 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.
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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.  A superb weekend of swimming from the Chorley Marlins swimmers. What a weekend it was in Blackpool, we had 36 swimmers representing Chorley Marlins at the event, and phew what an event it turned out to be. Out of those 36 swimmers we had:
Not to mention the numerous PB's that were smashed as well, and also we had some County Qualifying times too. Everyone who entered deserves to be congratulated on doing yourselves and the club proud. Swimming for the Boys: Connor Stevens, Luka Hyam, Mason Fowler, Ben Hughes, Bradley Astles, Callan Sharples, Dominic Lewis, Stephen Hancock, Tom Mainon, Adam Parkes, Callum Pritchard, Ben Gibbs, Oliver Darby, Connah Chadwick, Sam Parr, Alex Walmsley, Jack Dandy, Harry England, Oliver Horton, James Highcock and Tom Gibbs. Swimming for the Girls: Charlotte Lavin, Rhyanna Wilson, Maddie Kennedy, Elizabeth Woodcock, Chloe Cottam, Eleanor Anwyl, Sian Ormesher, Caitlin Wilson, Alex Highcock, Kelly-Anne Roscoe, Anna Nikolakis, Louisa Brophy, Hannah Lavin, Martha Horton and Rhiannon Crist. The results sheets are attached below. 
 A fantastic team swim for Chorley Marlins in the first round of the North West National Arena League Gala.
On the 8th October 2011 Chorley Marlins took part in the opening round of the NW Arena League. Even though the squad were missing some swimmers and with the addition of a few swimmers new to the rigors of the tough Arena League competition, it was a brilliant display with some great performances both in the relays and individual events. The Team Line Up: Bootle & North Liverpool Bury & Elton Chadderton Chorley Marlins Lancaster City Wrexham Swimming for the girls: Caitlin Thompson, Mariette Braithwaite, Alex Highcock, Megan Ireland, Anna Doughty, Martha Horton, Kelly Roscoe, Caitlin Wilson, Rhiannon Crist, Emma Heald, Millie Greenslade, Emily Barclay, Lizzie Undrell, Claire Dixon, Polly Greenslade, Holly Sofield. Swimming for the boys: Callan Sharples, Stephen Hancock, Adam Parkes, Bradley Astles, Ben Gibbs, Alex Walmsley, Jack Dandy, Sam Parr, Tom Gibbs, Harry England, Daniel Jump, James Highcock, Christian Lawless, Will Hawkes. That night in Salford at the Broughton pool we witnessed a great evening's entertainment with Chorley Marlins taking an early 2nd place after 10 events and then continuing to swim strongly to maintain that second place all the way to the end, and to do that with a depleted squad of 14 boys and 16 girls for 50 events is impressive to say the least. Usually a swimmer would probably swim in 3 or 4 events but Mary the Head Coach had to do an incredible juggling act to make the numbers up, and this resulted in some swimmers taking part in 5 or 6 events sometimes almost one event straight after the other. I must point out that some swimmers were asked to not just swim in their own age group events but also to swim in events above their age group, to do this is asking a lot but then for those swimmers to bring their 'A' game and actually get podium finishes or indeed winning those races is phenomenal, I take my hat off to you all Well done. It was really good display by all those that attended, but Jack Dandy gets my Man of The Match award with some excellent swims to win 3 out of the 4 events he was entered into. Saying that though the race of the evening has to go to Tom Gibbs for stepping up into the Open 100m Fly, against some competition that more resembled a block of flats than 18 year old boys, and then to go about destroying these behemoths was a joy to watch well done Tom. Also of note was the 11 and Under girls squad of Caitin Thompson, Mariette Braithwaite, Alex Highcock, and Megan Ireland, who must get a special mention for the fact that they not only won both the medley and freestyle relay's but they also won 3 out of the 4 individual events (50 Fly, 50 Breast, 50 Free) with a 3rd place finish in the backstroke. What a very strong 11/U team of female swimmers we have. Girls well done to you. Overall we were really strong in the relay's were 15 out of 16 events saw us finish on the podium (1st 2nd or 3rd), and in the individual swims we had 28 podium finishes out of 34 events. The Final Standings: Wrexham 250 Chorley Marlins 237 Lancaster City 183 Bury & Elton 131 Chadderton 122 Bootle & North Liverpool 85 Mary Parkinson, the Head Coach said "the fantastic attitude and team spirit shown by our swimmers was absolutely amazing and I'm really looking forward to the next round in November". Once again Well Done to all those involved there were some inspired individual swims and also some key team displays, keep up the hard work in training because it is paying off and we as a club are so proud of you all. K. Sharples (Vice Chair) |
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