Burnley Bobcats Swimming Club continue to make waves both in and out of the pool

While the Bobcats continue to punch above its weight at local, regional and national events - with record breaking and medal winning performances - out of the pool they are also making waves.

For the Bobcats have recently merged with Burnley Aquatics to form Burnley Bobcats Swimming club - a move club officials believe will strengthen swimming in the town and surrounding area.

Treasurer Iain Hazell said: “It is something both clubs have looked at and discussed for a while and it is something we are all really excited about.

“The merger will give us a stronger presence and also give us more stability as one bigger club.”

He added: “The key focus of the merger is to offer improved pre-competitive, non-competitive, and competitive swimming opportunities for all ages and abilities.”

Burnley Bobcats Swimming Club is led by a professionally qualified coaching team and the proposed programme is intended to provide increased opportunity for younger aged swimmers to compete in local swimming leagues while also providing a high quality, sustainable and cohesive athlete development pathway for those wanting to progress within swimming to a national level and beyond.

“The focus is not just on those competing at the higher level but also offer an opportunity to young swimmers of all abilities in the local area to come and join us,” added Hazell.

“We are looking to expand and grow and, as result, the club is looking to take on new swimmers for the start of September.

“In particular we would like to hear from children who are at the very start of their swimming journey.”

While the club is looking to help swimmers on that journey, the Bobcats have already played a key role in helping swimmers achieve their potential.

Most notably Tom Hamer, the S14 swimmer who won two silver medals at the Rio Paralympics and only last week broke the 200m freestyle world record at the British Summer Championships in Sheffield.

The club have also produced the likes of Katie Rennolds and Will Bevan who both swam in the Olympic trials.

And while the club now has another talented bunch of swimmers at the club - all working under head coach Noel Horton - Hazell says the time has come to produce the next cycle of talent.

“We are not a very big club, we have perhaps 100 or so swimmers on our books and most of them are under the age of 17.

“So for us to help produce swimmers of the calibre of Tom Hamer, is great to see. Kate and Will are also very good swimmers and we are now focusing on the next wave of talent.”

To underline that fact, the club had three swimmers - Alice Fox, Miranda Bower and Dakota Ravetali - competing in British Summer Championships while Hannah Raistrick, Anna Ashworth and Benjamin Havers-Strong take part in the English Championships, also being held in Sheffield this week.

“These swimmers are taking their first steps in to the major competitions and for some of them it is a learning experience while for others, they will be attempting to reach finals and push on from there,” added Hazell.

“All the age groups at the club have achieved great success through the hard work of the swimmers and the coaching team.

“A solid foundation is being laid at the club to ensure a progressive pathway is forged for all its members.”

Highlights of the season so far have been as follows.

* North West Regional Championships

Youth (15 and over) and Age Group (14 and under) Championships:

The squad competed over multiple weekends at City of Manchester Aquatics Centre with multiple finalists, medals and national qualifying performances achieved by all competing athletes.

The squad, with a small number, achieved a top 12 North West ranking position within the region, coming away with four golds, four silvers and sixbronzes and a North West Regional Age Group Record finishing the highest place club in the East Lancashire area.

Medallists are as follows:

Alice Fox; 800m Free (Gold), 400m Free (Silver), 200m Free (Bronze)

Hattie Varley; 200m Butterfly (Gold), 100m Butterfly (Gold), 50m Butterfly (Silver)

Lucy Turner; 100m Backstroke (Bronze), 50m Backstroke (Gold & NWR Record)

Dakota Ravetali; 100m Breaststroke (Bronze), 50m Breaststroke (Bronze)

Miranda Bower; 200m Breaststroke (Silver), 100m Breaststroke (Bronze)

Hannah Raistrick; 50m Free (Silver)

Benjamin Havers-Strong; 100m Butterfly (Bronze)

* British Swimming Summer Championships

Burnley Bobcats can boast the most age group qualifiers in the area, with six athletes competing over 13 events.

To qualify, swimmers must post competition times within the 10-week qualifying window and ensure they are ranked top 44 in their age group to qualify.

The following swimmers have qualified:

Alice Fox; 200m Free, 400m Free, 800m Free

Miranda Bower; 50m Breaststroke, 100m Breaststroke, 200m Breaststroke

Dakota Ravetali; 50m Breaststroke, 100m Breaststroke

Hannah Raistrick; 50m Free

Anna Ashworth; 50m Breaststroke, 100m Breaststroke, 200m Breaststroke

Benjamin Havers-Strong; 200m Butterfly

The swimmers have all been competing over the past three months in the hope of qualifying for the event, training up to 16 hours per week out of St. Peter’s Centre in Burnley.

The athletes will represent their club in Sheffield during the summer at Ponds Forge International Centre. All swimmers are entering the event in medal positions and hope to achieve Bobcats ADM best performance to date, at the event.

* 12 & Under England Talent Selections

Swimmers William Havers-Strong, Lucy Turner and Hattie Varley have all been selected for the NWR England Talent Programme.

The first of the ASA North West Regional events took place at Liverpool Aquatic Centre earlier this month while Accrington Academy will host one on Saturday, October 21 at Accrington Academy and on Saturday December 30 at Wigan Lifestyle Centre.

The top Ranked swimmers, 18 male/18 female, born 2005 across Olympic pool events as per rankings at June 1 will be invited to attend.

“This is a fantastic achievement to have been able to put so many athletes on the programme, with one of the only clubs in the region to put multiple athletes on the programme,” said Hazell.

“Added to this, our Head Coach Noel Horton has been selected to help lead the programme as a skills coach with five other coaches in the region.”

* North East Lancashire Friendly League

There has been success with the non-competitive squads as well in the North East Lancashire friendly league.

The club has been competing against local clubs Colne, Great Harwood, Darwen and Accrington, and so far have won three out of five of the meets.

The club has also been pleased to see so many of its other younger swimmers continue to develop their swimming skills and transfer these to gala competitions.

Anyone interested in joining the club should contact burnleybobcats@gmail.com for more information.

The club is also keen to hear from any local businesses and organisations in the area who would like to sponsor the club.