ASA Northern Zonal Meet

Three Otters competed at Pond’s Forge, Sheffield in the ASA Northern Zonal (North of England) meet on 27/28 Jan.

The North’s best swimmers were there, many of the older swimmers looking for qualifying times for the British Championships and Olympic Trials



In the 15 and Over Women’s age group Rachel Ritchie (15), competed in the 50m Freestyle, 100 and 200m Breaststroke

With long course PBs in 100 Breast (1.12.28) and 200 Breast (2.37.48), Rachel reached the finals of both events, putting in a fantastic performance to win silver in the 100.

Unfortunately she had to withdraw from the 200 final because it was so late.



In the 16 and Under Men’s age group, Alasdair Fairhurst (16) had a cracking weekend, achieving then beating PBs in heats and finals.

100m Freestyle(55.35) and narrowly missing a final’s place in a dramatic swim off

100m Breaststroke (1.09.59) finishing 5th in the final



Also competing in the 16 and Under Men’s age group Josh Thompson (13) had a good weekend, competing in the 100m and 200m Breaststroke. Logging a time of 1.12.17 in the 100m Breaststroke, he progressed to the final with Alasdair, finishing 10th





Josh, Alasdair and Rachel all clocked long course NQTs in the 100m Breaststroke. Rachel also logged her time in the 200m Breaststroke.

Storming start to the season for Otters

The first weekend of the North Lancs Age Groups was a great success for the Otters.



There were some fantastic swims across the whole weekend, resulting in 104 personal best times and 36 prestigious badges for podium places.



Swimming against some tough opposition in all age groups, the Club was well represented, including swimmers in every final.

From the 9 year olds, competing for the first time, to the older, more experienced swimmers, there were many County and Regional qualifying times achieved.



Swimmers competing over the first weekend:





9 years:

Hannah Ritchie, Thomas Dugdale



10 years:

Amiee Banks 1st 50Free; 2nd 200 Free, 400 free, 50 Breast, 100 IM

Tom Horner 3rd 50 Back

Ffion Ashton, Alex Livingstone, Sadie Spencer, Max Gleadow



11 years:

Aime Turner, Charlotte Dent, Matthew Brown



12 year olds:

Jessica Shatford, Jason Hillis



13 year olds:

Kirsty Fairhurst 2nd 100 Fly

Isabelle Brown 2nd 100 Back

Toa Smith 3rd 400 IM

William Ritchie 3rd 100 Breast

Josh Thompson 1st 200 Breast, 200 Free; 2nd 100 Free

Emily Atkinson, Shannon Nicholson, Lydia Westbury, Michael Sallis



14 year olds:

Sian Spencer 2nd 100 Back

Lucy Johnson 3rd 100 Fly, 800 Free

Danny Davies 2nd 100 Breast; 3rd 200 Breast, 400 IM

Chloe Banks



15 year olds:

Rachel Ritchie 1st 100 Breast, 100 Free, 200 IM; 2nd 50 Fly, 200 Fly, 800 Free; 3rd 400 Free

Sam Timpany 3rd 400 IM

Ellena Clarkson, Josh Hillis



16 year olds:

Steph Spencer 1st 200 Back; 3rd 50 Breast, 200 IM

Andrew Hepworth 3rd 100 Back

Chris Horner 2nd 50 Free

Becky Townend, Michael Bellamy



17 year olds:

Bill Timpany 1st 100 Fly

Sophie Walker



18 year olds:

Beau Smith 3rd 200 Free, 800 Free

Winter Open Regionals 3/4 Dec

There were some fantastic swims across the weekend's programme most of which produced some great PBs and some world class times:

Ellena Clarkson (14) 50 Back

Rachel Ritchie (15) 50, 100, 200 Breast, 50, 100 Free, 50, 100 Fly, 200 IM

Silver medal in 16 & U 50 Breast (Silver in Open)

Gold in 100 Breast (Gold in Open)-new championship record!

Stephanie Spencer (16) 50, 100 Back, 50, 100 Free

Sophie Walker (16) 50, 100, 200 Free, 50, 100 Fly

Women's Medley Relay Team Silver

Sophie Casson, Sophie Walker, Steph Spencer, Rachel Ritchie

Josh Thompson (13) 50, 100, 200 Breast, 50 Free

Alasdair Fairhurst (16) 50, 100, Breast, 50, 100 Free, 200 IM

Silver medal in 16 & U 100 Breast (4th in Open)

Chris Horner (16) 50 Free

Warrington L3 Meet 3/4 Dec

Great swims across the weekend with every swimmer coming home with a haul of medals. There were some excellent times with PBs in almost every event:

Aimee Turner (11)

1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze, 4 speeding tickets

Danny Davies (14)

2 Gold, 1 Silver, 3 Bronze

Lydia Westbury (13)

1 Gold, 4 Silver, 4 Bronze, 1 speeding ticket

Shannon Nichloson (12)

1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze

ESSA National Relay Finals

A number of Otters swimmers represented their schools in the English Schools Swimming Association (ESSA) National Relay Championships in Southampton on 26th November.

Having qualified in the NW Divisional Championships in October, both Ripley St. Thomas HS and LRGS had two teams which qualified for the finals in Southampton

Competing against independent and private schools and the elite swimming school giants Millfield and Plymouth College, all the teams performed magnificently, each one improving their entry times.

Ripley junior boys team- William Ritchie and Stefano Cossuti

12th 4 x 50m Freestyle

Ripley intermediate girls team- Ellena Clarkson, Rachel Ritchie, Becky Townend, Paige Clinton

7th 4 x 50m Freestyle

9th 4 x 50m Medley

LRGS junior boys- Josh Banks, Josh Mapp, Josh Thompson, Matt Livingstone

15th 4 x 50m Medley

LRGS intermediate boys- Sam Timpany, Josh Hillis, Alasdair Fairhurst

9th 4 x 50m Freestyle

9th 4 x 50m Medley

Club Gala 3 19/11/11

A fantastic night of swimming rounded off the year in the 3rd and final Otters Club Gala of 2011. 5 new Club records and an amazing145 personal best performances during the evening made it a true swimming spectacular, finished off with a rip roaring Cannon which went all the way to the final touch.

The younger swimmers were awesome and gave it their all whilst the older swimmers showed true grit in some fantastic 100m Freestyle battles.

The following all achieving PBs of 10 seconds or more:

Kirsty Maher (6), Megan Raynor (8), Matthew Crabtree (9), Sadie Spencer (10), Ffion Ashton (10), Abigail Falcous-Gill (11), Chloe Taylor (11), Allana Jones (12), Molly O'Brien (12), Maisie Wilkinson (13), Sol Kissock (13), Chloe Raynor (14), Danny Davies (14), Mark Mahoney (14)

New Club Records:


Aime Banks (10) 50m Freestyle 32.52

Josh Thompson (13) 100m IM 1.05.90

Rachel Ritchie (15) 100m Freestyle 59.77

Rachel Ritchie (15) 100m IM 1.06.98

Stephanie Spencer (16) 100m IM 1.08.49



Sophie Walker (16) equaled the Club record in the 100m Freestyle

Rachel becomes the 2nd ever female at Otters to swim under 1 minute in the 100m Freestyle!

Blackpool Level 3- Superb Performances

Some superb performances by everyone who competed in the Level 3 North Lancs
Age Groups in Blackpool on 4/5 Nov:


Lydia Shenton (9)
PBs: 100 IM, 50 Fly
Medals: 50 Fly (Silver); 200 Free (Bronze)

Lydia Denby (9)
PBs: 50 Breast, 200 Back
Medals: 200 Free (Silver)

Matthew Crabtree (9)
PBs: 50 Breast, 200 Breast, 100 IM
Medals: 200 Breast (Bronze); 100 IM (Bronze)

Ffion Ashton (10)
PBs: 50 Back, 50 Free, 50 Fly

Amie Banks (10)
PBs: 200 Breast, 200 Fly, 200 Back

Alexandra Livingstone (10)
PBs: 50 Breast, 200 Breast, 50 Back, 200 Back

Richard Mead (10)
PBs: 200 Breast

Amiee Turner (11)
PBs: 100 Free, 100 IM, 50 Fly,100 Back, 50 Free
Medals: 50 Fly (Silver); Several Seeding Tickets

Taeoni Fadeyibi (11)
PBs: 50 Back

Shannon Nicholson (12)
PBs :50 Free, 100 Free, 50 Back, 100 Back, 200IM, 50 Fly, 50 Breast
Medals: 50 Free (Gold); 50 Breast (Bronze); 200 IM (Silver); 1 speeding Ticket

Olivia Clinton (12)
Great swim in 50 Fly

Michael Sallis(12)
PBs: 50 Fly, 100 Fly, 200 Fly, 50 Back, 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free

Lydia Westbury (13)
PBs: 50Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, 200 Back, 50 Back, 200 IM, 50 Fly, 100 Fly, 50 Breast
Medals: 50 Free (Silver); 200 Back (Gold); 50 Back (Silver); 100 Fly (Silver); 50 breast (Gold)
100 Breast (Silver); 200 Breast (Bronze); 50 Fly (Silver); 2 Speeding Tickets


Ryan Denby (13)
PBs: 50 Back

Toa Smith (13)
PBs: 100 Breast, 50 Back
Medals: 200 Back (Gold)

Stefano Cossuti (13)
PBs: 50 Free, 200 Free, 50 Back
Medals: 50 Free (Speeding Ticket); 200 Free (Bronze)

Joseph Hitchmough(13)
PBs: 50 Back
Medals: 100 Back (Bronze)

Lucy Johnson (14)
PBs: 50 Free, 200 Free, 200 Back, 50 Back, 200 IM, 50 Fly
Medals: 200 IM (Silver); 50 Fly (Gold)

Chloe Banks (14)
PBs: 50 Free, 50 Breast

Danny Davies (14)
PBs: 200IM, 200 Breast, 50 Free, 100 Free, 50 Back
Medals: 200 Breast (Silver); 50 Free (Bronze)

Paige Clinton (15)
PBs: 50 Fly

Becky Townend (15)
PBs: 50 Back, 100 Back
Medals: 100 Back (Gold); 50 Back (Gold)

Michael Bellamy (16)
PBs: 100 Breast, 100 Free, 200 Free, 50 Back
Medals: 200 Free (Bronze); 50 Back (Gold)

Hannah Banks Lyon (17)
PBs: 100 Free
Medals: 100 Free(Silver)

Salford Potential Olympians

Six Otters competed at the Salford ‘Potential Olympians’ open event 29/30 October. There were some excellent swims and plenty of PB’s and medals:



9 year old Max Gleadow swam a PB in the 200m Freestyle and won Bronze in the 50m Fly



10 year old Tom Horner put in some solid performances across the weekend winning Bronze in the 50m Breaststroke and 4th places in the 200 Br, 50 Back, 100 Back and 50 Fr.

Tom also got PBs in 3 events



11 year old Jessica Shatford had a great competition swimming in the 11/12 year age group.

Jessica pulled off PBs in every event except one, winning Bronze in the 50m Breaststroke and finishing off with a cracking PB in the 200m Backstroke



13 year olds Toa Smith and Josh Thompson both competed in the 13/14 age group.

Toa had a great weekend getting PBs in almost every event and having a great swim in the 400m Freestyle.

Josh came home with a haul of 4 Gold and 3 Bronze medals having got PBs in 6 events: The highlight was the 50m Breaststroke- at 32.62 the 2nd fastest time ever!



Ellena Clarkson (14) also had a very successful weekend competing in the 13/14 age group.

Ellena got PBs in every event winning Silver in the 50 Back and Bronze in the 200 Back with an excellent time at the end of a long weekend.

Lancashire victory at National Team Championships

13 year old Josh Thompson represented Lancashire for the first time on Oct 16th at the British Gas National County Team Championships held at Ponds Forge in Sheffield.



39 English counties and Welsh and Scottish regions took part, with Lancashire defending the Division 1 title.



The competition is run in two divisions with the top division 1 containing 20 teams. The 50m pool at Sheffield is split into 2 short course pools and the two divisions competing at the same time with staggered starts- exciting stuff!



The country’s top swimmers were out in force, but they were no match for mighty Lancashire who left the other division 1 teams trailing in their wake. Even the closest teams, Yorkshire, Middlesex and Northumberland & Durham were over 128 points behind. This is the 10th consecutive win for Lancashire, but this was by an unprecedented margin.



Josh competed in the 100m Breaststroke and Medley Relay and notched up 2 excellent PBs and a National Qualifying Time!



100m Breaststroke 2nd 1.10.20 National Qualifying Time



200m Medley Relay 1st 1.57.23 50m Breaststroke leg = 32.31

Otters busy in Aquathlons and Triathlon

ULVERSTON TRIATHLON AND AQUATHLON



Several of our Otters were in action recently at the Epic Events Triathlon and the Wigan Tri Club Junior Aquathlon, both held on a very wet and windy Sunday in and around Ulverston, with some superb results.



JUNIOR AQUATHLON



The Aquathlon was the first event of the day, with Sarah Bellamy, Charles Moore, Amy Monkhouse, Ffion Ashton and Lizzie Goodfellow competing in various different events.



The Tristart event (50m swim and 600m run) had both Sarah Bellamy and Charles Moore on brilliant form.



Sarah was first out of 9 entrants in a time of 4 mins 35, 43 seconds faster than the girl placed second.

Charles was first for the boys in a time of 4mins 21 seconds.



In the Tristar 1 girls event (150m swim and 1500 run), Amy Monkhouse and Ffion Ashton were placed 3rd and 4th respectively on times of 10mins 25 and 10mins 28.



In the Tristar 3 event (300m swim and 3km run), Lizzie Goodfellow was placed 3rd with a time of 20mins 40.



TRIATHLON



In the second event of the day, the triathlon, which was a 400m swim, a 28km cycle along the coast road to Barrow and a 7km run along road, trail and the beach, both Robin and Wilf Goodfellow performed exceptionally well.



Robin completed the course in 1hour and 56 minutes and Wilf in 1 hour 47 minutes.



Robin was placed 1st in the Junior Female category, despite being blown off her bike into a hedge twice!



Wilf was 4th in the Junior Male category and a very commendable 71st out of a total of 151 competitors, bearing in mind he was the youngest competitor in the competition