North Lancs Gala at Palatine Pool

Winners at Palatine

Preston Swimming Club will be happy with the amount of speeding tickets they picked up at the final North Lancs gala of the season.

Many youngsters got the tickets for blatantly breaking the speeding laws at Palatine Pool in Blackpool.

But this isn’t a case of the traffic wardens gone power mad.

The level three gala imposes time limits to events, so swimmers with personal bests faster than these times cannot enter. But those who swim personal bests on the night and break the speed limit are rewarded with speeding tickets as a certificate of their achievement.

However, these swimmers cannot take medals in the event – that it is left to those who stay within the allowed time, to scrap it out for gold, silver and bronze.

For Preston, Jack Smith got two tickets, first in the 12 years 200m individual medley. Jack Bridge (13) and Mitiku Turnbull (14) also picked up tickets in their age groups. Smith then broke the limit in the 12 years 100m breaststroke, in which with Matthew Greenslade won silver. Greenslade did strike gold in the 12 years 50m breaststroke, while Jack Bridge added to his speeding ticket tally in the 13 years 100m freestyle and the 200m backstroke.

For the 14-year-old boys, Turnbull finishing in silver medal position and Joshua Watson bronze in the 50m freestyle. Turnbull also took silver in the demanding 100m butterfly, and Watson silver in the 50m backstroke.

Nine-year-old Toby Seers beat the time limit in the 50m breaststroke and butterfly and the 100m individual medley.

Ethan Fielding, nine, picked up two speeding tickets and two gold medals. He was caught speeding in the 50m backstroke and 50m freestyle, with Andrew Davison also picking up a ticket. Davison picked up another ticket in the 200m freestyle, in which Fielding picked up gold. Fielding’s other gold came in the 50m breaststroke, with Davidson taking bronze, as he did in the 100 individual medley, before taking gold in the 200m breaststroke.

Harry Holden, 10, picked up a ticket in the 50m backstroke. His brother Jack , 13, picked up a ticket in the 100m butterfly, and won two gold medals in the 50m and 200m breaststroke. Holden also took silver in the 100m breaststroke.

Jamie McLauchlan, 13, picked up four gold medals – in the 100m butterfly, the 100m and 200m freestyle, and the 100m backstroke. He also picked up a ticket in the 200m breaststroke.

Another to pick up a ticket and medals was 12-year-old Freddie Carter. He picked up a ticket in the 200m backstroke, and a bronze medal in 200m individual medley and 100m Butterfly

For the girls, Laura Joyce, Sophie Laurence and Faye Birch received two tickets each, while a number of others also picked up tickets and gold medals. Joyce’s ticket came in the 11 years 50m breaststroke, as did Ashleigh Wareing, and the 100m freestyle, in which Sara Buckley took silver. Wareing picked up a gold in the 100m individual medley, when Joyce claimed bronze. Laurence, 12, earned herself tickets in the 100m and 200m freestyle.

In the 100m, Lena Tunbridge took gold, as she also did in the 100m butterfly. She also won a bronze in the 200m individual medley, and got a ticket in the 50m freestyle, an event in which Nicole Graveson took gold. Tunbridge and Graveson then picked up gold and bronze in the 50m breaststroke.

Birch, 13, picked up her tickets in the 100m freestyle and 50m backstroke. She also took silver in the 200m backstroke and freestyle, and bronze in the 50m breaststroke.

The 11-year-olds dominated the 50m freestyle. Emma Keany and Susannah Bilsborough beat the cut off time and Beth Hargreaves and Gemma Rennie took gold and bronze. Hargreaves also took gold in the 200m backstroke and bronzes in the 50m breaststroke and butterfly, in which Wareing grabbed silver.

Buckley took silver in the 200m backstroke and 50m breaststroke, and bronze in the 100m breaststroke where Joyce took Silver. Buckley also took gold in the 200m breaststroke, while Wareing took silver and Joyce the bronze to make it a clean sweep for Preston.

Lauren McGinty, 14, picked up three speeding tickets in the 200m freestyle, 100m breaststroke and 50m breaststroke, and also struck gold in the 100m freestyle.

Ashley Kirton, 14, won bronze in the 200m breaststroke.

Olivia Baron, Ella Huskisson, and Hayley Graveson were all also issued with tickets.

Olivia Baron, 10 claimed a ticket in the 50m breaststroke and 50m freestyle. In the second event, she was joined by were she was joined by Hayley Graveson, who also took silver in the 50m butterfly.

Ella Huskisson, nine, landed a ticket came in the 100m individual medley, as did Shannon McGinty, 12, in the 50m backstroke. In that event, Tunbridge picked up a silver, as did Ellen Buckley, 14, in the 200m backstroke. She also won gold in the 100m backstroke.

In the 10 years 200m butterfly, Katie Mawdesley and Abbie Kitcher received tickets after finishing first and second.

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