SEASON REVIEW 2014
JUNIOR LEAGUE
After last season’s relegation from Division 1, we once again competed in Division 2. As always in this Division we started the season with the aim of winning the league and securing as many medals as possible in all the events. The final gala of the season away to Tyldesley turned out to be the league decider and it was arguably our best performance of the year. A commanding victory meant that for the third time in five seasons we won the league!
RESULTS
Apr 3rdHome to Rochdalewon 68-34swimmer of match Matthew Smith
Jun 15th Home to Ashton Centralwon 60-48swimmer of match Sophie Quigley
Jun 26th Home to Chadderton won58-48swimmer of match Rebecca Cooper
Sep 11thHome to Dukinfield won 61-41swimmer of match Abigail Fung
Oct 9thAway to Tyldesleywon 61-47swimmer of match Callum Quigley
We achieved medals in the following events:
WINNERS – 10 GIRLS:
Fourteen wins out of fifteen races was an excellent achievement by the girls
Aimee Dean, Abigail Fung, Leah Worthington, Sophie Kershaw, Emilia Platt and Caitlin Lansom
WINNERS – 10 MIXED:
A strong squad and four of these swimmers can still compete in this age group next season
Leah W, Max Seymour, Caitlin L, Ben Haughton, Sophie K, Ronin Giron, Abigail F, Joseph Eaton, Emilia P and Aimee D
WINNERS – 12 BOYS:
For such a small squad this was a great achievement
Rory Lees, Harry Finn, Neel Nadeem, Joshua Saxon and Ryan Coulthard
JOINT WINNERS– 14MIXED:
Only three points dropped all season as this squad tied with Chadderton
Sophie Quigley, Hannah Smith, Maia Webster, Oonagh Morton, Chloe Jones, Michael Haughton, Ben Lawton, Matthew Smith and Adam Kershaw
WINNERS– 16BOYS:
Only one dropped point came against runners up Chadderton
Rahul Patel, Matthew Weekes, Callum Quigley, Luke Worthington, Darshan Chiba-Lad, Edward Young
WINNERS – 16 MIXED:
The only squad to win all fifteen races – well done!
Maia W, Rebecca Cooper, Hannah S, Sophie Q, Oonagh M, Chloe J, Luke W, Callum Q and Matthew W
JOINT RUNNERS UP – 10 BOYS
Just two wins away from Gold was a great effort from just five swimmers
Max S, Ben H, Joseph E, James Finn and Ronin G
RUNNERS UP – 12 MIXED
Clear second place behind an undefeated Tyldesley team
Melissa Larkin, Harry F, Abigail F, Rory L, Isabella Platt, Neel N, Olivia Bell, Leah W, Tegan Shaw and Joshua S
RUNNERS UP – 14 GIRLS
This squad only lost against winners Tyldesley in the final gala of the season
Chloe J, Oonagh M, Hannah S, Sophie Q, Maia W and Bethany Walker
JOINT RUNNERS UP – 14 BOYS
A good effort as the boys finished just two points behind Dukinfield
Ben L, Michael H, Adam K, Matthew S, Josh Meredith and Edward Y
In the age groups:
Girls(max 15)Boys(max 15)Mixed(max 15)Total(max 45)
10/u 14wins9wins12 wins35 wins
12/u5 wins 11wins11 wins27 wins
14/u13 wins10wins12 wins35 wins
16/u5wins14wins15 wins34 wins
After last year’s tie, the Boys win this year’s head to head 44 to 37. It is now 15 years since the Girls won more races than the Boys!
ALL SWIMMERS WHO COMPETED DURING THE YEAR (WINS IN BRACKETS)
BOYSGIRLS
Max Seymour(10)Aimee Dean(10)
Ben Haughton(20)Abigail Fung(15)
Joseph Eaton(4)Leah Worthington(18)
James Finn(7)Sophie Kershaw(12)
Ronin Giron(18)Emilia Platt(4)
Rory Lees(21)Caitlin Lansom(25)
Harry Finn(18)Zoe Borberley(1)
Ryan Coulthard(6)Melissa Larkin(13)
Joshua Saxon(9)Tegan Shaw(4)
Neel Nadeem(12)Isabella Platt(7)
Ben Lawton(19)Lucy Rainsford(3)
Edward Young(2)Olivia Bell(10)
Matthew Smith(13)Hannah Smith(30)
Michael Haughton(17)Chloe Jones(17)
Adam Kershaw(10)Bethany McKnight(0)
Josh Meredith(5)Maia Webster(10)
Callum Quigley(28)Bethany Walker(1)
Matthew Weekes(17)Faye Thompson(3)
Darshan Chiba Lad(11)Sophie Quigley(27)
Luke Worthington(23)Oonagh Morton(23)
Rahul Patel(5)Rebecca Kinsey(0)
Rebecca Cooper(14)
In his final year competing in the Junior League, Callum wins the most Boys races for the third time. As for Hannah, amazingly this is now the fourth year in a row where she has recorded the most wins amongst the Girls. Well done to you both!
The last five years leading winners were:
2009 –Tenneil Davies and Daniel Briggs
2010 – Lucy Cooper and Joseph & Stephen McCue / Callum Quigley
2011 – Hannah Smith and Harley Tennant
2012 – Hannah Smith and Callum Quigley
2013 – Hannah Smith and Luke Worthington / Sam Bennett
The following swimmers deserve a mention for competing in all five Junior Galas this year:
Ben H / James F / Ronin G / Neel N / Rory L / Joshua S / Harry F / Ben L / Adam K / Michael H / Luke W / Callum Q / Matthew W / Darshan C L / Leah W / Aimee D / Sophie K / Caitlin L / Melissa L / Olivia B / Hannah S / Sophie Q / Oonagh M and Rebecca C
Attendance – Last year a total of 23 swimmers competed in every single Junior Gala. This year there were 24swimmers (named above) who competed in all five Gala’s. For each Gala there was an average of 3swimmers missing, compared to 7per Gala in 2013, so a welcome improvement, but which can still be bettered!
Final Season – It was the final year in the Junior League for Rebecca Kinsey, Matthew Weekes and Callum Quigley
JUNIOR LEAGUE WINS
Since the start of the 1997 season, we have a record kept of the total number of Junior League wins for each swimmer who has competed for the club. Four of the top ten still compete for the cluband six of these swimmers have been awarded the Swimmer of the Year award.You may noticethat new to the top ten this year is Hannah Smith. Hannah is still eligible to swim in the Junior League for another 3 years and will no doubt be hoping to further close in on Catherine’s record next season!
1st*Catherine Broadbent177 wins
2ndNicola Shilley161
3rdDaniel Briggs137
4thJoseph McCue135
5thStephen McCue128
6thHelen Gourley127
=7thHannah Smith113
=7thDarcy Hobson113
=7thArron Alderson113
10thHarley Tennant109
*For those who may not be aware, Catherine represented the club in the Junior League for 8 years and averaged over 22 wins per season.
SWIMMER OF THE MATCH
The award for swimmer of the match has now been given since the start of the 2004 season, with 211 trophies being given out to 80different swimmers. This year’s multiple winners are Sam Bennett with 3 and Rory Lees with 2.
Below is the ‘leaderboard’ up to and including the final gala of 2014 v Hyde.
8 swimmer of match awardsStephen McCue, Helen Gourley, Harley Tennant, Daniel Briggs and Rory Lees
6 swimmer of match awardsJoseph McCue, Faye McMahon and Luke Worthington
5 swimmer of match awardsDarcy Hobson, Jessica Willis, Lucy Johnson, Michael Scott,
Tenneil Davies, Hannah Smith and Nicola Shilley
4 swimmer of match awardsAndrew Galley, Arron Alderson, Jack Corbett, Lucy Cooper, Ben Haughton, Sam Bennett and Callum Quigley
3 swimmer of match awardsDillon Alderson, Gareth Unsworth, Jack Nutter, Ryan Manchester, Oonagh Morton, Rebecca Cooper and Caitlin Lansom
IN OTHER COMPETITIONS
JUBILEE
The format of the Jubileecompetition is that the first three rounds are a random draw with teams then graded and placed in the appropriate final. Finishing2nd 3rd and 2ndin the opening galas, meant that we qualified for the B Final (having ranked 8th).
The last time we were in the B Final was in 2011 and a year earlier we were joint winners of the B Final. In 2012 and 2013 you may recall that we were victorious in the C Final. Considering we were up against two teams who had beat us in the heats (along with a strong Radcliffe) it was always going to be tough.
The final turned out to be a very exciting gala and amazingly the lead changed ten times during the contest! We were in lead with just a few races to go, but unfortunately a run of only one win in the last seven races proved to be significant. As you will see below, the top three teams were separated by just four points as we finished just two points from victory.
The whole team can be proud of their efforts though with a special mention deserved for Ben H and Rory having to swim seven races, Tegan S and Harry F recording three personal best times each and Caitlin L for whom her four race wins helped secure her the Swimmer of the Match on the night.
The final team was: Ben H, Ronin G, James F, Ryan C, Joshua S, Rory L, Harry F, Neel N, Michael H, Caitlin L, Sophie K, Abigail F, Leah W, Olivia B, Melissa L, Isabella P, Tegan S, Maia W, Sophie Q and Hannah S
Full results:
Gala 1) Tyldesley 137 / Ashton 133 / Rochdale 91
(swimmer of match Rory Lees)
Gala 2) Stalybridge 121 / Atherton & Leigh 109 / Ashton 100 / Howe Bridge 88
(swimmer of match Ben Haughton)
Gala 3)Chadderton 119/ Ashton112 / Ramsbottom 108 / Wigan 72
(swimmer of match Olivia Bell)
B Final) Radcliffe 115/Ashton113 / Atherton & Leigh 111 / Chadderton 80
(swimmer of match Caitlin Lansom)
All the swimmers who managed 4 wins or more during the season are shown below with the percentage of wins in brackets.
Hannah Smith12 wins (87%)Sophie Quigley6 wins(46%)
Caitlin Lansom12 wins (67%)Leah Worthington6 wins(43%)
Ben Haughton8 wins(33%)Abigail Fung4 wins(80%)
Olivia Bell7 wins(44%)Chloe Jones4 wins(67%)
Rory Lees7 wins(32%)Michael Haughton4 wins(19%)
For the third year in succession, Hannah (this year joined by Caitlin) records the most wins. Interestingly, only three Boys make the top ten for most wins. Overall, a total of 30 swimmers represented the club in the four Jubilee Gala’s – well done to you all.
INTER TOWN FRIENDLY LEAGUE
Please see the separate season review I publish in the summer to see how we did during the season 2013 > 2014
MANCHESTER & DISTRICT
Unfortunately there was no gala this year due to Broughton Pool being closed. It is hoped that this popular event will return in 2015
PERSONAL BESTS
As an indication as to which swimmers have improved their times the most during the year, the swimmers with 11 p.bs and more are noted below.
Including the finalInter Town Gala of 2014(Hydeaway), Sophie Quigleyleads the way with a total of 27personal best times. This is the 2nd year in a row that Sophie has topped this list, well done!Sophie is followed by: Rory Lees 25, Olivia Bell 22, Aimee Dean 22, Harry Finn 21, Michael Haughton 20, Isabella Platt 19, Abigail Fung 18, Caitlin Lansom 18, Joshua Saxon 17, Ryan Coulthard 17, Emilia Platt 15, Ben Haughton 15, Joseph Eaton 14, Ronin Giron 13, Ben Lawton 13, Rebecca Cooper 12, Sophie Kershaw 12, Bethany McKnight 12, Leah Worthington 11, Lyra Holmes 11, Tegan Shaw 11 and Matthew Smith 11.
(Last year the top three were Sophie Q, Ben L and Oonagh M)
Just like the last two years, the girls beat the boys with an average of10.2 pbs per swimmer compared to 8.2pbs for the boys. Well done to the Girls!
SUMMER FUND RAISING SWIM
This year 90 swimmers (and parents) competed in the fun event to raise money for the club in what was an excellent competition. A record total of £2,300 – a big thank you to Steve Shilley who raised over half of this! - was collected and well done to all the swimmers in Callum Quigley’s winning team.
CHARITY HANDICAP KNOCKOUT
This year we had 35 swimmers entering the knockout which was the 17th year we have held the event. Sponsor money is still being raised during December and this year we are raising money for Reubens Retreat and the Young Oncology Unit at Christies.
This year’s final was between Matthew Weekes and Ronin Giron. It was second time lucky in the final for Matthew as he overcame a deficit of 13 seconds to pip a gallant Ronin for the trophy. Along with sem-finalist Aimee Dean, Ronin recorded 3 personal best times in the tournament which was a superb achievement from both.
SPECIAL MENTIONS
Congratulations to the following swimmers, who have attended every single gala the club has competed in during the season (20 in total up to and including 7th Dec)
Hannah Smith, Olivia Bell, Sophie Kershaw and Joshua Saxon.
Ben Haughton and Michael Haughton – for the second year in a row - and Sophie Quigley for the third year in a row!
An excellent effort from both swimmers and parents I’m sure you will agree.
FINALLY
As ever, a big thank you to all those who help with the running of the galas, from taking money on the door, setting up the equipment, scoring, announcing, the runners, raffle donators, timekeepers, those who send up, look after the blocks, takeovers and those who cheer on the swimmers.
As I am sure you all appreciate though, we do need as many parents and senior swimmers to continue to help out in gala’s whenever possible.
Unfortunately this year in particular has proved more difficult than ever to enlist help. PLEASE REMEMBER, WE NEED ASSISTANCE TO MAKE THE GALAS TAKE PLACE. If you do not currently get involved and wish to take a more active role, please see me or any of the coaches (this will be much appreciated!)
I have often said this, but I have no doubt that we run the most professional galas of all clubs and they nearly always run without a hitch.Thanks for your support from both myself and the swimmers and I look forward to this continuing in the future.
And don’t forget swimmers, these are your trophies we have won this year. If you want to take these to school assembly and show off your achievements – please ask!
Mark Clough
Team Manager
December 2014