News & Media

Oct 20th

Lucy Bean – Vice Captain 2014-2015

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I started swimming when I heard about a club in my local area through a friend and just thought it seemed like fun so would give it a go!

My best strokes are breastroke and IM and my preferred distances are 100m, 200m and 400m.

My best swimming achievement would have to be winning a bronze medal in the 200m breastroke when I competed in the National Age group Championships. I also enjoy taking part in team competitions. One of my favourites is the UK School Games which I’ve done twice now. The team spirit and attitude is like nothing you could ever experience, definitely a once in a life time opportunity.

One of my biggest role models is Fran Halsall. I think she just has a great attitude to swimming and what she has achieved, especially at recent competitions, has inspired me hugely.

To prepare for competition, the night before I always make sure that I stick to familiar foods that I like, which normally includes a simple pasta meal or a salad. The morning before I swim I always have porridge or just a yogurt, so I don’t feel full and can race light. For a long time I always had a pair of lucky socks that I wore to every swim meet. Thankfully, (as they were an awful colour), I put that aside and realised that the socks didn’t determine the outcome of my race.

Outside of swimming I volunteer once a fortnight at the Wildlife Aid Foundation in Leatherhead. There we care for all sorts of animals such as badgers and hedgehogs and I love helping out.

My aims are to win a gold medal at nationals in one of my events and I hope to make an international team when I’m older, such as a Commonwealth or Olympic team.

I’m currently studying History, Biology, English Literature and Language and P.E at Rosebery Sixth form in Epsom. To balance my studies with swimming I just make sure that I plan out specific times to complete homework or revision which fit into my training schedule. I also make sure I keep on top of work which requires a lot of organisation but in the end it means that I don’t need have to miss out on any training sessions to catch up! After 6th form I plan to go to University and study either History or Law. However I will still aim to continue swimming at university and hopefully beyond that.

I love the friends that I have met at Guildford City and the friendly and relaxed environment. I’ve never regretted making the move to the club. The coaching staff are really great. They make sure I remain motivated and support me through every up and down. They make time to talk to you because they do really care about you and it’s guaranteed they will always make me laugh!

One philosophy I’ve always stuck by is that the hard work you do now will always pay off in the future, no matter how hard it seems. So even If you don’t see the immediate benefits, stick with it because you will get what you deserve.