In August 1981, it was decided by elected officers and the Committee, to purchase a "K" registration 1972 forty-five seater motor coach for £3600. The coach was painted in the club colours. For a number of years it did stalwart service taking swimmers on trips, to swim meets and water polo matches. However, due to vandalism, parking problems and spiralling maintenance costs it had to be replaced in 1990 by a more modern fifty-three seater coach which cost £7000. In 1994 this coach became too costly to run and was sold.

Tyldesley Swimming Club had been Bolton and District members for seventy-three years and were stalwarts of league, age groups, water polo and championship competitions during that lengthy period.

On the 19^th July 1982 Tyldesley swimming club resigned from Bolton and District S&WPA in protest at the way the association had handled a dispute between Wigan Wasps and local clubs. On the same date letters were sent to the Central Lancashire S&WPA seeking permission for the club to be accepted into its age group competitions and to the Northern Counties ASA for their consent on the change.

At the time of the resignation they had qualified for the semi-finals of the mini-league and junior water polo competitions respectively.

In August, 1982 a letter was received from Bolton and District accepting Tyldesley's resignation but asked them to re-consider. Tyldesley would not relent and on the 5^th September 1982 the letter sent to the Northern Counties ASA was read out at a meeting and passed. The change from Bolton and District to Central Lancashire was to take place in 1983.

So ended another chapter of the club's history, or so it seemed.

The passage of time alters circumstances, opinions and feelings towards certain events and in 1994 Tyldesley Swimming Club applied, were accepted and are again affiliated to the Bolton and District S&WPA.

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In 1982 Mark Chew was again selected to swim for Great Britain Youth Team in the 200/400 metres freestyle events in Switzerland.

In 1983 Mark Chew won three medals in the National Age Group Competition, in which Tracy Toone and Michelle Giles also competed.

The club won the Central Lancashire Junior Swimming League overall trophy for the third successive year and the Central Lancashire Senior Swim League, for the first time.

At water polo the club entered the Northern Senior League. Colin Bent represented Lancashire County (junior) and captained the Under 16's Northern Counties team.

Christopher Mills became the North of England and North West Triathlon Champion.

In 1983 Tyldesley Swimming Club joined the Penguin Learn to Swim Scheme, sponsored by United Biscuits, who provided the participating clubs with badges, certificates, grants and equipment. At the end of 1986, 200 clubs were involved.

THE WHELMAR GALA

Hi-Tec came in 1983, when on the 22^nd and 23^rd January at Broughton Pool, Salford, Tyldesley ran the whole gala on computer, from initial invitations, through to printing of the programmes, results sheets, heat slips and entry cards.

The computer programme was written specifically to deal with the one gala by Vic. Jackson, at that time a member of the Swimming Club Committee.

Seventy-one swimming clubs were invited and out of these twenty-three participated from as far afield as Liverpool, Rochdale, Oldham, Romily, Bolton, Preston and Wigan.

Information about 262 swimmers including full name, date of birth, strokes entered, date entry forms received etc. was stored into the powerful desktop computer system in approximately four hours, by an essentially non-typist. The gala, which was organised by club secretary Alan Giles, for eight, nine and ten year old boys and girls had a tremendous atmosphere with over a thousand spectators during the two days. Four strokes plus medley and freestyle team events, meant in all there were thirty-six events and thirty-six finals.

Computerisation enabled entry closure at 1-45 pm and heat slips printed out by 2 pm. Result sheets were available approximately three minutes from the end of each event.

The boy and girl in each age group with the best performances over the four strokes received a BMX bike purchased from the £500 sponsorship by Whelmar Homes. A trophy was provided by Mr. And Mrs. Norman Gleave of Cleworth Hall Farm, Tyldesley. The winners of the Whelmar Team Trophy being Liverpool Penguins.

Tyldesley Swimming Club was praised on its organisation and running of the gala and much interest was shown in the new Technology which helped achieve this.

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In the National Age Group Swimming Championships of 1984 Tyldesley Swimming Club were represented by Amanda Hewitt, Paul Bailey, Ian Phillips and Mark Chew. Teams from Paul and Jason Bailey, Ian Phillips, Lee Toone and Johnathan Sweeney produced a first for the club in reaching the finals of both freestyle and medley team events, thirteen years of age.

Christopher Mills was again North of England and North West under fifteens Triathlon Champion. He represented the Northern West in the Inter-region Biathlon Championships, gaining first place.

To assist the club the old Tyldesley UDC allowed the club free water time to enable top swimmers more training time, however in the Local Authority re-organisation, Tyldesley became part of Wigan Metropolitan Borough. The new authority allowed the club 25% discount on pool hire charges to compensate for the loss of "free water time".

During 1984 a proposal was submitted by the Department of Leisure to phase out the discount by reducing it to 15% for 1985/6 and to nil for 1986/7. This proposal was accepted and passed by the Council without notice to the club.

Following strenuous objections the Council agreed to hold the discount at 15%, the decision on the loss of the initial 10% could not be reversed. On the re-opening of the baths in 1989, after its three year closure, the club had to pay full hire charges. In 1995 hire charges stood at a staggering £13,000 per annum, this had risen to £17,760 per annum in 2001 and will without doubt increase in the future.

The original concession allowed by Tyldesley UDC had now been lost forever.

In 1984 Colin bent was selected for the under twenties Great Britain Water Polo Training Squad, and in 1985 he was selected again and played in the 2^nd European Youth Water Polo Championship at Valletta Pool in Malta. He was also selected for the Northern Counties under twenties and Lancashire County.

Chris Mills, Matthew Holden and Scott Royle were chosen for Northern Counties under sixteens. Scott, Paul Jervis and Stephen Davidson were also selected for Lancashire County.