To all the swimmers and parents who are not able to attend splash nite tonight.
Have a nice summer break.
Training resumes after the break on Monday 06/09/2010
 
The Otters team were outstanding in the gripping final Micro League gala for this season. They got off to a flying start winning 6 out of the first 8 relays, this was followed by some strong individual swims, with the boys encouragingly taking several first place spots.  The gala was rounded off with a fantastic cannon which Otters led from the start.  Otters won with 147 points, 8 points clear of second place Chorley. Otters have finished the league in overall second place, 4 points behind Lancaster and firmly in the A Division promotion swim offs.  The Swim offs will be at Blackpool Palatine on Saturday 11th September - make a note in your diaries!  Full results can be found on the Members' page.
 
Last session before the summer holidays.
Monday 19/07/2010  6.30 to 8.00pm.
This is a fun night, so bring your inflatables and have a good time.
 
Club AGM - Park Pool  15/07/2010 8.00pm 
If you wish to attend the above meeting, I would be grateful if you could respond to my email no later that 8.00pm on Tuesday 13/07/2010, so I can make the necessary arrangements.
Eric Turton - Club Secretary

Club Gala 3 IM & F/S - results now on Members' page & swimmers' personal swim records.
 
The junior squad swam at the Clitheroe Micro League gala on Saturday 3rd July. A strong start in the relays gave Otters first place after 12 events, in what proved to be a close fought competition.  A strong home team then took the lead by 2 points, after 24 events and extended their lead from then on. Unfortunaterly despite further strong performances Otters were unable to catch them and finised second, 4 points behind winners Clitheroe.  With one gala remaining we are 136 points off a second place promotion Swim off spot (one point more than the team gained at the Clitheroe Gala) - so with everything to play for.  Results now on members' page
 
 COLSC Summer Sprints 26 & 27th June - Otters' results now on members' page. Congratulations to the medal winners - Rachel Turton - 2 golds; Harry Thompson - 2 gold, 2 silver; Eleanor Cantwell - 1 silver; Hannah Kelsall 2 silver, 1 bronze; Rebecca Thompson 3 silver, 2 bronze & Emily Spencer 1 bronze. Particularly well done to the swimmers who were competing for the first time in a 50m pool - Abigail & Holly Rylance, Emily Spencer, Rachael Thompson, Nathan Birch & Ben Smith & who frequently exceeded their short course PBs. The Otters finished a very commendable 8th out of 34 clubs taking part when the combined scores are taken into account.
 
Club Gala Monday 3rd July - the club will be holding the last of this year's preliminary galas.
Warm-up will be at 6.30pm
The strokes will be Individual Medley & Freestyle 
The gala is open to all members aged 8 and above by 31.12.2010 & all swimmers should make every effort to attend - we are a competitive swimming club & the coaches use the results of the internal galas to assist team selection & to assess training requirements.
Unlike the Club Championships in November there is no need to register in advance to compete - you can just turn up and swim on the night.
There will be no normal training on the 3rd and any young swimmers who are ineligible to swim are welcome to attend the appropriate session on Sunday 2nd as an alternative.
 
Tadpoles League 2010 - held at Everton Park on alternative Fridays commencing on 3rd September this is an excellent introduction to Open competitive swimming for 9-12 year olds.  Details and entry forms can be found under the galas link on the right & entries need to be with Bob before the summer break.  If you're interested please sign the regisration sheet at the front desk.
 
Liverpool Penguins MacMilllan Gala Sunday 20th June - Otters finished a very creditable fourth in this enjoyable annual charity gala, against eight teams from across Merseyside.  The team put in some excellent performances, but without doubt the highlight for the Otters was the girls 8x25m cannon - Otters were in a strong second place after three lengths when Emily Spencer brought them into pole position. From then on we never surrendered our advantage, going on to win by a comfortable margin and securing the Derrick Lodge Memorial Trophy for the club cabinet. Results now on Members' page.
 
 
 Micro Gala Saturday 19th June - it was nip and tuck all the way through this nail-biting gala.  After 12 events Otters lay joint second, just one point off the lead, which Otters then assumed after the very next race. However Lancaster & Blackburn were constantly snapping at the Otters' heels; with the competitors being so evenly matched there was no let-up - every race counted. The teams hearts were in their mouths when we were DQ'd for a faulty takeover in a relay close to the end, but at the finish the team had done enough to secure top spot, in this our home gala and first outright win this season.  Most importantly we were able to compete in each race and didn't have to declare any events, which would have been suicide.  The winning margin was just six points over second placed Lancaster and only eight points seperated first and third places.  Every member of the squad played their part and a particularly big thank you goes to those swimmers competing in their first competitive team gala.  Results now on Members' page.
 
ASA NW Age Groups Week 2 - Serena qualified for the finals of both 100m f/s & 200m back & Harry for the finals of both the 200m & 400m f/s. Congratulations to all four swimmers who took part.
ASA NW Age Group Championships - the Otters can be justifiably proud of their achievements in the first weekend of the competition -  Serena Rimmer qualified for the finals of the 400m IM & 400m F/S finishing 8th & 5th respectively and Rebecca Thompson and Hannah Kelsall qualified for the final of the 100m Back, Becca finished 7th & a huge well done to Hannah who scooped bronze with a PB of 1.17.98, just shy of an NQT.  Harry Thompson swam in the winning COLSC 200m F/S relay team, who are now in sight of the Nationals.
The club swimmers' results are now on Members' page.
 
Otters swimmers were in action over the Bank Holiday weekend at the Inter Association Competition in Bury. 6 Associations took part - Bolton, Central Lancs, Cumbria, Liverpool & District, North Midlands & North Lancs - drawing their squads from their own age group competitions earlier in the year.  Two swimmers represented each squad in every event, in two heats of six.  Individual points were aggregated to determine the winning team. Anna Hulme, Amy Sinclair & Rebecca Thompson swam in the North Lancs squad and Grace Houghton, Serena Rimmer & Harry Thompson the Liverpool & District team.  The standard of swimming was excellent & in a close fought competition North Lancs secured top spot with a four point victory over 2nd place Liverpool & District. Our swimmers results can be found on the Members' Pages.  
 
Club Gala 24.05.10 - results now on Members' page & individual swimmers' swim times.
 
North Lancs Swim League - Sat 22 May - in our final gala in this year's league, Otters again came joint second alongside Preston B, thanks to a tremendous final canon which Otters lead from the start. There were some excellent performances from the squad, particularly when swimming up. Otters are currently third out of the six teams in the league with one remaining gala to be swum not involving Otters. Results on Members' page.
 
N Lancs Swim League - Saturday 15th May - Otters were able to field a full squad for the third gala, hot on the heels of finishing in 4th place midweek in Blackpool, as a result of having to cede races. After 12 events Otters were again worryingly fourth, trailing Leyland by 2 points, however the team dug deep and pulled back to 3rd place after 24 events. A photo finish in the final canon gave Otters 2nd place and crucially sufficient points to place us joint second alongside Clitheroe.  Well done to all the swimmers.  Results on members' page.
 
North Lancs Swim League - results of Blackpool gala now on members page
 
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