Ripley Amateur Swimming Club And Lifesavers (RASCALS) held their annual presentation evening at Riddings Community Centre on Friday 17th December. This gave everyone at the club the chance to reflect and celebrate some fantastic team performances and wonderful individual achievements in 2009. RASCALS have had another successful year in both the lifesaving and competitive swimming sections under the guidance of their respective head coaches Jeremy Johnson and Tracy Bostock. The evening commenced with an introduction and opening speech from Rascals chairman Tom Parr, who took the opportunity to focus on the lifesavers and swimmers collectively rather than individually, and introduce Rascals new sponsor/partner Ken Hair from Ripley McDonalds, where Ken expressed his delight at being invited to the presentation evening as well as looking forward to developing the relationship between Rascals and McDonalds.

Life Saving Presentations
Jeremy Johnson presented the trophies for the life saving section. This has been another very successful and full year for the Rascals lifesavers, with two new National Champions, representation at competitions country wide, the 12 years and over lifesavers attained their individual Bronze Medallion’s. The junior branch also did very well in their competition, winning 3 out of the 4 events. Trophies were awarded in the following categories: -

Ladies open 4x25m manikin rescue relay: Karen & Jo Dening & Josie Lockwood.
Junior girls 4x4 line throw: Jennie Lockwood, Hannah & Jessica Cross, and Suzanne Allsop.
Junior Girls 12-14 years: Winning the Derbyshire and East Midlands Sections, before going on to become the National Champions: Jennie Lockwood & Jessica Cross.
Derbyshire Junior Branch Under 10 Girls: Jessica Lockwood & Suzanne Allsop.
Derbyshire Junior Branch Under 10 Boys: Matthew Cross & Jason Lockwood.
Derbyshire Junior Branch Under 12 Boys: George Coutts & Frazer Crump.

Swimming Presentations
Frank Mansey the club President and Ken Hair the clubs new sponsor were on hand to present the trophies for the swimming section, which included top-six placings from Gala 1, and the following special trophies: -

The Mabel Mansey Trophies for the most points won in club galas in the last 4 months were awarded to Jamie Ingram for the boys and Hannah Jones for the girls.
The Captains Shield was presented to the new captains Adam Forster and Holly Jenkins by the outgoing captains Joe Forster and Kristy Russell.
The shield for sportsmanship this year was awarded to Jamie Ingram.

Head Coach Tracy Bostock was asked to present the top-six placings from Gala 2, and the following special trophies: -

The Irish Cup for the most points in the Championships for Girls was awarded to Jessica Lockwood.
The Fern Award for the most points in the Championship for boys was awarded to Dom Bestwick.
The Dorothy Betts Cups for the most points won for the club in galas throughout the year were awarded to George Coutts for the Boys and Hannah Jones for the Girls.
The Butterley Brick Shields are awarded by the coaches to the most improved swimmers over the year, and this year they were awarded to Will Borysiak for the boys and Sarah Dicken for the girls.
The Phillip Jablonski Cup is awarded for the most contribution to the club, and this year it was awarded to Joe Forster. This young man has been involved in the club for many years and has always given encouragement and support to the younger team members. A popular choice with everyone!

A big thank you must go to Head Coaches Jeremy and Tracy and their teams for all their hard work, which has brought Rascals so much success in 2009.

Finally, a special thank you to Shona Crump who was responsible for organising the collection, repair, replacement, engraving and polishing of all the trophies, and arranging all the medals. A big thanks also to Lin and Sue from ‘Perfect Catering for any Occasion’ for the buffet, and Tom Parr Rascals chairman for the entertainment/disco.

For a complete listing of the results from the Championship Galas 1 and 2, or any other information relating to Rascals, please visit the clubs website at ripleyrascals.org.uk