The gala consisted of nine individual events for both the men’s and women’s teams: a 50m and 100m race for each of the four strokes and a 100m individual medley. Each race featured two competitors from each uni, with 3 points going to first place, 2 to second and 1 to third, meaning that grabbing second and third place was just as good as winning. Following these after a short break were the relay races: 4 x 50m legs for freestyle and medley, and double points at stake.
York began well, with victories in the men’s and women’s 50m backstroke, before both 100m butterfly races were cancelled due to St John swimmer shortages. St John grabbed their first win in the women’s 50m freestyle, before the nail-biting men’s race finished in a first place dead heat!
York took full advantage of the scoring system, pushing hard to avoid last place and thus consistently racking up points through second and third place finishes. The men’s 100m backstroke highlighted a significant gap between the Varsity rivals, with both York swimmers locked in a close battle for first place right till the end while a St John swimmer trailed a full length behind.
Fantastic races with exciting relays to finish off!
Arguably though, this was due to St John’s smaller squad size, which often forced them to field a tired second swimmer. St John’s first swimmers were still very competitive with York, especially in the women’s races, winning the 50m butterfly and breastroke. Nonetheless, picking up too many fourth places was beginning to tell, as York stacked up at least three points in the majority of the races.
Recognising the fatigue plaguing St John, the organisers agreed to have an additional five minute break for some recovery time, but not before the gala’s comedy highlight courtesy of Jon Beardsley.
Slightly too keen to begin the men’s 100m freestyle, Beardsley overbalanced while taking his marks. Muttering expletives, he toppled agonisingly into the pool, to the great mirth of his nearby York teammates. But second time around, Beardsley’s efforts not to repeat the error seemed to sap all his concentration, as he completely missed the starter’s whistle, only noticing that the race had begun on seeing his fellow competitors enter the water. Nonetheless, Beardsley caught up heroically, almost levelling during the first length, before his tumbleturns let him down and he ultimately snaffled just the one point for York in his only race of the day.
Taking stock at the break, York realised they were already well ahead, beating St John 41 – 25 with only eight races to go. But with relays counting double, there was still all to swim for with half the gala’s points still up for grabs.
York picked up another eight points in the 50m breaststroke races, before the much-anticipated 100m Individual Medleys. Emily Rimmer got off to a flying start for the women, well ahead after the butterfly and backstroke lengths, but her back-to-breaststroke turn let her down, allowing her St John rival to pip her to first place on the final freestyle leg. And soon after York took another five points as Sam Geeson and men’s captain Andrew Nash swam a close race for first place, Nash narrowly sealing it at the death.
During another break in proceedings, the scores were totted up again and, York were found to have won before the relays even took place, courtesy of a 24 point lead over St John. Since first place would get 6 points and second 4 points per relay, with each university only fielding one team per relay, even if York lost every race St John would only gain eight points on them.
But much pride was still at stake, and both sides gave their all in the day’s final four races. The men’s freestyle was sewn up very early on, as York’s fastest swimmer Lewis Cherry blitzed the opening leg to open up a half-length gap, which his teammates comfortably maintained to the finish. The women’s race was much more open, with captain Fliss Hannon opening up a narrow lead in the first leg only for Cesca Baguley to see it pegged back to a hair’s width in the second. And St John continued to outswim York as the race went on, finishing a couple of metres clear.
The day’s final races were the 4x50m medley relays, and the stories were much the same as the freestyle events. York’s men quickly shot ahead, touching home as the St John anchorman surfaced from his tumbleturn. The women again did not fair so well: despite gaining an early lead, St John’s third swimmer showed excellent technique on both dive and turn to bring the teams neck and neck, with St John ultimately edging the win by half a metre.
But close as the final race was, overall victory was won for York by the comfortable margin of 67 – 43. Hannon was thrilled by the “Fantastic races with exciting relays to finish off,” while Nash was quietly content with York’s “pretty dominant” display. The gala saw York add a further 7.5 points to their Varsity total, with St John picking up their first 4.5 points to kick off their campaign.
With the vast majority of fixtures taking place tomorrow, the competition is still very open, but York could scarcely hope for a better advantage than the eighteen point lead they will take into Sunday’s events.
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