The 2009-2010 USA Swimming Grand Prix concluded in Los Angeles on July 11, with Chloe Sutton crowned the overall Grand Prix Series High Point winner, collecting a total of $20, 000 in prize money. 

The Grand Prix series consists of eight meets, beginning in Minneapolis on November 13, 2009, with the Los Angeles meet added to the calendar for the first time this year.

The Los Angeles meet was held at the University of Southern California from July 8-11.

Ms Sutton, who was a member of 2008 USA Olympic swimming team, put in an overwhelmingly dominant performance throughout this Grand Prix series, winning a total of sixteen gold medals, six silver and one bronze, earning a total of 99 points.

Her win is even more remarkable considering Ms Sutton did not compete in the Santa Clara meet of the Grand Prix series.

The race for second and third place in the Grand Prix series was much tighter, with Dagny Knuston coming in second place with a total of six gold medals and seven silver, earning 52 points and managing to narrowly defeat Dana Vollmer, who came in third place with a total of nine gold medals as well as one silver and bronze, earning 49 points.

Three meet records fell on day four of competition in Los Angeles, with Dana Vollmer setting a new record in the women’s 100m butterfly with a time of 57.39.

Rebecca Soni set a new record in the women’s 100m butterfly with a time of 1:06.23 and Kosuke Kitajima also established a new record for the men’s 100m butterfly, finishing the event with a time of 1:00.02.

Mr Kitajima also set a new meet record in day three of the meet in the men’s 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:11.14

On Day 3 of the Los Angeles meet, Katie Hoff shattered a ten year record in the women’s 400m freestyle, which had been set by Claudia Poll in 2000.

Ms Hoff completed the women’s 400m freestyle with a time of 4:06.21, which was almost three seconds faster than the record set by Poll, which was 4:09.04

And finallykick-started the Los Angeles meet with a bang by setting a new meet record (8:31.05) in the prelims of the women’s 800m freestyle

On day two, Ziegler followed up this performance by managing to shatter her own record in the finals of the women’s 800m freestyle, with a time of 8:25.89, which beat the record she had just set on day one by five seconds

BLK1 Article: [Justin Macdonald] BLK1 Photographer: [PETER SOLLNER OR OTHER PHOTOGRAPHER]

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In the times before William The Conqueror “beasts of the chase” were hunted by groups of men mounted on horseback in the name of protecting livestock and farmland.

These groups were made up of all different Nimrods(people who hunt), each taking a set role. With the Master Of The Hunt commanding the actions of the Huntsmen, and the Whippers-in and Terrier Man keeping the hounds in check; the fox hunt has remained a sport that tightly maintains age-old traditions.

Traditions embedded in the fox hunting sport have a greater level of depth than simply wearing “Pinks” (scarlet hunting coats) and shouting catchphrases. It is understood that even in these modern times of cities and environmental destruction, there are 750,000 foxes in Britain- this number doubles every Spring and the implication of this is more fox burrows in soil where forest plants should grow and more foxes that need to prey on other species to live. This in turn, causes major environmental imbalance, creating the need for poisonous bates, traps and inhumane methods of biological control. Working in a team with horses and hounds, and knowing the land and the other animals which inhabit it, Nimrods take it upon themselves, as the fox’s only natural predators, to control the fox population in the most humane way possible.

Although there is much scrutiny surrounding the fox hunt, the above reflects the arguments made by the British aristocracy in defence of the sport. Prince Charles, William and Harry have all been very public in supporting traditions laid down in royal generations before them, the family annually participate in the Beaufort Hunt.

Many hunts similar to the royally endorsed Beaufort Hunt happen globally in countries such as the USA and Australia. And while all these places differ in terrain, the same traditions are upheld to show the value of humanity working together with the land in a natural ritual.

BLK1 Article: ELLEN CROSLEY

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