The British School – Muscat took part in a number of Swimming Galas that were held between 25th - 31st October 2005.  

The first one was the Relays Gala for Boys and Girls which were held at TAISM.

Second: Under 14, U16 and Open Age Girls Gala which was held at TAISM.

Third: Under 9, U10, U11, U12 Boys and Girls Swimming Gala at ABA.

Finally, the Under 14, U16 and Open Age Boys Gala were held at BSM.

For many children it was the first opportunity to experience competitive sport. The huge enthusiasm shown by swimmers was excellent.  During all galas, performances were impressive and many records were set and broken and personal bests were definitely the order of day.

BSM has a very strong tradition of success in these events which can be seen from the results. 

All results are impressive and we are all extremely proud of them.

Special thanks must go to Mr Barut Yalcin, the British School Swimming Coach.  Also special thanks to E. Block, T. Cowell, L.Elliott and the PE Staff.

 Mr. Tim Fenton

Director of Sport & Physical Education

Anyone can win !

Some people are naturally more talented or better suited to swimming because of their body structure, their affinity to rapid motor learning, their quick reaction time or other factors determined by heredity and early development.

They may start off a little behind in terms of natural talent or physical attributes but they can improve with practice. How can it be otherwise? Look around you and you will see that winners come in all different shapes and sizes, short, tall, massive, puny, solid, frail, porky, lean, you name it, I`ll find a champion to fit that description.

Some may not be as strong as others but they can increase their strength and power substantially through weight work. They may not appear to have the endurance but it comes with training. They can also increase their flexibility by learning different stretching techniques. All these factors will help to enhance their swimming capabilities. Some may acquire the feel for water more naturally, they may find it easier to produce the correct pitch for hand speed and hand acceleration. However, they can achieve this through additional training, further practice and by incorporating psychological skills.

There are a wide variety of factors that contribute to success and nobody has it all. You can succeed and make this happen by working harder and improving your technique. This year, members of the BSM Swimming Team did better than their personal best, they did extraordinary things, they achieved overall winner of all the swimming galas they entered in Muscat.

Now have a very enjoyable holiday. It is time to have a well earned rest.

F. Barut Yalcin
Swimming Coach

Almost all the BSM swimmers swam personal best times throughout the Galas. Many School Records were broken.All results are impressive.I am extremely proud of them.

F.Barut Yalcin
Swimming Coach

The Team: Poppy Andruskevicius,Molly Griffiths, Innes Hulse, Katie Garrett, Fraser Whitelaw, Patrick Gaffney, Amy Parsons, Daniel Helmi, Jenna Angle, Tom Fowler, Thirza Clayton, Lewis Whitelaw, Sam Ava Johnston, Alec Helmi, Daisy MacDonald, James Merry, Hanna Kozak-King, David Todd, Meghan Suddaby, Hamish Baxter, Amira El-Bambi, Tom Merry, Summer Reid, Thomas Lax, Carina Lai, Nicholas Howland, Katie Howland, Theodore Pender, Olena Kozak-King, Matthew Bale, Laura Fazal, Noesjka Buitenkamp, Jerome Rovira, Ranima Reik.

For many children it was the first opportunity to experience competitive sport. Children from Year 2 to Year 6 took part in a variety of strokes in a quick-fire series of races. The huge enthusiasm and commitment shown by all the swimmers were excellent. Well Done BSM !

Barut Yalcin (Swimming Coach)

The swimming gala was held at Jumeriah College with a total of five schools taking part from around the Gulf Region. Our representatives were:

There was a furious last minute event selection adjustment which ensured as much swimming as possible for all our girls. Fot the firt time our swimmers were competing in races of 100 metres as well as 50 metres and 25 metres.

From the beginning of the gala, the performances were hugely impressive and a large haul of medals across all the age groups began to be amassed, records were set and broken and personal bests were definitely the order of the day. With only eight swimmers, much the smallest group in the competition, a total of 23 medals had been won: a truly superb performance!

Well Done to all!

Andy Taylor, PE Department