Stevenage Swimming Club renamed their annual novice gala to honour the memory of Tom Moore. It was as a tribute and mark of respect to Tom who tragically died on a recent scouting expedition abroad. He joined the swimming club years ago and still carried

Stevenage Swimming Club renamed their annual novice gala to honour the memory of Tom Moore.

It was as a tribute and mark of respect to Tom who tragically died on a recent scouting expedition abroad.

He joined the swimming club years ago and still carried on swimming at Stevenage after going to university.

A club spokesman said: "Tom was a popular swimmer at the club and will be sorely missed."

The club invited the Moore family - Diane, Peter and Maxine - to attend this popular gala in which Tom made his first competitive swim debut.

And 65 young aspiring swimmers aged from eight to 12 entered.

The Moore family awarded 'The Tom Moore Memorial Cup' to the most outstanding swimmer of the evening, eight-year-old Kieran Watkins.

Diane said afterwards that they had enjoyed the evening and it was lovely that the club had chosen to remember Tom in such an appropriate way.

n Letchworth Sharks are finishing off 2008 in fine style following two promising performances.

The novice swimmers aged seven to 12 went to Amersham, and although they finished sixth, showed a glimpse of their potential with some outstanding swims.

Megan Levet smashed the girls' under-12 backstroke club record, Dominic Stevens won his butterfly event and set a new personal best time in backstroke, with his sister winning her freestyle event in a new personal time and voted swimmer of the gala.

Brothers James and Richard Thomson won their events in new times, freestyle and backstroke respectively, with James also capping a fine night in breaking his breaststroke time.

Other swimmers setting their lowest ever times were Isabella Coakley, Katie Hughes and Euan Thornton in backstroke, Robyn Godfrey and Cerian Sissons in butterfly, Hannah Martin and Louise Nicholson in breaststroke, plus Rory Myner, Cerian Sissons and Andrew Thomson in freestyle.

The event finished on a high note with a victorious squadron swim by Alessandra Stevens, Richard Thomson, Hannah Martin, Euan Thornton, Betsy Robinson and Dominic Stevens.

The senior Sharks team went to St Neots and finished a fantastic fourth in a gala where most races were either 200m or 400m.

Katie Sale led the way with a new club record and personal best in the open 200m butterfly and was deservedly swimmer of the gala.

Also winning their races were Jack Ward who also set a new club record for butterfly, Hayley Smith in breaststroke and Rachel Brown in backstroke and freestyle - all swims were new personal bests.

Tom Plater set a new personal best for both 200m backstroke and butterfly, as did Lee Brown in backstroke and Jamie Charters in freestyle.

Swimmers setting new club records and personal best times were James Smith, Graham Birch, Georgina Burns, Imogen deTrafford, Sarah Plater, Nicola Sissons, Michael Levet, Ellie Hardy, Georgina Quayle, Ricky Cortis, Ashleigh Godfrey, Sebastian deTrafford, Holly Marshall and Mike Hardy.