The University of Gloucestershire swim team are competing in their first BUCS competition this weekend at Ponds Forge in Sheffield.
The team have high expectations for the weekend and are looking to improve on their efforts from last year.
Vice captain Emmie Parsons believes the club has made a promising start to the new university year.
“Training has been going well, and I think the club have settled in really well this year despite having a lot of newcomers.
“Quite a few of them are competing this weekend in the BUCS so it will be really nice to see how they do.
“Overall though, it’s been going really well, we’re three months into uni now and it’s all been really positive.”
Training time has been limited going into BUCS season, but the team have been preparing well.
Despite a low amount of training sessions, Parsons feels the team are still ready to compete this weekend.
“We only get one training session a week so it’s obviously hard for the team in terms of preparation.
“We’ve done quite a few sprint starts because usually in training we tend to work on our endurance.
“We’ve done a lot of shorter sets too, especially off the block to work on that speed technique.
“But that’s all been the last few weeks whilst leading up to BUCS, just to give our team the extra work needed.”
The team has seen a number of first years come straight into the competing BUCS squad.
Parsons is hopeful for a postive weekend for herself and the club and is especially looking forward to seeing the newcomers in action.
“I’m really excited! Obviously there’s a few nerves though.
“Moving away from the nerves, i’m excited to see how not only I compete this weekend but also how the team competes as a whole.
“Especially with our first years though, it being their first competition it will be really nice to see how they get on!”
Dates for 2024-25 season
BUCS Short Course Swimming Championships: 15-17 November 2024, Ponds Forge, Sheffield
BUCS Long Course Swimming Championships: 14-16 February 2025, Ponds Forge, Sheffield
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