Our first British Champs... Kingston ASC seniors compete at national level!

13th May 2025 Laura Lindley - Head Coach

On Saturday the 26th of April the Kingston Rockets Free Team took to the boom for their first ever British Champs.

For those less familiar with our sport the road to this national British Championships is arduous... swimmers are required to have all five Artistic Swimming Grades to compete. Our goal at the beginning of this year was to try and get four or five girls to qualify. We got eight. We moved our goal. Our new goal was to go and not embarass ourselves. Well, we smashed that goal too...

The team (and coaches) have worked incredibly hard on not just their grade passes but also on a brand new Free Routine for the competition - Spiderman themed - with intense facial expressions, incredibly hard hybrids (to lean into the new rules) and an awful lot of apnea. This was a huge challenge for the girls, who are used to doing more simple Combination Routines with the Club, and with so little pool time every week, fitness and learning the choreo has not been easy. The team were of course a little nervous, but after lot's of walk-throughs, visualisations and meditation (and pizza) the team donned their bling and put on their make-up ready for the biggest competition of their synchro-lives so far. And they did us so proud... scoring 92.8000 and securing 12th place in the country (out of 14 teams) in the Senior Free Team category. Well done girls. Special shout-out goes to coach Katie Holland who was the brain, blood, sweat and tears (yes, really) behind this routine. The routine scored highly for Music and Choreo and that's all down to you. Thank you.

On Sunday the 27th of April Leyna, Zia and Lilia wowed the crowds with their Witches Duet.

With achey legs and adrenaline pumping the morning of the 27th brought no rest for our duet. Back to the pool for more gelatine and another swim. The witches routine was an old Masters Duet which was adapted and made much more difficult for the Senior Duet category. The hybrids were longer than the girls were used to, and it's very hard to pull-off the theatrics of the routine whilst you're fighting for breath. The competition in this category was as fierce as the routine itself, but the girls held their own and set aside their nerves to perform with energy and passion. Scoring 75.2000 and securing 15th place (out of 21 duets) we couldn't be prouder of what this duet has achieved this year. Zia and Leyna have some of the best execution abilities in the Club and I can't wait for you to see the routine this Sunday. I'd also like to say a huge thanks Lilia Camilleri who has been our reserve on this duet. Despite it being unlikely she'd compete, Lilia worked tirelessly attending extra sessions, learnt all the choreo of both positions, and attended the competition ready to swim - cheering the girls on so loudly. She is an absolute asset to this Club and her positive attitude has kept us all going this year, thanks Lilia.

Bring on British Champs 2026 where we hope to have even more routines competing... watch this space.

It has been an absolute privilege to coach these remarkable young women this year who have surpassed Katie and I's expectations on every level. British Champs 2025 was an amazing weekend and I'm so proud that our Club is now competing against the best teams in the country (including many GB athletes past and present). The girls even got to meet Olympic Silver Medalist Izzy Thorpe. What a weekend. I can't wait to see what we can achieve next year.