Who we are...
Crewe Flyers are one of Crewe's oldest sporting clubs, with our roots dating back to 1939. We formed as 'Crewe Borough Swimming Club' at the, then new, Flag Lane pool, built in 1937. We started to thrive in the early 1990s, when we hired our first dedicated head coach in ex Oldham Seals coach Steve Milhench who, along with wife Irene, transformed the club. Our name changed to Crewe Flyers to reflect the town's links with the railway industry and our logo was designed by a swimmer. Over the next decade, our club progressed well, turning from a relatively minor club to one of the most respected in the region. We gained promotion in both local leagues. The following year we saw our first national swimmer and we had numerous swimmers also competing at County and Regional level. Our new head coach, Ian Spencer in his 3 years at our helm, gained back to back promotions in the North West swimming league and celebrated our first national champion, Charlotte Bradbury .
Where we train...
In 2016, came the bitter-sweet moment of the closure of the historic Flag Lane pool. The doors were closed on years of swimming history, but new doors opened in the form of the newly built Crewe Lifestyle Centre. Although tinged with sadness, we were excited to move to our new home in the heart of Crewe town centre, with a brand new 8-lane 25m pool.
Our pool at the new Lifestyle Centre
New branding designed by Lucy (pictured) following a competition for swimmers
What happened...
We prospered and were in a healthy position until the Covid-19 pandemic struck in early 2020. With a national lockdown, leisure facilities were closed and members unable to swim. The club could not charge fees, but still had some overheads, needing to be paid. July 2020 brought excitement as the Government announced that leisure facilities, including pools could reopen. Sadly, our pool provider did not reopen pools until the start of September, resulting in the loss of members to clubs who were back in the water. With a total of almost 10 months of pool closures and no competitions for 18 months, club membership numbers reduced by around 35% . During this difficult time, to boost morale and try to retain members, land-training via Zoom, fun videos were created and competitions were held, including a competition for modernising the club's branding. The new modern logo was designed by a young swimmer currently in the club. The club came out of covid with a reduced squad of swimmers and limited pool time. It made the brave decision to hold on to its coaching staff and pool time despite having to hire a full pool for reduced sessions. This increased costs, as we were unable to offer the same amount of training hours, the club had no option but to offer reduce monthly squad fees, despite no decrease in outgoings. The club is looking to expand over the next 12 months in order to get more young people involved in the world of swimming, particularly at a time when it is recognised that there is a growing obesity problem amongst our population.
During lockdown, when exercise outside was permitted!
Swimmers at the Stourbridge Gala
Where we are now...
Recently, our swimmers have enjoyed successes at a range of competitions, achieving many Personal Bests, medals, county qualification times, regional qualification times and even some 'speeding tickets' for swimming too fast! Some of these swimmers are experienced in attending competitions, however it was fantastic to see a number of younger swimmers attending their first competitions.
Lots of medals after a successful weekend of swimming - first galas for a number of the younger swimmers
What we want to do...
We are determined to rebuild our club, firstly by recruiting more members - a swimming club cannot function without swimmers. We have noticed that the number of boys swimming is much less than before covid, and we would love to change this.
Testimonial:-
Maureen 'Mo' Edmeades has been involved with Crewe Flyers since 1986 when her children joined the club. Now, in 2022, her grandson is swimming with the club. Mo has been on the club's committee since 1988 and has been membership secretary ever since. Mo is often asked how much she gets paid and why she is still involved - her answer is simple, she doesn't get paid, she enjoys what she does and seeing the children growing in confidence in their swimming.
How you can help us:-
We are appealing for the help of the local community to support the club through the next difficult twelve months . In order for the club to grow, we need to invest in equipment, developing coaching staff and growing our club again. Being able to run our own galas would be a great way to raise the profile of the club. For that to happen, we need to invest in equipment. Please support the club in any way you can, sponsors are the lifeblood of this proud club, we currently have swimmers at club now whose grandparents also swam for the club! Help us ensure the club's legacy is there for the next generation and many more after that.