THE Okehampton Otters competed at the Exeter Sprints gala last month.

The swimmers ranged in age from nine to 15 and competed in more than 40 races.

This annual gala is popular with swimmers from teams across the South West and concentrates on short sprint races for swimmers of all abilities.

The Otters performed superbly and achieved 31 personal best times, with several swimmers taking bronze medals home.

Otters’ head coach, David Dennis, said: ‘All of the swimmers taking

part had a wonderful day and their support for each other was amazing. The standard of swimming throughout the gala was high and the Otters’ swimmers took up the challenge and showed what they could do. In some races we were unlucky and we could have taken home an even bigger medal collection — including some golds.’

David Dennis has recently joined Otters as the head coach and has worked with the swimmers through the summer holidays in preparation for this event.

The level of success reflects the commitment of both the coach and swimmers. David is looking to develop a competitive squad of swimmers within Otters to complement the large numbers of swimmers who train for fitness or enjoyment.