OKEHAMPTON Otters fought a keenly contested gala against Minehead 199 points, Crediton 138 points, Okehampton 113 points and Honiton 92 points. The teams raced over 55 events, involving boys and girls aged from 10 to 16 and a series of open events for ladies and men.

The Otters competed well with many new swimmers taking part in their first competitive gala. There were some impressive individual performances with first places from Will Cunningham 50m 10+U breaststroke in a time of 56.11 secs and Jessica James 12+U in the 50m fly in 39.39.

Others who came close to winning incldued Bryony Bridgeman in the 100m individual medley and 50m backstroke, Matt Dennis in the 100m individual medley and 50m fly, Izzy Ewen in the 50m freestyle, and Will Cooper in the 100 IM and 50m breaststroke.

The keen competition was contagious with Otters head coach Nick Bowles swimming a scorching 25m freestyle beating fellow Otter and water polo champion Roger Cunningham by 200ths of a second.

David Rickwood, the Otters fundraiser, said: 'The club has been fortunate in recent years receiving funding from many local sources, most notably Okehampton Untied Charities and this funding is now beginning to show dividends and increasingly our swimmers are better coached and more confident to take part in competition.

'However, fundraising is a continual pressure for our club. We rely very heavily on a small number of trained coaches and we are trying to increase the number but we need support to do this.'