After last weekend’s Leinster Divsion 1 Age Group & Open Summer Championships it was great to see that the Templeogue Athletes continue to progress rapidly this year.

After I neglected to report on one of our more senior event so of the year, the Irish LC Championships which were held in April it’s great for me and the Club to acknowledge that we have athletes moving steadily towards National Squads standard, whilst continued to work hard and progress their skills.

At the Irish LC Championships in April Jessica Burke (13) had qualified for the Irish National Junior Squad in the 200BC for the 2012/2013 Season.  This is a great achievement for Jessica who has improved considerably this year and continues to work hard towards the summer meets.   Jessica subsequently attended the Final Swim Ireland National Squads day in May to understand exactly what’s involved in being a National Squad Member.  This was a great motivational event for her and a great experience overall for the day to listen to Peter Banks (the National Performance Director) and National coaches let athletes know what’s expected of them on their development pathway.

With a challenging target ahead for the summer, she continues to work in training with her team mates to keep moving towards her end of season performances.

At the Leinster Division 1’s last weekend, while Jessica continued to perform strongly and PB in multiple swims,  it was also great to see another young squad member, Ellen Walshe (11) also make the required standard for her age group  to hit the time for a National Squad Standard in the 200BF for the 2012/2013 Season also.

Both girls will continue to work with their TEAM on their preparation for the Summer Irish National Age Group Championships in the NAC in July.

The Irish National Swim Squad Standards for 2013/2014 have been published recently and are available to be reviewed here National Squads QT (2013-2014) These times get faster year on year and both girls along with the other members of the team will continue to work towards delivering the next years standard this summer.