As a club we are continually exploring how we can reduce barriers to participation for all of our swimmers and ensure that our sport is fully inclusive.

Puberty seems to be a difficult time for girls in sport with recent studies showing that up to one out of three girls feel uncomfortable doing sport while menstruating, and this statistic is likely to be higher in swimming. We have been looking at ways in which we can help girls navigate this difficult time and keep girls swimming. With this in mind, we are looking into potential sponsorship with a company supplying period swimwear. We are also, with the funding from our sponsors The College of Animal Welfare (CAW Business School), in the process of purchasing some period swimwear that Team Managers can carry at galas and meets for emergency situations. We have already purchased some waterproof make up bags which will contain a pair of plain period bikini bottoms which can be discreetly worn underneath a swimming costume. Anyone needing these can speak to a team manager or coach. Please assure your swimmer that this will be completely confidential and dealt with in a professional manner. Hopefully we will have more news to follow, watch this space!

Let’s Go Piranhas! JFL ‘B’ Final 2023

A packed house of spectators were in attendance for the culmination of this season’s Junior Fenland
League Group B Final hosted by the Huntingdon Piranhas Swimming Club.
We made great strides this season and made the step-up from the Group C Final from last season to
reach the higher-level final. This is particularly impressive as we have had changes this season with a
lot of new swimmers competing for the first time. For the final we were joined by strong teams from
City of Ely, March and St Neots.
For the Piranhas there were some amazing swims across the event with some swimmers competing
in higher age groups. Winners of their heats on the night were Arthur Jupe, Noah Taylor, Izzy Platt,
Anna Jones, and Joseph Lewis, with a large number of second places to ensure that the Huntingdon
team finished in third place above St Neots in the Group B final with the winners on the night being
City of Ely. The relay team absolutely smashed it and showcased a fine overall team effort.
Overall Huntingdon Piranhas finished in 7th place in the competition which was an improvement on
their 10th place finish from the previous season.
A particular highlight for the Huntingdon Piranhas for the season was the raucous and very loud JFL
4th round hosted gala which again saw some friendly local rivalry and tremendous team spirit from
all of the competing teams. We finished 2nd overall in a closely fought contest against some very
strong clubs.
However, the volume and atmosphere for the Group B Final even exceeded that!
A closing comment from St Neots Swans is a fitting summary of the JFL and what it stands for: “The
Fenland League is a great collection of clubs who pull together to make things happen. Thank you to
all of them and the committee for their commitment.”
The Huntingdon team were as follows:
Barnaby E, Taylor M, Felix K, Felicity F, Jacob B, Izzy P, Isaac B, Neve T, Jack C, Teegan J, Isaac L,
Reizelle D, Noah T, Arthur J, Kara E, Nathan M, Anna J, Joseph L, Vlada R, Joshua W, and Dixie S. They
were joined on the night by the non-competing girls senior club captain, Poppy R.

Masters in the pool!

Huntingdon Piranhas Swimming Club have seen their membership of Masters swimmers (those over the age of 18) grow over the last few months. The club are extremely proud of the achievements of the squad, particularly those who recently attended the Swim England East Regional Championships held at Newmarket swimming pool on 1st October 2023. Six swimmers represented the club across a number of events (Greg Jardine, Liz Fiander, Adam Bright, Pete Brystow, Jon Hall, and Helen Whittaker) with another swimmer (Alex Tate) who trains regularly at Huntingdon representing the City of Cambridge SC.
There were a number of medals won by the squad across numerous heats with the final haul of individual medals as follows: ten gold, five silver, and two bronze medals.
Special mention goes to Greg Jardine who won four gold medals and is now ranked 4th in the UK National rankings for the 800 metres freestyle in his age group.
To finish off a fantastic day, the squad also won two further gold medals within the mixed relay freestyle and medley events.
Head coach, John Burling, commented on the “great atmosphere and fantastic support amongst all of the teams taking part. I am very proud of the squad’s fabulous swims all round with some outstanding times achieved.”
The early training sessions (starting at 6am) during the week certainly seem to have paid off!

We have appointed our Club Captains for the 2023 – 2024 season.

Senior Captains:
Poppy Railton
Noah Taylor

Junior Captains:
Felicity Fitzgerald
Isaac Lam

Expectations of the Club Captains:
• To be a point of contact for the squads to express any questions or feedback
• Communicate with fellow team members and provide support and advice when needed
• To provide a voice for the swimmers at the club and raise any suggestions/issues to the committee when necessary
• Be a positive role member for the club
• Welcome new members to the club
• Support the coaches at galas i.e. with warm-up drills
• Provide mentorship to other swimmers i.e. at Junior Fenland League meets
• To encourage other members to be involved in social and voluntary activities

Profiles for each of the Club Captains are provided as attachments.