Local Swimmers Were Top Performers for Bluefish Swim Club at New England Swimming Long Course Championship Meets

Fifty-four members of the Bluefish Swim Club qualified for and competed at the New England Swimming 14 and Under Age Group Long Course Championship meet, ranking 2nd place overall with 2,691 points. This Age Group championship meet was held at the Blodgett Pool, Harvard University, July 22-25. More than 500 of the top 14 and younger swimmers from over 50 New England-based swim teams competed at this meet.

In addition, 117 members of the Bluefish Swim Club qualified for and competed at the New England Swimming Long Course Regional Meet, held at McDermott Pool in Warwick, RI, July 9-11. The Regionals are divided into five locations throughout New England to accommodate all swimmers in more than 100 swim teams. The Long Course Regional Meet in Warwick was sponsored by the Bluefish Swim Club and consisted of 475 swimmers from 13 New England-based swim teams.

Claudia Beasley

• ·        At Age Groups, Claudia Beasley, 10, of Mansfield ranked 13th place overall for 10 & Under Girls with 45 points. She earned 6th place in the Female 10 & Under 200-meter freestyle with a swim time of 2:41.69, 9th place in the 400-meter freestyle (5:44.23), 10th place in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:38.66), 11th place in the 200-meter individual medley (IM) (3:06.44) and 100-meter fly (1:29.33), and 13th place in the 100-meter freestyle (1:16.68). Claudia also competed in the 50-meter freestyle and fly. In addition, Claudia was the anchor in the Bluefish Female 10 & Under relay teams that placed 5th in the 400-meter freestyle (5:17.77) and 6th in the 200-meter medley (2:48.25); and she was the lead in the team that placed 6th in the 200-meter freestyle (2:26.15).

Emily Mc Quaid

At Regionals, Emily McQuaid, 13, of Wrentham won the Female 13-14 50-meter freestyle (30.12), and earned 2nd place in the 200-meter fly (2:54.13), 4th place in the 100-meter backstroke (1:18.62) and 100-meter freestyle (1:07.71), and 9th place in the 200-meter backstroke (2:52.49).

At Age Groups, Emily earned 9th place in the Female 13-14 200-meter breaststroke (2:54.52). She also competed in the 50-meter, 100-meter, 200-meter, and 400-meter freestyle; 100-meter breaststroke and fly; and 200-meter and 400-meter IM. In addition, Emily was a key member of the Bluefish Female 13-14 team that earned 4th place in the 400-meter medley relay (4:46.05) and 8th place in the 200-meter freestyle relay (2:03.30), and the anchor in the team that ranked 9th in the 400-meter freestyle relay (4:21.10).

Abigail Martin

• At Regionals, Abigail Martin, 10, of Norton won the Female 10 & Under 200-meter IM (3:19.12), Female 9-10 200-meter freestyle (2:56.58), and 50-meter freestyle (35.83). She also ranked 3rd place in the 100-meter fly (1:40.96), 8th place in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:55.28), and 15th place in the 100-meter freestyle (1:27.32).

At Age Groups, Abigail completed in the Female 10 & Under 50-meter backstroke, freestyle, and fly; and 200-meter freestyle and IM.

The Bluefish Swim Club is a USA Swimming member and a participant in New England Swimming. No matter the swimmer’s age or ability, whether it be competing on its winning 235-member competitive swim team; participating in structured swim lessons for youngsters just learning to swim; or continuing a passion for swimming in the adult Master’s program, the Bluefish Swim Club offers the right program for everyone at its Attleboro High School, Attleboro, MA; Wheaton College, Norton, MA; Cumberland High School, Cumberland, RI; and Raynham Athletic Club, Raynham, MA locations. The team’s competitive program also has practices in Shrewsbury, MA, in addition to the other locations.

The Bluefish started in the 1970s. Since owners Chuck and Christie Batchelor bought the Bluefish in 2005, the team is frequently making national and international news. During his extensive coaching career, Chuck has trained 21 Olympic Trial qualifiers, 37 National qualifiers, 2008 Olympian Elizabeth Beisel, and had six swimmers rank in the top 100 in the world. He was the Assistant Women’s Coach at the 2009 USA Swimming FINA World Championships in Rome, in July 2009; and the Head Women’s Coach at the 2009 USA Swimming Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Guam, in January 2009. The Bluefish Swim Club was recently granted the highest standard, Level 4, in USA Swimming’s Club Recognition Program. Only one other New England swim team has ever achieved this Level 4 standard. In addition, for the second year in a row, USA Swimming’s Club Excellence Program granted the Bluefish Swim Club Gold Medal status, ranking them the seventh highest-scoring team in the country.

The Bluefish Swim Club is a non-profit organization. To make a donation or for additional information about the Bluefish Swim Club, go to: www.bluefishswimclub.com.