PLYMOUTH Leander swimmers Laura Stephens, Honey Osrin and Sophie Freeman successfully returned to action at the weekend in the Manchester International Meet. Olympic-hopeful Stephens and highly-rated teenager Osrin were both winners at event – the first British elite competition for 11 months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Last March, Stephens was in the form of … Continue reading →

PLYMOUTH Leander’s Laura Stephens, Honey Osrin, Sophie Freeman and Reece Dunn have joined current Commonwealth Games champion Ben Proud in a new-look England swimming team. The 85-strong squad has been selected to help England’s chances ahead of next year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The aim of the team is to bring together everyone who is … Continue reading →

ONE of the region’s most historic sports clubs is bidding to secure its long-term future after being badly hit by Covid-19 and the closure of the Life Centre. Devonport Royal Swimming Association was founded back in 1863, making it one of the oldest swimming clubs in England. It is also the only swimming club in … Continue reading →

PLYMOUTH Leander, Mount Kelly and Dartmoor Darts all have swimmers included in the Swim England national junior squad for the 2020-21 season. Seventy-one of the country’s top young up-and-coming talent have been included in the team. Among those are Plymouth Leander’s James Hart, Maise Elliott, Elijah Kendrick and Reid Jones, who is now studying at … Continue reading →

PLYMOUTH Leander Swimming Club has launched a crowdfunding appeal to help them through the coronavirus crisis. The club’s swimmers – from elite athletes to youngsters starting out – returned to the pool in August for the first time since the March lockdown. Training has now been stopped again for at least another four weeks. However, … Continue reading →

MOUNT Kelly’s director of swimming Emma Collings-Barnes has been named as a finalist in this year’s UK Coaching Awards. Collings-Barnes is in the running for the Talent Development Coach of the Year Award. The swimming guru will face competition from Amy Moulton (gymnastics) and Trevor Hunter (canoeing) for the top prize. The showpiece awards ceremony, … Continue reading →

FIVE swimmers from the region have been included in the 2020-21 Swim England para-swimming talent squad. Mount Kelly’s Alexander Hobbs and Sebastian Williams are joined by Devonport Royals’ Abigail Daly and Xander Harris and Plymouth Leander’s Cameron Vearncombe. They are part of 58 youngsters from 49 clubs across the country have been chosen to take … Continue reading →

MOUNT Kelly, Plymouth Leander, Dartmoor Darts, Dinnaton and Tavistock have all had young swimmers selected for the Swim England National Development Programme. The programme is the third step on the Swim England extended talent pathway – but the first on the national framework. Leah Bowen, Felicity Boyle, Nathaniel Brissett, Ruby Griffiths, Olivia Martin, Fergus Thomson, Isis van … Continue reading →

PLYMOUTH’S international swimmers and divers have suffered a major blow just one year out from the re-scheduled Tokyo Olympic Games with news that the Life Centre will not re-open until April 2021. Plymouth City Council has confirmed that urgent work is needed on the multi-million pound eight-year-old building, which has been closed since March due … Continue reading →

PLYMOUTH Diving are going to be clocking up the miles in an attempt to raise vital funds to help pay for training equipment. The club, that has helped produce Olympians like Tom Daley, Tonia Couch and Sarah Barrow, have not been able to train since March and have missed a season-worth of competitions. Indoor swimming … Continue reading →