Who is, or was, the oldest competitive swimmer in the world?

Participating under the auspices of Masters Swimming Canada, which offers competitive swimming for contestants aged 25 years and upwards, the oldest competitive swimmer in the world was the late Jaring Timmerman, who died in Winnipeg, Manitoba, at the age of 105, in November, 2014. Remarkably, Timmerman did not start swimming competitively until 1978, but subsequently set a raft of Canadian national records, in the 85-89, 90-94, 95-99 and, most recently, 100-104 age groups.

Equally remarkably, he set his first world record, or records, on a day of days in April, 2009; at the age of 100, Timmerman set new marks for the 50-metres freestyle (twice), the 50-metres backstroke, the 100-metres freestyle and the 100-metres backstroke. Indeed, he improved on his own world record in the 100-metres freestyle shortly afterwards and, at the time of his death, all four world records still stood. In fact, in January, 2014, less than three weeks shy of his 105th birthday, Timmerman was still competing, leading to the creation of a 105-109 age group in Masters swimming, solely to accommodate him.

Topbettingsites.ie Launches New Football Betting Portal

Top Betting Sites Ireland provide valuable insights and recommendations into the football betting market on their new football betting portal. Their new guide breaks down barriers for players looking for the best deals and opportunities.

Sports betting in Ireland has a long history, but that doesn’t make it easy to know the best bookmakers to bet with or what kind of deals players should look out for. Topbettingsites makes it a simple process for players, both new and advanced. They provide a comprehensive guide not just on how to bet, but also on the best bookies to bet with and the possible promotions that players can access.

The site has partnered with some of Ireland’s best as well as up-and-coming bookmakers to find players the very best promotions and bonuses available to them. Their football betting guide breaks down the “best football bookmakers for 2023,” featuring ‘bet365,’ ‘Kwiff,’ ‘Campo Bet,’ among other top-quality names. The guide caters to both novice and experienced bettors, outlining all players need to know to make informed bets.

They rank the best football betting sites, using parameters to measure and evaluate what makes each site superior. By studying the overall user experience, looking at the user interfaces and ease of setting up new bets, they recommend bookmakers with quality website designs and availability. Live betting is also a consideration in Topbettingsites’s recommendations, with the simplicity and availability measured per site.

The number of betting opportunities and games represented come into question, as players have a variety of betting needs. Topbettingsites recommends bookmakers with not only Premier League coverage but also highlights the sites with a diverse range of games covered and markets available for each fixture.

Some of Topbettingsites’s most valuable insights are their reviews of promotions and bonuses. They give customers the scoop on the most lucrative joining offers and ongoing promotions offered by the many bookies they partner with. From a 100 euro welcome bonus at ‘+Zulabet’ to a 50 euro free bet on sign up with ‘Boyle Sports,’ they showcase exciting offers that players can navigate with ease.

Since the use of credit cards for betting purposes was banned in Ireland in 2022, Topbettingsites looks at how payments are made on bookmaker sites. They ensure players are accessing secure sites, with a range of payment and deposit options. Every bookmaker they represent has the proper licensing, so players’ rights are protected during their betting experiences. They also ensure each bookmaker supports responsible gaming through betting, considering time limits and resources for extra support.

Topbettingsites is revolutionising football betting for players, giving them the facts they need to know and strengthening betting power across Ireland. The site is updated regularly, with new features offered by recommended bookmakers added and reviewed. They explain how the new ‘cash out’ button, featuring more frequently on betting sites, can help secure and protect players’ winnings if they become uncertain if their chosen team will continue winning until the end of the match. Players can now choose to ‘cash out’ and take a smaller cut of their winnings, avoiding any losses if the opposing team comes out on top.

The new football betting portal on Topbettingsites.ie is an unbiased and thorough guide for all players. Their website is designed with users in mind, keeping a minimalistic style with clear facts and figures about the football betting environment.

It continues to support football betting players to make the best choices on who they bet with and what promotions they have access to. Their free-to-access, curated list of bookies outlines the pros and cons of each site, ensuring bettors are directed to reputable and responsible sites that offer them the best offers and odds.

 

The Biggest Soccer League in Ireland

Intro

As soccer fans, we’re all immersed in the English Premier League, a collection of some of the world’s greatest players, playing in iconic stadiums across England. It’s unmissable. But do other countries have anything similar? What is the biggest soccer league in Ireland?

The League of Ireland Premier Division is the highest division of soccer played in the Republic of Ireland. The Premier Division currently features 10 teams that play for a piece of the current prize pool of EU600,000.

Let’s have a look at the history, the teams, and how the Premier Division of Ireland stacks up compared to the world-famous Premier League.

Irish Soccer History

Under the League of Ireland, top-tier Irish soccer was traditionally played in one league which dates from 1921. However, due to increased popularity in the latter half of the century, a second tier was added in 1985, giving greater opportunity for players to develop and progress their career through leagues.

This additional league paved the way for The Premier Division to facilitate the top teams in Ireland, whilst the First Division (immediately below the Premier Division) is currently home to nine soccer teams in The Republic of Ireland. Since 2010, title sponsorship has been provided by SSE Airtricity, and is commonly referred to as the SSE Airtricity League.

These top two leagues are controlled by the soccer Association of Ireland (FAI), which operates similarly to the FA in England, in providing commercial, technical, legal, and financial assistance.

It’s worth saying that Northern Ireland have their own top-tier League too, the Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL) Premiership, which consists of the 12 best teams based in Northern Ireland.

Whilst teams in these different national leagues do not normally play each other competitively, the annual FAI Cup gives the opportunity for these fierce sporting rivals in Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland to play for an overall win in a knockout-style competition.

Structure

To ensure the nurturing and support of young talent in Irish soccer, U19, U17, U15, and U13 leagues have recently been created below the First Division, allowing junior players to experience top level soccer within their age group. This mirrors the structure seen in professional soccer in England.

As can be expected with any European nations’ top-flight division, the winning team of the Premier Division automatically gains automatic qualification into the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.

As it stands, Dundalk lead the way in UEFA Champions League participation, with a total of 5 entries into the European event, but have failed to ever make it past the group stages, with their best result taking them to the group stages where they managed to snatch a 1-0 win against Maccabei Tel Aviv. Whilst they again managed to qualify in the first round of the 2020-21 Champions League, they’ll be hoping to see a better future result than their single lost game.

Clubs

In 2023, there are ten teams in the Premier Division in Ireland, with another nine teams in the First Division below them. Like many leagues, the League of Ireland employs a relegation system between the two divisions, with the top team in First Division earning promotion to the Premier Division, and the bottom team in the Premier Division, conversely, being demoted.

The second highest and and second lowest placed teams in the First Division and Premier Division respectively, playoff for the final spot in the Premier Division, allowing an ailing team a chance to cling on, or the second best a chance of promotion.

Since the inception of the Premier Division in 1985, four cornerstone Irish clubs have fielded a team in every season. These are; Shelbourne, Bohemians, Dundalk, and Shamrock Rovers.

In 2023, the Shamrock Rovers will be looking to defend their title and have some great odds when you look at the Irish bookmakers covering the event, which they have won back-to-back in 2021 and 2020. With key players in Ronan Finn and Aaron Greene, they’ll be looking to make it a hat-trick of wins in the Premier Division this year.

Despite their recent success, the title of most League wins goes to another traditional club, and Rovers rival; Dundalk. They have an impressive trophy cabinet with 8 league wins to their name, also qualifying for the 2016 UEFA Champions League playoff-round.

Given the recent successes of Dundalk and The Rovers, you would be forgiven for thinking that either one of these clubs were the oldest in the League. However, that honour belongs to Shelbourne FC, with a history dating back to 1895, making it over 125 years old. Deservedly, they hold the third highest number of Premier Division wins, at 6, behind Dundalk (8) and Shamrock Rovers (7).

Stadiums

One major difference between top-tier soccer in Ireland and England is the size of the stadiums. You won’t find any Middle-Eastern airline sponsored super-pitches with capacity near to 100,000 and state-of-the-art facilities, oh no.

In fact, the largest home ground of any Premier Division club belongs to the Shamrock Rovers who, at Tallaght Stadium, can draw in a crowd of up to 8,000. Although major work is underway to boost this to 10,000 in the near future, it’s still a far cry from the near 75,000 that can pack into Old Trafford on a home day.

Conclusion

Whilst the Premier Division in Ireland is no match for the Premier League of England, there is something to be said for the largest Irish Soccer League. The fans are fanatically loyal, and the relatively small stadium size allows those fans to be much more immersed in matches – standing just feet from the players and getting within touching distance of their local heroes.

One thing is for sure, if you want a close-up piece of the action, then you will not be disappointed with soccer in Ireland, and we’d thoroughly recommend dropping into a local game if you’re ever over in the Emerald Isle.

Have you had an up close and personal experience of Irish soccer? We’d love to hear your stories below!

Which football team(s) hold(s) the record for the most consecutive league games without a win?

The English Football League (EFL) was founded, as the Football League, in 1888 and, notwithstanding the departure of the top 22 clubs, to form the Premier League, in 1992, remains the oldest league of professional football clubs in the world. In the better part of a century and a half of professional league football in England and Wales, two clubs have played 36 consecutive league games without a win.

We can all feel that luck sometimes isn’t on our side. When I’m sitting at a roulette wheel betting on red or black, the odds often seem to drift against me for instance. In any case, the unwanted record was originally set by Derby County, who were promoted to the Premier League via the 2006/07 Championship playoffs, but endured a torrid time on their return to the top flight of English football. A dismal start to the season, which nonetheless included the only victory of the 2007/08 campaign, saw the departure of manager Billy Davies, but his replacement Paul Jewell fared little better. Between September 22, 2007 and the end of the season, on May 11, 2008, the Rams played 32 consecutive games without a win – a Premier League record – and were relegated with just 11 points. On their return to the Championship, they failed to win any of their first four games before finally beating Sheffield United 2-1 at home on September 14, 2008.

More recently, Macclesfield Town failed to win 36 consecutive games during the 2011/2012 campaign, while in League Two. The Silkmen sacked manager Gary Simpson after 16 consecutive games without a win from January 2, 2012 onwards, but failed to win again before the end of the season and were relegated to the Conference Premier, having finished bottom of the table with 37 points.

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