Hounslow Jets’ Snapshots of Spain

We are always excited to discover inspiring stories involving young individuals!

This blog post is from Anna, a recent Leadership Award winner who went on a trip to Spain with the Hounslow Jets Swimming Club.

Fun under the Spanish Sun

Spain has been a thrilling journey for the entire club, and a wonderful once in a lifetime opportunity that we had the privilege to experience. With a karaoke night, beach day and a treasure hunt across the city, it was an enjoyable experience for everyone. The trip paved the way for the blossoming of friendships, sticking together through hard training sessions, and overcoming new challenges.

We had immense amounts of fun every day, laughing not only with our own circle of friends, but merging into other groups of all ages, and simply enjoying ourselves.. Whether it was relaxing by the hotel pool playing UNO, shopping for souvenirs and ice cream, or laughing with our friends. We were with our friends, our coaches, and kind parents who decided to accompany us on this trip. The coaches and parents were very supportive. The trip brought everyone together as a team. Playing tag in the sand at the beach, the karaoke night that had many of us on our feet, overcoming some of our fears of singing in public.

Overcoming obstacles

However, this trip did not only bring us together by fun and games. We were taught how to wake up promptly every morning for the 20 minute walk to the pool, giving us a discipline that not many of us had had before. We swam in the outdoor pool, and though it was cold at times, we learned how to persevere through it until the end of the session. The opportunity to swim in the outdoor pool was one that not many of us had experienced before, and it was definitely a new skill we all learnt. The sheer amount of times we trained helped everyone gain better technique in all strokes.

The training taught us that although we might think that we are not ready for certain things, we must always push ourselves out of our comfort zone. We proved to ourselves that we can overcome anything we put our mind to, no matter what it is. We all learned that we are able to push ourselves to go on even through extreme conditions. Additionally, we were able to practise in an Olympic size pool with beautiful scenery, giving us a chance to experience something completely different to what we are used to. It made all of us fall deeper in love with this sport even more, helping us remember why we swim and how fun it really can be.

This is why the Spain swim camp has improved us all. We’re better teammates and better swimmers now. This trip has benefited us all as a team and individually, proving that fun can tie in with hard work, and vice versa.