The Shrimps gala is a chance for the younger swimmers at the club to get their first taste of what competitions are like. Held before the Micro League season gets under way, it's a great practice run for those that are to compete this year and also a great opportunity for next years Micro League swimmers. They compete in all 4 strokes against stiff competition from other local clubs. A big well done to all our Mini Marlins that competed in their first gala, they did the club proud. Nail biting and nervous they all showed great team spirit cheering on their team members and conducted themselves brilliantly in their first competitive racing environment. The team were racing by age 7/8 years, 8/9 years. Head Coach Mary Parkinson said “The shrimp’s gala is a chance for the younger swimmers to get their first taste of what competitions are like, it was a long evening and we had some great individual results. It was great to watch and see our future club swimmers”. Well done to all the team: Alex Fitzpatrick, Hannah Astles, George Wilson, Jack Hughes, Piper Stevens, Isabelle Dunne, Theo Sanderson, Rebecca Dunkiert, Masie Owen, Molly Barker, Liam Donahoe, Liam Hardman, Rebecca Rawlinson, Oliver Goldthorpe, Catherine Samways, Katy Henry, Oliver Winter, Lauren Nielson, Kiers Dunstan, Kayden Healey, Sam Walton. The results are attached below.
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The first gala of the year went swimmingly well for us (pardon the pun). Spread over 4 days and 2 weekends this is a massive gala with clubs from all over North Lancashire in attendance. The entry times for this meet can be quite hard to achieve, but this year we had a record number of entrants swimming on our behalf. 27 swimmers in fact entered the gala, 16 boys and 11 girls. They were: Swimming for the Boys: Patrick Pender, Luka Hyam, Connor Stevens, Bradley Astles, Callan Sharples, Stephen Hancock, Jack Dandy, James Highcock, Wil Hawkes, Sam Parr, Callum Pritchard, Scott Beaumont, Mason Barnsley-Fowler, Ben Gibbs, Connah Chadwick and Mike Chadwick. Swimming for the Girls: Elizabeth Woodcock, Maddie Kennedy, Chloe Cottam, Eleanor Anwyl, Megan Ireland, Mariette Braithwaite, Alexandra Highcock, Kelly-Anne Roscoe, Martha Horton, Anna Doughty and Kate Doughty. We saw some fine swims from these swimmers over the course of the gala, and I can't name everyone of note but you've all done us proud and represented your club extremely well. In fact I think it's safe to say that nearly everyone set PB's in most of the events they entered, which is great to see. WELL DONE!
Summary. Overall a very successful gala for Chorley Marlins, 30 podium finishes, immeasurable PB's, great team spirit, a great work ethic and not to mention that we now have over 20 swimmers who have attained entry times for the Lancashire County Championships in March. We couldn't ask for more could we? Keep up the good work and long may these good times last. ![]()
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![]() Chorley Marlins had to take a long trip up the M6 to Kendal to compete in the 3rd and final gala for this years league. We put up quite a fight against the top 6 teams in the league after rounds 1 & 2. The order that you finish in this the final gala is the order that you finish in the league table. Teams competing were in lane order:
it was a good start by Chorley with us lying in 4th place after the first 10 events, which is where we stayed for the remainder of the night narrowly fighting off a late comeback by Preston in the final few races (it made me sweat, I thought they were gonna catch us). The Final Standings were:
Well done everyone who swam on the evening it really was great to watch, and congratulations must go to both Bebington and Wrexham who will now be swimming in Division One. Our annual distance meet is a great chance for all our swimmers to participate in long distance events that normally during the course of the year very few of our swimmers would get the chance to enter.
The Events were:
45 girls and 37 boys entered the events on offer which is a great turn out for what can be an exhausting weekend of swimming. It was a pleasing sight to see so many of our younger swimmers competing in distances that we parents wouldn't consider walking let alone swimming. For instance congratulations must go to our youngest competitor Issy Dunn who at the age of 7 competed in the 200m Freestyle and finished with a very respectable time, definitely one to watch for the future. Well Done Issy. I feel I must also commend the 10 boys and 8 girls who entered the marathon event, the 400m IM, with a special mention for the 4 youngest entrants Chloe Cottam, Lizzie Woodcock, Ryhanna Wilson and Mason Fowler who all did really well. I could go on and on but I feel I have allready :) The results can now be viewed in the ASA swimming Results Page by clicking on the 2 links below: ![]() Well what another great gala in what is turning out to be a fantastic season for Chorley Marlins, it's all down to the hard work and determination of the swimmers, who performed admirably against some stiff competition, and the faultless leadership of our own head coach Mary Parkinson.As you can see from the table above we finished a very credible 2nd with 218 points, which when you see the quality of the competition puts things into perspective.There were some brilliant swims on the night and all the swimmers who took part should be really proud of what they achieved both individually and as a team, WELL DONE EVERYONE. Swimming for the Girls we had: Emily Barclay, Caitlin Thompson, Mariette Braithwaite, Alex Highcock, Megan Ireland, Anna Doughty, Martha Horton, Kelly Roscoe, Caitlin Wilson, Emma Hewald, Elizabeth Undrell, Claire Dixon, Alice Jamieson and Emma Heald. Swimming for the Boys we had: Christian Lawless, Steven Hancock, Callan Sharples, Jack Hardman, Bradley Astles, Ben Gibbs, Alex Walmsley, Jack Dandy, Sam Parr, Tom Gibbs, Oliver Horton, James Highcock, William Hawkes and Connor Stevens. As in the first round we were struggling to make a full squad especially with some swimmers dropping out late on, but with some juggling from Mary and some last minute substitutions we were ready for the off. Things started well with us gaining podium finishes in 7 out of the first 10 events which saw us loitering in 3rd place with 42 points. A further 5 podium finishes in the next 8 events saw us hold onto 3rd place with 77 points, but we had the competition on the ropes in the next 8 events with two 1st's, two 2nd's and four 3rd place finishes to pull us up the table and into 2nd place with 116 points. After 34 events we were still holding on to 2nd place with 145 points and we were still in 2nd after the next 8 events with 181 points but Preston were breathing down our necks and the pressure was on for us to keep finishing ahead of them in the final 8 events. And that's just what we did with 7 podium finishes out of the last 8 events, which were all relays, good for us as Chorley Marlins tend to do well in relay events with some strong team displays. Of course I can't mention everyone here but there are a few special mentions I would like to talk about, and they are the swimmers that not only took part but played a pivotal role in the proceedings. The following swimmers swam in more races than anyone else and finished in high placings, but not just that, some of their races were more or less one after another which is asking a lot for any swimmer. The water had not had time to drain off their bodies before they were on the blocks again, thank you and well done to the following: James Highcock - 6 races in total, five 2nd's and one 1st Jack Dandy - 6 races in total, one 3rd, two 2nd's and three 1st's. Emily Barclay - 7 races in total, two 4th's, two 3rd's, two 2nd's and one 1st. Anna Doughty - 7 races in total, one 4th, four 3rd's and two 1st's. Tom Gibbs - 6 races in total, five 2nd's and one 1st. The main highlight being both James and Anna who competed in the 15 and under 100m Breast and brought home the gold in both, especially Anna who was swimming up and age group as she normally swims in the 13 and under category. The swim of the day though for me must be the best comeback of the evening and that goes to Bradley Astles when swimming the freestyle leg of the boys 11 and under 4x50m medlay relay. On the change over from fly to freestyle we were lying in 4th place when Mary said to Bradley "bring it home Bradley" and that's just what he did with an outstanding swim to bring home the team in first place and 6 points on the board, as well as a PB too. Great swim Bradley well done. A few nervous days wait for the results to see where everyone else in the league finished after the first 2 galas. And here is the league table: As you can see from the table below things are looking good for the 3rd and final round in Kendal. |