Members of Team Utmost Isle of Man Swimming enjoyed an historic night in round two of the National Arena League at Priory Lane in Macclesfield recently.

The three-round competition appears on the club calendar annually spread between October and Christmas and, for the five years that the Manx club has been competing, they have been kindly supported by KPMG.

The team, made up of five swimmers male and female from each of four age groups, ranged from 11/unders competing for the first time off-island, to 22-year-old Commonwealth Games finalist Laura Kinley. Points are accrued for each event across a 40-event programme.

The team swam consistently well throughout the first half of the meet with the points total being extremely close in the knowledge that they needed fourth place or better in their half of the draw (two rounds of eight teams make up the Premier Division).

It was the second half of the gala when it became clear that the challenges from Trafford and Leyland were becoming stronger, therefore the senior Manx swimmers looked to their leadership skills in the water to match their coach and team managers’ volume from the poolside.

This resulted in the team’s four wins of the match from Kinley in the women’s 100m freestyle and a comfortable win in the 100m breaststroke before Joel Watterson made the 100m freestyle a double.

The latter then anchored the men’s freestyle team to the win in probably the most exciting race of the night and secured the fourth place needed to qualify for next month’s final for the first time in the club’s history.

National coach Lee Holland was delighted: ’The coaching staff are thrilled with the team’s efforts. The camaraderie between the different age groups is something special, and watching the experienced performers boosting the enthusiasm and hunger of the youngest members of the team is inspiring.

’The travelling support for the competition plays a big part too. The number of Manx flags that fly wherever we compete is something pretty special!’

l The final takes place on Sunday, December 9 in Palatine Leisure Centre, Blackpool.