Northgate mark another year of progress in style

The guest of honour for the event at Castle Hall was Councillor Rachel Connolly, deputy Mayor of Bridgnorth and a former club member, who presented the trophies.

Several age category awards were presented throughout the evening, from swimmers aged eight to sixteen, with four individuals additionally recognised for their continued development and successful performances during 2022.

Dewi Arch, fresh from his remarkable performance in the Wolverhampton Open, added to his success story by claiming the Annual Shield.

Anna Cole walked away with the Chairman’s Cup for her services to the club and Grace Goldsmith was awarded the Max Otto trophy for her competition performances.

And five-year-old Elizabeth Gore was rewarded for her impressive progress by deservedly picking up the Ross Lyle trophy.

Kerry Pace, who coaches the youngster as part of the Gator Group, explained that when she first joined the club she couldn’t really swim and required various buoyancy aids to help her. But now she is swimming lengths, both front crawl and backstroke, and doing some fantastic dives off the blocks.

During the presentation, club chairman Steve Smith shared that a unanimous decision had been approved at the AGM to offer Richard ‘D’ Davidson BEM (British Empire Medal for Services to Swimming), the role of president of the club.

“‘D’ is a remarkable individual, who has coached at the club since 1976, and looks after the Junior Performance Squad,” said Smith.

“His selfless commitment to the club is inspiring new coaches and volunteers, with young swimmers in the Bridgnorth and Much Wenlock areas continuing to benefit from his expertise.”

Northgate SC is also incredibly grateful to the many local businesses that donated prizes for the raffle, which resulted in over £400 being raised to help the club keep the evening free to attend for all members to enjoy and share the successes.

And after celebrating an impressive 12 months, Smith is looking forward to more success in the future.

“The club is going from strength to strength,” he said. “There have been successes throughout the year, in addition to those recognised, that have helped develop squad performances in Arena & Nuneaton League galas.

“We have had so many outstanding individual displays at open meets, such as Alfie Berry breaking a long-standing club record in the boys’ 50 metre breaststroke, and we have several swimmers ranked in the top 10 at county level for their age group, with some pushing for regional and national times.

“We have welcomed in more parent volunteers to help with important club functions and membership continues to grow.

“Thank you to all the people who contributed to a great 2022 and a special thank you to Libra Systems of Telford for their generous donation to the club.”