RUGBY have finished in the top eight to secure a place in the promotion final in what is their first season in Leicester Winter League.
The league is designed to give those swimmers outside the club’s ‘A’ team a chance to taste competitive swimming in a fun environment.
And in the final round Rugby came close to beating winners Kettering and with final confirmations to come, they are expected place well inside the top eight with promotion now a realistic aim.
Late withdrawals and injuries forced Rugby into making a string of late changes with Jasmine Rigg and Megan Williams coming into the team despite having swam in the Warwickshire Championships just a few hours before.
Rugby’s points total was boosted by swimmers from all ages and they were led from the front by the evergreen Karen Bates and the slightly more youthful Toby Rigg.
Both swimmers won their two individual races and also helped their three relay teams to victories, collecting 60 points towards Rugby’s total of 216, which was slightly shy of Kettering’s winning score of 237.
They did however finish well clear of third-placed Wellingborough on 192, with Oadby and Shepshed a little further back on 144 and 132, while Leicester Sharks battled gamely for 62.
Rugby claimed 17 races wins with Megan Williams, Rhys James, Lucy House, James Armeson, and Cerys Allen, joining Karen and Toby.
There were wins for the boys under-11 relays, (James, Charlie Aldridge, Nathaniel Kayada, and Jake Smith) and the boys under-13s (Toby, Tom Tyler, Lucas Marshall, Max Taylor) in both disciplines.
The ladies also impressed too with (Karen, Jasmine, Megan, and Ellen Harrington) winning for the under-13s and the under-15s team consisting of (Cerys, Lucy, Regan Walker, Lauren Phillips also tasted success.
