HART district councillor Dr Anne Crampton was on hand to present the awards at the annual Hart Swimming Club Championships at the weekend.

The event, held on July 3, recognised those individuals from the club for their outstanding commitment.

The club championships were run over five nights and included the full range of official swimming events across all strokes; butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle and individual medley.

The final races were held on Sunday and before they took place Dr Crampton presented the ‘coach awards’.

The winners were:

Ji Ji Wu (The Dodge Minnow Shield for his commitment and dedication to training in the first junior squad)

Jay Meeks (Super Shrimp of the Year award for commitment and dedication to training in the second junior squad)

Ben Walton (The Wallis Plate for his achievement and significant improvement throughout the year)

Sophia Wallis (The Hart Swimming Club Cup for her overall noteworthy and selfless contribution to the club over the season)

Speaking about the awards Dr Crampton, cabinet member for community well-being, said: “This was a great event to attend and the award winners were well deserved. It was interesting to see how the gala operates and my thanks to all involved in creating such a fantastic sporting event for the community to enjoy.

“Health and well-being is a key priority for the council and community groups such as the Hart Swimming Club play a big role in keeping Hart happy and healthy.”

The club provides opportunities for competitive swim training across a full range of both age and ability. The current membership stands in excess of 220 members, spans the ages of seven to over 80 years, with a thriving masters’ section catering for swimmers aged over 25.

It has been active for nearly 50 years and is Hart district’s only competitive swimming club. The members come from all over the district with some from areas outside of Hart and further afield, such as Farnham.

Club chairman Spencer Farmer said: “In 2017, Hart Swimming Club will move to the new Hart Leisure Centre, which will feature an eight-lane 25m competition pool, a four-lane 25-metre intermediate pool and a dedicated spectator seating gallery.

"The move to the new facility will enable Hart Swimming Club to consolidate all of its short-course training at one venue and to establish fully licensed Open Meets into the ASA swimming calendar, attracting competitors from all across the South East Region.”