Barnet Copthall Swimming Club came first in the gala at Pond’s Forge in Sheffield last weekend.

At the Level One (national) gala organised by Rotherham Metro Swimming Club, Barnet Copthall scooped first place for the second time in just two months by finishing nearly 50 points ahead of strong opposition from Romford Town and UEA Norwich.

Stand-out performances included Felix Cheng, who was ‘Top Boy’ in the 13-year-old category, while second-place finishes went to Jared Lewis and Fleur Lewis in the ten-year-old category and Archie Price in the 11-year-old age group.

Next week the Barnet Copthall squad heads to a week long training camp in Tenerife. This is followed by two weekends of regional galas at the London Aquatic Centre, home of the 2012 Olympics, where they will go head-to-head against swimmers from other top clubs in Middlesex, Essex, Surrey and Kent.

Barnet Copthall head coach Rhys Gormley said: “I was extremely happy with the performances over the weekend and we now have 20 national qualifiers and there are nine more swimmers hoping to get times at regionals after the camp.”