Sport

Pembroke and District Amateur Swimming club is forty!

Published

10 years ago

December 9, 2014

Tom Sinclair

The current Pembroke and District swimmers winners: County Championships at Haverfordwest

FORTY years ago saw the opening of the new Pembroke Sports centre on the site of the former grammar school at Bush in Pembroke. Alongside a sports hall, tennis and squash courts, for the first time the community of Pembroke and Pembroke Dock had its very own 25-metre four-lane swimming pool and learner pool. It wasn’t long before the newly appointed swimming teacher, Trina Bowen (Pearson) started a collaboration with the Sports centre manager Larry Jones and his late wife June to form a swimming club.

Larry (an ex Welsh record butterfly swimmer) became the first chief coach. With Trina and Janet Green, the founding members’ aims were simple; to get children of the local community swimming! Prior to this, if you wanted to teach your children to swim it involved a trip to Haverfordwest, which at that time meant crossing the Cleddau River by boat! Through those early days, support for the club grew as Trina with in her role as the swimming teacher. Seeing children swimming during their school sessions meant she was ideally placed to then try and entice them to come to improve their swimming at the swimming club sessions. The club continued strongly through the decades that followed with hundreds of local children getting the opportunity to learn to swim. At times, the membership of the club approached 300!

The early days of the swimming club saw mostly a family based system with many swimmers’ siblings inevitably getting involved and progressing through the ranks. Since the club’s inception, there have been many opportunities to compete for the swimmers to develop and improve their swimming. Many ex-members will recall a number of overseas trips to the Pembroke’s twin town Bergen in Germany.

Notably though, in addition to the swimming and competing, many friendships were formed and in many cases, still flourish today! Past members will recall happy memories of trips to the pantomime in Swansea, numerous discos and the annual BBQs at Freshwater East (instigated by the late Joan Chilton). Two stalwarts of the club, Dorothy Morgan and Keith Thompson, have both injected unbelievable amounts of time and effort over many years enabling the club’s continued success.

The structure of the club continues today as it did in the early days with a committee team of hard working parents and volunteers who carry out the day to day functioning of the club. Nowadays, the new aquatic structure, run in conjunction with Pembrokeshire County Council, allows swimmers with identified potential being filtered from the club into a more formal swimming pathway based in Haverfordwest. Indeed a number of Pembroke and District’s elite swimmers now perform at a National level within this structure.

However, they and the all the club’s members have one thing in common; their roots in Pembroke and District Swimming Club’s 25-metre pool! Ex-members of the club will always recall the annual fixture in the clubs calendar, the Club Championships held in December. With this being its 40th year, the current committee members and President of the Club wish to invite any ex-committee members and coaches to a celebratory buffet, which will be held on the 13th December at 12 noon, prior to the 40th club Championships at Pembroke Pool.

All attendees would then be most welcome to stay on to watch some of the current swimmers, who range from 6 years and upwards, competing in a fun atmosphere! If you are able to come then please contact Trina Bowen on 01646 641033 and if you have any old photographs, please bring them along. The current committee would be pleased to see some of the club’s history!

Sport

Previewing the 2025 Super Bowl

Published

15 hours ago

January 20, 2025

Staff Writer

Each year millions of people across the world gather to watch one of the biggest sporting events of the year – the Super Bowl. Last year, 3.4 million people in the UK watched the Super Bowl, up 1.1 million from the previous year. Considering the growth in popularity of American football in the UK, we anticipate the viewership will be even higher for 2025.

The 2025 Super Bowl is scheduled to take place on 9 February 2025 at Caesars Superdrome in New Orleans, Louisiana.

NFL teams

12 teams began competing for a spot in the 2025 Super Bowl when the playoffs began on January 11. At this point, four teams were eliminated. This now leaves eight teams to compete in the Divisional playoffs. Four of these will make it to the Conference Championships before contesting for a spot at this year’s Super Bowl.

The eight teams left with a shot at competing in the 2025 Super Bowl are:

Philadelphia Eagles
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Rams
Washington Commanders

Last year, the Kansas City Chiefs took the title for the second year in a row. However, the latest Super Bowl odds puts the Detroit Lions as the favourites to win this year’s Super Bowl, following a series of impressive performances in the regular season.

The national anthem and halftime show

Before the game commences, a special guest performs the national anthem. Last year, Reba McEntire offered a moving performance of The Star-Spangled Banner, and this year the task falls to jazz singer Jon Batiste.

It’s not just the football match that people look forward to. Super Bowl halftime shows are a spectacle in themselves and many look forward to the performance as much as the game itself. This year, 17-time grammy winner Kendrick Lamar is headlining the halftime show. Lamar previously headlined the Super Bowl in 2022.

How can I watch the Super Bowl in the UK?

The Super Bowl is being broadcast to fans free on ITV, including live online via ITVX on your laptop, mobile, or tablet.

Sky Sports is also broadcasting the event which you can watch online via Sky Go, NOW TV, or using the Sky Sports mobile app. You could also head to your local pub as plenty of pubs in Pembrokeshire will be showing the big game.

Will you be tuning in?

With a surge in popularity for American Football, it’s anticipated that more people from the UK than ever before will be turning their TVs on for the big event this year. Will you be watching this year’s Super Bowl?

Sport

Division Four West rugby: Thrills and tight contests on a chilly Saturday

Published

1 day ago

January 19, 2025

Herald Sport

Exciting matches, hard-fought battles, and standout performances define the weekend’s action.

Dreigiau Emlyn Edge Harlequins in Close Contest
Dreigiau Emlyn 21 – Pembroke Dock Harlequins 15
Dreigiau Emlyn secured a narrow victory over Pembroke Dock Harlequins, strengthening their position in the top half of the table. Gethin Davies scored two crucial tries, while Deiniol Rees added three penalties and a conversion to steer the hosts to victory. The Harlequins kept the game competitive with tries from Craig Barnett and Tom Donovan, with Ben Hathaway converting one and kicking a penalty. However, Emlyn’s composed performance ensured they held on for the win.

Teirw Crymych Outgun Llangwm in High-Scorer
Llangwm 22 – Teirw Crymych 33
Teirw Crymych powered to a 33-22 victory over bottom-placed Llangwm, bolstering their challenge for the league’s top spots. Sion Williams and Morgan Jones led the visitors’ try-scoring efforts, with additional tries from Sion Owen and Nick Bevan. Adam Phillips was reliable from the tee, adding four conversions. Llangwm fought back with tries from Aidan Rees and Ryan Banner, while Harry Makepeace contributed two conversions and a penalty. Despite their spirited display, the hosts couldn’t match Crymych’s attacking prowess.

St Davids Win Key Clash Against Llanybydder
Llanybydder 17 – St Davids 29
St Davids took a significant step away from the relegation zone with a vital 29-17 win over Llanybydder. Harvey Godkin, Nathan Foster, Zac Morgan, and Morgan Griffiths all crossed the whitewash for the visitors, with Bob Froy converting three and adding a penalty to secure a bonus-point victory. Llanybydder’s John Evans delivered an impressive hat-trick of tries, with one conversion by Matthew Rowlands, but St Davids’ all-round performance proved too much for the home side.

Division Four West continues to deliver thrilling rugby as teams battle for position in a tightly contested league.

Sport

Division Two goals galore as Narberth continue to dominate

Published

1 day ago

January 19, 2025

Herald Sport

Big wins and thrilling contests highlight the latest round of fixtures.

Narberth Crush Broad Haven
Broad Haven 1 – Narberth 11
League leaders Narberth delivered a masterclass, thrashing bottom side Broad Haven 11-1 in a one-sided encounter. Ryan Williams, Chris Brown, and Steffan Williams each netted hat-tricks, with further goals from Jordan Williams and Josh Jones. Broad Haven’s Ashley Bladen grabbed a consolation goal, but the hosts were no match for the rampant visitors, who tightened their grip on the top of the table.

Swifts Reserves Hammer Carew II
Monkton Swifts II 7 – Carew II 0
Rudy Poole’s incredible six-goal performance powered Monkton Swifts II to a commanding 7-0 victory over Carew II. Mark Jones added the final goal as the Swifts dominated from start to finish, boosting their push up the table with an emphatic statement win.

Johnston See Off Camrose
Johnston 2 – Camrose 0
Johnston earned a crucial 2-0 victory against fourth-placed Camrose in a tightly contested match. Marcus Allen’s opener and Josh Knapp’s second-half goal secured the points for the hosts. Johnston’s resolute defending ensured a clean sheet, helping them solidify their mid-table position while dealing a blow to Camrose’s hopes of catching the teams above them.

Merlins Bridge Reserves Edge Neyland in Thriller
Merlins Bridge II 3 – Neyland 2
Merlins Bridge II clinched a thrilling 3-2 victory over Neyland in a closely fought contest. Kian Lee opened the scoring for the hosts, with Bradley Barrett converting a penalty and Harrison Goddard adding a third. Neyland pushed back through Jay Johnstone and Ben Gale, but the Bridge held on to secure all three points in an exciting encounter.

Solva Outclass Lawrenny
Solva 5 – Lawrenny 0
Solva made light work of struggling Lawrenny with a 5-0 win. Kieran Price’s hat-trick stole the spotlight, with Luke Mason and Morgan Elliott also finding the net. The result leaves Lawrenny rooted near the bottom of the table, while Solva capitalized on their opponents’ weaknesses to secure a comfortable victory.

As the season progresses, Division Two continues to deliver high-scoring games and thrilling battles.