The third and final round of the Cornwall and West Devon swimming league got under way on Saturday 28 June at Quayside.

This year Kingfishers had gone one better than last year and were hosting the league final - the top gala of the three concluding league galas being held that day.

The finalists were all Devon clubs, the red hot favourites Plymouth Leander, Kingfishers, Newton Abbot and Dinnaton.

Leander's flag was going to be hard to lower in any of the races and Kingfishers went into the gala hopeful of taking second place.

A great swim by Laker Wong in the boys' 11/u 50m breastroke saw him take the first of five victories for Kingfishers on the evening, coming home ahead in 39.85 - a good PB and breaking the 40-second barrier for the first time.

The Kingfisher boys' 15/u freestyle relay team was the next to register maximum points, the team of Will Rawlinson, James Pinwill, Sam Jones and Aaron Rickhuss leaving the rest in their wake.

Anchor leg swimmer Rickhuss then followed up with an individual victory in the boys' 15/u 100m freestyle in a great PB of 57.48.

The closing relays produced Kingfishers' other two victories. Firstly the boys' 11/u medley relay team of Richard Forman, Laker Wong, Freddie Buckle and Ben King, and then the Women's Open freestyle relay team of Holly Gunner, Roseanna Perry, Fiona Wilson and Hayley Arthur.

Although the victories were a great achievement for the club and the swimmers concerned the real battle was in gaining enough second and third place finishes to rack up the points to try to achieve as high a placing as possible at the end.

In this regard individual PB's were looked for. Rickhuss and George Grace produced good PB's in the 100m butterfly events, Aaron registering 64.36 and George 65.55.

Conor Morgan also lowered his time in the boys' 15/u 100m freestyle touching in 59.10.

Harriet Arscott, 10, produced a good swim in the girls' 11/u backstroke to take second in a new PB of 40.68 and Richard Forman also produced a PB to take second in the boys' 11/u 50m freestyle in 32.22.

As a result of three careless disqualifications Kingfishers unfortunately missed out on second place to a very competitive Newton Abbot squad.

The final gala points (and league positions) were:
1. Plymouth Leander - 160
2. Newton Abbot - 119
3. Kingsbridge Kingfishers - 114
4. Dinnaton - 113

Also swimming for Kingfishers were Ella Paddon, Alysia Stringer, Hester Stembridge, Harry Preston, Shannon Vaughan, Daniel Arscott, Robert Dorey, Claire Harrison, Abi Edmonds, Freddie Richards, Jessica Rigby, Eleanor Burt and Paul Jacobson.