Open Gala in Southampton, and Ellie Quin racing straight off the plane at Gatwick to be on poolside with just minutes to spare before the first game. It was even more evident during the game with an impressive defensive display, which allowed the opposition very few shots on goal.

In the opening game against Beckenham, Brooke Tafazolli scored the opener with a fine shot from a pin-point pass from Ellie Quin, and scored again with a solo effort before Louise Bampton made it 3 from close range. Alice Rogers soon made it 4 and Louise Bampton got her second from an excellent unselfish pass from Rebecca Hedges; and then made it 6 for her hat-trick after a counter and a long pass from goal-keeper Amy Styles. It could have been more if the woodwork hadn't got in the way of shots from Eve Tidy and Alice Rogers.

In their second game against 2nd - placed Croydon Amphibians, Sutton didn't have it all their own way and Amy Styles in goal had to make a great save early in the game, which took the wind out of Croydon's sails. Sutton then raced to a 4-1 half time lead before taking their foot off the pedal and cruising to a 5-2 win. Alice Rogers got the first from a man-up, and the second from a great pass by Brooke. Sutton were then awarded a penalty, which Georgina Pashler smashed against the bar but showing great reactions, then scored from the rebound with the keeper stranded. Alice Rogers then converted her hat-trick with a rocket to make it 4-1 before Reanna Howells got the goal of the game mid way through the second half, curving a long range shot Beckham like into the top left corner from fully 10 metres. Croydon scored a consolation goal in the last minutes of the game to make it 5-2 but the game and the League Championship title, were already won.

The Team: Rebecca Hedges, Ellie Quin, Louise Bampton, Alice Rogers, Georgina Pashler, Brooke Tafazolli, Eve Tidy, Reanna Howells, Amy Styles (G/K)

17 July - Serbia trip for young water polo players

Good luck to Jack Miller, Josh Miller, Jacob Tidy, and James DeBrunner and who are currently training in Serbia with the London Region Junior Water Polo squad.

04 July - National Biathlon Finals - George takes Silver

George Brown took the silver medal in the Youth 'E' Boys Category, and Rosie finished a highly creditable 27th in the Youth 'C' Girls in the National Biathlon Finals held at Liverpool on Sunday.

George's time of 33.42 in the 50m swim put him 2nd; which together with his 11th place in the 1000m run with a time of 3:50.26, placed him overall second with 2160 points just 12 behind the winner.

George's run beat his run in the qualifiers by 4 seconds.

Rosie's PB of 1:10.33 in the 100m swim, placing her 19th in the swim and a 3:44.87 run (placing her 31st) gave her an overall placing of 27th with a total of 1816 points.

Well done George and Rosie.

04 July - Sutton take the bronze in the Youth Games Water Polo

8 Sutton & Cheam players were joined by Mhairi Nurthen (Croydon Amphibians) and Dylan and Kane Nurse (South Croydon), to represent the London Borough of Sutton in the Youth Games water polo event, held at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

A loss to Croydon 3-6 in the Group Stages didn't truly reflect the closeness of the game, which was 3-4 with only 2 minutes left. With the multi-talented Mhairi Nurthen, Dylan Nurse and brother Kane Nurse also competing for Sutton in the Biathlon event, Sutton were three players down for the second round against Ealing but a dominant 11-1 victory was more than enough to place Sutton into the semi-finals.

In the semi-final against City of London (an all boys team despite the 'mixed' entry criteria), Sutton played out of their skins to remain 0-0 at half time. However, a goal from City of London in the opening seconds of the second half put Sutton on the defensive and in pushing forwards for an equaliser, conceded another. Unfortunately, Sutton were unable to convert their chances into goals and City of London eventually ran out 4-0 winners as Sutton's young team tired.

Back to full strength, Sutton saved their best for the bronze medal match against Hackney, winning 15-1 with most of the Sutton Team getting onto the score sheet. Top scorer for Sutton was Brooke Tafazolli with 9, with further goals from Eve Tidy (4), Reanna Howells (4), Nicole Barron (4), Mhairi Nurthen (3), Sam Rees (2), Alfie Brown, Joe Phillpott-Clark and Mofe Wilkey, who was at his usual shot-stopping best in goal and even found himself on the score sheet, lobbing the opposition goalkeeper from 25 metres.

Excellent defensive work all round contributed to a well-earned bronze. With 8 of the team still able to play in the same age group in 2011, and 5 of them in 2012, we hope to better our bronze next year.

03July - Dorking ZNA 'B' Gala

Under the eye of Development Coach Ian Rooke, Sutton & Cheam sent a team drawn largely from the Development and County Squad members to the Dorking ZNA 'B' Gala on Saturday and they didn't let him down.

This event enabled some of the younger swimmers the chance to gain experience of competition, and allowed the coaches to spot any hidden talent from swimmers who do not compete regularly.

There were some excellent swims from the whole team and although finishing 4th of the 6 teams, this was largely the result of several swimmers receiving 'Speeding Tickets' for swimming too quickly!

Well done to: Adam Smith, Chantelle Keung Freeman, Daisy Meffan, Declan Courtney, Elise Smith, Ellie James, Georgina Bourley, Jake Meffan, James Lowrie, Joe Bolger, Katie Heape, Kieran Castle, Killian Courtney, Louis Meffan, Maddison Kameta, Mollie Jordan, Olivia Taylor, Rebecca Salter, Robert Nolan, Roisin Bowden, Ross James, Thomas Salter, Tomas Gibson; and a big welcome to James Lowrie and Joe Bolger who were representing the club for the first time.

03 July - Youth Games Swimming

In the Balfour Beatty Youth Games swimming events held at Crystal Palace on Saturday, Sutton & Cheam swimmers Jacob Tidy, James DeBrunner, Chris Carr, Elliott Kimber, Jake Meffan, Harry Brown, Rosie Heape and Eve Tidy were selected to represent the London Borough of Sutton.

01July - Sutton & Cheam Swimmers selected for Mini Games

Sutton & Cheam Swimming Club accounted for 7 swimmers out of a team of 10 representing the London Borough of Sutton in the Balfour Beatty London Mini Games Swimming event at Crystal Palace on Thursday.

Ross James won the individual bronze medal in the 50m free, whilst Ross, George Brown & Michael Rees were part of the silver medal winning freestyle relay team.

William Ward finished a close 5th in the 50m breast with club mates Adam Smith (10th in the 50m backstroke), April Hedges (16th in the 50m breaststroke) and George Brown (16th in 50m butterfly). William, Adam & George then teamed up with Nathan Eves to finish 7th in the medley relay team and both April Hedges and Daisy Meffan helped the girls relay teams to 17th place (freestyle relay) and 14th place (medley relay).

Out of the 33 London Boroughs taking part, Sutton finished in an encouraging 8th overall.

Mini Games Team: William Ward, Adam Smith, George Brown, Ross James, Michael Rees, April Hedges, Daisy Meffan, Nathan Eves & Aislinn Flatley (Cheam Marcuda), Jennifer Nicholson.

26June - Guildford Fun Night a complete sell-out

After a complete sell-out of tickets, Saturday saw Sutton & Cheam Swimming club descend en masse for an exclusive night of fun at the Guildford Spectrum leisure pool. The evening was a spectacular success (the photos say it all!). A big thank you to Lucy Brown for arranging it all.

20 June - Under 21 Ladies still top of the table

Despite an unwarranted 3-3 draw with bottom club Beckenham, (after which the Beckenham coach agreed the S&C Under 21 Ladies team were 'robbed' as a result of some bizarre refereeing), a 3-1 win over Croydon saw Sutton & Cheam's girls do enough to remain top of the table and undefeated with just one weekend to go in the league.

Team: Amy Styles, Ellie Quin, Louise Bampton, Sophie Ovens, Alice Rogers, Georgina Pashler, Brooke Tafazolli, Eve Tidy, Sophie Burke, Ferne O'Brien, Nicole Barron.

19 June - Rother Junior Trophy Gala, Woking

Despite taking a depleted team to the Division 1 Rother Junior Trophy Gala at the weekend, Sutton & Cheam finished a fighting 3rd place behind Woking and Elmbridge, beating teams from Worthing, Farnham and Fareham. The battle against Worthing was particularly close from start to finish. With just the squadron relay left, Worthing led by a single point only for Sutton's relay team to finish a place higher in the relay to level the points; Sutton taking 3rd place on count back of 1st places.

In the individual events, April Hedges took a hat trick of first places in the Girls 9 years Back, Fly and Free whilst Michael Rees and George Brown both scored two wins each in the Boys Under 11 Back and Breast; and the Boys Under 11 Fly and Free respectively. Ross James also won the Boys under 12 Free in a fast time.

In the relays, Declan Courtney, Issy Mettan-Ure and Tomas Gibson joined April to take first place in the 9 years relay, whilst Katie Heape and Lois Martin joined George and Michael to win the Under 11 Medley Relay by a comfortable margin.

A whole heap of PBs from the entire team contributed to a great result.

The Team: Alfie Brown, April Hedges, Danielle Carbery, Declan Courtney, Ellie James, George Brown, Issy Mettan Ure, Juliette Williamson, Katie Heape, Killian Courtney, Lois Martin, Louis Meffan, Michael Rees, Natalie Andrew, Rosie Heape, Ross James, Sam Rees, Tomas Gibson, William Ward

12 & 13 June - More medals for Sutton & Cheam at the Regionals

S&C sent its strongest contingent to the London Region Age Group Championships for many years and returned from the final weekend with a further 3 medals to add to the 3 already won.

George Brown (aged 10) took silver in 100m Free with teammate Michael Rees not far behind. William Ward (10) added another bronze in the 100m Breast, whilst James DeBrunner took another well-earned bronze in the 1500m free in a super fast time beating his PB by nearly 40 seconds.

There were further top 8 placings for James DeBrunner in the 200m fly (5th) and 800m free (6th) whilst William Ward had another close call in the 100m back, finishing 4th by just a few hundredths of a second.

In the relays, the Girls 10/12 team took 12th place in the medley and 13th place in the freestyle, whilst the boys 10/12 entered two teams, finishing 14th & 17th in the medley relay and 14th & 16th in the freestyle relay respectively. With most of the swimmers available in the same age group next year, we'll be looking for greater things in 2011.

Regional Age Group Qualifiers: Charlotte Carr, Natalie Andrew, Reanna Howells, Ashley Castle, George Brown, Harry Brown, James DeBrunner, Michael Rees, Ross James, William Ward

5 & 6 June - More Success at the London Regionals

There was yet more success at the London Regional Championships for the Club with six of our swimmers competing in individual events. This section of the competition (BAGCATS) features swimmers up to the age of 14. The event was held at Crystal Palace over weekend of the 5th / 6th June and features a number of the Countries top clubs and their swimmers. To even qualify swimmers are required to attain very strict entry times and to be there competing is quite an achievement in its own right.

This gives the Club a total of three medals so far with Club Swimming Captain , Ace Taylor, winning a superb Bronze in the senior event last month.

28 May - Jacob Tidy Gets GB Water Polo Squad Call Up

Jacob Tidy has just received a call up for the next GB Junior water polo squad session. Jacob has improved enormously over the past year and is now a regular fixture in the Club's London League first team. Jacob swims with Jim Walker in the Club's Top Squad and it is, in no small part, his swimming speed and endurance that has contributed to his selection.

Jacob will make his British Water Polo League debut this year with the Club team as it competes in Division 1 for the first time in a decade.

23 May - Sutton and Cheam Under 13s Dominate the London League

Sutton and Cheam's under 13 team swept all opposition aside at the London League tournament last Sunday. Held at Whitgift School the team won all four matches beating Watford 5-1, Croydon 4-3, Ealing 7-0 and Sussex 6-2 with a combination of great teamwork and superb individual performances.

Particularly pleasing was Sutton's never-say-die attitude and mature play for such a young team, which allowed them to come from behind to win two of their matches after conceding early goals.

The stand out player for the Sutton team was Adam Smith whose defensive performances contributed to the team only conceding six goals across the four matches. Adam was supported in this role with great performances by the wily James Maynard.

Ross James was, without doubt, the keeper of the tournament and pulled off a series of fantastic saves against chief rivals Croydon Amphibians.

The team's goal scoring was led by George Brown, Ashley Castle and Matt Helps.

The team used its strong swimming ability to break strongly from defence with mid bath dominance secured by Michael "Muscles" Rees, Joe Phillpott-Clark and Noah White who are all member of the club's hugely successful junior swimming squad. Our only girl team member, Natalie "Pinky" Andrew, more than held her own and again used her superior swimming pace to great effect breaking out of defence.

The S&C parents were all in good voice and gave the team great support from the poolside viewing area and also learned comment on some of the refereeing decisions.

In total the team scored 22 goals and only conceded 6!

Suttons Team : Ashley Castle, Matt Helps, Joe Phillpott-Clark, Noah White, Adam Smith, James Maynard, Michael Rees, Natalie Andrew, George Brown and Ross James.

23 May - Woking Swimming Club, Octopus B/C Grade Open Meet

Sutton and Cheam sent a team to the Woking Open last month under the watchful eyes of both Ian Rooke and Helen Andrews. The team comprised swimmers from the Development and Junior Squads but was primarily entered by County Squads members. The event was designed to give younger swimmers an extra chance to compete and gain experience and some of our 12-14 year old who do not compete that regularly to get a time on the board.

The meet is classified as level 3 and gives swimmers the chance register licensed times.

Over 40 medals and well over 20 other top 6 placings all contributed to Sutton & Cheam being placed 5th top club in the overall competition. The final points total are shown below:

The points table does not tell the full story as our swimmers racked up an impressive haul of medals (glass trophies in reality):

Star of the show for Sutton and Cheam was 13 year old Kieran Castle with an impressive four golds to his name with Daisy Meffan, Ellie James, Robert Nolan and Adam Smith each winning two each. Katie Heape, Rosie Heape, Roisin Bowden, Thomas Salter, Jake Meffan, Danielle Carberry and Lois Martin also took golds to complete the list.

Other Sutton medal winners included Ross James, Sam Rees, Ashley Castle, Matt Helps, Juliette Williamson and Declan Courtney. Mollie Jordan swam well and narrowly missed out on a medal position.

The event also gave the first taste of real competition to some of our very young swimmers including Elise Smith, Georgina Bourley, Issy Methan Ure, Charlotte O'Sullivan and Abigail Fraser

Medal haul aside the swimmers all enjoyed the experience and achieved a huge number of PBs.

County Squad Coach,Ian Rooke, was justifiably pleased with his swimmers and confirms the standing the County Squad now has within the Club. It is a stand alone group with a senior coach and a group of swimmers who are looking to progress.

Thanks to Woking Swimming Club for organising the event, which was enjoyed by all the swimmers and parents alike.

22 May - Superb Victory in Rother League

The Club has just competed in the latest Rother League event held at The Guildford Spectrum on Saturday 22nd May.

Up against teams that have beaten us consistently over recent years our team swam beyond themselves to record a fantastic victory.

The event covered age groups from Under 11 up to Open and is a real test of a club's strength in depth.

Sutton and Cheam and chief rivals Elmbridge Phoenix exchanged the lead a number of times during the 51 race event and the points were tied at 175 a piece as the gala entered the final series of 8 relay events.

This is where the Club showed the depth of quality and strong team spirit it now has and opened an eleven-point gap by the end of the gala.

Over the 51 events swum Sutton and Cheam recorded an amazing fifteen victories and a total of 31 top 3 finishes. The Under 11 boys deserve special mention for their performance in winning 5 of the 6 races they swam with a single second place standing between them and a 100% record.

15 May - Superb 2nd Place for Sutton & Cheam's Juniors in Premier League

Saturday saw the final round of the Hants & South Coast Premier League at Basingstoke, where the club juniors finished a hard-fought second place behind Locks Heath Swimming Club, well ahead of Basingstoke, Alton, Fareham and Wey Valley.

With Sutton's swimmers in the top 3 places for well over half the events, there was never more than just a few points separating the top two teams with Sutton's parents making themselves heard from the balcony. In the end, Locks Heath just got there and well done to them. We'll be back next year!

Alfie Brown, April Hedges, Ashley Castle, Charlie Carr, Daisy Meffan, Danielle Carbery, Declan Courtney, Ellie James, George Brown, Joe Phillpott-Clark, Killian Courtney, Lois Martin, Louis Meffan, Natalie Andrew, Reanna Howells, Rebecca Salter, Rosie Heape, Ross James, Tomas Gibson, William Ward

9 May - SE Region Biathlon - Off to the Nationals

To complete a very busy weekend for the club, at the South East Region Championships held at the ACS International School Cobham on Sunday, two members of Sutton and Cheam Swimming Club's juniors, Rosie Heape and George Brown, have qualified with flying colours for the National Biathlon Championships being held in Liverpool this July.

George (age 10) won his category for the second year running by well over 100 points, completing his 50m swim in a very fast 32.61 seconds and the 1000m run in 3:54.08.

Rosie (age 12) who also belongs to Sutton & District Athletics Club came 3rd in her category despite being one of the youngest, again completing her 100m swim in 1:10.74, and the 1000m run in an excellent 3:42.51.

Well done and fingers crossed for July!

9 May - London Water Polo League, Under 19 Boys

With the entire team eligible to play in the same age group next season and with several key players missing through injury and other commitments, the London League Under 19 tournament wasn't going to be easy but 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss out of the 4 games played was at face value disappointing.

However, a 5-3 win over Basingstoke reversed the defeat by the same team earlier in the season. This was followed by a well-deserved 6-3 win over Watford. In the third game, a 6-3 defeat by Croydon Amphibians didn't truly reflect the closeness of the game, which could have been much closer had we enjoyed the rub of the green. The final game was particularly frustrating with the team squandering a 4-1 lead to draw 4-4.

To their credit, the team were never overawed and showed their competitiveness, which bodes well for next season. Top scorer was Jacob Tidy with 9, followed by Jack Miller (5), Joe Worland (2) and Ace Taylor.

The team: Alex Sutton (G/K), J McFarlane, J.Tidy, J.Jefferys, Jack Miller, T.Phillpott-Clark, J.Worland, T. Fraser, A.Taylor.

8/9 May - Beckenham Open

A large contingent of Sutton & Cheam's top swimmers attended the Beckenham Open held at Crystal Palace over the weekend. With many of the region's top swimmers there, it was never going to be easy. Nevertheless, the team returned with some excellent times under their belts and the invaluable experience of competing against the best, which will stand them in good stead in the approaching London Region BAGCAT Championships, early in June.

8 May - Sutton & Cheam swimmers dominate the Borough Primary School Championships

Almost 50 Sutton & Cheam Swimmers competed in the London Borough of Sutton Primary School Championships representing their various Primary Schools, and had a field day, taking 10 of the 14 Borough Championship Titles on offer.

This year, for the first time, the Borough Primary School Championships was held as a Graded Meet and club swimmers took full advantage, taking 27 of the 42 Grade 'A' Medals, as well as 5 Grade 'B' and 14 Grade 'C' Medals.

Club swimmers made a clean sweep of all three medals in the Girls Year 4/5 Breast; Girls Year 4/5 Back; Boys Year 6 Breast; Boys Year 4/5/6 Fly and the Boys Year 6 Back; and went even further taking the top 5 places in the Girls Year 4/5 Breast, and 6 of the top 7 places in the Boys Year 4/5/6 Butterfly. In total, club swimmers took 46 medals, not bad for an evenings work!

1/2 May - London Region Youth Champs Medal for Ace Taylor

Sutton and Cheam's top swimmers qualified for 31 events in the London Region Youth Championships and returned with the best showing the club has had at regional level for many years.

Fourth in the heats, Ace Taylor pulled out all the stops in the final to go one better, taking the bronze medal in a very fast time. There were 6 further top 8 finishes for Nicole Barron, Jacob Tidy, and Ace Taylor.

Regional Youth Qualifiers: Ace Taylor, Rebecca Hedges, Nicole Barron, Jason Foo Kune, Jacob Tidy, Eve Tidy, Elliott Kimber, Chris Carr, Brooke Tafazolli

25 April - Littlehampton Swimming Club Open Meet, Felpham

Sutton's squad swimmers returned from the Littlehampton Open at the Arun Leisure Centre over the weekend with 9 Gold, 5 Silver and 5 Bronze medals, nearly 50 top 8 places, and a whole hatful of personal bests and regional qualifying times, delighting coaches Jim Walker and Helen Andrews.

Gold medals from George Brown (4), Jacob Tidy (2), Ross James (2) and James Debrunner; Silvers from April Hedges (5), Eve Tidy and Adam Smith, and Bronze medals from Adam Smith, Eve Tidy, Noah White, Joe Phillpott-Clark and April Hedges added to the silverware but further excellent swims from Killian Courtney, Natalie Andrew, Rosie Heape, Alfie and Harry Brown, Daisy, Jake and Louis Meffan (a real family affair), made it a weekend to remember.

18 April - Under 21 Ladies off to a winning start in the London League

Sunday saw the start of the London League for the club's Under 21 Ladies side who got the season off to a winning start with 2 wins out of 2.

In the first game of the season, the team was a little 'ring rusty' and the 2-1 win over Croydon Amphibians in the first game didn't truly reflect Sutton's dominance.

With the Croydon goalkeeper in superb form, despite peppering the opposition goal with shots from every angle, Sutton's scoring was restricted to a well-taken penalty from Georgina Pasher in the first half, and an excellent goal from Alice Rogers in the second with Croydon getting a consolation goal in the dying seconds. Sutton's fine defence with Brooke Tazazolli, Rebecca Hedges, Sophie Ovens, Eve Tidy, Reanna Howells, Ferne O'Brien and Nicole Barron, ably organised by Amy Styles in goal, restricting Croydon to just 2 shots on goal.

The second game against Beckenham showed a much-improved shooting performance and goals from Louise Bampton, Georgina Pashler, Ellie Quin and Brooke Tafazolli contributing to a 6-1 win. A great start to the 2010 campaign.

17 April - Hants & South Coast Premier League, Round 1

Saturday saw Sutton & Cheam's juniors in action once more at the Hants & South Coast Premier League Round 1Gala at Aldershot, where they finished in an excellent 3rd place behind Woking and Rushmoor, beating teams from Alton, Eastleigh, Farnham and Havant & Waterlooville.

With some of the swimmers competing in their first gala, this was a great team effort to which every swimmer contributed.

Finally, a big thanks to all the parents for ferrying the swimmers to Aldershot and for vociferous encouragement of the team throughout the gala.

The team: Adam Smith, Alfie Brown, April Hedges, Ashley Castle, Charlie Carr, Daisy Meffan, Danielle Carbery, Declan Courtney, Ellie James, Joe Phillpott-Clark, Juliette Williamson, Killian Courtney, Lois Martin, Louis Meffan, Michael Rees, Natalie Andrew, Reanna Howells, Rebecca Salter, Richard, Ross James, Sam Rees

28 March - Success at the Surrey Championships for Sutton and Cheam

Sutton and Cheam swimmers have just completed a hugely successful campaign at the recent Surrey County Championships, placing the club 9th in the medals table.

Run over four weekends and eight gruelling days the Sutton and Cheam squad achieved a total of 22 medals, including 10 Golds, and a total of 49 other finalists / top 8 ribbons. In addition, club swimmers had some very near misses with 12 swimmers finishing in 4th place, some by just a few hundredths of a second. No less than 36 S&C swimmers represented the club in individual events and relays, all performed well with the vast majority swimming personal bests.

The strength of our up and coming youngsters was shown in the BAGCAT competitions in which Michael Rees took top spot in the Boys aged 9 years; George Brown second spot in the 10 year old competition with William Ward just behind him in 4th place and Adam Smith also within touching distance. In the Girls competition, Natalie Andrew finished a brilliant overall 6th in the 10 year-old girls. In the older age groups, James DeBrunner took a well-earned overall 5th in the Boys age 14 category.

The results represent the reward to all the club swimmers competing at the County Championships for all their hard work in training over the past year.

Head Coach, Jim Walker and Junior Squad Coach, Helen Andrews are both very proud of all their swimmers and are now looking forward to the London Regional Championships beginning in May.

27 & 28 March - Surrey Age Group, Guildford Spectrum

Sutton & Cheam swimmers finished off the Surrey Age Group Championships in style over the weekend, with 2 further gold medals from Michael Rees, 2 silvers from George Brown and bronze medals from Nicole Barron, William Ward and James DeBrunner.

14 March - Surrey Age Group Relays, Crystal Palace

Sutton & Cheam entered 16 teams into the Surrey Relays at Crystal Palace, and although there were no further medals, the overall results were very pleasing.

Pride of place went to the Boys 9-11 Freestyle relay team of Michael Rees, Noah White, George Brown and Joe Phillpott-Clark, who finished a very close 5th place despite 3 of the team qualifying for the same age group next year. With William Ward on board for Boys 9-11 Medlay Relay, the team again reached the final, finishing in an excellent 8th place. Even more pleasing was the fact that the second team wasn't far behind finishing in front of several 'A' teams.

Not to be outdone, the Boys' Under 26 Team of Ace Taylor, Chris Carr, James DeBrunner and Jacob Tidy finished in an excellent 6th place in both the Freestyle and Medley Relays and the Girls Under 16 Medley Relay of Nicole Barron, Eve Tidy, Rebecca Hedges and Brooke Tafazolli, also attained a top 8 finish.

Team spirit over the weekend was superb with our younger boys all in good form but our girls adopting a somewhat more dignified pose. The whole squad behaved well and was a credit to the Club.

Finally, a big thank you to all our parents:

The Team: Natalie Andrew, Sam Baker, Nicole Barron, Alfie Brown, George Brown, Danielle Carbery, Charlie Carr, Chris Carr, Ashley Castle, Killian Courtney, James DeBrunner, Jason Foo-Kune, Katie Heape, Rosie Heape, Rebecca Hedges, Reanna Howells, Ellie James, Ross James, Maddison Kameta, Chantelle Keung-Freeman, Elliot Kimber, Lois Martin, Rob Mason, Louis Meffan, Robert Nolan, Joe Phillpott-Clark, Michael Rees, Samuel Rees, Adam Smith, Brooke Tafazolli, Ace Taylor, Eve Tidy, Jacob Tidy, William Ward, Noah White

13 March - More Medals for Sutton & Cheam at the Surrey Sprints

The Club sent another strong squad to the latest weekend event of this years County Championship. This weekend's event was at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre and included both 50m sprint and relay events.

Star of the weekend for the Club was Michael "Muscles" Rees again winning 2Golds (50m Free and Back) and Silver in the 50m Breaststroke. William Ward added to his impressive collection of Golds with his victory in the 50m Breastroke and George Brown picked up a bronze in his 50m Freestyle. That is not where the success finished, there were medal near misses with 4th place finishes from Nicole Barron (50m Back), Ace Taylor (50m Breast), Jacob Tidy (50m Butterfly) and William again (50m Back). We also recorded a total of 21 top 8 ribbons over the weekend. This is turning into the most successful Surreys the club has had for many years, testament to the coaching of Head Coach Jim Walker and Junior Coach, Helen Andrews.

27/28 February - More Success for Sutton and Cheam at the Surreys

Last weekend saw more success for our swimmers at the Surrey Championships. This time it was at Aldershot where the long distance events were being held.

We had swimmers competing in both the 800m and the gruelling 1500m events. There were great swims from both Harry "Big H" Brown and brother Alfie in the 800m events. Both recorded massive Long Course personal bests with Alfie narrowly missing out on a "top 8" ribbon.

James DeBrunner and Jacob Tidy both competed in the two events with each being awarded ribbons for both swims; James finishing 5th in each and Jacob managing a 5th and a 6th. As a result of the events to date (now half way through the Championships) we have a number of swimmers competing for age group points awards (BAGCATS).

Top of the list is 9 year old Michael "Muscles" Rees who leads his age groups points total, George Brown (victim of an unfortunate birth date), is running 4th in the 10 year old boys and James DeBrunner is currently 3rd in the 14 year group.

The Club as a whole stands 7th in the medal table with a total of 10 medals and 30 "top 8" ribbons.

27 February - Moyce Cup Gala at Dorking

The Club sent many of its younger up and coming swimmers from our Development and County squads to compete as a team in the Annual Moyce Cup event held at Dorking. All our swimmers were given Club Shirts to wear.

The event is designed to allow Clubs to give some of their younger and less experienced swimmers the chance to compete.

The team performed beyond expectations and in many cases swam quicker than the event criteria allow, getting no less than 7 "Speeding Tickets" for swimming too fast. The team finished 4th behind strong teams from as far afield as Tonbridge, Wey Valley and Godalming. Head Coach, Jim Walker, Junior Squad Coach, Helen Andrews and County Coach, Ian Rooke were there to cheer on the swimmers and to try and spot future talents.

Team Captains Josie McGreevy and Kieran Castle led by example with strong swims and also rallied the swimmers in cheering their team mates on.

The Team: Abigail Fraser, Adam Smith, Charlotte O'Sullivan, Connor Bowden, Declan Courtney, Elise Smith, Elizabeth Newman, Ellie Fisher, Georgina Bourley, Hamish Macrae, Issy Mettan-Ure, Jack Short, Josie McGreevy, Kieran Castle, Lauren Fisher, Louis Creamore, Molly Jordan, Nathan Cater, Oliver Sagrott, Rebecca Salter, Richard Jarvis, Robert Nolan, Roisin Bowden, Terri Martin, Thomas Salter, Tom Fisher.

Finally a big thank you to Dorking Swimming Club for their hospitality!

20/21 February - Super Surrey’s Start for Sutton & Cheam Swimmers

Sutton and Cheam Swimming Club have made their best start to the Surrey Age Group swimming championship winning 5 Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Bronze medals over the first weekend of competition.

Nine year old Michael Rees, in his debut championships, took the first honours in the 200 metre Breaststroke in a personal best of 3mins.27.86 secs. Minutes later William Ward cruised home to win the 10 years group in another personal best time of 3mins 16.41 secs, finishing an astonishing 14 secs ahead of the second place swimmer. Team Captain Ace Taylor (15) then contributed a silver medal in his age group in the same event.

In the evening Jacob Tidy (15) and James DeBrunner(14) took Silver and Bronze respectively in the toughest event of the day, the 200m Butterfly.

On Sunday Michael Rees swam into the limelight once again as he won 2 more Gold Medals in the 200m Backstroke and the 100m Individual Medley in the 9 yrs age group. William Ward picked up another Gold medal in the 10 yr group in the same event with George Brown fighting his way through the field to claim late Silver as well.

With personal bests being broken in most races Sutton’s swimmers can’t wait for the 50m sprint events to start in 3 weeks time at Crystal Palace.

In all, Sutton and Cheam have 32 swimmers entered in a record 175 events over the course of the Championships which run over several weekends until March 28th. With several genuine gold medal hopes across the age groups and with 10 medals won already it will be the club’s best showing in the Championships for many years, showing the huge strides made under coaches Jim Walker and Helen Andrews.

07 February - Sutton & Cheam Girls retain League Title

An outstanding display by Sutton & Cheam's Junior (Under 18) Ladies Team on Sunday resulted in wins over Worthing (5-1), Croydon (3-1) and Beckenham (4-1), and a runaway Winter League Title for the third time in three years.

The win over Beckenham was particularly pleasing, reversing the result of an earlier round of the competition back in January, when the team lost 1-0, their only defeat of the season.

The game against Worthing was particularly noteworthy for a spectacular goal by goalkeeper, Amy Styles who, noting the opposition keeper off her line, lobbed her from her own goal line, 25 metres away! Amy's still smiling!

With two of the team's experienced players unavailable through conflicting commitments, Brooke Tafazolli 5), Alice Rogers (3), Rebecca Hedges (2), Eve Tidy (1) and Amy Styles (1) scored the goals but this was a performance based on superior swimming ability, fitness and teamwork, particularly in defence, in which every member stuck rigidly to the game plan, allowing the opposition very few shots on goal, mainly from long range.

Over the course of the season, the team had the enviable record Played 9, Won 8, Lost 1, Goals for 34, Goals against 7. To concede only 7 goals in 9 games was a magnificent achievement in itself, emphasising the team's highly organised defence, in which the whole team played a part.

The Team: Amy Styles, Rebecca Hedges, Ellie Quin, Sophie Ovens, Alice Rogers, Nicole Barron, Brooke Tafazolli, Eve Tidy, Reanna Howells and Ferne O'Brien.

06 February - Sutton's Under 12 Team pay the price for inconsistency

In the closest fought Under 12 Winter League competition ever, Sutton & Cheam's Under 12 team finally finished 4th with the record Played 12, Won 5, Drawn 3, Lost 4, when the League ended at Gurnell, Ealing on Saturday.

Defeats by Croydon (2-1) and West London/Ealing (also 2-1) and a good win over Watford (5-3) completed the season with Ashley Castle (4), Matthew Helps (2) and Michael Rees scoring the goals, whilst Ross James and Joe Phillpott-Clark shared goal-keeping duties at the other end.

Any one of 4 teams could have clinched the title right up until the last weekend of the season. However, Sutton paid the price for inconsistency; losing 3 games by a single goal during the season, as well as drawing three games they could just as easily have won if numerous missed chances had only been taken. However, Sutton's young team improved throughout the competition and showed their competitiveness with a hard-fought 3-3 draw with eventual Winter League winners, Beckenham; and a comfortable 4-2 win over second placed Hythe, during the course of the season.

This was particularly pleasing to coach Dave Andrews since 5 of the team will remain in the Under 12 age group next season.

The team was Natalie Andrew, George Brown, Ashley Castle, Matthew Helps, Ross James, James Maynard, Joe Phillpott-Clark, Michael Rees, Adam Smith.

24 January - Ladies Junior Team still top of the League

Sutton & Cheam's Junior Ladies Team maintained their position at the top of the Winter League table after the second round of matches at Whitgift. However defeat in the third of their matches means its still all to play for for the overall championship title.

In the first of their games Sutton's power eventually wore down a resolute Croydon side coming out 3-1 winners with 2 goals from Louise Bampton and 1 from Georgina Pashler. Suttons Eve Tidy had a couple of great chances deprived by the goalie in the first instance and then the post.

Ironically the second match finished 5-1 to Sutton against arguably their strongest opponents, Worthing. For much of the game little separated the two sides as Sutton failed to capitalize on some good chances with Reanna Howells testing the woodwork for Sutton and both Louise Bampton & Alice Rogers going close.

Eventually Sophie Ovens put Louise Bampton through to fire into the corner to open the scoring for Sutton. In the second half defensive frailties led to a Worthing equalizer but Sutton then broke down their opponents with a fine breakaway goal from the restart scored by Pashler. Alice Rogers then added to the score as Sutton finished on top.

The final game against Beckenham was a low key affair as Sutton wasted a number of chances and paid for the mistakes with a sucker blow whilst a player down. Sutton probably deserved something out of the game and with time ticking down, goalie Amy Styles produced a lovely pass to Rebecca Hedges who had lost her marker. Unfortunately 1 on 1 with the goalkeeper Rebecca skied the shot. A disappointing end to what had otherwise been a good days work.

The team was: Amy Styles, Rebecca Hedges, Ellie Quin, Louise Bampton, Sophie Ovens, Alice Rogers, Georgina Pashler, Brooke Tafazolli, Eve Tidy, Reanna Howells and Ferne O'Brien.

24 January - Great Performance by Under 12 Team at Watford

Sunday saw the Under 12 team at Watford Woodside Leisure Centre for the penultimate tournament of the Winter League. A below par 1-1 draw with home side Watford, followed by a 3-3 draw with Croydon set the team up nicely for a spirited 4-2 victory over Ealing in the last game of the day.

Ashley Castle (5), Matthew Helps (2) and a debut goal from James Maynard contributed to the scores with excellent defensive displays by Natalie Andrew, Ross James, Michael Rees, Joe Philpott-Clark, George Brown and Adam Smith. Natalie, Ross, Joe and Adam showed their versatility by taking turns in goal.

Coach Stephen Bayles was delighted with the performance and it's all to play for in two weeks time with any one of 4 teams in the running to take the title.

The team: Natalie Andrew, Ross James, Michael Rees, Matthew Helps, Ashley Castle, Joe Philpott-Clark, George Brown, James Maynard and Adam Smith.

23/24 January - Sutton boys help London Region to victory

Five of our highly successful 1993/94 club team were selected to play for the London Region Youth team at the recent National Inter-District event in Birmingham. The Sutton boys were Joe Worland, Jacob Tidy, Callum Donoghue, Jack and Josh Miller. To add to this Tom Phillpott-Clark was selected as non-travelling reserve. Sutton & Cheam's Alex Sutton, (London Region's first choice keeper) was unfortunately unavailable for selection due to a prior family commitment in Ireland.

London were placed in the "B" group competing against Regional teams from the South West, the West Midlands, the East and Wales.

The London team kicked off with a tightly fought match against the South West eventually running out 9-8 winners. The second match on Day 1 resulted in a runaway victory for London with a 25-3 victory over the West Midlands. On the Sunday London triumphed 9-4 over the East Region and finished the tournament with a comfortable 7-3 win over Wales.

All five of our lads contributed to the success, which will see London compete in the "A" group in 2011.

As a result of their play, both Jack and Jacob were picked as members of the tournaments combined 1st Seven "Dream Team".

23 January Presentation Evening

Over 200 members and parents were present at Saturday's annual Presentation Evening to see the Club Championship medallists, Age Group winners, 2010 Team Captains and "Jack Petchey Award " winners receive their awards and trophies from Matt Holland, Sutton and Cheam and GB goalkeeper.

The "Jack Petchey" Awards are presented to club members for outstanding achievement, or for exceptional contribution to the club.

Matt therefore presented the monthly Jack Petchey Award winners to Ashley Castle, Sam Baker, Isaac Tidy, Reanna Howells, Killian Courtney, Alfie Brown, Brooke Tafazolli and Kieran Bayles; and the Jack Petchey "Leader Award" to Andy Bayles, for his contribution to the club over many years. October's winner, Jack Miller, was unable to be there as he was competing for London Region at the Inter Region Youth Water Polo Championships in Walsall.

17 January - Under 16 Team finish 3rd

Sutton & Cheam's Under 16 team finished the Winter League in a disappointing 3rd Place on Sunday, largely the result of the unavailability of key players at various times throughout the season. The play-off games were no exception and with 2 players unavailable, the team was always going to be up against it. A 4-2 win in the first game against Beckenham raised expectations though this was followed by a 6-2 defeat by eventual League winners Watford, who fully deserved their win.

This left it all to play for in the second/third place decider against Croydon, with Sutton & Cheam shooting into a well-deserved 3-1 lead before Brooke Tafazolli was excluded by a dubious decision by the referee. This allowed Croydon back into the game, eventually winning 6-4. Jacob Tidy (7) and Ace Taylor (3) shared the goals between them.

Despite this, when at full strength, the team played well enough to deserve better, and with all but 3 of the team remaining Under 16 next year, it augurs well for the future.

The team was Mofe Wilkey, Jacob Tidy, James McFarlane, Luke Mason, Brooke Tafazolli, Eve Tidy, Reanna Howells, Michael Mason, and Ace Taylor.

16 & 17 January Tigersharks Swindon

Sutton & Cheam Swimmers returned from a great weekend at the Tigersharks Open in Swindon with 8 golds, 13 silver and 17 bronze medals, and not to mention a staggering 85 top 8 placings and 56 personal best swims. Coaches Jim Walker and Helen Andrews were over the moon with the results, which are great preparation for the Surrey County Championships, starting next month.

To cap a great weekend, Sutton & Cheam's parents won the 'prize' for the best supporters.

There were Gold Medals for James DeBrunner (4), Ace Taylor (2), Chris Carr & George Brown

Silvers for Jacob Tidy (2), James DeBrunner (2), William Ward (2), Natalie Andrew, Nicole Barron, Rosie Heape, Adam Smith, Ashley Castle, Chris Carr & George Brown

Bronzes for Chris Carr (2), George Brown (2), James DeBrunner (2), Rebecca Hedges (2), Adam Smith, Alfie Brown, Ashley Castle, Brooke Tafazolli, Elliot Kimber, Jacob Tidy, Michael Rees , Natalie Andrew & Nicole Barron

Close calls for Harry Brown, Ashley Castle, George Brown, Chris Carr, Louis Meffan, Jake Meffan, Ashley Castle, Elliot Kimber, Natalie Andrew, Rebecca Hedges & Brooke Tafazolli

The Team: Ace Taylor, Adam Smith, Alfie Brown, Ashley Castle, Brooke Tafazolli, Charlie Carr, Chris Carr, Daisy Meffan, Danielle Carbery, Elliot Kimber, Eve Tidy, George Brown, Harry Brown, Jacob Tidy, Jake Meffan, James De Brunner, Joe Phillpott-Clark, Katie Heape , Killian Courtney, Lois Martin , Louis Meffan, Michael Rees, Natalie Andrew, Nicole Barron, Rebecca Hedges, Rosie Heape , Ross James, Samuel Rees, William Ward

03/01/2010 - Great Start to the New Year!

Sutton & Cheam's Junior LadiesTeam got the New Year off to a flying start with 3 wins out of 3 on Sunday, placing them at the top of the Winter League table.

Victories over Worthing (5-1), Croydon (5-0) and Beckenham (4-0) were in fact somewhat tougher than the scorelines suggest; since in each game, there was only a single goal in it at half time. However the team's superior teamwork opened up the scoring during the second half of each game.

Particularly pleasing to coach Dave Andrews was the team's outstanding defence, ably marshalled by Brooke Tafazolli, which limited the opposition to very few scoring chances; the team only conceding a single goal over all three games.

Louise Bampton top-scored with 6 followed by Alice Rogers (4), Georgina Pashler (2), Brooke Tafazolli (1), and Eve Tidy (1). Both Ellie Quin and Rebecca Hedges had further excellent chances to increase the scoreline but for the woodwork; whilst Amy Styles was her usual immaculate self in goal.

The team was: Amy Styles, Rebecca Hedges, Ellie Quin, Louise Bampton, Sophie Ovens, Alice Rogers, Georgina Pashler, Brooke Tafazolli, Eve Tidy, Reanna Howells, and Ferne O'Brien.