Guernsey Press

Happy Halletts dip back into real action

SWIMMING galas and even structured group sessions are not being rushed to resume – but Beau Sejour’s partial reopening has already proven a blessing for some.

Published
Bending over backwards to return: Elite Guernsey swimmer Charlie-Joe Hallett is back in the pool for a restricted four hours a week. (Picture By Peter Frankland, 28336294)

The option of booking one-hour sessions in single lanes has allowed certain swimmers, including multiple Guernsey breaststroke record-holder Charlie-Joe Hallett and his brother Ronny, to train indoors for the first time since March.

‘They have been absolutely chomping at the bit to get into a pool,’ said proud father Barry Hallett with a chuckle.

‘Even an hour is absolutely brilliant. At the moment, it’s so lovely to get them back swimming again.’

But this one-hour restriction means that, even with four weekly sessions, Charlie-Joe is some way from reaching his impressive peak workload of 14 hours per week.

For the star Guernsey Swimming Club siblings, who would conventionally train at St Sampson’s, a question mark also hangs over when their normal group sessions will be feasible. Current States restrictions on extracurricular activities for under-18s prevent pupils from different classes gathering – a big blow for the youth-orientated sport.

These restrictions will likely be relaxed in coming weeks, and GSC head coach Naomi Wakeford confirmed that they have been discussing the way forward with Sports Commission relationship manager Steve Sharman.

‘We are waiting for the go-ahead and to know if we are allowed to use the school pools,’ she said.

The ongoing pandemic has prompted Swim England to cancel all national-level events for 2020, but Wakeford remains hopeful of hosting local competitions at Level 3 and 4. Eventually.

‘We will need 10 weeks in the pool before competition,’ she added, while noting that holding the Island Championships in November may still be possible.