Club of the Year 2007  We would like to nominate Blackburn Centurions ASC for the club of the Year in the Sports Council Awards 2007.  In recent years the measure of the competitive success of the Club has been in counting the growing number of National Qualifiers but this year’s competitive performance of teams and individuals has eclipsed previous seasons’ records and has consigned that yardstick to the recycle bin.    The season started with a record number of younger swimmers and personal best times at the North Lancashire Age Group Championships and the Lancashire County Championships and ended with the performance team’s highest ever finish in the National Speedo League in the modern era.  The months in between saw an extraordinary and remarkable development of performance by individuals and teams which is all the more amazing given the difficulties experienced following the departure of the Chief Coach and the Community Coach in the first quarter of the year.    However the remaining coaching staff led by the indefatigable Senior Club Coach, Gavin Butterworth stepped up to the plate.  Gavin with his energy, commitment, humour and expertise galvanised the swimmers and teaching and coaching staff to heights previously unknown which include record numbers of National Qualifiers, finalists, medallists, international honours and recognition of true Olympic potential.  The Club’s own Championships provided four Galas over the year at which all members, young and old, inexperienced and “elite”, were able to compete together and develop personal competitive skills and team bonding under the “House Points” scheme that resulted in the Stickleback team emerging victorious for a second year.   The Micro League of the North West Team (9 – 12 year olds) produced 5 gala swims over the year that saw them finish in a highest ever third place – this being a wonderful achievement and reflecting great credit on the swimmers and their sadly departing Team Manager and Coach, Peter Howarth.  The National Speedo League Team (11 and under to Open) capped off a fantastic series of individual and relay performances over the closing months of the year by finishing in a magnificent 8th overall position in the North West Region which is a remarkable result for a club of our size and was a fitting send off for that team’s departing Team Manager and Coach, Peter Walsh.  It is in the viewing of club members’ amazing individual performances and their status and ranking positions that the success of the club will ultimately be gauged this year and it is already resulting in the recruitment of a growing band of elite performance swimmers (including two National Medallists) who wish to take advantage of and contribute to the clubs burgeoning reputation, e.g. Lauren Maudsley, Anna Hopkin, Megan Davis and Lucy Davis.  In the early part of the year swimmers’ best performances resulted in the attainment of qualifying times for various championships later on in the year and recognition for representative honours.    The British Championships held at Manchester in April saw two members, Joshua Walsh and Rob Harrison competing well and attaining invaluable experience for the future.  The North West Regional Youth Championships and Age Group Championships in Spring and Summer again saw record numbers of qualifiers and personal best performances that far exceeded expectations.    However, it was the ASA National Finals in July that saw perhaps the most significant evidence of the clubs progress.  A record number of swimmers, 12, qualified for these Championships at Sheffield :-  Luke Marriner, Alexandra Perry, Kaitlin King, Jeyda Akin, Joshua Walsh, Robert Harrison, Andrew Martin, Ben Edwards, Jordan Theaker, Elizabeth Undrell, Amy Orrell and Elliot Smallwood.    This talented group of swimmers produced two National Champions:  Joshua Walsh (15/16 years) – in 400 freestyle Jordan Theaker (13 years) – in 800 and 1500 freestyle  with Joshua Walsh achieving a Bronze Medal in 800 free and Joshua Theaker achieving Silver Medals in 400 freestyle, 400 IM and 200 IM   and with other Finalists: -  Kaitlin King (two events) Andrew Martin (two events) Luke Marriner (relay) Elizabeth Undrell (two events) Ben Edwards (two events)   The mid-summer also saw International recognition for three members – Alexandra Perry, Charlotte Edwards and Ben Edwards being selected for the Great Britain squad completing in the Catholic Student International Games in Hungary.  Outstanding individual performances there led to numerous Medals and Records being achieved.  National Final performances resulted in Kaitlin King and Joshua Walsh being inducted into the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence programme (AASE) – a two year scheme operated by the ASA designed to assist senior swimmers to achieve their potential and to stay in the sport.    We also saw the publication by British Swimming of the 2012 Targeted Training Squad, a group of 115 athletes with potential for London Olympic podium success, which amazingly includes three Centurions swimmers, Joshua Walsh, Robert Harrison and Andrew Martin.  It has to be hoped that the close attention that they will receive leads to continued development and the fulfilment of their goals.  There are obviously other young tremendous talents within the club who can force their way into similar recognition in the years to come.  National 800 freestyle Champion, Joshua Walsh who was whisked away by British Swimming for a month during November and December to take part in a concentrated training and competition camp in Perth and Brisbane, Australia, a real measure of the swimming hierarchy’s recognition of him as an athlete of outstanding potential.  Josh Haworth had tremendous success at the National Down Syndrome Championships this year winning silver in the 25m butterfly and the 100 Individual medley, having already represented Great Britain in the World Championships in Dublin during 2006.  This has been a competitive year of unparalleled success for Blackburn Centurions, an achievement that deservedly rewards the hard work and commitment put in by everyone at the Club.  Out of the pool Club members have also worked tirelessly, contributing significantly to the success of the Club.  We had to apply for reaccreditation against our Swim 21 approvals but before this could be done we were required to follow new ASA guidelines, which demanded that we update our Constitution. This was completed after much effort and the revised Constitution was accepted and authorised by the ASA. We were then able to rework and submit the Swim 21 application with the help of Pauline Pick from Swim Northwest. It successfully passed both Regional and National ASA Committees and we were one of the first Clubs in the UK to be reaccredited, which was and is a tremendous achievement and one of which we can all be proud.  The second quarter of 2007 involved the Club managing in partnership with the Schools Sports Partnership the Blackburn Primary Schools Swimming Gala’s. Two Semi Finals and a Final later they had proved to be a big success, with many Head Teachers and families complimenting the Club for managing the “best ever” swimming gala that they could remember.   During the year our Website has been completely replaced and continues to have more features added almost on a monthly basis. It is a superb resource and source of information for our members and prospective swimmers.  A Biathlon Section has also been established within the Club this year. We now intend to compete as a Club in a series of Biathlons during the course of 2008. Biathlons are “fun” events in that swimmers can just have a go no matter what standard they swim/run, and there is no pressure to achieve anything other than having a good day out. They will provide variety to our competition programme and improved fitness levels for those wishing to take part and we are in the process of establishing a formal link with Blackburn Harriers to provide Athletics training, which will support both our Swimming and Biathlon programmes.  Currently we have no Head Coach at Blackburn Centurions therefore all the remarkable achievements outlined above have only been possible because of the dedicated group of volunteers who freely give their skills, time and energy to the Club.  All these factors in our view would make Blackburn Centurions worthy winners of the Club of the Year Award and indeed highlight achievements that the whole of Blackburn can be proud of.