For the third year running, the Kingsbridge Area Primary School Gala at the Quayside Leisure Cen­tre was a huge success.

The event, held on Wednes­day, October 21, saw 92 children take part from 14 different primary schools and as you can imagine the noise level in the pool area was phenomenal!

The five teams entered were the Seals, made up of pupils from Blackaw­ton, East Al­lington, Stoke Fleming and Kings­wear; the Sharks, with members from Loddiswell, Stok­en­ham, Malborough and Modbury; Channel Darters from Thurle­stone, West Alvington and West Charleton; the Cormorants from Kingsbridge; and the Flippers of Salcombe and Aveton Gifford. All showed fantastic team spirit and camaraderie.

Each team consisted of three girls and three boys from Years 4, 5 and 6.

Every child who swam put in maximum effort and it was great to see so much support from the watching parents, grandparents, siblings and many more.

This year the results were even closer with the Sharks (third place) and the Channel Dart­ers (second place) only having five points be­tween them, but the winners for the third year in a row were the Cormorants of Kings­bridge Primary.

Organisers wish to thank the Rotary Club of Kingsbridge, who provided the cup for the gala and in particular Phyllis Angliss, their president, and David White, their chairman, who came to present the prizes.

Organisers also wish to thank Tesco’s Sue Durant, who provided a bottle of water and a well-earned banana for each swimmer, KCC for providing the event with seven students to keep time and run the results in and Quayside for the use of the pool.

This year’s swimming was even stronger than last, with the fun straw hat and ball relay at the end, lending a good deal of hilarity to the occasion. Many swimmers are already looking forward to next year!