East Region Championships 2026

Harwich Swimming Club swimmers produced an outstanding set of performances across all three weekends of the 2026 East Region Long Course Championships, with the club represented by swimmers ranging from experienced senior competitors through to younger swimmers making their regional championship debuts.

Competing at regional level is a huge achievement in itself, with swimmers required to hit demanding qualifying standards to earn their place amongst the best athletes in the East of England, and Harwich swimmers rose to the occasion throughout the championships with a host of personal bests, finals appearances and club records.

The opening two weekends saw the club’s senior swimmers in action in the highly competitive 17/Over age groups, where Emily Turner enjoyed an excellent championships. Emily produced a superb personal best of 29.25 in the 50m freestyle to break the club record before going on to reach the final of the 50m breaststroke. After qualifying eighth fastest from the heats in 34.96, Emily improved again in the evening final, lowering her time to 34.52 to secure eighth place in the East Region overall.

Despite competing in an age group containing swimmers up to senior level, Emily was also the second-fastest 17-year-old in the 50m breaststroke and third-fastest 17-year-old in the 100m breaststroke, underlining just how impressive her performances were against much older swimmers. She also competed strongly in the 100m breaststroke, placing 17th overall in 1:18.58.

Katie Holmes also enjoyed a successful championships with several strong performances in the 17/Over category. Holmes swam a personal best and new club record of 29.11 in the 50m freestyle to place 29th overall, while also competing in the 50m breaststroke where she finished 20th in a time of 36.53.

The senior swimmers also combined as part of Harwich’s women’s 4x100m medley relay team. Jasmine Hall-Barnett led off on backstroke, before Emily Turner swam breaststroke, Katie Holmes took on the butterfly leg and Menna Beegan brought the team home on freestyle. The quartet produced an excellent team performance to finish seventh overall against some of the strongest clubs in the region.

Attention then turned to the younger age groups across the second and third weekends, where Harwich’s younger swimmers produced some outstanding results.

Ruby Barratt was one of the club’s standout performers in the 13 Years age group. Ruby reached the final of the 50m breaststroke after swimming a superb personal best of 37.73 in the heats, breaking the club record in the process, before returning later in the day to finish seventh in the regional final. She also produced another club-record-breaking personal best in the 200m breaststroke, clocking 3:09.98 to finish 11th overall and narrowly miss out on a final place. Ruby completed her championships with a strong swim in the 100m breaststroke, finishing 18th in 1:28.67.

Savannah Barratt also impressed in the breaststroke events in the 13 Years category. Savannah swam a personal best of 38.36 in the 50m breaststroke to finish 12th overall, while also placing 26th in the 100m breaststroke in 1:31.25. She later added a solid performance in the 200m breaststroke, finishing 26th in 3:20.63.

Evelyn Gadsby represented Harwich in the 14 Years age group and produced two strong swims in the breaststroke events. Evelyn placed 17th in the 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:25.21 before later finishing 27th in the 50m breaststroke in 39.06.

Harry Baucutt enjoyed an exceptional championships in the boys’ 14 Years category, reaching multiple regional finals and breaking several club records along the way. Harry qualified for the final of the 50m backstroke with a personal best of 31.85, breaking the club record and placing sixth heading into the final before later finishing eighth overall in the East Region.

He followed this up with another outstanding performance in the 100m backstroke, swimming a personal best and another club record of 1:08.29 to qualify seventh fastest before repeating that placing in the evening final.

Harry’s strongest result came in the 200m backstroke. After qualifying sixth fastest for the final in a personal best time of 2:27.06, he produced another superb swim in the final to lower his time further to 2:25.79, securing fifth place in the East Region and yet another club record. In an agonisingly close finish, Harry narrowly missed out on qualification for the Aquatics GB Summer Championships, underlining just how strong his performances were throughout the meet. Harry also competed strongly in the freestyle events, placing 19th in the 200m freestyle in 2:18.35 and 22nd in the 100m freestyle in 1:03.11.

Alex Glover also represented Harwich in the boys’ 14 Years age group, competing in the 50m backstroke where he finished 19th overall in a time of 34.04.

Head Coach Katie Holmes said: “Just qualifying for regionals is a massive achievement and every single swimmer who competed should be incredibly proud of themselves. The standard at this level is so high and to have swimmers representing the club across all three weekends was fantastic to see.

“It was also a huge milestone for the club to have our first ever relay team competing at the championships. It was a great team effort and something we all really enjoyed being part of. To be racing together against some of the biggest clubs in the region was a really proud moment for the club.

“To come away with so many personal bests, finals appearances and club records shows just how hard these swimmers have been working all season.”

Across all three weekends, Harwich Swimming Club once again demonstrated the continued progress being made throughout the squad. From swimmers gaining invaluable regional championship experience for the first time through to finalists, club record breakers and relay teams competing amongst the best clubs in the region, the championships marked another hugely successful step forward for the club.

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