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Champion Seahawks Cruise Into Top Flight

Thanet Swim Club knew they were on the verge of making it up to the top division in the Kent Junior League when they travelled to the Dover Leisure Centre for the final round the 2007 Division 2 Gala on Saturday night. The Seahawks came out the winners both times in the earlier rounds this year but they still had to finish high enough in this round if they wanted to reap any rewards for their efforts and aiming to do just that was the squad of 31 swimmers. There are five divisions in the Kent Junior League, each consisting of six clubs and the squads can only consist of swimmers aged from nine up to thirteen year olds.

The biggest threats from the first two rounds came from Black Lion and Dover but the Seahawks immediately stamped their authority with top 3 finishes in all of the first 12 races including six wins. That put the Seahawks in the lead by 7 points over Black Lion with Dover 14 points adrift. Just the sort of start needed when you want to win the championship.

Black Lion were now the focus for the Seahawks as they set about maintaining their advantage and by the 24 event marker their efforts had stemmed any fight back from their nearest rivals. The Seahawks lead with 120 points over Black Lion who were still 7 points behind on 113. Dover had begun to lose touch with the leaders in third spot 22 points adrift of the top two but 23points ahead of the fourth placed Erith.

If Black Lion were going to change things, they had to make if happen now and the Seahawks knew exactly what they had to do to fend off that challenge. The Thanet Club swimmers knew they were in a battle but they were ready and all swimming with such confidence and team spirit that they were just not going to let go of the grip they already had on the league title.

At the 36 event marker, the Seahawks were up to 178 points and had opened a 10 point lead over Black Lion who were piling on the pressure but were starting to lose ground on 168 points with Dover closing the gap a little on 153 points, some 35 points clear of the rest.

The Seahawks were in the home straight now and Black Lion maintained their challenge right to the 47 th and last event but with 20 wins and 24 further top 3 finishes on the night, the Seahawks claimed top spot with 236 points with the Black Lion team finishing in second place on 223 points. Dover claimed third place with 199 points.

The win secured the Seahawks their first ever League Title and the Champions now go into the top division to take their place as one of the top 6 clubs in the league in 2008. With their maximum league points total and their total gala points exceeding the 700 points mark, it is a long time since that was last achieved by a Division 2 winner and it must stand the Thanet Club in good stead for their challenge in the top division.

There were 9 new personal best times swum by Joe Voller (2), Hannah Savage, Amy Giles, Lauren Savage, Jessica Smith, Joshua Bradford, Charlie Evans and Dominic Matthews.

Thanet KJL Squad from : Joe Voller, Laura Craig, Emma Perry, Grace White, Emmie Drew, Jordan Brett, Kyriacos Papa-Adams, Dominic Matthews, Cameron Fry, Amy Giles, Bend Pond, Evie Bunte, Libby Henson, Hannah Savage, Billy Purdy, Billy-Ray Palmer, Charlie Evans, Lauren Savage, Chloe Thorpe, Jessica Harvey, Marnie Holloway, Maisie Cope, Cameron Foreman, Joshua Bradford, Oliver Kilbey, Jessica Smith, Holly Smith, Jake Davies, Jamie Hopper, Nicholas Kearney and Casey Harte.

2007 Kent Junior League Division Two 3 rd Round Result

1 Thanet Swim Club 6 pts 236 gala pts

2 Black Lion Swimming Club 5 pts 223 gala pts

3 Dover Life Guards 4 pts 199 gala pts

4 Erith Swimming Club 3 pts 148 gala pts

5 WhiteDarts Swimming Club 2 pts 128 gala pts

6 Bromley Swimming Club 1 pt DNS gala pts

2007 Kent Junior League Division Two Final Table Standings

1 Thanet Swim Club 18 pts 733 gala pts Champions

2 Black Lion Swimming Club 15 pts 678 gala pts

3 Dover Life Guards 12 pts 551 gala pts

4 Erith Swimming Club 8 pts 418 gala pts

5 WhiteDarts Swimming Club 6 pts 356 gala pts