Simone Ellson - B&M Girls Captain for Inter-Association Team 2016

Simone Ellson heads the way as girls captain for this year's Bolton & Manchester Team at the Inter-Association event which takes place at the end of June.  10 Pioneer swimmers have been selected to represent the Association for 2016.  Well done to you all!

Bolton & Manchester Team 2016

Para Swimmer Ethan competes with the best in Glasgow!

12 year old Pioneer 79 Para-Swimmer, Ethan Naisbitt competed in Glasgow at the British Para-Swimming International Meet recently.  The competition was also being used for selection of swimmers to compete at this year’s Paralympic Games in Rio.  This was Ethan’s first taste of competition at this level and to compete as our only Para-Swimmer, it was extremely exciting but also daunting at the same time for him!  Ethan’s progress over the last 12 months has been incredible, having only started competing around 18 months ago, his confidence has grown twofold and the fact Ethan has been able to adapt to competing at both disability and able bodied events has been amazing.  Ethan, this season, has also secured a place on both the ‘North West Disability Swim Squad’ - entitling him to extra coaching at Manchester Aquatics Centre and also the ‘England Spotlight Talent Programme’ - where he attends training sessions giving him valuable input from some of the country’s top Para-coaching staff, it also enables him to compete at various competitions under the Talent Programme.

At this particular competition, Ethan was competing in the ‘Open’ age group, so for him as a 12 year old to be within grasp of any medals would be an almost impossible task; Ethan’s main aim was to produce new personal best times, and come away from the competition with some valuable experience.

Ethan competed in 3 events during the week, his first was the 100m Freestyle, entering a time of 1.26.57 - he smashed his personal best time to produce a time of 1.22.18.  This time placed Ethan 74^th overall in the competition on ‘points’ – however in his Disability Category (S9), he finished 16^th.  In the British Junior age group rankings (up to 17 years), Ethan is now ranked 13^th in the UK and 2^nd in the NW.

His next event was the 100m Backstroke.  His entry time of 1.39.93 seemed rather slow after producing a phenomenal new personal best time of 1.33.84, knocking over 6 seconds off in his heat!  Ethan finished 62^nd overall in this event, however in his Disability Category (S9), he was 13^th.  Ethan’s new personal best time places him in an incredible 10^th position within the UK and 2^nd in the NW in the British Junior age group rankings.

Ethan’s final swim came on the last day of competition, entering a time of 39.33 for the 50m Freestyle, he went on to ensure a 100% pb rate at this competition, finishing in a time of 37.78!  Ethan finished 74^th overall and 18^th in his Disability Category (S9), placing him 15^th in the UK and 2^nd in the NW in the British Junior age group rankings.

Hadley Whitehead, Ethan’s Coach commented on his performances over the week:  “It has been a privilege to be here at Tollcross International Swimming Pool in Glasgow to encourage, support and nurture Ethan over the past week.  Ethan, as the second youngest S9 swimmer at this competition, has been incredible both in the pool and on poolside - his ability to produce excellent swims at this level, and to come away with a 100% personal best time improvement is brilliant.  Ethan is a credit to himself, his parents’, and the club, he is always polite and his bubbly personality enables him to overcome many obstacles, including having to be squeezed into his racing jammers!  I would like to congratulate him on his success this week, and I’m sure if he continues to improve as he is doing, his dream of competing in the Olympics will possibly one day become a reality!”

Ethan’s mum, Ann commented on social media: “we are extremely grateful to everyone back at home for their continued messages of support, encouragement and congratulations for Ethan, it has been a fabulous experience for him, and we are extremely proud of his achievements this week”.

Pioneer 79 Sealife Sleepover 2016

Another event organised by our fabulous Social and Fundraising Committee this year was the Sleepover at The Sealife Centre, Trafford Centre.  The event was yet again successful, with spaces snapped up rapid... We even had a 'reserve list' this year!  From what I've heard, everyone had a great night, although I don't think much 'sleeping' was undertaken! Everyone returned bleeryeyed, however thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  A special thank you goes out to all the organisers and volunteers who had a very 'sleepless' night....

Mini League 2016 - Round 3

Pioneer 79 Swimmers were on top form in Wigan recently where they took on Swinton and Wigan in Round 3 of the Bolton & Manchester Mini League Competition.  After a mix up on start times, with us and Swinton turning up an hour earlier than required, our young 9-12 year old swimmers were ready for action when the competition started!

The Bolton and Manchester Mini League consists of 13 teams from around the area.  These teams are drawn into Groups of which there are 4.  Pioneer 79 this year were draw in to Group C along with Swinton and Wigan.  Each team hosts a ‘home’ gala and the points are added up throughout the rounds where an A and B Final will take place in September at HorwichLeisure Centre. 

After Round 2, Pioneer 79 were lying 1st in their group with 162 points, Swinton 2nd with 147 points and Worsley 3rd with 123 points, so with a slight lead that could be quashed at any time, Pioneer 79 needed to swim their socks off to ensure a spot in the A Final in September.

With many of the selected team unable to make it on the night, swimmers were drafted in from lower ages to swim up an age group and they coped extremely well.  It was undoubtedly a close battle between the 3 teams throughout the evening, with a number of disqualifications for each,unfortunately, the announcement system was not working, so there were no interim results announced.  

At the end of the evening, the points were called out, as expected, it was very close.  In equal 2nd position, were Swinton and Wigan with 54 points, and Pioneer 79 were declared the winners of the final round with 61 points.

With all 3 rounds of this league now complete, we await to find out which final we will be competing in September.  Team Manager, Andy Armstrong congratulated the whole team on their performances, and also their supporters for their continued support and encouragement from the spectatorsgallery.  He admitted that both he and the Coach, James Thompson honestly didn’t expect to win this round, however, as always consistency paid off.  Every swimmer did themselves and the club proud! Well done to everyone and here’s to the final in September.’

Mini League 2016 - Round 2

Worsley Leisure Centre was the venue for the Round No.2 of the 2016 Bolton and District Swimming & Water Polo Association’s Inter-Club Mini League recently.  The competition which consists of 13 teams, is divided into 4 ‘Groups’ (A, B, C and D) Pioneer 79 are competing in Group C for 2016 against Wigan and Swinton.  There are 3 preliminary rounds for Group C this year, with each Team hosting a round at the venue of their choice (usually their home training pool).  Each round contains 30 set events and all preliminary rounds must be completed by May of that year.  After the 3 preliminary rounds, the club with the most accumulated points from each group (A,B,C and D) will qualify to compete against each other in the ‘A’ Final.

The aim of this event is to introduce younger swimmers, aged between 9-12 years into the sport of competitive swimming - working together as an individual but also as part of a team, by accumulating points for each event.  For many swimmers this is their first real ‘taste’ of competing against competitors from other clubs and is extremely exciting to take part in. 

The results for Group C after Round No.1 were:  Pioneer 79 – 101, Swinton – 86, Wigan – 77, however with many of our Pioneer 79 swimmers away in Sheffield competing at another competition for Round 2, our Mini League swimmers had some tough swims ahead of them.  

After 10 events, the points were:  3rd - Wigan (15points), 2nd Pioneer 79 (20 points) and 1st Swinton (22 points), after 20 events, the top spot had changed:  3rd Wigan (33points), 2nd Swinton (39 points) and 1st Pioneer 79 (42 points).  With the battle for top team ‘hotting’ up, the final 10 races were extremely exciting, the Girls 10 years 4x25m Medley Relay took victory over Swinton in a time of 1.21.60 (the team consisted of Izzy Martin, Anya Pedley, Georgia Eccles and Daisy Moss).  With Pioneer swimmers finishing 2nd in 9 of the final 10 races, it was bound to be a very close finish overall.  As the final positions were announced, everyone waited with baited breath; 3rd were Worsley with 46 points, then in joint 1st position were Swinton and Pioneer 79 with 61 points each.  

Team Manager, Andy Armstrong commented on the teams efforts, congratulating them all as many of them swam up to the next age group to cover gaps and many others competing in their least favourite strokes.  For Amelia Walsh, turning 9 the week before the event and having just joined, she overcame her fears and did a fantastic job assisting the two 9 year girls relay teams to victory!  It was truly a gutsy Round from all involved, and as we go into Round 3 leading the Group, I’ve everything crossed for another great result.  Well Done!

With our usual Team Coaches away at a meet in Sheffield, Hadley Whitehead was drafted in to assist, he commented “what a great competition, we had fabulous swims from everyone involved, including many incredible come backs on the relays and each and every swimmer battling it out to the final stroke.  I was extremely impressed with the level of commitment from all involved, especially from those whose goggles had come off at the dive and they continued through to the end, this is amazing Team Spirit coming through from a very young age. Congratulations to you all”

As Pioneer go on to compete in the 3rd and final round, they lead with 162 points, Swinton in 2nd with 147 points and Worsley in 3rd with 123 points.  Good luck to all those selected, and fingers crossed we can make it through to the ‘A’ Final which will be held in September this year.

Pioneer 79 Swimmers are successful in Sheffield!

Sheffield’s Ponds Forge was the host pool for the 10th Derventio Excel April Level 1 Meet where 39 Pioneer 79 Swimming Club members aged between 10 and 19 competed over two days.  This competition is well attended year upon year, and attracts some of the best clubs and swimmers in the country.  This year was the largest group of swimmers Pioneer 79 have entered for this competition and between them they did exceptionally well, returning with a bucketful of medalsand personal best times.  The event was a Level 1 competition and within the British Summer National Competition Qualification Window, this allows swimmers to produce times which would hopefully place them within the top 24 in their age-group within their chosen events.  Should swimmers still be placed within the top 24 places at the end of the qualifying window, they will receive an invitation to compete at the British Summer Nationals in July, the next 20 fastest swimmers in each event will receive an invitation to attend their respective ‘home nation’ Summer Nationals, these usually take place either the week before or after the British Summer National Championships.

12 year old Ethan Naisbitt competed in the Multi Disability Class however he thoroughly enjoyed competing alongside the ‘able bodied’ swimmers.  By doing so, he achieved some phenominal results, taking gold medals and setting new personal best times in every event he swam, an incredible achievement.  Ethan’s largest pb of the weekend was in the 100m Backstroke where he knocked an unbelievable 6 seconds off his previous best time that he set at the Lancashire County Championships just 2 months earlier!  His mum, Ann was delighted to see the beaming smile on Ethan’s face after each event, “it was a pleasure to see him so happy, Ethan has worked extremely hard in training to get to where he is now, we never in our wildest dreams anticipated him to swim to this standard when he started with the club just 2 years ago.  The commitment by all swimmers and coaches at Pioneer 79 and the input Ethan himself has received on technique has been incredible.  Ethan’s dream of competing at the Paralympics one day may not be off the cards yet!”

Day 1 Medallists:

Elodie Smallwood – 15/16yrs 200m Individual Medley – Gold 

Ethan Naisbitt – 13yrs 50m Freestyle – MD Gold 

Ethan Naisbitt – 13yrs 50m Backstroke – MD Gold 

Tom Gilroy – 17+yrs 50m Backstroke – Gold

Mia Smith – 10/11yrs 50m Breaststroke – Silver 

Lily Gregg – 10/11yrs 100m Backstroke – Silver 

Katie Hale – 10/11yrs 400m Freestyle – Silver 

Katie Hale – 10/11yrs 100m Freestyle – Silver 

Katie Hale – 10/11yrs 200m Individual Medley – Bronze

Katie Hale – 10/11yrs 50m Breaststroke – Bronze 

Joe Murray – 17+yrs 100m Breaststroke – Bronze 

Elodie Smallwood – 15/16yrs 400m Freestyle – Bronze

Harry Robinson – 12yrs 200m Backstroke – Bronze 

Harry Robinson – 12yrs 50m Backstroke – Bronze

Day 2 Medallists:

Tom Gilroy – 17+yrs 100m Backstroke – Gold

Ethan Naisbitt – 13yrs 100m Backstroke – MD Gold 

Ethan Naisbitt – 13yrs 100m Freestyle – MD Gold 

Elodie Smallwood – 15/16yrs 200m Butterfly – Silver

Eleanor Collin – 15/16yrs 100m Breaststroke – Silver

Elodie Smallwood – 15/16yrs 400m Individual Medley – Silver 

Harry Robinson – 12yrs 200m Individual Medley – Bronze

Harry Robinson – 12yrs 100m Backstroke – Bronze 

Elodie Smallwood – 15/16yrs 200m Freestyle – Bronze

Other swimmers who competed at this competition included:

Beth Hartwell, Baylie Seery-Kelly, Mikaela Shackleton, Simone Ellson, Ellie Perris, Leah Williams, Meghann Leaver, Alice Harding, Ben Makin, Tom Baynes, Ben Turland, Charlotte Collin, Ellie Ward, Mariette Braithwaite, AbiMurray, Ella Williams, Isabel Cockerham, Olivia Nicholls, Ben Makin, Kara Pedley, Rachel Waters, Katherine Waters, Kenzi Ormerod, Ruby Cain, Mia Nobbs, Sam Curran, Isabel Martin and Josh Baynes.

Each and every swimmer that competed in Sheffield did themselves and the club proud.  An endless list of new personal best times were set and for many, this was the first time they had competed at this venue.  We, as a club are extremely pleased and excited to see the results from our swimmers, we have an incredible group of talented swimmers who thoroughly enjoy their sport and this shows with their continuous results and improvements at each competition.

Pioneer Swimmers Invade Harrogate!

It’s been an extremely busy time for Pioneer 79 Swimming Club and competitions.  A large contingent of over 40 Pioneer 79 swimmers travelled just over the border to compete in the Harrogate Spa Gala recently.  This event is very popular and is usually full within minutes of accepting entries.  It was great to see so many young swimmers from the Accrington based Club competing and the poolside packed with a sea of red, black and white kit.  The event, although a Level 3 standard, was split into two levels of competition, ‘A’ Grade and ‘B’ Grade, this encouraged the swimmers who may not usually win medals to return home with some recognition of their hard work and give them a huge sense of achievement.  As well as the unusual layout of Grading the meet, swimmers also competed together in mixed heats of both boys and girls which was also completely different for both the swimmers and parents alike!

The Hydro Pool, Harrogate was jammed packed throughout the full weekend and the blistering heat on poolside and in the galleries was immense, however, after 2 full days of hard competing, the results achieved by our Pioneer 79 swimmers was incredible.  Between them, in the ‘A’ Grade Meet they returned with 32 gold, 30 silver and 34 bronze medals whilst in the ‘B’ Grade Meet another 18 Gold, 13 Silver and 17 Bronze medals were won!  

The swimmers were also aiming to achieve Regional Qualifying Times throughout the event, and our Pioneer 79 swimmers achieved 34 between them.  The most incredible of them all was achieved by 10 year old Katie Hale, who in the 400m Individual Medley, achieved her first ever RQT to enable her to compete in the 11/12 year age category later this month, in doing so, she also walked away with the only ‘Speeding Ticket’ of the competition for our Pioneer swimmers, which means that she was actually ‘Too Fast’ for a medal!! This is a fabulous achievement and we would like to congratulate Katie and wish her the very best of luck at the Age Group Regional Championships.

Our ‘A’ Grade Meet medallists at this competition were:

Simone Ellson(3G,1S), Jacob Gibson(1B), Charlotte Collin(2G,4S), Izabel Forrest(3G,3S,2B), Charlotte Dunn(2G,4S,3B), Grace Holland(1S), Lily Gregg(1B), BalyieSeery-Kelly(2G,1S), Sam Curran (2G,3S,2B), Leah Williams(3G,3S,2B), Matt Sharpe(3G,2S), Olivia Nicholls(2S,2B), Caitlin Armstrong(1B), Beth Hartwell(4G,4S,1B), Mia Smith(1S,3B), Ellie Ward(2G,1B), Ben Gibbs(3G), Kara Pedley(1B), Alishia Heath(1B), Ruby Cain(1S), Tom Baynes(1B), Martha Smith(1G,2B), Isabel Martin(1S,1B), Mia Newton(1S), Jasmin Lahey(1G).

Our ‘B’ Grade Meet medallists at this competition were:

Emily Sharpe(1G,1S), Grace Holland(1S), Anya Pedley(1S), Amy Barlow(2S,2B), Caitlin Woodend(1B), Isabel Martin(1G), Ryan Armstrong(1B), Jake Cooper(1G,1B), Josh Baynes(1B), Rachel Waters(2G,1B), Emily Nuttall(2G,1S,1B), Tom Baynes(1G), Sam Curran(1G), Erin Leaver(1S,1B), Sam Fenton(3S), Amelia Moss(2G), Katherine Waters(2G,1S,1B), Kenzi Ormerod(2G,2B), Ella Williams(1S), Mia Nobbs(1G), Kara Pedley(1B), Daisy Moss(2B)

Coach, Ste Davison commented upon return, ‘I would like to congratulate every one of our swimmers on yet again, another massively successful weekend of racing, including many personal best times, Regional Qualifying Times, we truly are a team full of team spirit, words cannot express how proud of you all I am, the parents’ support over both days was incredible, well done to everyone on yet another successful competition’.

Two Pioneer Swimmers compete at the British Championships (Olympic Trials)

Pioneer 79 Swimmers, Niamh Robinson and Ben Martin, both 16 years of age, competed in Glasgow recently at the British Championships.  This event was being used as a selection event for numerous competitions including the Olympic Games to be held in Rio this summer, the European Championships in London and also the European Junior Championships to be held in Hungary.  Therefore, the top swimmers in the UK were at this event, including world record holder Adam Peaty, Hannah Miley, Siobhan Marie O’Connor, Jazz Carlin and Ben Proud.  However, for the two Pioneer 79 swimmers, their sights were firmly set on achieving qualifying times and perhaps catching the eye of the selectors for the chance of being selected to compete in the European Junior Championships.

Heats were run in the morning sessions, with finals taking place in the evening.  Each event had 3 separate finals, the ‘A’ Final – this was for the fastest 8 swimmers overall, regardless of age in the heats.  The next was the ‘Target Tokyo’ Final,this final was for swimmers born 1997-2000 so the fastest 8 swimmers who fell into these years of birth competed in this final.  The last was the ‘Junior’ Final, this final was for swimmers born 1999-2002, so the remaining 8 fastest who fall into these years of birth competed in this final. 

During the course of this season, Niamh had achieved 5qualifying times and following discussions between herself and Head Coach, Mike Wilson, it was decided that she would swim all 5 events.  Niamh’s first event was the 400m individual Medley.  In her heat, she achieved a marginal pb, successfully qualifying her for the Target Tokyo final.  In the final, she finished 4th.  The next day, Niamh competed in the 200m Breaststroke, her heat time was slightly slower than her pb, however it was good enough to enable her to compete in the Junior Final later that evening.  In her final, Niamh finished 4th.

The next event was the 200m Individual Medley, in her heat, Niamh qualified comfortably for the Target Tokyo Final.   She returned to the pool in the evening and her finished 5th. The last day was Niamh’s busiest, having entered both the 100m Breaststroke and the 100m Butterfly, it wasn’t anticipated the events would be quite so close together, however, Niamh decided that she would be concentrating on the 100m Breaststroke event.  Her breaststroke heat time qualified her for the Target Tokyo Final, but then, less than 20 minutes later without even having the chance to swim down, she found herself behind the blocks again ready to swim the 100m Butterfly, she incredibly finished less than half a second slower than her pb time and she was shocked to find out that she was also fast enough to qualify for the Junior Final later that day.  Niamh and her coach decided that she would swim in both finals, but she should concentrate on the Breaststroke and then to give whatever she had left in the Butterfly final.  Although Niamh’s times were both slightly slower than her heat times, she finished 7th in the Breaststroke and 6th in the Butterfly final.

Ben Martin achieved a qualifying time for the 50m Freestyle event, probably one of the most difficult events to achieve a time for!  His event wasn’t until the 5th day, so he and his family travelled to Glasgow on the 3rd day to allow him time to have a few training sessions in the pool in order to prepare.  Ben's entry time for the event was 24.26, in his heat he had a fantastic swim, smashing his qualifying time to finish 40th overall. Unfortunately Ben just missed out on the Junior Final by 0.14 of a second.  He was disappointed to have been so close to reaching the final, but was pleased with the fact he had managed to set himself a new personal best time at such a prestigious event.  

The support back home for both Pioneer 79 swimmers was phenomenal; training sessions were paused whilst finals were being swum, club swimmers watching the action on the live streams on tablets, phones and laptops. Both swimmers where inundated with messages of support through personal texts, emails and social media.  The club is extremely proud of the achievements of all our swimmers, and to have swimmers competing at this level, within grasp of competing for Team GB is incredible.  We would like to congratulate both Niamh and Ben on their achievements and wish both them and all other swimmers at Pioneer 79 all the very best in their quest to compete at the British Summer National Championships which will take place in July/August this year.

Jazz Carlin makes a 'Masterclass' impression on two of our younger swimmers

Whilst at the British Swimming Championships (Olympic Trials) watching fellow team mates Niamh Robinson and Ben Martin compete, 11 year old Beth Hartwell (B Squad) found herself being interviewed live on the big screen in TollcrossInternational Sports Centre!  The interviewer, former Paralympian Kate Grey picked 2 children from the crowd (of which Beth was one) to take part in a quiz, live on air!  The quiz was an ‘instant knockout’ and between them both they had to name as many Olympic Sports as possible, without duplicating…. If a sport was duplicated that person would be knocked out and the other would win a very special prize, the winner plus one other person would get to take part in a masterclass session taken by Olympic Swimmer Jazz Carlin.  

As you can imagine, for Beth to win this prize would be incredible and she would undoubtedly remember the experience for a very long time!  After a few minutes of naming the different sports, the young boy repeated ‘Athletics’ that Beth had already mentioned.  Beth was delighted to have won, the only problem was that she was returning home to Lancashire the following day and wouldn’t be in Glasgow on the day of the Masterclass.  Extremely disappointed, Beth’s mum tried every avenue to give Beth this once in a lifetime opportunity, then Beth’s grandparents came to the rescue, they offered to drive her back up to Glasgow on the Sunday to take part!  As Niamh’s brother, Harry was in Glasgow for the weekend to watch, Beth offered the other place to him – they were both extremely excited!

On the Sunday morning, Beth returned to Glasgow with her grandparents and her swimming kit, and met up with Harry in the main foyer.  Both children were given a behind the scenes tour of the pool, they were taken to the calling room and interviewing area before asked to get changed to get in the pool.  Jazz spent an hour with both of them showing them various freestyle techniques and drills that they may find useful in their training.  She also spent time letting both of them ask her questions, get signatures and photos.  Jazz has even requested them as friends on Instagram so she can keep in touch and up to date with their swimming progress.  As she left she told them both that they were exceptionally good swimmers for their age and that Pioneer 79 Swimming Club (which she had never heard of) was obviously a good club!

Beth and Harry thoroughly enjoyed their time with Jazz in Glasgow, they both congratulated her on achieving her Olympic consideration times and wished her the very best of luck in Rio this summer.

Pioneer 79 Swimmers have fun at the Easter Disco

Pioneer 79 Social and Fundraising Committee organised a family disco on Easter Sunday this year.  The event was well attended and everyone had a very enjoyable evening.  During the course of the night, children took part in an Easter egg hunt, disco, party games, the winners of the Easter colouring competition were announced and there was also a large raffle.  Thank you to all that supported this event - the response was fabulous from all the parents, coaches and children that attended - we are hoping to run another disco later in the year.....

Micro League 2016 - Round 2

Pioneer 79 Swimming Club’s younger competitive swimmerscompeted in their ‘home round’ of the Micro League of the North West, at Accrington Academy recently.  The ‘Southern’s Solicitors’ sponsored team for 2016 were drawn to compete in round 2 against Garston, Everton and Carnforth.  Having finished 3rd in round 1, this was going to be a great opportunity for our swimmers to gain as many points as possible in their home pool.

The Micro League is a Nationwide competition, split into Regions, then again into Divisions.  Pioneer are competing in Division ‘A’ (the top division) and they have done for the last 8 years.  The Micro League consists of swimmers competing in 4 age groups (9-12 years) and is held over 4 separate rounds, 4 teams in each round, and consists of a combination of individual and relay events in each round.  In the Micro League, the relays are 25m legs (1 length) and individual races are 50m (2 lengths) except for the 9 year old swimmers who swim 25m individual events.  

The 4 galas take place between February and July, following which, depending on the overall points total in each division, teams may be involved in a promotion/relegation swim off or ‘grand final’in early autumn in order to determine the Champion Team for each Division/Region.  The Micro-League galas are extremely well supported and can be extremely noisy, parents tend to find that ear plugs are a necessity for the final event of each round, the canon, this is an event where the fastest freestyle swimmer in each age group form a relay, alternating male/female consisting of 8 swimmers in each team – without doubt always an exciting race.

Results were announced throughout the evening at 12 event intervals to ensure the swimmers and spectators could keep track.  Pioneer 79 had a great start, taking first place in the first 3 events, the girls 12 years Medley Relay, the boys 12 years Medley Relay and the girls 9 years Freestyle Relay.  At the first announcement, after 12 events and some fantastic swims from our swimmers, the Pioneer parents were surprised to find us lying in 3rd position with 28 points, behind Carnforth(34) and Everton (30) and Garston trailing with 20 points.  During the next quarter, Pioneer stepped it up a gear, with some great individual swims – a phenomenal 25m Freestyle swim by 8 year old Maddison McFadden started the ball rolling winning her race, followed by another great swim by 10 year old Lily Gregg who swam a very strong 50m Backstroke, again taking 1st place.  Baylie Seery-Kelly and Harry Robinson also secured wins for Pioneer 79 in the 12 year 50m Butterfly events.  Mia Newton’s win in the 50m Backstroke was also a great boost and after 24 events, the running totals were:  Garston 46 points, Everton 56 points, Pioneer 63 points and Carnforth 65 points!  We had closed the gap dramatically on the leaders, Carnforth and we could clearly see that we had a chance of clinching the lead in the final half of the gala.

With Pioneer just 2 points behind the leaders going into the final half, 8 year old swimmers Emmie Turland and Ethan Cookson-Burrows continued Pioneer 79’s fine form, winning their 25m Backstroke events.  Just before the next running totals were announced, 8 year old Georgia Eccles too had a fantastic swim in her 25m Butterfly winning by a shoulder length! After 36 events, Garston were lying 4th with 67 points, Everton 3rd with 82 points and the Pioneer 79 parents cheered, when it was announced Carnforth were lying 2nd with 96 points meaning the new leaders were now Pioneer 79 with 98 points.  The final 12 races were bound to be nail-biting!  Straight into event 37, Mia Smith’s 50m Breaststroke win brought confidence throughout the team, with Pioneer 79 taking further wins in both the girls and boys 12 and under 50m Backstroke events.  Before they knew it – they were straight into the final relay events.  

The next 30 minutes saw the lead increase slightly until the 12yr Boys and Girls freestyle relay races, these races raised the roof, the noise levels were incredible as the spectators cheered home their teams.  Again the Pioneer supporters proved to be the difference bringing the girls team home in first place toincrease the lead to 4 points, the boys swam their hearts out and after a great lead out by Harry Robinson, saw Pioneer take the lead and hold on through Jake Cooper and a fantastic swim by Stevie Hacking, to hand over to Sam Curran for the final leg.  A strong solid swim by Sam saw Pioneer win in what was an undoubtedly close race, although Sam’s dad was seen with his hands over his eyes and missed most of the last length! Pioneer put up a good fight, winning 4 relays and finishing 3rd in 3.  The final event of the night was the mixed canon, this is where 1 swimmer from each age group, both boy and girl swim 25m freestyle.  The outstanding winners in this event were Carnforth, however the battle for 2nd and 3rdplace was extremely exciting, the noise created on the poolside and in the spectators gallery was electrifying, Pioneer pipped Everton on the touch and finished 2nd. 

As the final results were calculated, the teams congratulated each other - there was a lot of uncertainty within the building as to which team would clinch top spot.  Eventually, the results were announced; 4th were Garston with 85 points, 3rdwere Everton with 108 points, then, there was a pause..... Carnforth had finished 2nd with 132 points and Pioneer 79 had won with 136 points!  

This win, when added to the points we achieved at the previous round, puts Pioneer 79 in 6th position in the Division A Leader-board.  Pioneer’s next round is on 18th June 2016 at the Dunes Splash World in Southport.  We have drawn another tough round, and will be competing against Southport A, Southport B and Preston A.

Team Manager, John Robinson commented on the team’s performance – ‘Well done to all the swimmers this evening in what was a fantastic meet, every swimmer put 100% into their performances, resulting in Pioneer 79 taking a win on the night!  It was extremely close throughout the evening, and after a slow start, Pioneer gained momentum and proved to be the best on the night.  Congratulations also to the Pioneer 79 parents on what was undoubtedly one of the noisiest galas I have ever experienced!  Let’s hope that the support from our parents and determination from our swimmers will take us to another positive result in Southport in June.  Thank you once again to Southern’s Solicitors for their continued support in sponsoring the Pioneer 79 Micro League Team.’