Lakelander's Celebrate End of 2018/19 Season
24 Jun 2019
Enniskillen Lakelanders Swimming Club held their annual End of Season Gala last Sunday 23rd June. This event not only marks the end of the club's 10 month season, but is also is an opportunity for all swimmers from Beginners to Seniors to compete side by side with exhibition and fun events followed by annual presentations and the coveted Coach's Cups.
This year the Lakelanders have 17 swimmers qualified for the Irish Age Groups Division 1 in Dublin and Division 2 in Limerick, a staggering 13% of club swimmers. Throughout the End of Season Gala, everyone from beginners to parents were treated to an exhibition of top level athletes competing together for bragging rights and demonstrating the results of all their long hours of training and competing.
Events 1 to 18 ran smoothly, a list of medal winners in each event is posted below. The penultimate event was the much anticipated “Fast Skins” where the fastest 6 girls and the fastest 6 boys swam head to head until the winners are the last standing. Ellie McCartney claimed the winners cash prize after an exciting final with Anna McDade. The fastest boy was Ben Lynch after a nail biting and loud final with Oisin McManus.
The final event of the fun gala was the “Mother of all Relays”, with every swimmer taking part and thus ensuring every swimmer went home with a medal. The modest Ben Lynch led his team to claim the Gold Medals, Oisin McManus’s team the Silver Medals and Ellie McCartney’s team taking the Bronze.
CLICK HERE TO SEE FULL RESULTS FROM THE END OF SEASON RACES
A special reception was held in the Devenish Room with refreshments for all competitors, spectators and volunteers. As this was the Gala to mark the end of the season, the Coaches Cups for special recognition throughout the year were awarded to the following swimmers;
CUP WINNERS
Group A - Ellie Dunlop and Luke Lannon
Group B - Emilie Reihill and Frank Buchanan
Group C - Ellie McCartney and Luke Aiken
Group D - Lewis McCartney
The Coaches Award is a special trophy presented to the swimmer whom the coach wants to recognise as having trained the hardest and set the best example throughout the season. This year’s coaches cup went to Isobel Lannon.
The scores were totalled up and the swimmers in each age group with most points accumulated from the days swimming and were awarded trophies as follows;
Age 8 - Emma Spear
Age 9 - Beth Jones and Luke Lannon
Age 10 - Ellie Dunlop and Michael McGowan
Age 11 - Jamie Lannon and Kate McDade
Age 12 - Anna Cairns and Hayden James
Age 13 - Anna McDade and Frank Buchanan
Age 14 & over - Ellie McCartney and Oisin McManus
The cup for Outstanding Contribution to the Club went to Maebh Dolan, a young club member who spent many hours helping to train beginners throughout the season. Special mention also went to Lauren Tracey and Cora Cassidy who also give their spare time to help the Beginners.
As with every gala hosted by the Lakelanders Swimming Club, the event was marshalled and run by a cohesive team of committee members and volunteer parents ensuring no-one missed their races and the event started and finished without a hitch. As a reminder of why everyone works so hard to make Enniskillen Lakelanders Swimming Club a fun and enjoyable facility for children and young people, this event was the perfect showcase.
In her opening remarks to the assembled members at the reception in the Devenish Room, club Chairperson Sara Lannon paid tribute to the efforts of parent volunteers who not only made Sunday's event possible but who are there throughout the year giving their time generously to help the club provide the outstanding service it does for the local swimmers.
She also applauded club coach Aaron Rickhuss, Saying: 'having joined the club midway through the season Aaron has had a fabulous impact on the training environment and is respect universally by swimmers and parents alike. With 13% of swimmers currently qualified for the National finals in July, Aaron can be proud to know his results speak for themselves'. Sara also gave a special mention to Claire Morris, the clubs Foundation Coach, who volunteers her time to help every younger member starting out with the Lakelanders find their feet..or rather their fins.
Finally Sara paid tribute to the club committee, Frances Rolston Bruce, Aideen Speer, Ed Mooney, Noel Mc Manus, Sinead Lynch and Sharon Morrison, saying 'these are the people who spend many hours of their spare time working in the background to ensure the club works to its best and they truly deserve our credit and our thanks'.
To close the event and the reception Noel Mc Manus, Gala Secretary called all 17 National qualifiers to the front of the room for 3 cheers from the rest of the members and to wish them all the best at Div 2 finals in Limerick and Div 1 Finals in Dublin this coming July...Go Lakelanders!
- 13 Jul 2025Lakelanders Sparkle at National Championships in Limerick
Enniskillen Lakelanders Swimming Club were well represented on the National stage at the 2025 Irish Age Group National Championships at the University of Limerick Sports Arena last week. Six young Lakelanders’ swimmers joined almost 700 swimmers from over 100 clubs competing over four days of exciting competition. - 06 Jul 2025Enniskillen Lakelanders will be well represented at Summer National Competitions
With the 2024/2025 swimming season coming to an end, the finale for the competitive swimmers from Enniskillen Lakelanders is the Irish Summer National competitions. There is great excitement among the 6 Lakelanders swimmers who have qualified to compete at the Age Group Championships in Limerick.
Thursday 10th July sees the start of the 4 day Irish National Age Group Championships for swimmers aged 14 and under in the UL Sport Complex at the University of Limerick. Six Lakelanders have qualified to attend, two of whom are competing at this level for the first time. - 29 Jun 2025Enniskillen Lakelanders Celebrate Season Successes
Enniskillen Lakelanders Swimming Club held their annual End of Season Gala last Saturday 28th June. This marks the end of the club's a very different 10 month season swimming in two counties across the FODC council. The gala is an opportunity for swimmers across all groups to compete side by side and a fun relay to round of the event. - 22 Jun 2025Medals and PBs galore for the Lakelanders at Summer Gala in Lisburn
Swim Ulster’s Swim Festival 2025 took place in Lisburn's Lagan Valley Leisureplex on Sunday the 22nd of June.
A squad of 18 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers, along with Head Coach Fionna Orr, made their way to Lisburn for the event. - 08 Jun 2025Medals and PBs for Lakelanders at Banbridge Open
Banbridge Open Long Course Meet took place in Craigavon’s South Lakes Leisure Centre on Saturday the 7th of June.
A squad of 13 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers, along with Head Coach Fionna Orr, made their way to the fabulous South Lakes Leisure Centre long course (50m) swimming pool for the final club meet of the season for the older swimmers. This meet provided the final opportunity for competitive swimmers to qualify for Swim Ireland's Irish Summer National competitions. As a bonus Banbridge swimming club had extended their invitation to clubs from all over Ireland. The chance to achieve qualifying times and compete against the best in Ireland was too good to miss. - 07 Jun 2025Young Lakelanders fought fierce battle with Lecale in AquaSprints Final
A team of 39 young swimmers from Enniskillen Lakelanders ASC travelled to the Lagan Valley LeisurePlex in Lisburn last Friday to compete in the A final of this year’s Forest Feast AquaSprints League.
The event saw the young Lakelanders compete in a head to head battle against a strong squad from Lecale Swimming Club, while Swim Belfast and Olympia battled it out in the Division 4 B final, making the night a double event. - 01 Jun 2025Lakelanders success in Bangor
Seven Enniskillen Lakelanders' swimmers travelled to the Aurora Complex in Bangor to race at the Ian Wright Memorial Gala at the weekend. - 18 May 2025Young Lakelanders give Lecale a tough battle for Aquasprint League Round 3
A team of 35 young swimmers from Enniskillen Lakelanders ASC travelled to Downpatrick on Saturday to compete in the third meet of this year’s Forest Feast AquaSprints league.
The annual Swim Ulster competition offers an opportunity for younger swimmers born between 2017 and 2012 to race over 25m sprints in all four strokes, in both individual and relay events.
The young Lakelanders who recently moved to Omagh for training following the closure of their home pool in the Lakeland Forum, took on the battle against Lecale with gusto. - 04 May 2025Quartet of Ulster titles and a slew of medals & PBs at Ulster LC Champs
A squad of 12 swimmers from Enniskillen Lakelanders Swimming Club attended the Ulster Age Group and Senior LC Championships at the Bangor Aurora Leisure Complex on 2nd, 3rd & 4th May. Competitors from across 32 clubs in Ulster met the tough qualification standards to take part in this key meet over three days, targeting Ulster podium spots, and those important Summer National qualification times. - 19 Apr 2025Lakelanders light up the NAC at Irish Open
Swim Ireland’s Irish Open Swimming Championships started on Saturday (12th April) at the Sport Ireland National Aquatic Centre in Dublin. The 5-day event saw over three hundred swimmers from over fifty clubs compete for National titles in thirty-four individual events. The competition saw twelve Championship Records broken as well as three Irish Senior and four Irish Junior Records across the five days of racing as swimmers aimed for places on Senior National Teams. This meet is also the first opportunity for athletes to qualify for the Regional and National programmes for the 2025-2026 season. Three swimmers from the local Enniskillen Lakelanders swim club attended the prestigious meet keen to compete with the best in the country and witness some of the top swimmers the world in action.
Follow Us
