Competition Swimming

at Marple Swimming Club

Marple Swimming Club is a member of two local leagues, the Inter-Town Friendly League, and the Manchester and District leagues.

Inter-Town Friendly League

This league consists of:

Each club swims a home and an away gala against every other club. Galas are divided into Juniors and Seniors sections.

There are trophies for the clubs winning the most Juniors, the most Seniors and the most full galas.

At the end of the season a Celebration gala is held at Grand Central Pool involving all the teams. The trophies for the season are awarded on this night, as well as a trophy for the winner of the Celebration gala, and a handicap trophy for the same gala in which teams are handicapped depending on how well they have done over the preceding season.

Ages for the season are as at 31st December of the first year of the season and do not change in January. The age groups are: 9/10, 11/12, 13/14 and 15+

The great advantage of this league is that clubs can swim A and B teams, thus allowing lots of swimmers to gain competition experience. Only the A team scores points for the gala. Swimmers may swim two individual events and one relay or two relays and one individual.

Manchester and District Leagues

The M&D Association automatically includes all clubs affiliated to Northern Counties ASA and which lie within a fifteen mile radius of Manchester Royal Exchange. Clubs further afield may be elected as members.

Each of these gala series is split into a number of divisions, with promotion and relegation between them.

In each division there will be seven or eight teams. Each team will swim in one home and three away galas with four teams competing in each gala. Thus, a club will not swim against the same opposition each time, but each team will swim the same overall number of galas.

Points are scored in each gala and these are totaled at the end of the season to give the league placings. There is also a final for the top six clubs in the division with a trophy for the winning team and medals for both first and second place teams.

The competitions run from January to July with the finals in September or October.

Programme A

This has three age groups; 9/10, 11 and 12/13 and consists of two or three divisions.

The gala programme includes individual events and relays and swimmers may take part in two individual events and all relays.

Programme B

2001 was the first year Marple competed in this league for some years.

Programme B has two age groups, 13/14 and 15+, it contains individual events of 4 lengths (100m) and relays. Swimmers may take part in two individual events each and all relays.

Team Relay

This has three age groups: 9/10, 11/12 and 13/14.

All the events are relays. Swimmers may take part in four events each plus the Cannon relay.

For more information about competition swimming at Marple, contact us!