ONE of Lancashire’s most successful swimming clubs is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Pioneer 79 was founded by coach Brian Evitts and a handful of swimmers in the summer of 1979.

Initially, the club took a single lane at Hyndburn Sports Centre during public sessions.

Now, 30 years on, the club has become the largest and most successful in East Lancashire.

"It’s a seven-day-a-week operation now, and we operate at Hyndburn Sports Centre and QEGS in Blackburn," said Andrew Walsh, long-serving honorary treasurer.

"We have more than 330 swimming members, with a wide range of abilities and ages, but at heart we are a competitive club, with successes at local, regional and national level."

Which is a far cry from the early days when car boot sales were used to pay for pool time and coaching fees.

Richard Slater was a founding member of the club. Two years ago he returned first as a parent and then as a masters swimmer.

He said: "I was only 12 in 1979, and it was an exciting time. Pioneer 79 effectively tore up the rule book for local swimming by setting its sights on developing a highly competitive structure.

"Within months we were attracting some of the best talent from across East Lancashire and by the end of the first year we had more than 100 members.

"The changes since then have been incredible. We used to scratch together a handful of swimmers for some of the bigger events – now we are winning the Top Club award at them.

"The depth of the club is impressive too. We have competitive swimmers as young as eight and then we go right through to swimmers in their 50s competing at masters level."

It’s a big operation, operated by unpaid parent volunteers supported by a dedicated coaching team. It starts with one of East Lancashire’s largest ‘Learn To Swim’ programmes, with children joining the club from the age of four. They follow the Amateur Swimming Association’s national plan for teaching swimming.

As swimmers progress into the training groups, they follow the Long Term Athlete Development programme and operate within Swim 21 guidelines.

Andrew Walsh added: "Each part of the club adds to the other. Our teenage swimmers, for example, train to become lifeguards, poolside assistants and teachers to support the work being done with our younger swimmers."

The club engages three Level 3 coaches, eight Level 2 teachers and 10 Level 1 teachers.

In addition, there are 10 young qualified poolside helpers who are working towards their coaching and teaching certificates.

Andrew added: "From the very early days of the club, we were producing national standard swimmers and secured finalists and medallists at national age group events. As the club grew, we became a force in club events too."

The past 12 months have proved very fruitful at a competitive level.

The club boasts a triathlon international, a biathlon national champion, national medallists at masters and age-group levels, and a host of county and regional champions.

As a team, the club reached its first ever National Swimming League Final (NW) earlier this year, they have succeeded in a variety of other leagues and have come out top club at regional events.

For information on how to join Pioneer 79, visit www.pioneer79.org.uk.

l The club continues its 30th Anniversary Celebrations with a Sportsmans Dinner on Friday October 9 at Mytton Fold Hotel, Langho. The guest speaker is Barry Fry and corporate tables and individual seats are available by contacting Andrew Walsh on 07887 748554.