Diddy Final 2019
The Diddy final is always an occasion of mixed emotions; keen anticipation at the prospect of a hard fought afternoon of racing tempered by feelings of sadness that our 11 year olds will be competing in their last ever Diddy gala. This year’s revised format saw the final split into two consecutively run events, an ‘A’ and a ‘B’ edition, with Ulverston qualifying for the ‘A’ final, a fantastic achievement in itself, along with Carlisle, Cockermouth, Carnforth and Kendal.
In keeping with tradition we travelled to Workington by coach, the journey providing the perfect opportunity to bond as a team. Thus spirits, and expectations, were high despite the fact that we were fielding a somewhat depleted squad as two of our 11 year olds were representing their school at ESSA finals in Sheffield.
Ulverston were rewarded with a fantastic start, dominating the boys cannon from start to finish and although this win was the highlight of the afternoon, our team continued to battle hard throughout the event securing further two victories in, the 9 year olds B freestyle relay and, the 9 year boys 50 backstroke. In addition to our three triumphs we scored seven second places with several of our swimmers missing out on the win by the narrowest of margins.
Carlisle were unstoppable romping away to victory ahead of second place Kendal. Ulverston’s three disqualifications proved costly as we would have taken maximum points in two out of the three events and, in doing so, would possibly have edged out Cockermouth for third. That’s racing though and often the best lessons are learnt the hard way.
I’d like to congratulate all the swimmers on their fantastic efforts as well as their sportsmanship, particularly those who were not as busy as some of their team mates yet cheered them on with tremendous zeal, all the parents for giving up their time to accompany the team, and of course our retiring Diddy swimmers, captains, Bella and Isaac, as well as Will, Nishanth, Philip, Libby and Olivia.
Kind Regards,
Caroline Boyle
Junior Team Manager / Coach