January 2018

Date Event
4th The John Dobbin Memorial Trophy was presented to Luke Chew by teachers Andrew Higginbottom and Deryn Ashby.
6th/7th Harrogate DSC Janus A/B Graded Meet 2018

On the first weekend of the year, three swimmers from Colne ASC travelled to Harrogate for the Harrogate District Swimming Clubs' Janus A/B Graded Meet 2018.

Amelia Redfern swimming in the 9 years age group in her first age group competition finished with a best of 3rd in the B Graded 50m Freestyle.

Saskia Daly swimming in the 13 years age group finished with a best result of 3rd in the A Graded 50m Freestyle.

Mia Dodman swimming in the 13 years age group finished with a best result of 5th in the A Graded 50m Butterfly and a 1st in the B Graded 100m Freestyle.
18th Jaycub Watson received the Bramhill Memorial Trophy from teachers Deryn Ashby and Andrew Higginbottom.
20th/21st Rotherham Metro January A/B Graded Meet 2018
There were three members of Colne ASC competing in the Rotherham Metro ASC January A/B Graded Meet 2018 at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheffield.

Amelia Redfern competing in the 9 years age group finished with a best of 7th in the 50m Butterfly which equated to B Grade of 4th place.

Saskia Daly competing in the 13 years age group finished with a best of an A Graded 5th in both the 50m and 100m Freestyle events.

Mia Dodman also competing in the 13 years age group finished with a best of an A Graded 6th in the 200m Freestyle.
25th Cherry Wilkinson Memorial Age Group Gala for January 2018

There was a healthy turn out of swimmers for the January Age Group Gala with 26 boys and 26 girls participating. The majority of the swimmers managed to do all four strokes, which will make them eligible for the June age groups.

The Most Improved Swimmers for January are Daniel Warner (19.65%) and Sapphire Allko (9.40%).

The Most Improved Swimmer Awards for January will be presented week beginning Monday, 5th February.

February 2018

Date Event
5th The Most Improved Swimmers for January

A poolside presentation was made to both Daniel Warner and Sapphire Allko of their Most Improved Swimmer awards. The trophies were presented by Club Secretary Joan Croxall.
13th Friendly League AGM

The Friendly League AGM was held at the Hyndburn Sports Centre after initially being postponed in January due to adverse weather conditions.

Colne ASC submitted two proposals for league amendments and both were agreed.

The first was a change to allow category two swimmers back into the league, but with a stipulation that the swimmer has not achieved a Lancashire County qualifying time for that event and age group. There was a amendment proposed to split the league into a category one and two, but that was rejected.

The second proposal was to reintroduce the 2016 age groups of 9/10, 12 and under, 14 and under, and open. This was accepted with an amendment of a 16 years and under age group.

The two mixed medley relays of 13 and under and open were kept unchanged, but the 8 x 25m canon relay was extended to a 10 x 25m canon relay due to the adding of an extra age group.

Both Pioneer 79 and Ramsbottom were invited to attend, but neither turned up so the league was kept as a single division of 5 teams; Colne, Accrington, Burnley, Darwen and Great Harwood.
28th Swimming Club Cancelled

Due to the adverse weather conditions the swimming club was cancelled for 1st March.

March 2018

Date Event
1st Swimming Club Cancelled

Due to the adverse weather the swimming club was cancelled. The trials for entry to the club were postponed until Thursday, 8th March.
6th Pendle Schools Gala No. 1

The Club's Chairman Philip Croxall along with swimmers Mia Dodman and Grace Barker provided the Pendle Schools Partnership help in running the Schools Gala for Primary Schools.
12th Club Captains

Before the start of the first Friendly League Fixture of the season, the Club Captains were presented with their t-shirts.

The Senior Captains for 2018 are Lewis Fenwick and Eleanor Fuggle.

The Junior Captains for 2018 are Kian Noon and Emily Fenwick.
12th Friendly League

The new Friendly League season started when Colne were hosts to Accrington at the Pendle Leisure Centre. The competition was changed when the rules reverted the age groups back to how they were in 2016 (9/10s, 12 & under, 14 & under and open) along with the introduction of a new 16 years and under age group. The meant that there five age groups along with the 13 and under and open 4 x 50m Medley Relays and a new 10 x 25m Canon Relay which comprised a boy and girl from each of the age groups. This increased the number of races by 8 to 45.

Once the gala started, Colne got into a lead which they were never to relinquish as the provided far too strong for Accrington. This was a big turn-a-round from last season when Accrington won both fixtures.

In the end Colne finished the gala by winning the cannon, and thus the meet, by 78 points to 55.

Over the course of the evening there were 40 new personal bests with 22 amongst the girls and 18 for the boys.

The next fixture is away at Great Harwood on Monday, 16th April
13th Pendle Schools Gala No. 2

The Club's Chairman Philip Croxall along with teacher Deryn Ashby and swimmers Mia Dodman and Grace Barker provided the Pendle Schools Partnership help in running the Schools Gala for Primary Schools.
20th Pendle Schools Gala No. 3

The Club's Chairman Philip Croxall along with swimmers Mia Dodman and Grace Barker provided the Pendle Schools Partnership help in running the Schools Gala for Primary Schools.
21st Financial AGM and Committee Meeting

The finances were accepted and the Club is in a healthy position.

It was decided to give the members a poll on where to go on the Club trip on Saturday, 30th June. It will be either Chill Factore or Lightwater Valley.

New hoodies are going to be provided at £18 for adult sizes and £13 for child sizes. These have been part sponsored by Provincial Engineering and the price includes Club logo and name on the back.

We have been asked by Pendle Twinning Association to provide a team of 7 swimmers aged 12 to 17 for a gala in Creil, France. The trip will be from Friday, 13th July until Monday, 16th July.

April 2018

Date Event
15th Club Trip Survey

We put a survey on both Twitter and Facebook to guage opinion on a Club trip at the end of June. The choices were between Chill Factore and Lightwater Valley.

The were a total of 24 votes cast and the results are:
  • 9 votes for Chill Factore
  • 15 votes for Lightwater Valley

This means that we will be organising a trip to Lightwater Valley.
16th North East Lancs Friendly League

On the evening of Monday, 16th April, the Colne ASC team travelled down the M65 to Great Harwood to compete in their first away fixture of the season. The venue was the small 20m pool in the Mercer Hall Leisure Centre, which meant the action was fast and furious.

Colne started the gala poorly losing all 10 backstroke races to give their hosts Great Harwood Otters a fantastic start. After that Colne tried to peg back the lead, but it was in vain as Great Harwood held on and won by 72 points to 63.

It was a creditable performance by the Colne swimmers, but home advantage for their hosts proved to be a telling difference.

Colne's next fixture is away against Accrington SC at the Hyndburn Sports Centre on Monday, 30th April.
19th Trophy Secretary

Mrs Soo Warner agreed to become the Club's new Trophy Secretary
21st On Saturday 21st April 2018 the district had organised an event at the Academy in Accrington to try and get the North Lancs education programme up and running. Mark Ennis and Andrew Croxall attended, along with two swimmers aged 11/12: Emily Fenwick and Thomas Holgate.

The NL Swimming & Development Committee had asked former Olympian Michael Rock of ('Rockstar Swimming' - www.rockstarswimming.co.uk) to run a swim clinic with the aim of encouraging teachers and coaches to actively get involved and start discussion around a more informal event rather than a swim meet. Michael had very kindly agreed to pitch a clinic at swimmers whilst the volunteer teachers / coaches worked alongside the Head Coaches from each club, of which a talk had taken place to the Head's and volunteers after the clinic.

The focus was on two strokes, fly and freestyle, with a few different drills and demonstrations, underwater work/fly kick and turns.
30th Friendly League

The Colne ASC team travelled down the M65 to the Hyndburn Leisure Centre, Accrington to take on Accrington Swimming Club.

The gala started off positively for Colne as they won the ladies 100m Individual Medley, but then Accrington hit back and won the gents race, after that it was fairly nip and tuck through the backstroke and butterfly races, with Colne edging ahead. Then mid gala there were the mixed medley relays, in which, Colne won both. Following that Colne started to stretch their lead and ended up winning the contest by 76 points to 58.

Over the course of the evening the Colne swimmers attained 39 new personal bests with 20 amongst the boys and 19 for the girls.

Our next fixture is away at Darwen on Monday, 21st May, with a 7:15pm warm-up for a 7:30pm start.

May 2018

Date Event
12th Yorkshire Masters Championships 2018

The Yorkshire Swimming Association's Masters and Senior Age Groups Championships 2018 were held at the John Charles Centre for Sport in Leeds.

There was a solitary representative from the Colne ASC Masters Team taking part. Philip Croxall was swimming in the 45 to 49 years age group and was taking part in his first competition since the World Masters Championships held back in August 2017.

Philip's first swim was the 100m Butterfly, in which he won his age group in 1:14.07, which was his fastest time since 2011. Next was the 100m Backstroke where he finished 2nd in 1:25.72.

In the afternoon session he finished 2nd in the 100m Breaststroke in a time of 1:23.32, and followed that up with a 4th place in the 100m Freestyle with a time of 1:04.27. This was his fastest since 2015.
19th General Data Protections Regulation

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Policy documents were added to the website.
21st North East Lancs Friendly League

On the evening of Monday, 21st May, the swimmers from Colne ASC travelled the length of the M65 to the Darwen Leisure Centre to take on Darwen SC.

Once the gala started, Colne got off to flyer winning the first six races, then it was nip and tuck for a few races as Darwen and Colne traded wins. By the mid point Colne won both mixed medley relays, then continued to stretch their lead through the Breaststroke and Freestyle races.

In the end Colne won the final mixed 10 x 25m freestyle relay and with that beat their hosts by 73 points to 59.

During the course of the evening the Colne swimmers managed a further 25 personal bests with 12 amongst the girls and 13 for the boys.

Colne's next fixture is against Burnley Bobcats at the Padiham Leisure Centre on Wednesday, 27th June.

June 2018

Date Event
24th Inter-Association Gala

Colne had a single representative in the North Lancs team at the Inter-Association Gala held at the Palatine Leisure Centre in Blackpool. Charlotte Leigh was swimming in 14 years age group in both the 100m and 200m Breaststroke events.

Charlotte finished 6th in the 200m Breaststroke in 2:55.76 and 6th in the 100m Breaststroke in 1:21.16.

The North Lancs finished in 3rd place with 1301.5 points behind winners Liverpool and District on 1558 points and Manchester and District on 1364.5 points. Cumbria finished in 4th place with 1059 points.
27th Friendly League Fixture

The team travelled to the Padiham Leisure Centre to take on Burnley Bobcats in our final away fixture of the season.
It proved to be an even contest as each team traded wins, but gradually with 8 races to go, Burnley had eased out to a 4 point lead. Then Colne strung a series of wins together as they won the next 6 freestyle races, before winning the final 10 x 25m canon relay. This enable Colne to win the close contest by 67 points to 65.

During the course of the evening the young Colne swimmers managed a futher 26 new personal bests, with 5 amongst the girls and 11 for the boys.

Colne next fixture starts the final sequence of 3 consecutive galas at home, with Great Harwood first up on Thursday, 13th September.
28th Cherry Wilkinson Memorial Gala for June

There was a smaller turn-out than usual, which was caused by England playing in World Cup and school activities, but those that did swim put in honest endeavour.
30th Lightwater Valley Club Trip

A group 37 swimmers and family members travelled to the Ligthwater Valley Adventure Park for a day of fun.

It took a long time to get there due to Blubberhouses being shut, so we arrived just 10:30am. Once there the kids (and adults) disappeared into the park. When spotted on any of the rides, photos were taken, but unfortunately not everyone had there photo taken.

The day ended once everyone was back on the coach by 4:45pm, which meant it was after 6:30pm when we arrived back home.

July 2018

Date Event
1st The Most Improved Swimmers for January are Niall Metcalfe (15.44%) and Amelia Redfern (10.09%).
5th Most Improved Swimmer

The Most Improved Swimmers for June Trophies were presented to Amelia Redfern and Niall Metcalfe by Club Coach Andrew Croxall.
14th Cheshire County 2018 Sprint and 400m Freestyle & IM Championships

On Saturday afternoon, whilst England were playing for 3rd place in the World Cup, one member of the Colne ASC Masters team travelled to the Grand Central Pool in Stockport for the Cheshire County Masters Sprint & 400m Freestyle & IM Championships 2018.

Philip Croxall competing in the 45 to 49 years age group finished 3rd in the 50m Backstroke, the 100m Individual Medley, the 50m Butterfly and the 50m Freestyle, and was 5th in the 50m Breaststroke.

August 2018

Date Event
2nd Last Swimming Club session before the summer break
22nd The Club updated it's SwimMark Accreditation submission for approval at the Swim England National Council.
30th Swimming Club Resumes after it's summer break.

September 2018

Date Event
13th Friendly League

The Colne ASC team returned to action as we hosted Great Harwood Otters in the first of three home galas in the North East Lancs Friendly League.

The gala started well for Colne as we won the first four races, before Great Harwood responded with eight wins in a row as they dominated the backstroke events. It was honours even during the butterfly events and the two medley relays that followed. At that stage Great Harwood led the contest by 38 points to 34.

Then Colne started to turn the contest round as they won 8 of the 10 breaststroke races to go into the lead by 52 points to 50 going into the freestyle events, which they promptly won by 7 races to 3. Colne completed our turn around victory when we won the 10 x 25m Freestyle relay to win the contest by 71 points to 64.

Over the course of the evening the Colne swimmers managed 51 new personal best between them, with 30 amongst the boys and 21 for the girls.

Our next and penultimate fixture is on Thursday, 27th September at the Pendle Lesiure Centre against the Burnley Bobcats.
15th Swim England North West Region Council Meeting

Club Chairman Philip Croxall, attended the Council Meeting for the Swim England North West Region held in the Holiday Inn Express at the Leigh Sports Village.
16th Lancashire County Masters Championships 2018

Two members of the Colne ASC Masters team travelled to the Palatine Leisure Centre in Blackpool to take part in the Lancashire County Masters Championships 2018.

Philip Croxall swimming the 45 to 49 years age group won all his events as he competed in the 200m Freestyle, 200m Backstroke, 200m Breaststroke and 200m Individual Medley.

Tony Catterall swimming in the 70 to 74 years age group also won all of his events as completed in the 100m Individual Medley, 50m Backstroke, 100m Breaststroke, 800m Freestyle, 200m Breaststroke, 100m Freestyle and 200m Individual Medley.
22nd Rotherham Metro September A/B Graded Meet 2018

Two girls from Colne ASC travelled to the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield for the Rotherham Metro A/B Graded September Meet 2018.

Swimming in the 14 year old age group was Mia Dodman who finished with four B Graded times with 2nd in the 200m Freestyle, 8th in the 50m Butterfly, 6th in the 50m Freestyle and 6th in the 50m Backstroke.

Swimming in the 13 year age group was Saskia Daly, who finished with two A Grade times with 8th in the 50m Freestyle and 9th in the 100m Freestyle. She had a further three B Graded times with 1st in the 50m Butterfly, 7th in the 50m Backstroke and 4th in the 50m Breaststroke.
23rd Swim England North East Region Masters Championships 2018

Two members of the Colne ASC Masters team travelled to the Hydro pool in Harrogate for the Swim England North East Region Masters Championships 2018. Medals were awarded using an age adjusted formula per event rather than for each age group in the event.

Tony Catterall swimming in the 70 to 74 years age group finished 2nd in the 200m Freestyle (9th overall), 1st in the 50m Breaststroke (13th overall), 1st in the 200m Individual Medley (4th overall), 1st in the 200m Breaststroke (8th overall), 2nd in the 100m Backstroke (10th overall), 1st in the 400m Freestyle (6th overall), 1st in the 100m Breaststroke (10th overall), 1st in the 100m Individual Medley (8th overall), 1st in the 100m Freestyle (11th overall) and 2nd in the 50m Backstroke (11th overall).

Philip Croxall swimming in the 45 to 49 years age group finished 2nd in the 200m Freestyle (10th Overall), 1st in the 200m Breaststroke (7th overall), 2nd in the 400m Freestyle (7th overall) and 1st in the 100m Individual Medley (5th overall).
27th Friendly League

Colne ASC hosted Burnley Bobcats at the Pendle Leisure Centre, Colne in what was our penultimate fixture of the North East Lancs Friendly League.

The gala started off with Colne winning the ladies medley, and Burnley the gents medley. After that it was an even contest as both teams traded wins through the backstroke and butterfly races. Then it was the mixed medley races with Colne winning the 13 and under race and Burnley the open race. This tied the scores at 36 points apiece.

The second half then saw dominance by the home side, as they won 8 of the 10 breaststroke races and then 7 of the 10 freestyle races, to take them into the lead, with just the 10 x 25m mixed cannon freestyle relay. This race was won by Colne, as they won the contest by 73 points to 62.

Over the course of the evening there were a total of 27 new personal bests for the Colne swimmers with 18 amongst the girls and 9 for the boys.

Our next and final fixture in the Friendly League will be on Monday, 8th October at the Pendle Leisure Centre, when we host the team from Darwen SC. The gala starts at 7pm.

October 2018

Date Event
3rd Annual General Meeting

The new membership and trophy secretaries were confirmed, with Mrs N. Khan becoming Membership Secretary and Mrs S. Warner the new Trophy Secretary. The remaining Club Officials are the same as the previous year.

The Committe has slightly changed with Mr. J. Dodman coming off and Mrs N. Khan joining. The rest of the Committee remains the same.

The Annual Subscriptions have been frozen for another year.
6th Friendly League

Darwen SC inform the Club that they will not be able to fulfill the league fixture on Monday, 8th October. As a result the fixture has been cancelled.

This means that the Club will be a normal session for a Monday.
26th Swim England National Masters Championships 2018. Day One

Masters swimmer and Club Chairman, Philip Croxall was competing in the 45 to 49 years age group for the last time.
He finished the first of his five events, the 200m Individual Medley in 12th place in a time of 2:45.07, which was a season's best.
27th Swim England National Masters Championships 2018. Day Two

Philip Croxall took part in three events on the Saturday, with a new season's best in all three. First up was the 100m Individual Medley where he finished 15th in a time of 1:14.57. Next was the 200m Freestyle, in which he did a 2 year best time of 2:21.25 to finish in 7th place. The third event took part in the evening weher he finished 8th in the 200m Breaststroke in a time of 2:57.84
28th Swim England National Masters Championships 2018. Day Three

On the final day of competition, Philip Croxall took part in the 100m Breaststroke where he finished 14th in a time of 1:19.10, his best time for 2 years.

November 2018

Date Event
12th Betty Petty Style Trophy. Part One.

There were a total of 16 swimmers taking part in the Betty Petty Style Trophy.
They were assessed over two lengths for Backstroke, Breaststroke and Frontcrawl, in which, they had to demonstrate the start, stroke, turn and finish.

The assessment was carried out by Mark Ennis, and the winners will be announced at the Presentation on Saturday, 15th December at the Nelson Cricket Club.
15th Betty Petty Style Trophy. Part Two.

There were a total of 18 swimmers taking part in the Betty Petty Style Trophy, making a total of 34 over the two nights. There was an even split of 17 boys and 17 girls taking part.

The assessment was again carried out by Mark Ennis, and the winners will be announced at the Presentation on Saturday, 15th December at the Nelson Cricket Club.
19th Championship Gala Part One

There was a single record broken over the course of the evening as Charlotte Leigh took almost 4 seconds of the old time for the Girls SC Taylor Shield 11 years and over 100m Breaststroke. It was previously held by her sister Rachel.

There were 13 separate winners across the 24 events with Jack Nevison winning the most with four, with Jack Middleton just behind with three trophy wins. There were six swimmers winning two trophies apiece, namely, Caitlin Harper, Charlotte Leigh, Eleanor Fuggle, Ermita Balnyte, James Henderson and Ruairi Sweeney. The remaining winners were Alicia Higginbottom, Amelia Redfearn, Kian Noon, Lily Hutchinson and Saskia Daly.

The presentation of the trophies will take place on Saturday, 15th December at the Nelson Cricket Club.
22nd Championship Gala Part Two

There were no records broken over the course of the evening, making Charlotte the only record breaker over the two nights.

There were 15 winners of the 24 trophies on offer with Jack Nevison winning five of them. Charlotte Leigh and Lewis Fenwick both won three trophies, with Matilda Critchley winning two.

Winning a single trophy were Amelia Redfearn, Caitlin Harper, Charlie Pomfret, Eden Hughes, Eleanor Fuggle, Ermita Balnyte, George Collins, Jack Middleton, Luke Chew, Mia Dodman and Saskia Daly.

The presentation of the trophies will take place on Saturday, 15th December at the Nelson Cricket Club.

December 2018

Date Event
6th Christmas Sprint Gala 2018

There were two individual and one relay record broken over the course of the evening, with Eleanor Fuggle setting new record times in the 16 years and over 25m Backstroke (16.28) and 25m Butterfly (15.06) events. There was also a new record for the Ladies Parent and Child race, with George Collins and his mum Jackie set a new mark of 36.66.

Sadly there were a few age groups in which no body participated. They were the girls 15 years age group and the boys 8, 14 and 15 year age groups. There was also no participation by any of the parents, which took the some of the fun ot of the event.

The age group winners were for the boys: Sam Sharp (6), Luke Chew (7), Daniel Warner (9), Jack Middleton (10), Eesa Hussain (11), Kian Noon (12), Jack Nevison (13) and Philip Croxall (16+).

The girls winners were: Zoe Blackadder (5), Isla Bracewell (7), Lily Hutchinson (8), Dominica Taylor (9), Ermita Balnyte (10), Isabelle Taylor (11), Emily Fenwick (12), Caitlin Harper and Eden Hughes (13), Saskia Daly and Mia Dodman (14) and Eleanor Fuggle (16+).

The winners of the Parent and Child races were Oliver Jackson and his Grandad Mark and George Collins and his mum Jackie.

The winners will pick up their trophies at the Annual Presentation on Saturday, 15th December at the Nelson Cricket Club.
15th Annual Presentation

It was a cold, dark, wet and windy evening of Saturday, 15th December when we held our Annual Presentation and Disco at the Nelson Cricket Club.

The first two trophies are generally awarded to the swimmers in or have been in the small pool. The first is the John Dobbin Memorial Trophy which is presented to the swimmer who has shown courage in learning to swim. This years winner is Gracie Adamson.

The other trophy is the Bramhill Memorial Trophy which is awarded to the swimmer who has shown the most achievement. This years winner is Declan Higginbottom, who has gone from the small pool to the 2nd lane in the large pool this year.

The Trophies and medals were awarded to the top 6 swimmers in each event from the Championship Galas held in November.

The winners of the Betty Petty Style Trophies were named as Saskia Daly and Ben Middleton. This competition was held on Monday, 12th and Thursday, 15th November and the swimmers were assessed on their ability to demonstrate the start, stroke, turn and finish over two lengths, the backstroke, breaststroke and frontcrawl.

Event 13 of Championship Gala No. 2 saw the Spot-On Competition contested, where each swimmer nominated a stroke and the time it would take to swim two lengths. The winner this year is Eleanor Fuggle who got within 0.06 of a second. Charlotte Leigh finished in 2nd place with a time within 0.15 of a second, with Kian Noon in 3rd place just 0.26 of a second off his time. Eleanor received a cash prize of £20, with Charlotte getting £10 and Kian £5.
For the full results of the Spot-On click here.

The Captains were then named for 2019. The Senior Captains remain the same as last year as Lewis Fenwick and Eleanor Fuggle were named. The Junior Captains were named as Eesa Hussain and Isabelle Taylor, who then were presented with their t-shirts with Senior Captain Eleanor Fuggle.

The final trophy to be awarded was the Two Alberts Trophy for Services to the Club. The winner this year is Cara Taylor.

Finally all the trophy winners and medalists gathered for a group photo before the buffet was opened. Then the DJ got the party started.
17th Poolside Presentations

There were two poolside presentations as the recepients were unable to make it to the Annual Presentation

Caitlin Harper was presented with the Girls Rita Guy Rosebowl for 50m Butterfly, the Girls Centenary Trophy for 50m Backstroke and the Girls Seed Ford Trophy for 50m Freestyle in the 9 to 13 years age group.

James Henderson was presented the Boys Learners Length and the Boys Dowling Shield for 25m Backstroke in the 8 years under age group.
20th Last Club Session of 2018