PEMBROKE & District Swimming Club started the new season in great style by winning the annual Tudor Shield relay gala.

Pembroke Pool was packed to the rafters with swimmers and parents making this one of the best swimming events of the year. Five teams took part again this year, with Haverfordwest sending a very strong team, while Llanelli always send a strong group of swimmers, and this year was no exception.

Tenby and Milford Haven also sent teams, and Pembroke, who were holders of the shield having won it in the past few years, did not expect to win again this year.

Pembroke has lost many of its top county swimmers as they have now moved on to university, and several of the top swimmers were unavailable; many younger swimmers had to step up and take their place.

Step up they did, with every one of the team swimming at the top of their game.

Four of the very youngest swimmers had only joined the club a week before the gala and were thrown in at the deep end, so to speak.

Pembroke started the gala as they meant to go on, with many first and second place finishes; Haverfordwest looked very strong throughout the event and must have felt they did enough to win.

There was such a good atmosphere with all the noise cheering on these young swimmers, it was hard to tell who was going to come out on top.

However, in the end Pembroke was announced as winners, to retain the shield for another year.

The results were: Pembroke 1,386; Haverfordwest 1,318; Tenby 1,188; Llanelli 1,132; and Milford 1,102.

Coach Keith Thompson thanks all the teams for making this event such a good day and to all the coaching team at Pembroke for doing such a good job with the swimmers.