Newsletter

Click link for PDF of the newsletter: Newsletter Nov 2015

It is some time since we had a newsletter and it is our intention to produce a newsletter on a regular basis to keep everyone informed about what is happening at the club.

Radcliffe Leisure Centre Update

As many of you know we have had a couple of very difficult years with the closure of Radcliffe pool. However, with the introduction of the pool at Radcliffe Leisure Centre and the announcement by Bury Council of the plan to build a new pool, the future looks bright. Please take time to read the information about the plans for Radcliffe on the council website. Please compete the questionnaire either on line or if you would prefer printed copies they can be picked up at Radcliffe Leisure Centre.   

Annual General Meeting

The Club will be holding its Annual General Meeting on Monday 7th December 2015 at 7.00pm at Elton Vale Sports Club, Elton Vale Road, Bury BL8 2RZ. Please see the notices up on the notice boards at Radcliffe Leisure Centre and Castle Leisure Centre. Come along and find out more about the club. There are vacancies for a Welfare Officer and a Competition Secretary.

Volunteers Required

Please see the additional article about the club volunteers.

Club Christmas Disco

The club is holding our annual Christmas Disco at Elton Vale Sports Club, Elton Vale Road, Bury BL8 2RZ on Saturday 5th December 2015 commencing at 7.30pm. Tickets are £5.00 each, this includes supper. There will be a number of awards to present and the medals from the league galas will also be presented. We have a raffle during the evening and anyone wishing to donate a raffle prize should speak to one of the teachers or bring it along on the night.      

Club Championships

This year’s club championship has been held over until February next year. As soon as we confirm the date we will let you know.

Badge Night

We are going to hold two distance badge days in December.

The first one will be for the senior and junior swimmers on Saturday 12th December 2015 at Castle Leisure Centre during the normal Saturday night training session. This means that we will have to cancel the stages 4, 5, and 6 - 6.00pm - 6.30pm session that night. Sorry for any inconvenience.

The second one will be on Sunday 13th December 2015 at Radcliffe Pool during the normal Sunday afternoon session. Any stage 4, 5 and 6 swimmers from Saturday will be welcome to come down for this session. The senior session for this Sunday will be cancelled but all swimmers would be welcome to come along and try and obtain a distance badge. 

Counters will be needed to help count lengths and any parent who would like to volunteer to count lengths should let one of the teachers know prior to the event.

Christmas Closure

The Club will close during the Christmas period. The last session will be Sunday 13th December 2015 and the club will re-open on Tuesday 5th January 2015. The committee would also like your views on closing during holiday periods. Often class are poorly attended during these periods and there are more teachers than swimmers. Please could you send your views to mevans553@btinternet.com

Sponsorship

The club are looking at obtaining sponsorship to help with our funds. If anyone can help or has ideas on obtaining sponsorship, maybe from local firms, please contact Mark Evans at mevans553@btinternet.com

Water Polo    

Junior Section

Radcliffe Swimming Club has an longstanding tradition of Water Polo and the club are excited to announce that we have re-established the Junior Water Polo section. They will be entering the Manchester and District under 14s league next season. Anyone wishing to register an interest in playing or for further information please contact Ian McKinnon at imck_109@yahoo.co.uk

Senior Section

The senior season has just finished 23 matches in 8 months, plus 3 Tournaments. In the Bolton and District competitions, we were beaten in the semi of the cup competition and in the league we’ve probably finished 2nd. We are still awaiting confirmation.

In tournaments we won one at Fleetwood, came 3rd in the one at Blackpool and 4th in The Ralph Briggs Memorial tournament, which is the one we host.

Squad wise there have been a few changes with a couple of players leaving and some new faces joining us. One player returned after a number of year’s absence because he “misses the game”. Polo is like riding a bike, never forgotten. So if you’re reading this and think you might want to give it another go, come and see us on a Tuesday night at Castle from 8.30 onwards.

It’s great news that our junior section is being re formed. We wish the coaches and players all the best and look forward to meeting the players as they improve and progress.

League Results

This season has been a difficult season as in some age groups we are short of swimmers. However we are working hard to encourage new swimmers to join. Our results and the swimmers’ times for the galas can be viewed on the ‘Members Area’ of the club website. League results for the Central Lancashire competitions can be viewed on their webpage http://www.centrallancs.org.uk/web/new_web/home_page.htm and results for the Manchester and District competitions can be viewed on their webpage http://www.mdswpa.org.uk/

Central Lancashire

Junior League Division 1 – We finished 3rd and will remain in this league next year. We won the 16 years age

group shield, and were winners in the 14 years boys, 14 years mixed, 16 years mixed. We were runners up in the 16 years girls and 16 years boys. 

Intermediate League Division 1 – We finished 5th and will be in Division 2 next year.

Junior Jubilee League – We finished 10th in this league and 2nd in the C Group final.

Manchester and District

Team Programme Division 2 – We finished 5th in the league and 3rd in the final.

Programme A Division 2 – We finished 4th in both the league and the final.

Well done to all the swimmers, our team manager, Rachel Lewis, and all the people who have helped her on the poolside during the season. Thank you, to all the parents who have taken the swimmers to the galas and supported the teams throughout the season.

Club History

Many of you may not know that Radcliffe Swimming Club was formed in 1899. The club has a long and varied history and further details about the long history of the club can be found in the book ’ The History of the Radcliffe Swimming Club from 1899 to 1999’ by Barry Carr, William H Pearce, Jr, Eric Simister and Alan Pearce. Copies of this book are available in local libraries or can be obtained by contacting Mark Evans at mevans553@btinternet.com With the prospect of the new pool it is worth remembering the first pool the club swam at the book notes that the pool was ‘opened and inaugurated by Colonel J.J. Mellor, the Member of Parliament for Radcliffe and Farnworth, on May 6, 199’. The book says the pool, which was located on Whittaker Street, ‘included a 25 yard plunge, or swimming pool, a number of slipper baths for the use of the majority of the town’s population did not have access to a proper bath in their homes, and a vapour room which was a steam room or Turkish bath’. The pool was heated by a coal furnace and the water had to be changed often every weekend!! Hopefully the new pool will be a bit more sophisticated!!   

Santa’s Sleigh

As in previous years the club will be helping Radcliffe Rotary Club with their Santa Sleigh. We are helping on Thursday 17th December and will need a maximum of 12 volunteers to help. We will collecting names a bit nearer the time but if you are free that night please consider joining us.

Website

For updates and information about the club please check our club website at radcliffesc.co.uk

Future Newsletters

We are going to produce newsletters next year and anyone who would like something including in the newsletter can forward it to mevans553@btinternet.com