As had happened in previous seasons, Oldham Seals entered the Central Lancs Jubilee and Intermediate Leagues for 2011.

Jubilee Competition

Seals started their Jubilee campaign in March against Tyldesley, Dukinfield and Chadderton at the new Chadderton Pool. A number of the younger swimmers were taking part in their first competitive gala and Seals won the gala by 20 points, a very creditable performance against some established teams.

Round 2 in May saw Seals travel to Radcliffe for a gala against Radcliffe (favourites to win the competition), Bury & Elton and Ramsbottom. Again the younger swimmers got a further taste of the gala experience and a very good performance saw us come second to Radcliffe by only 6 points and 9 points ahead of third placed Bury & Elton (Who we would meet again later in the competition).

Round 3 in July gave us a home tie against Ashton U Lyne, Droylsden and Stalybridge. Seals won the gala by 7 points from Ashton U Lyne and an impressive 41 points ahead of third place Droylsden. The blend of younger swimmers and the experienced older swimmers had put us in a strong position for the final in October.

The draw for the final was unkind to Seals as the four clubs which had the highest number of points (that would make up the “A” final) had at some galas only swam against two clubs instead of three and therefore the points awarded for their results were higher than for those clubs competing against only three clubs. Oldham Seals finished 5th overall which put them as top club in the “B” final against Chadderton, Ashton U Lyne and Bury & Elton. Finishing 5th also confirmed Seals had home advantage. The final took place on 10th October and as expected was very close, the lead swapping and changing with Bury & Elton and it all came down to the final race which Seals won and claimed overall victory by 3 points and earned them the title B Final Winners. The winners shield was presented to the team by Mr John Frazer, President of Central Lancs Swimming Association who was our guest for the evening.

This was a great result and team effort throughout the three rounds and final from a team with a good blend of youth and experience. The younger swimmers will have hopefully gained much gala experience from the competition and this will hopefully stand them in good stead for competing in future competitions.

RESULTS & PICTURE (Insert)

Intermediate Competition

Oldham Seals competed in Division 1 of the Intermediate League in 2011, which consisted of four teams, Oldham, Tyldesley, Howe Bridge and Stretford. Our first intermediate gala saw us travel to Tyldesley in June where a closely fought gala saw Seals emerge as winners with 159 points to Tyldesley’s 157 points. This was a significant victory as Tyldesley are a strong young team and was expected by many to win Division 1. Our second and final gala in this league took place in July at Oldham Pool and was a double header gala against Howe Bridge and Stretford. Seals swimmers again swam strongly and were rewarded with victories against both clubs. This confirmed Seals as Intermediate Division 1 winners for the second year running, a fantastic achievement and well done to all swimmers who competed.

Linda Peake (Head Coach) & John Entwistle (Team Manager)