Twenty eight Southport Swimming club swimmers qualified for the North West Regions (formerly known as the Northern Counties) Age Group Swimming Championships over the two weekends of the 2nd - 3rd and 9th and 10th of June. They were held at the 50 metre Commonwealth Pool in Manchester with competitors coming from the Scottish border down the Pennines to the north midlands including the Isle of Man National Team. This competition is ranked the second biggest in the country behind the National Championships.

Over the two weekends the Southport coaches could never have anticipated what took place. The bulk of the other swimmers swim in council linked squad based clubs with usually two or more full time professional coaches and access to 11 two hour sessions a week, morning and night. The Southport swimmers have access to six sessions per week and no full time coach and no council support. The Southport Team had a large contingent of qualifiers compared to most clubs and was given immense support from the followers.

The swimmers competed tremendously well and placed the Town’s team firmly on the swimming map. In total they won 23 medals and had 42 other finalist. These fantastic results placed the club in overall forth position in the top club award out pointing some of the countries top clubs like City of Manchester Aquatics, City of Liverpool, City of Salford, Wigan Best, and Oldham Aquatics. In the top 14 Club positions Southport were the only non council backed club and the only non full time professional outfit. An outstanding achievement by all the swimmers and in more than one final, four out of the eight competitors came from Southport.

The medal winners were 10yr boys Jordan Macdonald gold 200mts freestyle, 200 individual medley and 100mts freestyle. Sam Delmonte gold 200 Backstroke, silver in the 100mts backstroke, bronze in the 200mts and 100mts breaststroke and 200mts freestyle. Cameron Fenton silver in the 200mts backstroke and 100mts freestyle. 10yrs girls Charlotte Disley silver in the 200mts and 100mts butterfly and 200mts individual medley and bronze in the 400mts freestyle. 12 boys Jack Scott claimed gold in the 100 and 200mts butterfly bronze in the 400mts individual medley, John McNeill won bronze in the 800mts freestyle. 13yrs boys Steven Taylor won silver 100mts backstroke in the 13yr girls Laura Hyland won silver in the 200mts and bronze in the 100mts breaststroke make the national qualifying time on both. Laura Halsall claimed two medals; gold in the 100mts breaststroke and bronze in the 200mts individual medley. All the above made other event finals. Other Southport finalists were 10yrs boys Ethan Williams, Jack Swainson, 10yrs girls Lauren Cheston, Sophie Wilcock and Olivia Petrie, 11yrs girls Catherine Gradwell. 12yrs boys Sam Rooney and Danny Grayson, 13yrs girls Zoe Patrickson and 14yrs boys Jacob Lever. The rest of the team were made up of Jade Forster, Hanna Scarisbrick 10yrs, Jack Delmonte and Joseph Whiteside 11yrs, Natalie Heaney and Liz Simpkin 12yrs and Rebecca Petrie 13yrs.

Special mention should go to Charlotte Disley and Sam Delmonte for coming second in the top North West ten year old swimmer and Cameron Fenton for coming third. A fantasic competition for all the swimmers and the Southport Swimming Club for coming forth in North West of England.