press release

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The 2012 Clyde Coast Mini League took place on 9 June at The Citadel, Ayr. The swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swim Club (NAASC) had put in great performances to make the final this year, from the 16 Clubs that took part, not having the depth and volume of swimmers of the bigger clubs . The final was a closely fought competition and the young swimmers from North Ayrshire put in a tremendous effort with many Personal Bests achieved throughout the competition. The final points on the day were clear winners Glasgow with 214 points, Milngavie and Bearsden 164 points, South Ayrshire 161 points, REN96 157 points, Rutherglen 138 points and North Ayrshire 127 points.

North Ayrshire Amateur Swim Club are looking for new members and also to strengthen the Mini League Squad for next year. If anyone is interested they can come along for a free trial at Vikingar, Largs on Mondays 5-6 pm, Wednesdays at Garnock 5.30-6.30 pm or Fridays at Auchenharvie 4.45-5.45 pm or visit the website www.naasc.co.uk.

Nine swimmers from the Senior Squad of North Ayrshire Amateur Swim Club (NAASC) competed at the West District Group 4 Championships held at Dollan Aqua Centre, 50 metre long course pool, in East Kilbride on 26 and 27 May.

The event format was heats and finals for 50m, 100m, 200m events in Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle, 100m, and 200m, 400m IM (Individual Medley) and heat declared winners for 400m, 800m (female) and 1500m (male) Freestyle and 400 IM - with the 50 metre events having skin finals which involved the six finalists swimming and one swimmer eliminated each swim until there was a winner!

Graham Brown (16) from Troon, had a good weekend and swam well to pick up two Silver Medals in 100 and 200 Backstroke and two Bronze Medals in 200 Freestyle and 50 Backstroke (the exciting skin swim-off!) He had a gruelling 10 swims (as well as 4 swims in the skin final) and also came 7^th in the 100 Butterfly and swam in 400 Freestyle.

Jennifer King (14) from Largs also swam well and scooped two Silver Medals in 200IM and 200 Butterfly and 9^th place in 100 Freestyle – having six swims (heats and finals).

Ross Hughes (14) from Stevenston made the finals in both his two swims coming 5^th in 200IM and 6^th in 200 Backstroke.

Georgia Henry (14) from Irvine swam in 7 events and came 5^th in 400IM, 9^th in 200 Breaststroke, 10^th in 200IM, 13^th in 200 Freestyle and swam in 50 Breaststroke, Backstroke.

Hannah Watson (16) from Troon swam in two events and came 7^th in 200 Breaststroke and 8^th in 400IM.

Liam Cairns (13) from Kilbirnie swam in 6 events and came 7^th in 100 Freestyle, 9^th in 100 Backstroke, 11^th in 50 Backstroke, 15^th in 50 Freestyle and swam in 100 Breaststroke.

Julie McClymont (14) from West Kilbride swam in four events and came 10^th in 800 Freestyle, 16^th in 400 Freestyle and swam in 100 and 200 Backstroke.

John Wright (14) from Burnhouse swam in four events and came 10^th in 100 Butterfly, 12^th in 200 Freestyle and swam in 50 Backstroke and 200IM.

Emma Scully (11) from Fairlie, a relative newcomer to 50m long course events: had two swims and came 13^th in 200 Butterfly and also swam in 50 Butterfly with 2 PBs.

Nine swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club (NAASC) travelled down to DG1 Complex in Dumfries and swam at the Group 3 Age Group Championships held over 2 days on 12/13 May. The Championships were attended by 28 clubs from all over the West District: including Glasgow, Falkirk Otters, REN96, Milngavie and Bearsden and Rutherglen - with the Championships having around 600 swims each day. The event format was 10-11, 12 and 13 years age group events 100 and 200 Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle and IM (Individual Medley) with heats and finals for all 100 events and 200IM and 400 IM and 400 Free, 800 Freestyle(girls) and 1500 Freestyle (boys) (heat declared winners),

Jennifer King (14) of Largs was in excellent form: having seven swims (heats and 3 finals) getting 3 Gold Medals in 100 Freestyle and Backstroke and 200 IM (-0.83 sec PB) and a Silver Medal in 800 Freestyle.

Emma Scully (11) of Fairlie was also in the medals: having eight swims (heats and 2 finals). She swam well to secure two Silver Medals in 200 IM (-3.87 sec PB) and 400IM (-4.28 sec PB), 4^th in 200 Freestyle and 200 Butterfly (-1.58 sec PB), 8^th in 100 Backstroke and swam in 200 Backstroke.

Georgia Henry (13) of Irvine had a busy weekend having nine swims (heats and finals). She was on good form to obtain a Silver Medal in 400 Freestyle (-5.69 sec PB), two Bronze Medals in 800 Freestyle (with a -17.13 sec PB) and 400IM, 6^thin 100 Butterfly, 7^th in 100 Breaststroke and 8^th in 200IM.

For the boys: Liam Cairns (13) of Kilbirnie had 5 swims and came 4^th in 200IM, made the final of 100 Butterfly coming 4^th and came 13^th in 200 Freestyle. Craig Nisbet (13) of Stevenston had six swims: he made the finals of 100 Backstroke coming 5^th and 7^th in 100 Butterfly, 7^th in 200 Butterfly and 12^th in 100 Freestyle, Adam Kirkwood (12) of Kilwinning had a good weekend continuing his good form: gaining Pbs in all his swims. He came 8^th in 400IM (-14.87 sec PB), made the final in 100 Backstroke coming 4^th, made another final in 100 Butterfly coming in 6^th place, 6^th place in 200 Freestyle and 7^th in 200 Backstroke. Angus Dickson (13 ) of Glengarnock swam in five events and gained 3 Pbs. He came 7^th in 200 Breaststroke, (-0.68 sec PB) and 200 Freestyle (-1.18 sec PB), 8^th in 200 Backstroke (with a good -4.40 sec PB) and swam in 100 Backstroke.

For two junior swimmers, Lewis and Rory, both on trial with the Senior Squad, this was their first West District Championship, having successfully obtained the consideration times and securing swims. (Sometimes the swims can be oversubscribed leading to swimmers being scratched). They both had a very successful weekend: Lewis Henry (11) of Irvine was in great form in his five swims and came 6^th in 200 Breaststroke (-3.96 sec PB), he made the final of the 100 Backstroke coming in 8^th place (-2.51 sec PB), he came 8^th in 200 Backstroke (with a fantastic -11.76 sec PB), and 10^th in 100 Breaststroke. Rory Dickson (10) of Glengarnock was also in good form in his five events and came 7^th in 200 Breaststroke (with a massive -11.77 sec PB), 9^th in 200 Backstroke (-2.43 sec PB), 12^th in 200 Freestyle and he swam in the 100 Freestyle (-0.96 sec PB) and 100 Backstroke.

Louise Downie (13) of Irvine swam well in her two events gaining Pbs in both. She came 10^th in 200 Freestyle (with a -3.59 sec PB) and 15^th in 200IM (with a -3.45 sec PB).

The hard work in training over the past few months has paid off. The long journey down to Dumfries was worth it with all of the swimmers performing well and securing Pbs!

An amazing almost £1500 was raised by twenty parents from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club (NAASC) for Charity last month split between Sports Relief and NAASC funds. Children from the Club were given a form and asked to nominate parents to Swim in the First Lane for Sports Relief/Club funds. For some parents this was more of a dilemma than others. How you could refuse – when nominated by your child? This meant swimming in the beginners lane while their children were training. Will I make a fool of myself? Will I be able to last the pace? For other swimmers – not a chance were they going to even ask their parents to make a fool of themselves!

Around 35 parents names were put forward and three training sessions were organised two at Auchenharvie, Stevenston and one at Vikingar, Largs. There were a mixture of ailments that some parents were unfortunately afflicted with which meant they had to withdraw at the last minute – from 4 sore backs, and a sore knee to name a few - which meant that this number whittled down to twenty brave souls.

On the first training session night there were a few nervous people – wondering what they had let themselves in for. Louise Scully was the Coach for the night and too was thinking the same. Her tactics were to treat the parents exactly the same as the children. The parents had to swim for half an hour – that sounded okay surely? The session started off with basic streamlining – how to push off from the wall, basic techniques of front crawl and the other strokes and then what they had not bargained for – was the drills and kick and pull (using floats) and at the very end to really earn their money - a bit of Butterfly!. Some parents struggled with the drills, others with using a kickboard for 2 lengths. Most agreed how they couldn’t hear the Coach while in the water, how difficult it was to do back crawl drill with your hands extended and doing front crawl pull just using your arms – no legs! The coach also noticed similar traits with the swimmers and their parents! Anyway before some parents knew it and long after some others wanted it – it was time up! All the parents found the sessions very useful and informative and some said they would never again tell their kids to work harder after this experience!

The fundraising was certainly a team effort – in the Largs pool the oldest participant was Linda Henry (Neil and Adam’ Monaghan’s Gran) leading the way, there was also husband and wife team Mervyn and Julie Weir (Rebecca’s mum and dad) who raised a splendid £108.00 between them, David Wilson (Daisy's dad), was the bravest participant earning every penny as he was loaded with the cold and struggled through Keith Sutherland (Andrew’s dad) raised the biggest single total of £126.00 – well done to him. He evidently really enjoyed the training session. Karen Jenson (Fraser and Abby Kane’s mum) who is a swimmer and who does actually have a sore back managed to participate by pacing herself. Coach Jacqui Tarran took a lot of stick and was brave enough to endure half an hour in the first lane (Connor and Jacob’s mum). She raised an amazing £124.42. Other parents who participated were Sabrina Hay (Eva and Narja’s mum) and Jane Grant (James and Kate Fishwick's mum).On behalf of the Club, spokesperson Louise Scully would like to say a big thank you to all those parents who took part and all family and friends who sponsored the parents raising almost £1500.00 for charity (split between Sports Relief and NAASC (which is also a registered charity).

An amazing £1500 was raised by twenty parents from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club (NAASC) for Charity last month. Children from the Club were given a form and asked to nominate parents to Swim in the First Lane for Sports Relief/Club funds. For some parents this was more of a dilemma than others. How you could refuse – when nominated by your child? This meant swimming in the beginners lane while their children were training. Will I make a fool of myself? Will I be able to last the pace? For other swimmers – not a chance were they going to even ask their parents to make a fool of themselves!

Around 35 parents names were put forward and three training sessions were organised two at Auchenharvie in Stevenston and one at Vikingar, Largs. There were a mixture of ailments that some parents were unfortunately afflicted with - which meant they had to withdraw at the last minute – from 4 sore backs, and a sore knee to name a few - which meant that this number whittled down to twenty brave souls.

On the first training session night there were a few nervous people – wondering what they had let themselves in for. Louise Scully was the Coach for the night and too was thinking the same. Her tactics were to treat the parents exactly the same as the children. The parents had to swim for half an hour – that sounded okay surely? The session started off with streamlining – how to push off from the wall, basic techniques of front crawl and the other strokes and then what they had not bargained for – was the drills and kick and pull (using floats) and at the very end to really earn their money - a bit of butterfly!. Some parents struggled with the drills, others with using a kickboard for 2 lengths. Most agreed how they couldn’t hear the Coach while in the water, how difficult it was to do back crawl drill with your hands extended and doing front crawl pull just using your arms – no legs! The coach also noticed similar traits with the swimmers and their parents! Anyway before some parents knew it and long after some others wanted it – it was time up! All the parents found the sessions very useful and informative and some said they would never again tell their kids to work harder after this experience!

From Auchenharvie pool, keeping it in the family Clare Lewis and daughter Sophie (Phoebe's mum and big sister) raised the biggest amount of all a terrific £134.00 between them. They did the training sessions separate and Sophie's teenage friends came along to support her. Both found the training session quite a challenge and are more appreciative of how hard Phoebe has had to work to quickly accelerate through the Swim Club. Alex Downie (Louise’s dad – made the session look far too easy and next year he can train with the seniors instead of the juniors – if this is to be repeated!) Gordon Fraser (Craig’s stepdad had no problems with the training session), Lesley Howie (Ben and Robyn Cotter’s mum) and Janice Knix (Zoe’s mum) both found the session very challenging, Julie Clark (Evan’s mum) made it look easy but actually found it hard, Miles Scofield (Elodie’s parent)) and Craig Nicol (Connor’s dad) were glad when it was all over, Nicola Murray (Carla’s mum) and Stephen Erentz (Craig and Ross's dad) are both exswimmers so no problems for them – ahem?), Garry Kirkwood (Adam’s dad) did have a sore back and couldn’t take part but still managed to raise £87.00.

On behalf of the Club, spokesperson Louise Scully would like to say a big thank you to all those parents who took part and all family and friends who sponsored the parents raising almost £1500.00 for charity (split between Sports Relief and NAASC (which is also a registered charity).

$Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: C:\Users\CFraser\Documents\NAASC Web Site Files\SQUAD\graphics\wee_green.gif$ NORTH AYRSHIRE JUNIOR MEET

North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club (NAASC) hosted the second of its four annual meets at Auchenharvie Leisure Centre, Stevenston over 2 days on 4 and 5 May. The meet proved to be very popular with 16 clubs coming through to participate: from as far away as Arbroath, Grangemouth and Stranraer. The format of events was male and female age groups: 8-10 years: 50m Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle, 11-14 years: 100m Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle and 8-14 years: 200m Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Freestyle and Individual Medley – 50m of each stroke) and Open events in 400m (16 lengths) and 800m Freestyle and 400m Individual Medley with heat declared winners.

Twenty-nine swimmers from the Club took part with many swimmers winning medals and gaining Personal Bests:

Emma Scully (11) of Fairlie was in great form and secured 5 Gold Medals in 11 years age group events: 200m Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly, Freestyle and 200IM and 5^th place in the 400m Open Freestyle securing 5 Personal Bests (including a massive 9 seconds off her Butterfly)

Liam Cairns (13) of Kilbirnie, who attends Largs Academy, was also in good form obtaining 5 Gold Medals in his 13 years events: 100m Backstroke, Freestyle and Butterfly and 200m Freestyle and 200IM.

Evan Clark (9) of Stevenston had excellent swims to gain two Gold Medals in 200 Breaststroke (a first swim) and 50 Breaststroke and four Silver Medals in 50 Butterfly, 50 Freestyle, 100IM, (-3.98 sec PB), 200 Freestyle (a massive -13.92 sec PB) and a Bronze Medal in 200 Backstroke (a first swim).

Rory Dickson (10) of Glengarnock swam in six events and gained two Gold Medals in 50 and 200 Backstroke, (-3.54 sec PB), a Silver Medal in 200 Freestyle, a Bronze Medal in 50 Freestyle and swam in the 400 Open Freestyle (-8.16 sec PB) gaining Pbs in 3 of his races.

Abby Kane (8) of Largs, was the youngest competitor in the 200m events and swam very strongly in her first 200m events. She was rewarded in her efforts by securing 3 Gold Medals in 100IM, 200 Backstroke and 200 Freestyle with PBs in all her events. Big brother Fraser Kane (14) swam in five events and secured a Silver Medal in 200 Backstroke, a Bronze Medal in 200IM (-3.24 sec PB), 5^th place in 200 Freestyle and swam in 200 Breaststroke and Butterfly.

Craig Nisbet (14) of Stevenston swam in four events and gained two Gold Medals in 100 Backstroke and Breaststroke and two Silver Medals in 100 Freestyle and 100 Butterfly.

Georgia Henry (13) had excellent swims recording all Pbs to get two Gold Medals in 200 Freestyle 400IM (-9.04 sec PB) and two Silver Medals in 200 Breaststroke and 100 Freestyle. Little brother, Lewis Henry (11) also swam very well in six events recording all Pbs and he secured two Gold Medals in 100 and 200 Breaststroke and three Bronze Medals in 100 Backstroke, 200 Freestyle and 200IM (with a -12.34 sec PB).

Meredith Scott (10) of Kilmarnock had four swims and gained a Gold Medal in 200 Butterfly (her first time swimming this event), 4^th place in 200IM (a first swim), 5^th place in 200 Backstroke (with a -17 second PB) and 6^th place in 50 Freestyle.

Adam Kirkwood (13) of Kilwinning swam well in his five events gaining all Pbs to secure two Silver Medals in 100 Backstroke and Butterfly (a fine -7.66 sec PB), a Bronze Medal in 100 Freestyle, 9^th place in 400 Freestyle Open and 10^th place in 100 Breaststroke

Louise Downie (13) of Irvine swam well to gain two Silver Medals in 100 Backstroke (-2.52 sec PB) and 400 Freestyle (Open event). She also came 4^th in 100 Breaststroke and Freestyle (-1.36 sec PB).

Connor Tarran (10) from Fairlie performed well in his 7 events gaining all Pbs – he bagged a Silver Medal in 200 Breaststroke (a massive -16.53 sec PB), 3 three Bronze Medals in 50 Backstroke, 50 Breaststroke and 200 Backstroke (a splendid -21.39 sec PB), 4^th place in 200 Freestyle (a first time swim) and 6^th place in 50 Freestyle

Andrew Sutherland (8) from Fairlie, a relative newcomer, had five swims gaining 3 Pbs and bagged a Silver Medal in 50 Freestyle (- a great 4.56 sec PB), and two Bronze Medals in 50 Butterfly and 100IM (with a massive -17.45 sec PB) and two 4^th places in 50 Backstroke and Breaststroke.

Rebecca Weir (10) of Largs swam well in her four events and secured Pbs in all her events with a Silver Medal for 50 Breaststroke (-3.09 sec PB),, 4^th place in 200 Breaststroke (her first 200m swim!) and two 11^th places in 50 Butterfly (a first swim) and Freestyle.

Jenna Hambleton (8) of Largs had two excellent swims gaining Pbs in both and collecting a Silver Medal in 50 Breaststroke and a Bronze Medal in 50 Freestyle.

Ross Erentz (8) of Troon swam well in his two events securing both Pbs and gained a Silver Medal in 50 Breaststroke (-2.78 sec PB) and a Bronze Medal in 50 Freestyle (-3.71 sec PB).

Glen Duffy (13) of Largs swam well in his four events gaining all Pbs and two Bronze Medals in 100 Butterfly and 200 Freestyle (-5.22 sec PB), 4^th place in 200IM (-7.12 sec PB) and 5^th place in 100 Freestyle.

James Marshall (10) of Largs swam well in his four events recording 3 Pbs gaining a Bronze Medal in 100 Butterfly, 5^th place in 200 Breaststroke (a first swim), 7^th places in 200 Freestyle (a fine -11.58 sec PB) and 100 Freestyle.

Andrew Dickson (14) of Glengarnock swam well in 3 events gaining all Pbs and secured a Bronze Medal in 100 Butterfly, 5^th place in 200IM (with a massive -13.57 sec PB) and 10^th place in 400 Freestyle Open. Little brother Angus (13) swam in five events and received a Bronze Medal in 100 Backstroke (-1.06 sec PB), 6^th places in 100 Breaststroke and 200 Freestyle and 7^th places in 100 Freestyle and 200IM.

Other swimmers: Kate Fishwick (8) a newcomer to meets, swam well in her first 50 events coming 4^th place in 50 Breaststroke and 6^th place in 50 Freestyle. Her big brother James (11) also a newcomer and having to swim longer distances swam well to come 9^th in 100 Freestyle, 11^th in 100 Breaststroke (a first swim) and 12^th in 100 Backstroke (-4.76 sec PB). Craig Erentz (10) from Troon swam well in his five events with all Pbs coming 5^th place in 50 Breaststroke, 8^th place in 200 Freestyle, (a massive -8.17 sec PB), 9^th place in 50 Freestyle and 50 Backstroke and a fine swim in the 400 Freestyle Open (with a great -38.48 sec |PB). Abbie Freeman (10) of Kilwinning swam in two events coming 6^th place in 50 Backstroke and competed in 400 Free Open event (with a great -24.47 sec PB),John Fowlie (9) of Saltcoats swam well with 3 Pbs coming 7^th in 50 Backstroke (-4.51 sec PB), 9^th in 100IM (a first swim), 10^th in 50 Freestyle (-2.72 sec PB) and swam in 50 Breaststroke. Ben Cotter (10) from Irvine swam in three events gaining all Pbs and came 9^th in 50 Butterfly, 11^th in 50 Backstroke and 13^th in 200 Freestyle (a first swim). Daisy Wilson (9) from Largs competed in three events recording 2 Pbs and came 10^th in 100IM (-3.28 sec PB) and 11^th place in 50 Butterfly and swam in 50 Backstroke (-1.97 sec PB). Elodie Pollet, (10) from Irvine, a relative newcomer to galas, swam well in her four events recording 3 Pbs in 50 Breaststroke (-4.87 sec PB), 50 Freestyle, (-1.46 sec PB), 50 Backstroke (-2.85 sec PB) and 50 Butterfly.

The haul of medals collected by the junior swimmers and majority of swimmers gaining Personal Bests has showed the hard work in training has paid off. If anyone is interested in joining North Ayrshire Amateur Swim Club (NAASC) just come along and watch the training sessions that are on: Mondays at Largs 5-6.30 pm, Wednesdays, Garnock 5.30-7pm or Auchenharvie 4.45-6.15pm or check the website www.naasc.co.uk or telephone 01475 674971 for further information. The Club is a registered charity and is run mainly by volunteer

$Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: C:\Users\CFraser\Documents\NAASC Web Site Files\SQUAD\graphics\wee_green.gif$ MINI LEAGUE ROUND 3

Nineteen junior swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swim Club (NAASC) mini league team travelled over to Vale of Leven Pool in Dumbarton to compete in Round 3 of the Clyde Coast Mini League on Saturday 19 May. West Dunbartonshire were the host club and had been drawn against Rutherglen, North Ayrshire and Clydebank. This was a crucial Round and the mini swimmers and coaches had been working really hard in training to prepare for the event. Rutherglen had won their previous two Rounds and North Ayrshire had an uphill battle to try and win this Round. The North Ayrshire swimmers did amazingly well and every swimmer put in a tremendous effort. They kept the pressure on Rutherglen and before the final points were read out – it was not clear who had won the Round. Rutherglen got it by one point only! The points on the day were: Rutherglen 168 points, North Ayrshire 167, West Dunbartonshire 95 points and Clydebank 35 points. There was an agonising wait of a few days while the other two Round 3 matches were played and results checked. Congratulations to North Ayrshire for making the final! The six clubs competing in the final on 9 June are: North Ayrshire, REN96, Rutherglen, South Ayrshire, Milngavie and Bearsden and City of Glasgow. Now the training will be stepped in preparation for the big day! The Mini League Final will be held on Saturday 9 June at the Citadel in Ayr. Anyone who wants to come along and support North Ayrshire and cheer on the swimmers will be made most welcome! Warm up starts at 4.35 pm for a 5pm start.

$Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: C:\Users\CFraser\Documents\NAASC Web Site Files\SQUAD\graphics\wee_green.gif$ SOUTH AYRSHIRE OPEN MEET

Six swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swim Club (NAASC) competed at South Ayrshire Open Age Group Meet held over two days on 14 and 15 April at The Citadel in Ayr. This was a open meet in age groups 12 years and under, 13-14 and 15 & over in the format of 50m, 100m and 200m events in Butterfly, Breaststroke, Backstroke, Freestyle and IM (Individual Medley – Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle).

Samantha King (15) from Largs won a Gold Medal in 50m Freestyle. She pulled out all the stops coming from fifth place in the heats to take first place in the final.

Craig Nisbet (14) from Stevenston was in good form getting many Personal Bests (Pbs) in his 8 races (heats and finals) and came away with two Silver Medals in 200 Butterfly (with a -2.50 sec PB) and 200 Backstroke (with a good -4.31 sec PB), 4^th place in 100 Backstroke, (-1.19 sec PB), 5^th place in 100 Butterfly and 9^th place in 100 Freestyle (-1.23 sec PB) and 200 Freestyle (-1.75 sec PB).

Adam Kirkwood (12) from Kilwinning was also in great form getting nearly all Pbs in his 7 races (heats and finals). He came 4^th in 400 Freestyle (with a tremendous -33.58 sec PB), 4^th place in 200 Backstroke (-6.48 sec PB), 4^th place in 50 Freestyle (-4.54 sec PB), 5^th place in 200IM (-2.57 sec PB), 6^th place in 200 Freestyle (-4.60 sec PB) and 9^th place in 200 Breaststroke.

James Marshall (10) from Largs swam in 3 races 12 & Under events coming 8^th in 100 Butterfly, 13^th in 100 Breaststroke (-0.63 sec PB) and 16^th in 100 Freestyle.

Fraser Kane (14) from Largs swam in two events coming 13^th in 100 Breaststroke (-2.58 sec PB) and 17^th in 100 Butterfly (with a great -16.59 sec PB).

Zoe Nix (13) from Irvine swam in two events coming 14^th in 100 Breaststroke and 19^th in 100 Freestyle (with a good -6.91 sec PB).

The hard work in training has paid off with many of the swimmers gaining PBs in their races. If anyone is interested in joining the club please check the website at www.naasc.co.uk or come along to watch the training sessions at Largs Mondays: 5-6.30 pm, Garnock Wednesdays 5.30 – 7 pm or Auchenharvie Fridays 4.45 – 6.15 pm to gain more information. The Club has charitable status and is run by volunteers.

$Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: C:\Users\CFraser\Documents\NAASC Web Site Files\SQUAD\graphics\wee_green.gif$ MINI LEAGUE ROUND 2

Twenty six junior swimmers from North Ayrshire A and B team competed in Round 2 of the Mini League held at Auchenharvie Pool, Stevenston on Saturday 21 April. North Ayrshire were the host club and had been drawn against City of Glasgow, Milngavie and Bearsden and Kingston. This was a crucial Round and the mini swimmers had to pull out all the stops to have a chance of qualifying for the final in June. The swimmers did amazingly well and every swimmer put in a tremendous effort. They were rewarded with a magnificent second behind Milngavie and Bearsden. The points on the day were: Milngavie and Bearsden 158, North Ayrshire 134, City of Glasgow 122 and Kingston 61. The next Round 3 is on 19 May at West Dunbartonshire and against Clydebank and Rutherglen.

$Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: C:\Users\CFraser\Documents\NAASC Web Site Files\SQUAD\graphics\wee_green.gif$ FALKIRK OTTERS MINI MEET

Nine junior swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swim Club (NAASC) competed at Falkirk Otters Meet held on 14 April at Grangemouth Sports Complex with age groups 7-8 and 9 years competing in the morning and 10 and 11 years in the afternoon. This meet was an open event which attracted the best swimmers from all over Scotland. For some of the younger swimmers it was their first time swimming two lengths in a competition.

Evan Clark (9) from Stevenston was in fine form winning Best Boy 9 years trophy for the second year in a row. (He won this years jointly with Oscar Smillie from South Ayrshire.) Evan got two Gold Medals in Butterfly(-2.55 sec PB) and Breaststroke and two Silver Medals in Backstroke (-0.36 sec PB) and Freestyle (-1.04 sec PB).

Abby Kane (8) from Largs swam well to record 5^th place in Butterfly, (-2.29 sec PB), Backstroke and Freestyle and 6^th place in Breaststroke (with a -0.51 sec PB).

Andrew Sutherland (8) from Fairlie swam in 3 events coming 5^th in the Backstroke, 6^th in the Breaststroke (with a fantastic -12.43 sec PB) and 12^th in Freestyle (with a -2.58 PB).

Ross Erentz (8) from Troon swam in 2 events coming 8^th place in Breaststroke (with a -1.50 sec PB) and 14^th in Freestyle.

In the afternoon it was the 10 and 11 year old swimmers competing. Meredith Scott (10) from Kilmarnock was in great form achieving Pbs in all her races taking a Gold Medal in Breaststroke with an excellent swim (-1.73 sec PB), a Silver Medal in Butterfly, (with a -1.7 sec PB), a Bronze Medal in Backstroke (with a -1.19 sec PB) and 9^th place in Freestyle (-0.23 sec PB).

Emma Scully (11) from Fairlie now swimming up an age group having recently turned 11, had four good swims recording a Silver Medal in Butterfly, a Bronze Medal in Backstroke, 4^th place in Freestyle and 5^th place in Breaststroke (with a -1.44 sec PB).

Rebecca Weir (10) from Largs continuing her good form swam in 3 events coming 7^th in Breaststroke (-0.64 sec PB) and 17^th in Backstroke (with a -2.46 sec PB) and swam in the Freestyle.

Connor Tarran (10) from Fairlie swam in four events coming 9^th place in Butterfly, 11^th place in Breaststoke, 12^th place in Backstroke (-1.42 sec PB) and 13^th place in Freestyle

Craig Erentz (10) from Troon swam in two events in the Freestyle (with a -0.38 sec PB) and swam in the Backstroke .

PHOTO 2

The hard work in training has paid off with many swimmers gaining PBs in their races. If anyone is interested in joining the club please check the website at www.naasc.co.uk or come along to watch the training sessions at Largs Mondays: 5-6.30 pm, Garnock Wednesdays 5.30 – 7 pm or Auchenharvie 4.45 – 6.15 pm to gain more information or phone Secretary on 01475 674971). The Club has charitable status and is run by volunteers.

$Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: C:\Users\CFraser\Documents\NAASC Web Site Files\SQUAD\graphics\wee_green.gif$ FRASER TAKES 5 GOLDS

Fraser Kane (14) of Largs a swimmer with North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club (NAASC) attended the DSE (Disability Sports Events) Junior and Youth Swimming Championships in Sheffield on 24 and 25 March as part of a 22 strong team Scotland Squad for Scottish Swimming.

Fraser was in excellent form gaining a haul of 5 Gold Medals and 4/5 Personal Bests in his individual events: 50, 100 and 400 Freestyle, 100 Backstroke and 100 & 200 IM (Individual Medley) as well taking part in two relay events. This was a great achievement for his first experience at swimming at this level of Championships especially in the volume of his swims for a relative newcomer. Fraser who has impaired vision was recently promoted to the Senior Squad within NAASC.

$Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: C:\Users\CFraser\Documents\NAASC Web Site Files\SQUAD\graphics\wee_green.gif$ REN96 GRADED SWIMMING MEET

Ten swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swim Club (NAASC) competed at REN96 Graded Meet held over two days on 24 and 25 March at Johnstone pool. This was a graded meet in age groups 8-10, 11-12 13-14 and 15 & over years in the format of 50m, 100m and 200m events in Butterfly, Breaststroke, Backstroke, Freestyle and 100m, 200m and 400 m IM (Individual Medley – Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle) and 400m Freestyle.

Connor Tarran (10) from Fairlie, was in great form with five swims and great PBs in all his races - he got a Gold Medal in the 50 Fly (-2.73 sec PB) a Bronze Medal in the 100 Breaststroke (-6.31 PB) two 4th places in 100IM (massive -8.13 sec PB) and 100 Backstroke (-1.86 PB) and 10th place in 100 Freestyle (-8.68 sec PB).

Adam Kirkwood (12) from Kilwinning, was in fine form in his two events in the 11-12 category gaining a Gold Medal in the 400 IM (with a massive -17.17 sec PB) and a Bronze Medal in the 200 Breaststroke.

Meredith Scott (10) from Kilmarnock, on trial with the Senior Squad, had great swims in her three races recording all PB s. She got a Silver Medal in the 100 Butterfly (with a massive -10.40 sec PB), 4th place in 100IM (-1.13 sec PB) and 5th place in the 100 Backstroke (a great -7.64 sec PB)

For the girls: Elodie Pollet (10), a newcomer to meets, swam well in her four events in 8-10 girls category. She swam in 50 Butterfly, 50 Freestyle (-6.45 sec PB), 100 Freestyle (-6.66 sec PB) and 100 Backstroke. Jenna Hambleton (8) from Largs had an excellent swim in the 8-10 Breaststroke recording a 1.98 sec PB. Rebecca Weir (10) from Largs continued her good form and swam in four events in the 8-10 girls category. She came 4th in the 50 Breaststroke and 7th in the 100 Breaststroke and recorded PBs in 50 Backstroke (a massive -14.32 sec PB) and 50 Freestyle. Abbie Freeman (10) from Kilwinning, on trial with the Senior Squad, swam in four races in the 8-10 categories with a 7th place in 50 Freestyle, 8th place in 100 Freestyle (with a -2.61 sec PB), and two 9th places in 50 Backstroke (with a PB) and 50 Breaststroke.

For the boys: Evan Clark (9) from Stevenston swam in four events in the 8-10 age category and came 4th in the 50 Breaststroke, 5th in the 100 Freestyle, 6th in 50 Backstroke (with a PB) and 7th place in 50 Freestyle (with a PB). Craig Erentz (10) from Troon swam consistently well in his four events and came 10th in the 50 Breaststroke (with a PB) and swam in the 100 IM (-2.83 sec PB), 100 Freestyle (-2.85 sec PB), 50 Backstroke (with a PB) and 50 Freestyle. His little brother Ross (8) in his second gala, swam well in his two events: 50 Breaststroke (with a great -4.01 sec PB, from his first gala 3 weeks ago) and 50 Freestyle (first swim).

Some of these swimmers are relative newcomers to competitions and many consistently recorded PBs in their races. If anyone is interested in joining the club please check the website at www.naasc.co.uk or come along to watch the training sessions at Largs on Mondays: 5-6.30 pm, Garnock on Wednesdays 5.30 – 7 pm or Auchenharvie on Fridays 4.45 – 6.15 pm or telephone Ann Girvan, Secretary on 01475 674971 to gain more information. The Club has charitable status and is run by volunteers.

Ross Hughes (14) of Stevenston is one of three swimmers from the Senior Squad of North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club (NAASC) to have been picked by Scottish Swimming to attend Stroke Camp. This is following attendance at the 2011 District Regional Programme (DRP) where those swimmers picked for stroke camp have impressed the coaches by excelling in their application, attitude and attendance. Ross has been picked for the Freestyle Stroke Camp which takes place on 29 April.

Jennifer King (14) of Largs is one of three swimmers from the Senior Squad of North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club (NAASC) to have been picked by Scottish Swimming to attend Stroke Camp. This is following attendance at the 2011 District Regional Programme (DRP) where those swimmers picked for stroke camp have impressed the coaches by excelling in their application, attitude and attendance. Jennifer has been picked for the Backstroke Stroke Camp which takes place on 22 April.

Louise Downie (13) of Irvine is one of three swimmers from the Senior Squad of North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club (NAASC) to have been picked by Scottish Swimming to attend Stroke Camp. This is following attendance at the 2011 District Regional Programme (DRP) where those swimmers picked for stroke camp have impressed the coaches by excelling in their application, attitude and attendance. Louise has been picked for the Backstroke Camp which takes place on 22 April.

Five swimmers from the Senior Squad of North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club (NAASC) achieved qualification and swam at the Group 2 Championships held over 2 days at the Dollan Aqua Centre,, in East Kilbride on 10 and 11 March.

The event format swum in a 50m long course pool format was 14, 15 and 16 years and over age groups in events: 100m and 200IM (Individual Medley) were heats and finals, other 200, 400, 800 and 1500 m events were heat declared winners.

Julie McClymont (14) of West Kilbride swam in six races (heats and two finals) and gained two Silver Medals in the 100 and 200 Butterfly, 4th place in the 100 Backstroke and 5th place in 200 Backstroke.

John Wright (14) of Burnhouse swam in six races (heats and finals) and gained a Silver Medal in the 400 Freestyle (with a -2.51 PB) and a Bronze Medal in the 200 IM (with a -4.37 PB), 5th place in 200 Freestyle and 6th place in the 100 Freestyle.

Ross Hughes (14) from Stevenston gained a Bronze Medal in the 14 Years 1500m Freestyle – his first time swimming this long course event.

Graham Brown (16) from Troon swam in six races (heats and finals) in the 16 & over category: coming 4th in 100 and 200 Backstroke, 10th in 200 Freestyle and swam in the 400 Freestyle and 100 Freestyle with 2 PBs (Personal Best swims).

Heather McClymont (16) swam in five races (heats and finals) in the 16 & over category coming 6th place in 200 Backstroke and 200 IM and 8th place in both the 200 and 400 freestyle events.

Fraser Kane (14) of Largs a swimmer with North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club (NAASC) has been selected for the Scotland Squad for Scottish Swimming to attend the DSE (Disability Sports Events) Junior and Youth Swimming Championships in Sheffield on 24 and 25 March as part of a 22 strong team.

Fraser, who has impaired vision, was recently promoted to the Senior Squad within NAASC and has made great progress with his swimming. His hard work in training has paid off with the selection to represent his country.

$Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: C:\Users\CFraser\Documents\NAASC Web Site Files\SQUAD\graphics\wee_green.gif$ MILNGAVIE AND BEARSDEN GRADED MEET

Fourteen swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swim Club (NAASC) competed at Milngavie and Bearsden Meet held over two days on 3 and 4 March at Johnstone pool. This was a graded meet in age groups 8-9, 10-11, 12-13 and 14-17 years in the format of 50m, 100m and 200m events in Butterfly, Breaststroke, Backstroke, Freestyle and IM (Individual Medley – Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle).

Rory Dickson (10) from Glengarnock, on trial with the Senior Squad, was in terrific form with five swims and great PBs in all his races - he bagged 4 Golds in 50 Breaststroke (with a -2.87 sec PB), 50 and 100 Freestyle (-2.29 and -3.11 PBs respectively), 100 Backstroke (-4.41 PB) and 5^th place in 50 Butterfly (-0.57 PB).

Ailie MacPherson (14) of Largs secured a Gold Medal in the 200 IM and 9^th place in 100 Freestyle (with a PB) in the 14-17 years events.

Abby Kane (8) from Largs was also in fine form, showing great volume in her four events in 8-9 girls category for a relative newcomer to meets with good PBs in all her races. She bagged a Silver Medal in 50m Backstroke (-3.21 PB), a Bronze Medal in 50 Freestyle (-3.16 sec PB), 5^th place in 50m Butterfly (-4.32 PB) and 12^th place in 50m Breaststroke (-2.90 PB).

Christopher Leichti (16) from Kilbirnie swam well in his six races with 5 PBs, and secured a Bronze Medal in the 200 IM, 4^th place in 100 Butterfly (-3.11 sec PB), 5^th place in 100 Breaststroke (with a 24 sec PB!), 9^th place in both 100 Backstroke (-3.92 PB) and 200 Freestyle in the 14-17 years category.

For the boys: Angus Dickson (13) of Glengarnock swam in four events: and secured 4^th place in 100 Freestyle, 5^th in 50m Butterfly, 8^th in the 100 Backstroke (-2.03 sec PB) and 10^th in 50 Breaststroke (also a PB). Big brother Andrew Dickson (14) swam in four races with 3 Pbs. He gained 5^th place in 200 Backstroke (-3.93 sec PB), 11^th place in 200 Breaststroke and swam in the 100 Freestyle (-5.09 PB) and 100 Breaststroke (-3.06 PB) in the 14-17 years category. Adam Kirkwood (12) of Kilwinning had four good swims recording all PBs – he came 7^th in 200IM (a great -6.38 sec PB) and 8^th in both 50m Butterfly (-4.20 PB) and 100 Freestyle (-1.34 PB) and 9^th in 100 Backstroke (-1.82 PB). John Fowlie (9) of Saltcoats swam in 2 events and came 12^th in the 50m Backstroke and 14^th in 50m Freestyle (with a great -11.95 sec PB). Craig Erentz (10) of Troon swam in 5 races : 50 Backstroke (-2.87 PB), 50 Breaststroke, 100IM and 100 Freestyle (with a terrific -6.35 sec PB) in 10-11 years category. His little brother Ross Erentz (8), a newcomer, swimming in his first gala, swam strongly in the 50 Breaststroke.

For the girls: Meredith Scott (10) of Kilmarnock, on trial with the Senior Squad, swam in two races recording both PBs coming 7^th in 50m Butterfly (-0.52 sec PB) and 13^th in 100 Freestyle (with a great -6.59 PB) in 10-11 age category. Amy Macpherson (14) of Largs came 7^th in 200 Freestyle and 12^th in 100 Backstroke (-2.54 sec PB) in 14-17 years age category. Rebecca Weir (10) from Largs, a relative newcomer swam well gaining all PBs, to come 13^th in both 50 (-1.41 sec PB) and 100 Breaststroke (first time swim) and swam in the 100 IM (-2.14 PB) in the 10-11 age category. Jenna Hambleton (8) of Largs, another relative newcomer, swam in 3 events recording 2 PBs: the 50m Breaststroke and 100IM (an impressive -8.96 sec PB) in the 8-9 age years category.

The hard work in training has paid off with 83% of swimmers gaining PBs in their races – a great achievement! If anyone is interested in joining the club please check the website at www.naasc.co.uk or come along to watch the training sessions at Largs Mondays: 5-6.30 pm, Garnock Wednesdays 5.30 – 7 pm or Auchenharvie 4.45 – 6.15 pm to gain more information. The Club has charitable status and is run by volunteers.

$Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: C:\Users\CFraser\Documents\NAASC Web Site Files\SQUAD\graphics\wee_green.gif$ NORTH AYRSHIRE 200 MEET

North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club (NAASC) hosted the first of its four annual meets at Auchenharvie Leisure Centre, Stevenston over 2 days on 11 and 12 February. The meet proved to be very popular with 28 clubs coming through to participate: from as far away as Shetland, Carlisle and Fife. The meet was heavily oversubscribed with many swimmers not being successful in getting swims. The format of events was 200m (butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle and Individual Medley) in the male and female age groups: 10 years and under, 11s through to 14 years, 15-16 and 17 and over and Open events for 400m (16 lengths)m, 800m and 1500m Freestyle and 400m Individual Medley with heat declared winners.

Eighteen swimmers from the Club took part:

Jordan Hughes (15) of Stevenston was in terrific form competing in six races in the 15-16 age group: gaining 4 Gold Medals in 200 and 400 Freestyle (securing Meet Records for both!), 200IM and 1500 Freestyle, a Silver Medal in 200 Breaststroke and a Bronze Medal in Backstroke securing 3 Personal Bests. He was also awarded Best Boy Shield for the 15-16 Year age group.

Emma Scully (10) of Fairlie was also in great form competing in six races: she was successful in obtaining 2 Gold Medals (200 Butterfly and 200 Backstroke both with PBs), a Silver Medal (200 Breaststroke with an 8 second PB in her last race of the meet), two Bronze Medals (200 IM and 200 Freestyle) and she also competed in the 400 IM. She was rewarded in her efforts by securing Best 10 Year Old Girl Shield.

Hannah Watson (15) of Troon, swam well in the 15-16 years age group to gain a Gold Medal in the 200 Butterfly with a 3.39 second PB, a Silver Medal in the Breaststroke and 8^th in Freestyle with a PB, and 12^th place in the 800 Open Freestyle

Ross Hughes (14) of Stevenston performed well swimming in his four races with all PBs: he secured a Gold in the 200 Freestyle, a superb 4^th place in the 800 Freestyle, 5^th place in the 400IM (with a great 17.43 second PB) and 7^th place in the 400 Freestyle.

Catriona Fowlie (12) of Saltcoats swam well in her four races: securing two Silver Medals in the 200 Butterfly and Backstroke (with a great 6.88 second PB), a Bronze Medal in the Freestyle and 7^th in Breaststroke (another good PB of 6.69 seconds).

Graham Brown (16) of Troon, swam in three races and secured two Silver Medals in 15-16 years 200 Backstroke and Freestyle and also competed in the 400 Freestyle.

Glen Duffy (12) of Largs, competed in five races recording 2 PBs, swimming well to gain a Silver Medal in the 200 Butterfly (with a PB) and coming 9^th in the Breaststroke and 200IM, 10^th in Freestyle (with a PB) and 11^th in 200 Backstroke.

Jennifer King (13) of Largs had an exceptional swim securing a Silver Medal in the 1500m Open Freestyle smashing a West District record for 13 years age group by taking 8 seconds of the record. She also competed in the 400 Freestyle.

Julie McClymont (14) of West Kilbride swam in four races: gaining a Silver Medal in the Backstroke and coming 4^th in the 200IM, 5^th in Freestyle and competed also in the 400 Open Freestyle event. Big sister Heather (16) also swam in four races coming 4^th in the 15-16 years 200 IM and Backstroke, 7^th in the Freestyle and 15^th in the 400 Open Freestyle.

John Wright (14) of Burnhouse swam well in his two races recording both PBs to secure a Silver Medal in the 200 Freestyle and 13^th place in the 400 Open Freestyle.

Craig Nisbet (13) of Stevenston, recovering from an injury, put in a good performance in his four races recording all PBs: coming 4^th in the Butterfly (2.54 second PB), 5^th in Backstroke, 12^th in the Freestyle and competed in the 400 Open Freestyle (4.62 second PB).

Louise Downie (13) of Irvine swam in four races: she competed for the first time in the 800 Open Freestyle event and then swam shortly afterwards coming in 10^th place in the 200 Backstroke (just outside a PB – a good swim following a gruelling 32 length swim!) She also gained 9^th place in the 200 IM and competed in the 200 Freestyle.

Lewis Henry (11) of Irvine, on trial with the Senior Squad, swam well in his 3 races recording 2 Pbs with a 5^th place in Breaststroke, 11^th in Backstroke (with a 5.51 second PB) and 12^th in Freestyle. His big sister Georgia (13) of Irvine, swam for the first time in the 800 Freestyle and enjoyed competing at this distance!

Adam Kirkwood (12) of Kilwinning, a newcomer to these distances, competed in two races coming 10^th in Breaststroke and 13^th in Backstroke.

Three other newcomers gaining experience at this level of Meet were 10 year olds: Meredith, Abbie and Connor, all still in the Junior Squad. Meredith Scott is from Kilmarnock and came a superb 4^th place in the Breaststroke recording a PB. Abbie Freeman from Kilwinning swam in two races: with a fine 6^th place in the Backstroke (and a 3.93 second PB) also competing in the Breaststroke and Connor Tarran from Fairlie competed in the 200IM.

North Ayrshire Amateur Swim Club (NAASC) is a club mainly run by volunteers and has charitable status. Parents of the NAASC swimmers rallied round to host the very busy Meet which was deemed, from feedback since the weekend from some of the competing clubs, to be a great success in terms of hospitality and running of the meet.

Full details of the results and information about the Club for anyone interested in joining can be found at www.naasc.co.uk.

Christopher Liechti (age 16) who swims for North Ayrshire Amateur Swim Club (NAASC) has been selected by Pentathlon GB to represent Great Britain at the GB Youth International taking place at Hartpury College, Gloucester on 10^th March 2012.

Athletes from Germany, Hungary, Spain, Portugal and Japan will be competing against young British athletes in this multi disciplinary sport.

At Youth level pentathletes only compete in four disciplines: swimming, fencing, running and shooting. The fifth phase, riding, is only done at international level when athletes are over 18 years of age.

The day will start at 6.30am with a 200 metre swim. This is followed by fencing at 9am, and the final phase, combined shoot and run is scheduled for midday.

The 200 metre swim is the same length as is swum in Pentathlon at the Olympic Games.

Fencing is with an epee, and the whole body is the target. The athletes fence all other competitors in one minute bouts, with only one hit needed to register a victory. After the swim and fencing phases the athletes are seeded and given a handicap for the start of the combined shoot and run. The leading competitor sets off first with the next athletes in order after him. They shoot down five targets at a 10 metre range and then run 1 km, followed by another 5 target shoot, another 1km run, and a final shoot and 1 km run. Total run 3km and 15 targets. The finish is quite exciting as due to the handicapping system spectators can see which athlete is going to win overall, and those that can shoot down their targets quickly can often bring themselves up the order and finish in a better place than where they started.

In this competition Christopher (who has just turned 16) will be competing in a higher age group than normal, so he will be up against 17 and 18 year olds who have quite a lot of international experience. He produced a Personal Best in his swim at the selection competition in mid February, so is hoping for another good performance on 10^th March. Christopher as well as training with North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club, also trains with North Ayrshire Athletics Club. He also gets great help from the team at Maximum Potential gym in Stevenston, and fences in Glasgow with Salle Rollo. Christopher is a pupil at Largs Academy and is taking Highers this year. We wish Christopher the best of luck in this forthcoming international competition representing TeamGB.

Full details of the results and information about the Club for anyone interested in joining can be found at www.naasc.co.uk.

A record number of 22 swimmers from North Ayrshire Swimming Club achieved qualification and swam at the Group 1 Championships held over 2 days at The Tryst Sports Centre in Cumbernauld. The Championships were well attended by 28 clubs from all over the West District: from as far afield as Grangemouth down to Dumfries including Glasgow, Falkirk Otters and REN96 with over 300 hundred swimmers in each session. The event format was 10-12, 13, 14, and 15Years & Over 100m events in Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle and 200IM (Individual Medley) with heats and finals for all events.

Jennifer King (13) of Largs was in excellent form: having ten swims (heats and 5 finals). She bagged four Golds (100 Butterfly, Freestyle, Backstroke and 200 IM) and a Bronze Medal (100 Breaststroke).

Catriona Fowlie (12) of Saltcoats was also in the medals having 6 swims (heats and finals). She received a Silver Medal in the 100 Backstroke and two Bronze Medals in the Freestyle and Butterfly recording 2 (Personal Bests) PBs.

For the boys: Craig Nisbet (13) of Stevenston had an excellent 5 swims (heats and two finals) recording all PBs and making the finals in 100 Backstroke 4th place and 100 Butterfly 5th place and 9th place in the Freestyle. This was a great achievement as Craig was recovering from an injury which has led him to restrict training. Glen Duffy (12) of Largs swam in six races (heats and one final) making the final in the 10-12 100 Butterfly with 4th place and competing in Backstroke, Freestyle, Breaststroke and 200 IM. Graham Brown (16) of Troon swam well in his six races (heats and one final) recording 5 PBs and came 5th in the 100 Backstroke, 7th in 200IM, 10th in 100 Freestyle and 12th in Butterfly. Ross Hughes (14) of Stevenston, swam well in his four races (heats and finals) recording all PBs with a 4th place in the Butterfly and 5th place in the 100 Freestyle. ( A great effort as he has just had a birthday having to swim in the next age group.) John Wright (14) of Burnhouse swam in four races (heats and one final) coming 6th in Butterfly final, 11th in 200IM and swam in 100 Freestyle recording 2 PBs. Angus Dickson (12) of Glengarnock swam in three races: 100 Backstroke, Freestyle and Butterfly.

For the girls: Georgia Henry (13) of Irvine swam in five races (heats and two finals) coming 5th in the 200IM,, 6th place in 100 Backstroke and 12th place in 100 Breaststroke. Julie McClymont (14) of West Kilbride swam in five races (heats and one final) and came 6th place in the 100 Butterfly, 9th in both Backstroke and 200IM and swam in 100 Freestyle. Big sister Heather McClymont (16) swam in four races (heats and finals) with 6th place in 100 Freestyle and swam in 100 Butterfly and 200IM. Louise Downie (13) of Irvine swam in four races: 100 Butterfly, Freestyle, Backstroke and Breaststroke. Gina Allan (13) of Wemyss Bay swam in two events 100 Freestyle and 200IM recording 2 PBs. Samantha King (15) of Largs swam in the 100 Freestyle and Butterfly. Ailie MacPherson (13) of Largs swam in the 200IM and Danielle Joyce (15) swam in the 100 Freestyle. Emma Scully (10) of Fairlie, was one of only a handful of 10 year olds there. She swam well in her four races in the 10-12 Age Group: and in 100 Butterfly came 16th place, also competing in Backstroke and Breaststroke and 200 IM recording 3 PBs.

For five swimmers: Ethan, Fraser, Zoe, Connor and Adam this was their first West District having achieved the qualification times: Fraser Kane (13) of Largs swam in the 100 Years Breaststroke recording a great 6 second PB. Ethan Judge (13) of Irvine, in his first competition outside the club, also swam an excellent 100 Breaststroke and recorded 5.18 sec PB. Zoe Nix (13) of Irvine, swam well in the 100 Breaststroke recording a 2.10 sec PB. Connor Nicol (15) of Stevenston, also in his first competition outside the club swam in the 100 Breaststroke. Adam Kirkwood (12) of Kilwinning swam in two races: 10-12 Years 100 Backstroke and 100 Free recording one PB.

The number of swimmers that qualified for these Championships was a great achievement for such a small Club and is down to the hard work of the swimmers and dedication and commitment of the Head Coach Sharon Welsh.

Full details of the results and information about the Club for anyone interested in joining can be found at www.naasc.co.uk.

Thirteen junior swimmers from North Ayrshire Swim Club (NAASC) travelled down to Ayr to take part in the South Ayrshire Open Swim Meet at The Citadel, Ayr on Sunday 29 January.

This was attended by: REN96, South Ayrshire, Kilmarnock, Inverclyde, Dunoon, Helensburgh and Kintyre swimming clubs for those swimmers in the age groups 8 to 12 years. The swims were in the format of : 50m, 100IM (Individual Medley – 1 length of Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle) and 200m Freestyle events. The top 6 swimmers in each event earning points for their team towards Best Club.

Emma Scully (10) from Fairlie was in terrific form and came away with a haul of medals: three Golds (50 Butterfly, 50 Backstroke and 200 Freestyle) and three Silver medals (50 Breaststroke, 50 Freestyle and 100 IM) with Personal Bests (PBs) achieved in all her 6 races. She was taken on by South Ayrshire’s Katie Robertson in all six races (who also got three Golds). The girls in their last race of the day: 200m Freestyle both had fantastic swims – a great race to watch for spectators -and for the whole 8 lengths they were neck and neck, right to the final touch, Emma getting the Gold by 16/100 of a second.

Rory Dickson (10) from Glengarnock, put in a great performance to get a Gold Medal in the 10 Years 50m Backstroke (with a fantastic swim achieving his target of getting under 40 secs), a Silver Medal in the 100 IM and a Bronze Medal in the 200 Freestyle. He recorded PBs in all his races. A great performance considering he has just turned ten this month and now has to swim in the next age group. His big brother Angus (12) swam in four races: getting a Silver Medal in the 12 Years 50 Freestyle and three Bronze Medals in the 50m Butterfly, 100IM and 200 Freestyle recording 3 PBs

Evan Clark (9) swam in 5 races: he got a Gold Medal in the 8-9 Breaststroke and three Silver Medals in the 8-9 Year 50m Butterfly, Freestyle and 100 IM (he swam all 4 lengths with no goggles – proving you should never give up if your goggles come off – a well deserved Silver medal.) He also gained 4^th place in 50m Backstroke.

Lewis Henry (11) of Irvine swam well and got a Bronze medal in the 11 Years 50m Backstroke, came 4^th in the 50 Freestyle and 100IM and 5^th in the 50m Butterfly and Breaststroke and recorded PB s in all his races.

Abbie Freeman (10) of Kilwinning, swam in 6 races and got a Bronze Medal in the 200m Freestyle, 5^th places in 50m Breaststroke and Freestyle and swam in the 50 Butterfly, Backstroke and 100IM. She swam well recording PBs in 5 of her races including (18 seconds off her 100IM and 7 seconds off her 50 Fly)

Rebecca Weir (10) from Largs, in her first competition outside the club, swam well with a 6th place in 50 Breaststroke (with a six second PB and earning a point towards Best Club), and swam in the 50m Freestyle (with a 4 second PB) and 100IM (with a 13 second PB).

Andrew Sutherland (8) from Fairlie, another newcomer to competitions, swam in the 50m Backstroke (with a massive 8.25 secs PB) and Freestyle (also a PB)

Abby Kane (8) of Largs swam very well in all her 4 races recording all PB s in the 8 -9 Years: 50 Butterfly, (4.84 second PB) Breaststroke, Backstroke (4.54 second PB) and Freestyle (4.31 second PB)

Jenna Hambleton (8) of Largs had two good swims recording PBs in the 8 – 9 Years Breaststroke (0.78 second PB) and Freestyle (3.52 second PB)

James Marshall (10) of Largs, swam in 6 races, recording 4 Pbs with a 5^th place in 10 Years Breaststroke, swam in the 50m Backstroke (5.93 second PB), 50 Freestyle (under 40 seconds with a 1.95 second PB), 100 IM and 8^th place in 200 Freestyle (his first time swimming 8 lengths).

Meredith Scott (10) from Kilmarnock swam in 2 races and recorded Pbs in both with a 5^th place in the 50m Backstroke and 6^th place in the 200 Freestyle (with a 7.49 second PB)

Craig Erentz (10) of Troon ? swam well in 5 races: recording PB s in all his races: the 10 Years Butterfly (3.38 second PB), Breaststroke, Freestyle, 100 IM and 200 Freestyle:

Well done to all the swimmers taking part: for some of the younger swimmers this was their first swimming competition outside their own Club. Along with some of the more experienced members they achieved over 83% of PBs in their races and helped North Ayrshire Swim Club to come 3^rd in Best Club of the Day behind South Ayrshire and REN96.

Full details of the results and information about the Club for anyone interested in joining can be found at www.naasc.co.uk.

$Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: C:\Users\CFraser\Documents\NAASC Web Site Files\SQUAD\graphics\wee_green.gif$ STIRLING JUNIOR OPEN MEET

Seven swimmers from North Ayrshire Swim Club (NAASC) travelled up to Stirling to take part in the 2012 Stirling Swimming Open Swim Meet at The Peak, Stirling Sports Village held over two days on 21 and 22 January.

This was a popular open meet attended by over 20 clubs from all over Central Scotland and the competition was fierce. The age groups were 11 to 14 years in the format of 100m swims (heats and finals) and 200m event swims (heat declared winners).

Catriona Fowlie (12) from Saltcoats continued her great form from the Grand Prix Swim last weekend with Personal Bests (PBs) in all her races. She was rewarded with a Bronze Medal in the Female 12 Years 200 IM taking 13.31 seconds off her PB, making the finals in both her 100m events: with a Bronze Medal in the 100 Backstroke and 4^th place in the 100 Freestyle and in her final event a 4^th place in the 200m Freestyle with another terrific 9.28 seconds off her PB.

Jennifer King (13) of Largs was also in terrific form with ten swims over the two days and was awarded the Trophy for the Top 13 Year Old Girl at the end of the Meet. In her 13 Years 200m events she bagged two Golds in her 200 IM and 200 Freestyle. She made the finals in all her four 100m events: with a further 2 Gold Medals in the 100 Backstroke and 100 Freestyle and a Bronze Medal in the 100 Fly and 4^th place in the 100 Breast.

Liam Cairns (12) of Kilbirnie recovering after an illness, undertook ten swims over the weekend and was successful in gaining two silver medals in the Male 12 Years 200 IM and 200 Freestyle and made the finals in all his 100m events: with another Silver Medal in the 100 Fly and three Bronze Medals in the 100 Freestyle, 100 Backstroke and 100 Breaststroke.

Georgia Henry (13) of Irvine, swam in six races recording 4 PBs and was rewarded with a Bronze medal in the Female 13 Years 200 IM with 5.11 seconds off her PB, just missing out in 7^th place for places in the finals for both 100 Breaststroke and 100 Fly, with 9^th place in 200 Freestyle and 11^th place in 100 Backstroke. Her little brother Lewis Henry (11) was the youngest swimmer in attendance from North Ayrshire in the Junior Squad, on trial with the Senior Squad, just starting out with competitions at this next level. He swam well recording PBs in all his races. He swam three 100m races in Male 11 Years age group coming 9^th in 100 Breast and 10^th in both the 100 Backstroke and 100 IM.

Another newcomer to competitions at this level, having recently progressed to the Senior Squad, is Adam Kirkwood (12) of Kilwinning who swam in three races: Male 12 Years 200 IM, 100 and 200 Freestyle, achieving 2 PBs,with an excellent 4.26 seconds off his 100 Freestyle.

Glen Duffy (12) of Largs swam in seven races and made the final of the Male 12 Years 100m Fly coming in 5^th place, he also came 10^th in the 100 Free, 12^th in the 100 Backstroke with 4.99 seconds off his PB, 11^th in the 200IM, competing in the 200 Free, gaining a PB and 100 Breaststroke.

Well done to all the swimmers taking part in a fiercely fought competition with so many other able competitors from other clubs. The hard work in training has paid off with many of the swimmers gaining PBs. A great start to the New Year, long may it continue!

Full details of the results and information about the Club for anyone interested in joining can be found at www.naasc.co.uk.

A team of young swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club made the long journey to Inverness just before Christmas to compete in the Scottish National Short Course Championships where a number of Scotland’s top swimmers, including 2010 Commonwealth Games champion, Hannah Miley, were in action.

With Glasgow’s Tollcross Pool now closed for extensive refurbishment in readiness for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Inverness won the opportunity to host this prestigious meet held over four days in the 25 metre pool and fortunately the weather was kind for the travelling swimmers and their supporters.

North Ayrshire had eight swimmers who had qualified for the meet, aged from 12 to 16. The events were organised in a mixture of open age group format, age 14 and under for the girls and age 15 and under for the boys.

Jordan Hughes (15) had a gruelling 16 swims over the course of the meet through a combination of heats and finals and was in outstanding form. He won the gold medal in the age 15 and under 400m Freestyle with a fine new Personal Best (“PB”) and took the silver medals in the age 15 and under 100m and 400m Individual Medley events. In the open age group category Jordan qualified for numerous finals and B finals despite being up against much older competition and won the Scottish Gas Junior Champion title in the 50m Freestyle as the highest placed swimmer aged 16 and under.

Jennifer King (13) also had a demanding programme with 14 swims over the meet with some great swims including a fantastic gold medal in the girls’ age 14 and under 400m Freestyle with an excellent new PB. Jennifer placed fourth in the age 14 and under 800m Freestyle and in the open age group category made several finals and B finals including finishing seventh overall in the open 200m Backstroke.

Qualifying for the meet itself was a fine achievement and the other North Ayrshire swimmers enjoyed the fierce level of competition that the meet offered with some fine new PBs achieved. Graham Brown (16) finished tenth in the 1500m Freestyle with a super PB. Ross Hughes (13) delivered a string of great swims on his way to four new PBs. For Catriona Fowlie (12), Georgia Henry (13) and Hannah Watson (15) it was their first time at the National Short Course meet and all admitted to some pre-race nerves especially before their first swims in the meet but all three girls managed some great new PBs as did Rheanna Sloss (16) in the 200m Breaststroke.

Full details of the results and information about the Club for anyone interested in joining can be found at www.naasc.co.uk.

Swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club were in competitive action recently in the final two rounds of the 2011 West District Championships. First up was the Group 6 meet, held over two days at Grangemouth Sports Complex with swimmers competing over the longer distances from 400m through to 1500m.

Liam Cairns (12) delivered strong swims on his way to three gold medals in the boys’ age 10-12 category with great new Personal Bests (“PB”) in the 400m Individual Medley (“IM”), 1500m and 400m Freestyle.

Jennifer King (13) picked up two gold medals from her two swims in the girls’ age 13 category 400m IM and 400m Freestyle, with a new PB in the latter event. Moving down the age range to the girls’ age 10-12 category, Catriona Fowlie (12) swam strongly to take three silver medals in the 400m and 800m Freestyle and 400m IM.

Points are awarded to the team for places in the first six in each event and also picking up points for North Ayrshire were Georgia Henry (13), Craig Nisbet (13) and John Wright (14).

Next up for North Ayrshire’s swimmers was the Group 7 meet, held over two days at the Tryst Sports Centre in Cumbernauld, with swimmers competing over the 200m distances with the events held in a heats and finals format.

In the girls’ age 13 category, Jennifer King won two gold medals, in the 200m Freestyle and Backstroke and placed fourth in the Breaststroke. In the same age group Georgia Henry achieved some great PBs as she took the silver medal in the 200m Butterfly and the bronze medal in the 200m Backstroke.

In the girls’ age 15 category, Hannah Watson (15) won the silver medal in the 200m Breaststroke and placed fourth in the 200m Butterfly.

Liam Cairns again produced excellent swims in the boys’ age 10-12 category as he won three gold medals in the 200m Backstroke, Butterfly and Freestyle and a bronze medal in the 200m Breaststroke with some great new PBs secured along the way. Ross Hughes (13) recorded some superb new PBs, notably in the boys’ age 13 category 200m Freestyle, as he took the gold medal in that event, and in the 200m Butterfly where he won the silver medal. Older brother, Jordan (15), won the gold medals in the boys’ age 15 category 200m Butterfly and Freestyle.

Also picking up points for North Ayrshire with places in the top six were John Wright and Craig Nisbet with Emma Scully (10), the youngest North Ayrshire swimmer at the meet recording an excellent PB in the 200m Butterfly.

Full details of the results and information for anyone interested in joining the Club can be found at www.naasc.co.uk.

North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club recently played host to swimmers from far and wide at its successful 2011 Distance Meet. Held over two days at Auchenharvie Leisure Centre, the meet attracted swimmers from as far afield as Carlisle and East Lothian, providing an opportunity to compete over the gruelling 1500m, 800m and 400m distances in open age group format as well as a series of events over shorter distances in age group categories.

North Ayrshire’s swimmers were in impressive form over the two days with a great haul of medals and, more importantly, some fine new Personal Best (“PB”) times.

Jennifer King (13) delivered some sparkling swims and a clutch of new PBs as she won four gold medals in the girls’ age 13 category 200m Freestyle, 200m Butterfly and 200m Breaststroke and in the open age group category 800m Freestyle in which she broke the West District Age Group record. In the same age group, Georgia Henry (13) swam a demanding eight events and won gold in the 200m Individual Medley (“IM”) and silver medals in the 200m Butterfly and Backstroke and achieved some massive new PBs. Also in age 13 category, Louise Downie secured the bronze medal in the 200m Backstroke with a new PB.

In the girls’ age 12 category Catriona Fowlie (12) swam strongly to win the gold medal in the 200m Butterfly and recorded superb PBs in her other events including knocking 48 seconds off her 800m Freestyle time.

The younger girls were also in fine form with Emma Scully swimming consistently well as she won three gold medals in the girls’ age 10 and under 200m IM, Backstroke and Freestyle with great PBs. Abbie Freeman (10) picked up the bronze medals in the 200m Backstroke and Freestyle and Meredith Scott took the bronze in the 200m Breaststroke in the same age group.

In the girls’ age 11 category Katie Inch (11) won the silver medal in the 200m IM and bronze medals in the 200m Breaststroke, Backstroke and Freestyle with a clean sweep of new PBs.

Moving up the age range, Julie McClymont (14) won the gold medal in the girls’ age 14 category 200m Backstroke and won silver medals in the 200m IM and Freestyle. Older sister, Heather (16), swimming in the girls’ age 15-16 category, won silver in the 200m IM and bronze in the 200m Backstroke.

Also in the age 15-16 category, Rheanna Sloss (16) won gold in the 200m Backstroke, silver in the 200m Butterfly and bronze in the open 400m IM and Hannah Watson (15) won the silver medal in the 200m Breaststroke.

Turning to the boys, Liam Cairns (12) looked strong in the water with some excellent new PBs and four gold medals in the boys’ age 12 category 200m Breaststroke, IM, Butterfly and Backstroke with Angus Dickson (12) taking the silver medal and Adam Kirkwood (12) the bronze in the 200m Freestyle in the same age group. Also in that group Glen Duffy (12) won the silver medal in the 200m Butterfly and bronze medals in the 200m IM and Backstroke.

In the boys’ age 13 category Ross Hughes (13) continued his recent impressive form as he won the gold medals in the 200m Breaststroke (breaking the Meet Record for this event in the process), Backstroke and IM with excellent new PBs, Craig Nisbet (13) won silver in the 200m Butterfly and Backstroke and bronze in the 200m Freestyle as he knocked chunks of time off his previous best and Andrew Dickson (13) took the silver in the 200m Breaststroke and also bagged some great new PBs.

Moving up to the boys’ age 14 category, John Wright (14) put in a great swim to win the gold in the 200m IM.

In the boys’ age 15-16 category, Jordan Hughes (15) was again in good form as he won the gold medals in the 200m Breaststroke and IM, silver in the 200m Backstroke and winning bronze in the open age group 1500m Freestyle. Also in the age 15-16 group, Connor Nicol (15) recorded a good PB to take the bronze medal in the 200m Freestyle and Graham Brown (16) won gold in the 200m Backstroke and silver in the 200m IM as well as winning gold in the open age group 400m Freestyle with excellent PBs.

In the boys’ age 10 and under category, Rory Dickson (10) swam well to win the gold medal in the 200m Backstroke, silver in the 200m Freestyle and bronze in the 200m Breaststroke with Lewis Henry (10) taking the silver in the 200m Backstroke, bronze in the 200m Freestyle and IM with both boys achieving excellent PBs.

Full details of the results and information for anyone interested in joining the Club can be found at www.naasc.co.uk.

North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club recently played host to a number of clubs in the 2011 Development Meet, held over two days at a busy Auchenharvie Leisure Centre. This meet was aimed at developing swimmers with participation targeted at those swimming slower than pre-set consideration times and also provides a platform for more experienced swimmers who wish to try more challenging events for the first time.

North Ayrshire’s swimmers put in some superb performances, securing a huge haul of medals and, more importantly, a great collection of new Personal Best (“PB”) times.

Angus Dickson (12) scored a hat-trick of gold medals in the boys’ age 12 category, winning the 100m Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle, also swimming too fast for a medal in the 100m Butterfly, and a clean sweep of PBs from his four swims. Angus’s brothers were also in impressive form, with Rory (9) winning five gold medals in the boys’ age 9 category, together with a silver medal, and Andrew (13) picking up one gold, two silver and two bronze medals with a great PB in his 400m Freestyle.

Adam Kirkwood (12) continued his impressive progress as he won a pair of gold medals in the 200m Freestyle and Individual Medley and silver in the 100m Backstroke with new PBs across the board in the boys’ age 12 category. Ailie MacPherson (12) delivered two great swims as she took the gold medal in the 200m Individual Medley and the silver in the 100m Freestyle in the girls’ age 12 category with fine PBs secured too.

Christopher Liechti (15) took a break from modern pentathlon to focus on the swimming discipline and despite carrying a leg injury won four gold medals in his four swims in the boys’ age 15 category. Connor Nicol (15) scored a pair of bronze medals and PBs in his two swims in the same category. In the girls’ category at the same age, Hannah Watson picked up a pair of gold medals and swam too fast in a number of other events. Louise Downie (13) won the gold medal in the girls’ age 13 category 100m Breaststroke with a new PB and also swam too fast in another event.

Katie Inch (10) secured the gold medal in the girls’ age 10 400m Freestyle and achieved several new PBs with Emma Scully (10) taking gold in the 50m Breaststroke in the same age category and both girls were too fast in several of their events. The age 10 category was a busy one for North Ayrshire’s girls with Jasmine Mackillop also producing a string of super swims, including a 20 second PB in the 400m Freestyle, as she picked up a pair of silver medals, a bronze and some too fasts. In the age 10 boys’ events, James Marshall picked up a bronze medal in the 50m Freestyle and had some fine new PBs.

Craig Nisbet (13) swam strongly in the boys’ age 13 group to pick up the gold medal in the 100m Freestyle and silver in the 100m Breaststroke with new PBs. In the boys’ age 12 category Ethan Judge swam well to take the silver medal in the 100m Breaststroke. Evan Clark (9) again showed great promise with some super swims in the boys’ age 9 category as he won two silver and two bronze medals and Connor Tarran won a silver and a bronze in the same age group as he recorded new PBs across all of his six events. Rachel Holmes had some great PBs in the girls’ age 9 group as well as taking bronze in the 50m Freestyle and Meredith Scott won a pair of silver medals.

This meet is a fine opportunity for young swimmers to compete for the first time and North Ayrshire had several swimmers in that category who seemed to relish the chance. John Fowlie (8) won a pair of silver medals and Andrew Sutherland (8) won a silver and a bronze in the boys’ age 8 category. For the girls Abby Kane (8) won two silver medals and Daisy Wilson (8) a pair of bronze medals.

Finally, an addendum to the recent report on West District Group 5 which omitted to mention the fine performance of Ross Hughes (13) who returned to excellent form with a string of new PBs and picked up a fifth and a sixth place as one of the younger swimmers in the age 13-14 category.

Full details of the results and information about the Club for anyone interested in joining can be found at www.naasc.co.uk.

Swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club returned to serious competitive action recently after the summer break in Group 5 of the 2011 West District Championships. This meet was held over two days at the Citadel Leisure Centre in Ayr and is based around the short 50m sprint distances which are swam rarely for swimmers at this level so it is a great chance to update Personal Best (“PB”) times as well as to pursue medals. With a format consisting of heats and finals for the fastest six swimmers in each event it also offers a good spectacle for spectators

Liam Cairns (12) was in superb form in the boys’ age 10-12 category as he recorded PBs in all of his swims with a great haul of four gold medals in the 50m Freestyle, Backstroke and Butterfly, the 100m Individual Medley and a silver medal in the 50m Breaststroke. In the girls’ age 10-12 category, Demi Orr (12) produced a strong swim in the 50m Butterfly to win the gold medal in a new PB time and Demi also took a bronze medal in the 100m Individual Medley.

Jennifer King (13) put in an excellent swim to win the silver medal in the 50m Backstroke in the girls’ age 13-14 category. Points are awarded for places in the top six in each event and Jennifer also finished sixth in the 50m Freestyle while sister Samantha (15) took fifth place in the age 15-16 category 50m Butterfly. In the same category Danielle Joyce (15) swam well to win the silver medal in the 50m Freestyle and also finished in sixth place in the 50m Backstroke and Rheanna Sloss (16) finished in sixth place in the 50m Breaststroke.

Catriona Fowlie (11) recorded a string of good swims in the girls’ age 10-12 category as she finished fifth in the 50m Freestyle and sixth in the 50m Backstroke as well as achieving a clutch of new PBs. Moving up to the girls’ age 13-14 category, Julie McClymont took sixth place in the 50m Butterfly. In the boys’ age 13-14 category Ross Hughes (13) returned to great form with a string of new PBs and a fifth and sixth place as one of the younger swimmers in that age group.

In overall terms, North Ayrshire’s swimmers achieved significantly more PBs than at this stage of the season in previous years which demonstrates the benefits of the additional conditioning training that the swimmers have been doing outside the pool at the Maximum Potential sports conditioning centre in Stevenston.

While the swimmers were in action in Ayr, Jordan Hughes (15) was swimming in Sheffield representing Scotland North & West in the 2011 UK Schools Games where he secured a super new PB in the 50m Freestyle.

Full details of the results and information about the Club for anyone interested in joining can be found at www.naasc.co.uk.

Swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club competed recently at the British Gas ASA Age Group Championships at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, and one, Jordan Hughes (14), came away with a magnificent hat-trick of gold medals and a silver medal after delivering a string of superb swims.

The British Age Groups represent the top level of competition in the UK for age group swimmers and securing the qualifying times themselves represents a fantastic achievement, allowing swimmers to go head to head against the fastest age group swimmers from all across the UK. The competition is a major sporting event held over five gruelling days with all of the razzmatazz associated with a top level competition.

Young Jordan Hughes has achieved success consistently at this level before but as the swimmers grow older and develop the competition becomes fiercer still. Jordan’s countless hours of dedicated training in the pool and the gym were geared to produce performances at this meet and he delivered in style. First up for Jordan in the boys’ age 14 category was the final of the testing 200m Butterfly: Jordan tracked the early leader for the first three lengths and then pushed on powerfully in the last 50m to pull away and take his first gold of the session. A short time later he took to the start blocks again for the final of the 100m Freestyle where he was trailing in the lower places at the turn but, as in the heats earlier that day, he produced a stunning second 50m to surge clear and take the gold medal with his joy at winning evident for all to see. He also had the delight of producing new Personal Best (“PB”) times in both finals which is the objective of all of the competitors.

Jordan then went on the next day to record another super swim in the 200m Freestyle as he completed his hat-trick of gold medals and was pipped as he took the silver medal in the 100m Butterfly. Jordan also produced fine swims in the 400m Freestyle, as he placed fifth in the final, and in the 200m Individual Medley, where he placed eighth overall.

Jennifer King (13) swam very well in her favourite 200m Backstroke as she, first, qualified for the final and then recorded an excellent PB as she took fourth place in the girls’ age 13 category. Jennifer had also secured the qualifying times for six other events which was an excellent achievement.

Catriona Fowlie (11) was the youngest North Ayrshire swimmer to have qualified and was swimming in her first meet at this level in the girls’ age 11 category 200m Backstroke. Catriona produced a super swim to achieve a new PB and commented, “I have never experienced anything like this at a swim meet and it was a bit overwhelming but I really enjoyed it”.

North Ayrshire also had a boys’ relay team in action in the 4* 200m Freestyle with entry having been secured due to the time recorded at the Scottish Age Groups earlier this year. Jordan Hughes was again in action in this event and was joined by brother, Ross (13), Liam Cairns (12) and Craig Nisbet (13) with the boys enjoying the experience.

Special mention should also be made of Head Coach, Sharon Welsh, for whom the meet is a tense time as the months and years of preparation are put to the test, together with her team of coaches for their vital part in delivering these results.

The Club is always looking for swimmers who might want to join and full details of the results and information for anyone wishing to join can be found at www.naasc.co.uk.

North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club is looking for new members and is holding an open session for potential new recruits on Sunday 3 July 2011 starting at 4.15pm at the pool at Auchenharvie Leisure Centre in Stevenston. The session is open to anyone from Primary 4 upwards who can swim a 25 metre length of front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke and offers a great chance to sample what the Club has to offer. The Club aims to coach and train swimmers to a level where they can choose to compete in some of the many swim meets which are open to different levels of ability.

The Club has approximately 80 members from age 7 upwards plus a vibrant masters section for adults and has achieved significant levels of success in recent years with a number of swimmers having won medals at Scottish and British National Age Group level. This has been a tremendous achievement for what is a small club relative to many others and is a great reward for the dedication of the coaches and swimmers. The Club is split into different training squads based on swimmers’ experience and ability and has a friendly open atmosphere. Training offers a great way to improve fitness and to develop swimming skills with sessions held throughout the week at three pools in North Ayrshire at Auchenharvie, Largs and Garnock.

The free session will run from 4.15pm to 6.15pm so come along and don’t forget your swimsuit!

If you would like to have a try but can’t make it along on 3 July then you can come along to another session: further information on the Club can be found at the website at www.naasc.co.uk.

$Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: C:\Users\CFraser\Documents\NAASC Web Site Files\SQUAD\graphics\wee_green.gif$ NORTH AYRSHIRE SWIMMERS IN ACTION

Swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club were in action recently at two meets. Twelve North Ayrshire youngsters competed over two days at Tollcross Leisure Centre in Glasgow in Group 4 of the West District 2011 Championships. This meet was run in an open age group format rather than age groups meaning that securing the qualifying times was demanding in itself and that swimmers as young as 11 years old were competing effectively against adults with the pursuit of new Personal Best (“PB”) times being the main objective, especially in the 50 metre long course pool.

Jordan Hughes (14) held his own against the older swimmers as he managed to win a bronze medal in the 100m Backstroke as well as securing places in the top six in a number of his other events. Younger brother, Ross (13), managed some fine PBs, notably in the 400m Freestyle.

Jennifer King (13) swam strongly against the older competitors, picking up silver medals in the 200m Backstroke and 400m Freestyle with some good PBs along the way, also winning bronze in the 200m Freestyle and placing well in other events.

Graham Brown (15) took the bronze medal in the 200m Backstroke and had top six finishes in two other events. Also representing North Ayrshire were Liam Cairns (12), Catriona Fowlie (11), Georgia Henry (13), Heather McClymont (15), Demi Orr (12), Rheanna Sloss (15) and John Wright (13).

Another North Ayrshire team of seven swimmers was in action in the Milngavie & Bearsden Summer Graded Meet held over two days at Johnstone Pool. Craig Nisbet (13) swam strongly in the boys’ age 13-14 category with some great new PBs and a haul of four gold, one silver and one bronze medal. In the boys’ age 12 category Angus Dickson (12) produced a fine swim in the 200m Individual Medley to win the gold medal.

Declan Kerr (11) showed good form in the boys’ age 11 category as he picked up a gold medal in the 100m Backstroke as well as a silver and a bronze from his other events. For the girls, Emma Scully (10) placed first in both of her events in the age 9-10 category, the 100m Butterfly and 100m Freestyle, and Niamh Ramage (8) won three silver medals in the age 8 category 50m Breaststroke, Backstroke and Freestyle.

Full details of the results can be found at www.naasc.co.uk.

Fourteen young swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club were in action recently at Group 3 of the 2011 West District Championships held over two days at the impressive DG One Leisure Centre in Dumfries. North Ayrshire’s swimmers were in superb form as they amassed a huge haul of medals and awards with the swimmers also achieving some great new Personal Best (“PB”) times. This District level meet is for swimmers aged up to 13 years old on the date of the meet who have achieved the preset qualifying times for each event.

Georgia Henry (12) delivered a string of magnificent swims as she picked up the Best Girl award in the age 12 category. Georgia won five gold medals in the 800m Freestyle, 100m and 200m Butterfly and the 200m and 400m Individual Medley (“IM”) together with a silver medal in the 100m Backstroke with some massive PBs along the way. In the same age category Demi Orr (12) won four silver medals in the 200m and 400m IM, 100m Freestyle and 200m Breaststroke and two bronze medals in the 100m Breaststroke and 100m Butterfly. Also in the age 12 category, Louise Downie (12) swam well to win three silver medals in the 200m Backstroke and the 200m and 400m Freestyle.

Jennifer King (13) produced great swims across all of her events as she won the Best Girl award in the age 13 category. Jennifer achieved PBs in all her events as she won four gold medals in the 200m IM, 100m Freestyle and the 100m and 200m Butterfly, also picking up a silver in the 800m Freestyle and a bronze in the 200m Breaststroke. In the same category as Jennifer, Julie McClymont (13) also put in some strong swims as she won two gold medals in the 100m and 200m Backstroke, two silvers in the 200m Freestyle and 400m IM and a bronze in the 200m IM.

Catriona Fowlie (11) achieved PBs in all of her swims in the girls’ age 10-11 category as she won three gold medals in the 100m and 200m Backstroke and the 100m Butterfly and also won a silver medal in the 100m Freestyle.

Ross Hughes (13) was in impressive form with a great selection of PBs in the boys’ age 13 category. Ross won five silver medals in the 100m, 400m and 1500m Freestyle, the 100m Backstroke and 100m Butterfly. In the boys’ age 12 category Glen Duffy delivered a strong swim in his favourite 100m Butterfly to win the silver medal.

Emma Scully (10) was the youngest North Ayrshire swimmer and was making her first appearance at District level. Emma swam well across all of her events and was rewarded with a bronze medal in the girls’ age 10-11 category 200m Backstroke.

Points are awarded to the team for places in the first six in each event and also winning points for North Ayrshire were Gina Allan (12), Angus Dickson (12) and John Wright (13).

Full details of the results can be found at www.naasc.co.uk.

North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club recently hosted its annual Junior Meet at Auchenharvie Leisure Centre with swim teams competing from all over Scotland and as far afield as Peebles and Dumfries. Held over two days at a packed pool, this meet was for swimmers aged up to 14 years old and in addition to the regular competitors from the Club, the meet offered an opportunity for some of the Club’s newer members to experience the competitive environment.

Evan Clark (8) enjoyed the competition in the boys’ age 8 category as he stormed his way to a superb five gold medals to collect a clean sweep of gold from his five events with a string of new Personal Best (“PB”) too. Jennifer King (13) also delivered consistently strong swims as she picked up four gold medals from her four events in the girls’ age 13 category.

Rory Dickson (9) had a demanding programme of swims across nine events in the boys’ age 9 category and responded to the challenge with three gold medals, two silvers and two bronze and some excellent new PBs. Rory’s older brother, Angus (12), picked up a bronze medal in the boys’ age 12 category 200m Freestyle with a fine PB.

The girls’ age 10 category was fiercely contested with two North Ayrshire swimmers right in the mix with Emma Scully picking up two gold, three silver and a bronze medal and Katie Inch bagging three bronze medals with both girls recording some super PBs.

Declan Kerr (11), another of the Club’s newer swimmers, had a medal winning start with a gold medal in the boys’ age 11 category 100m Backstroke.

In the youngest age category, the girls’ age 8, Niamh Ramage swam well to win two gold medals and a silver and Daisy Wilson picked up a bronze medal. In the next age group, Meredith Scott (9) was in good form to take a pair of silver medals in the girls’ events and Connor Tarran (9) also picked up two silver medals.

Demi Orr (12) recorded some great swims with a full house of PBs and two gold and a bronze medal in the girls’ age 12 category. In the same category, Gina Allan (12) won a silver and two bronze medals and Georgia Henry (12) delivered another great performance with five new PBs and four silver and a bronze medal. Georgia’ younger brother, Lewis (10), was in action in the boys’ age 10 category with some demanding events and picked up a bronze medal in the 200m Breaststroke.

Craig Nisbet (13) swam strongly throughout to win three silver and a bronze medal in the boys’ age 13 category with some excellent PBs. Completing North Ayrshire’s medal tally, in the girls’ age 14 category Danielle Joyce grabbed two and Jade Mackillop one silver medal.

A North Ayrshire team was also in action recently in the long course pool at Tollcross Leisure Centre in the City of Glasgow Open Meet with Scotland’s Commonwealth Games gold medal winner Hannah Miley amongst the participants. Jennifer King (13) won six gold and a pair of silver medals with another consistently impressive performance in the girls’ age 13-14 category. Julie McClymont (also 13) won a gold, a silver and a bronze in the same age category. Julie’s older sister, Heather (15), recorded a strong swim to take the gold medal in the girls’ age 15 and over 15500m Freestyle.

Liam Cairns (12) swam well in the boys’ age 9-12 category to win four gold and two silver medals. Catriona Fowlie (11) picked up three silver and a bronze medal in the girls’ age 9-12 category and Graham Brown (15) picked up the silver medal in the boys’ age 15 and over 200m Backstroke.

Full details of the results can be found at www.naasc.co.uk.

Evan Clark (8) had a super day as he won the Best Boy trophy in the age 7-8 category with four great swims to win gold medals in the 50m Butterfly and Breaststroke and silver medals in the 50m Backstroke and Freestyle with four excellent Personal Bests (“PBs”) achieved along the way. Rory Dickson (9) took the silver medal in the boys’ age 9 category 50m Breaststroke with a fine PB and also won a bronze medal in the 50m Backstroke, also picking up points for the team with placings in the top six his other two events.

Catriona Fowlie (11) recorded four new PBs as she won silver medals in the girls’ age 11 category 50m Butterfly and Backstroke and won points in the 50m Freestyle. Niamh Ramage (8) produced some great swims in the girls’ age 7-8 category with a bronze medal in the 50 m Breaststroke, points won in the 50m backstroke and Freestyle and an amazing 19 seconds off her previous PB in the 50m Butterfly.

Meredith Scott (9) achieved some fine new PBs as she won three bronze medals in the girls’ age 9 category 50m Butterfly, Backstroke and Breaststroke.

Connor Tarran (9) recorded a great new PB in the boys’ age 9 category 50m Butterfly, smashing 19 seconds off his previous best.

Emma Scully and Katie Inch (both 10) incredibly finished in a dead heat in the girls’ age 10 category 50m Backstroke as they shared fifth place and were locked in tight competition throughout the session. Also picking up points for the team was Angus Dickson (11) in the boys’ age 11 category 50m Butterfly.

Lewis Henry (10) managed a clean sweep of new PBs in his four swims, as did Jamie Love (9). Also swimming for North Ayrshire and securing some new PBs were Abbie Freeman (9), Melissa Henshaw (9) and Jasmine Mackillop (10).

The team also picked up medals in the mixed 4 * 25m Freestyle relays with silver in the age 9 and under category going to Rory Dickson, Jamie Love, Abbie Freeman and Meredith Scott and bronze in the age 11 and under category going to Angus Dickson, Lewis Henry, Catriona Fowlie and Katie Inch.

Full details of the results can be found on the club’s website at www.naasc.co.uk.

$Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: C:\Users\CFraser\Documents\NAASC Web Site Files\SQUAD\graphics\wee_green.gif$ NORTH AYRSHIRE SWIMMERS EXCEL AT NATIONALS

Fifteen young swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club took part recently in the 2011 Scottish Gas National Age Group Championships and delivered some superb results. Held over four days at the 50m pool at Tollcross Leisure Centre in Glasgow, this event attracts the top age group swimmers from all over Scotland as well as a good number of swimmers from England making the standard of competition very high. With 780 athletes competing from 71 clubs, the atmosphere at Tollcross was electric, particularly for the evening finals sessions where team-mates and spectators were urging on the swimmers to achieve their best.

Jordan Hughes (14) again delivered an awesome performance, taking the gold medal and being crowned Scottish champion in the boys’ age 14 category in a magnificent seven events and also securing a silver medal as well as a fifth spot. Jordan swam a demanding programme of fifteen swims in total including heats and finals and consistently delivered some fine Personal Bests (“PB”) too, including setting new West District Age Group records in the 100m Butterfly and 800m Freestyle.

Julie McClymont (13) was crowned Scottish champion in the girls’ age 13 category 200m Butterfly with a new PB, as she finished second overall behind a swimmer from England. This was a fantastic reward for Julie who said, “I’m really delighted to pick up the title of Scottish champion”. Julie also finished fifth in the 100m Butterfly.

Jennifer King (13) had moved up to the age 13 category just before the meet and swam well to take the silver medal in the gruelling 400m Individual Medley together with three bronze medals in the 100m and 200m Backstroke and 400m Freestyle, as well as finishing in the top five in all of her events and recording another qualifying time for the British Age Group Championships, this time in the 200m Freestyle.

Demi Orr (12) swam strongly in the girls’ age 11- 12 category 200m Butterfly to take the bronze medal with a great swim in the final, smashing fifteen seconds off her entry time. Georgia Henry (12) also had a super swim in the same event, reaching the final in her first Scottish Age Group Championships with a great PB.

Catriona Fowlie, at age 11 the youngest member of the North Ayrshire team, produced a great swim in the girls’ age 11-12 category to reach the final of the 200m Backstroke where she finished in sixth place, securing a qualifying time for the British Age Group Championships to be held in Sheffield in July. Catriona said, “achieving a time for the British was a dream result at my first Scottish Age Groups and my parents are having to re-think their summer holiday plans so that I can go!”

Liam Cairns (12) swam consistently in his four events with a fourth, fifth and sixth place finish and some fine PBs and Ross Hughes (13) also returned to good form with some great new PBs.

Also appearing for North Ayrshire were Graham Brown (15), who reached the final of the 200m Backstroke, Glen Duffy (12), Samantha King (14), Heather McClymont (15), Rheanna Sloss (15) and John Wright (13), swimming just two weeks after returning to the pool following a broken wrist, with Gina Allan (12) appearing in the girls’ relay team.

The team also delivered some impressive results in the relays, finishing in fourth, fifth and sixth places against strong competition from nineteen other teams many of which were from much bigger clubs than North Ayrshire.

Full details of the results can be found on the club’s website at www.naasc.co.uk.

$Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: C:\Users\CFraser\Documents\NAASC Web Site Files\SQUAD\graphics\wee_green.gif$ NORTH AYRSHIRE MINI LEAGUE TEAM WIN HEAT 2
A team of young swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club recently won round 2 of the heats in the 2011 Clyde Coast Mini League as they continued their quest to qualify for the Final in June. Competing against clubs from Helensburgh, West Dunbartonshire and Kirkintilloch and Kilsyth at Vale of Leven Swimming Pool in Alexandria, North Ayrshire’s swimmers performed consistently well to emerge as comfortable winners on the day.

The Mini League is for swimmers aged up to 11 years old and provides a great introduction to competitive swimming for new swimmers in a team environment, including an opportunity to participate in a number of relay swims which always generate considerable excitement amongst both the competitors and spectators.

For North Ayrshire Niamh Ramage (8) delivered a hat-trick of first places in her three 25m swims in the girls’ age 8 and under category and in the boys’ age 8 category John Fowlie (8) finished second in his three events. Rory Dickson (8) swam in the age 9 category and also in the age 10 group and secured three firsts and a second place. Evan Clark (8) won first place in the boys’ age 9 and under 25m breaststroke. Lewis Henry (10) swam strongly in the boys’ age 10 category with three wins from his three individual swims. Catriona Fowlie (11) also took three wins and a second place in the girls’ age 11 category which is swum over 100m and in the boys’ age 11 category Declan Kerr (11) swam well to take one first and three second places.

In the girls’ age 9 category the swims where shared between Meredith Scott (9) and Abbie Freeman (9) with Meredith recording two first places and Abbie a first and a third. For the girls’ 10 year old and under category, Katie Inch (10) grabbed a first and a second place, Jasmine Mackillop (10) took a second place as did Emma Scully (9).

Also representing North Ayrshire in the relays were Jenna Hambleton, at 7 years old the youngest team member, Rachel Holmes (8), Charlotte Kelly (10), Jamie Love (9) and Connor Tarran (9).

North Ayrshire finished on 198 points, well ahead of Helensburgh in second place, who were followed by West Dunbartonshire and then Kirkintilloch and Kilsyth.

Full details of the results can be found on the Club’s website at www.naasc.co.uk.

A team of ten young swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club competed recently at the Ren 96 Graded Meet, held at Johnstone Swimming Pool. This was a busy meet, hosted by the neighbouring Renfrewshire club, with swimmers from 28 clubs competing over the two days of the gala. The Graded Meet format provides developing swimmers with an opportunity to compete with participation open to those swimming slower than the consideration entry time.

Glen Duffy (12) achieved six super Personal Best times (“PB”) in his six swims as he secured a gold and a silver medal in the boys’ age 11-12 category. Emma Scully (10) also produced a clean sweep of five PBs from her five events in the girls’ age 8-10 category. Emma’s stand-out swim was in the 100m Butterfly where she smashed 9 seconds off her previous best time, with Emma also winning one gold and three bronze medals.

Katie Inch (10) also delivered a superb swim in the girls’ age 8-10 category 100m Butterfly as she took 11 seconds off her best time, with Katie also winning a gold medal in one of her other events. Louise Downie (12) scored a hat-trick of PBs from her three swims in the girls’ age 11-12 category with a great PB in the 400m Freestyle as she also secured two gold medals.

In the boys’ age 11-12 category Angus Dickson (11) recorded three PBs and picked up the silver medal in the 200m Backstroke, beating his previous time by 30 seconds. Also delivering consistent PBs from their swims were Declan Kerr (11) and Craig Nisbet (13).

Full details of the results together with information for anyone interested in joining the Club can be found on the Club’s website at www.naasc.co.uk..

$Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: C:\Users\CFraser\Documents\NAASC Web Site Files\SQUAD\graphics\wee_green.gif$ NORTH AYRSHIRE SWIMMERS IN ACTION AT THE BRITISH

Two talented young swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club had an exciting time recently, mixing with Britain’s top swimmers, as they competed at the 2011 British Gas Swimming Championships (50m) held over the course of a week at the Manchester Aquatics Centre. Jordan Hughes (14) and Jennifer King (12) had achieved the impressive feat of securing qualifying times for the meet where the fastest swimmers in the country were trying to record qualifying times for the 2011 World Championships on the road to Olympic qualification for London 2012.

Both North Ayrshire swimmers were amongst the youngest competitors at the meet.

Jennifer competed in the 100m Backstroke on Day 2 of the meet and put in an impressive swim close to her qualifying time which was a great achievement in her first taste of competition at this elite level. The gold medal was won by Gemma Spofforth, the reigning world champion and world record holder for this discipline, and Jennifer enjoyed rubbing shoulders with this level of company. Asked how she found her time at the meet, Jennifer said, “it was a wonderful experience and I really want to earn the chance to compete again next year”.

Jordan was in action on day 6 of the meet in the sprint event, the 50m Freestyle, and also recorded a time very close to his qualifying time. Jordan commented, “it was all a bit nerve-wracking coming up against the top swimmers but it was great fun”.

North Ayrshire’s Head Coach, Sharon Welsh, added, “for both of our swimmers to swim close to their best times was a great effort given this was their very first time swimming at this level”.

North Ayrshire also had a team of young swimmers in action in Round 1 of the 2011 Clyde Coast Mini League which was held at Castlemilk Swimming Pool, Glasgow with North Ayrshire up against Rutherglen, Kingston and Dunoon Swimming Clubs. The Mini League provides the first taste of competition for many young swimmers and North Ayrshire enjoyed a comfortable victory with Rutherglen finishing second, followed by Dunoon and Kingston. The Mini League is a real team event with the swimmers taking part in a range of relay events as well as having individual swims and the following North Ayrshire swimmers took part: Catriona Fowlie, Jasmine Mackillop, Emma Scully, Katie Inch, Meredith Scott, Abbie Freeman, Niamh Ramage, Rachel Holmes, Declan Kerr, Blair Angus, Connor Tarran, Jamie Love, Evan Clark, Rory Dickson and John Fowlie. Special mention should go to Jamie and Rory who swam up against older opposition in a number of events and performed strongly.

Full details of the results can be found on the Club’s website at www.naasc.co.uk.

A team of swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club competed recently in the Group 1 meet of the 2011 West District Swimming Championships which was held over two days at the Tryst Sports Centre, Cumbernauld. The swimmers who were in action delivered some fine individual performances with a good number of new Personal Best (“PB”) times being achieved as well as winning a significant number of medals.

Jennifer King (12) grabbed four gold medals in the girls’ age 10-12 category 400m Freestyle and Individual Medley (“IM”) and the 100m and 200m Backstroke and also took the silver in the 200m Breaststroke with a good PB. Jordan Hughes (14) delivered some excellent PBs as he took a hat-trick of gold medals in the boys’ age 13-14 category 100m Breaststroke and Freestyle and the 1500m Freestyle as well as a silver medal in the 100m Backstroke.

Georgia Henry (12) recorded a great swim in the girls’ age 10-12 category to take the silver medal in the 400m IM and in the age 13-14 category of the same discipline Julie McClymont (13) took the bronze medal. Demi Orr (12) won the bronze medal in the girls’ age 10-12 category 800m Freestyle.

At West District meets, points are awarded to the team for swimmers placing in the top six in each event and, in addition to those already mentioned, recording points for the team were Glen Duffy (11), who delivered a string of new PBs, Catriona Fowlie (11) and Samantha King (14).

Mention should also be made of Ailie MacPherson (12) who turned in a great swim in the girls’ age 10-12 category 400m Freestyle for a 13 second PB.

Full details of the results and contact details for any swimmers interested in a trial with the Club can be found at www.naasc.co.uk.

Swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club (“NAASC”) were in competition recently at two swim meets, one at Auchenharvie Leisure Centre and the other at the long course 50m pool at Tollcross Park Leisure Centre in Glasgow.

The Club hosted its two-day 200 Meet at Auchenharvie which attracted swimmers from as far afield as Oban and Dunfermline. This meet offers swimmers the opportunity to compete at a range of distances all the way through to the gruelling 1500m freestyle.

Liam Cairns (12) shared the Best Boy trophy in the age 12 category with some strong swims which saw him secure new Personal Best (“PB”) times across the board and gold medals in the 200m Butterfly and 400m Individual Medley (“IM”), silver medals in the 200m Breaststroke and IM and a bronze in the 200m Backstroke.

Glen Duffy (11) won the Best Boy trophy in the age 11 category with PBs and a hat-trick of gold medals in the 200m Breaststroke, IM and Butterfly and a silver medal in the 200m Backstroke.

Rory Dickson (9) took the Best Boy trophy in the age 9 category with gold medals in the 200m Freestyle and Backstroke and a pair of bronze medals in the 200m Breaststroke and IM. In the age 11 category, Rory’s brother, Angus (11) was in good form to record PBs and take the silver medal in the 200m Breaststroke and bronze medals in the 200m IM and Freestyle. Craig Nisbet (12) swam strongly to win the silver medal in the boys’ age 12 category 200m Butterfly and Michael Thompson (16) eased his way back into competition as he won the bronze medal in the boys’ age 15-16 category 200m Backstroke.

Danielle Joyce (14) was awarded the trophy for the outstanding swim of the meet as she finished just outside the meet record time and took the gold medal in the girls’ age 14 category 200m freestyle and Danielle also won the silver medal in the 400m freestyle, an open age group event.

Georgia Henry (12) recorded a spectacular PB to win the gold medal in the girls’ age 12 category 200m Butterfly and Catriona Fowlie (11) delivered a fine swim to take the bronze medal in the demanding open age group 400m IM. Jade Mackillop (14) won the silver medal in the girls’ age 14 category 200m, Emma Scully (9) produced excellent PBs as she won the bronze medal in the girls’ age 10 and under 200m Freestyle and Louise Downie (12) won the bronze medal in the 200m Breaststroke.

On the same weekend another team of NAASC swimmers was in action at the Edinburgh International meet which was held at Tollcross in Glasgow as the Edinburgh Commonwealth Pool undergoes refurbishment. Jordan Hughes (14) and Jennifer King (12) both had a super meet as they recorded the qualifying times for the 2011 British Gas Swimming Championships to be held in Manchester next month where stars such as Rebecca Adlington will be seeking to record qualifying times for the 2012 Olympic Games. Jordan had some great swims to win four gold medals in the age 13-14 category 100m Breaststroke and Butterfly and the 200m Freestyle and Butterfly. Jennifer won two gold medals in the girls’ age 11-12 category 100m Freestyle and Backstroke and took the silver medal in the 100m Butterfly.

Full details of the results can be found on the Club’s website at www.naasc.co.uk.

Swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club competed recently at the City of Glasgow Graded Meet held over two days at the Tollcross Leisure Centre in Glasgow. This meet offers developing swimmers an opportunity to swim in the 50m long course pool to be used in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, presenting a significant challenge when training is undertaken in the local 25m pools.

Sarah Reford (15) swam well as she secured two gold medals in the girls’ age 15-16 category 100m Backstroke and 100m Butterfly and a silver medal in the 50m Freestyle. Katie Inch (10) delivered the fastest swim in the girls’ age 8-10 category 100m Backstroke but was excluded from the medals as she swam faster than the graded meet consideration time. In the same discipline Louise Downie (12) picked up the gold medal in the girls’ age 12 category. in the same age category, Gina Allan (12) raced her way to the gold medal in the 100m Freestyle, took the bronze in the 50m Freestyle and swam too fast in the 50m Butterfly. Georgia Henry (12) won a silver medal in the 50m Breaststroke and swam too fast in the 50m Butterfly.

For the boys, Craig Nisbet (12) was in good form as he collected the gold medal in the boys’ age 12 category 100m Butterfly and a bronze in the 50m Backstroke.

Although not a club event it is worth recording the achievements of North Ayrshire swimmers in the finals of the 2011 Brodies Scottish Schools Championships, also held recently at Tollcross. Qualification for the finals is secured through a series of heats and takes swimmers through to compete against the top age group swimmers in Scotland.

Jordan Hughes swam strongly to win two gold medals in the boys’ age 15-16 category 100m and 200m Freestyle and Liam Cairns won the gold medal in the boys’ age 12 and under 50m Butterfly. Jordan’s younger brother, Ross, picked up the bronze medal in the boys’ age 13-14 category 200m Butterfly.

Julie McClymont finished second in the girls’ age 13-14 category 100m Butterfly and third in the 200m distance of the same stroke. In the girls’ age 13-14 category, Jennifer King won the silver medal in the 100m Backstroke.

The other North Ayrshire swimmers who qualified to compete at the finals were Kerry Andrew, her younger sister Kirsten, Graham Brown, Catriona Fowlie, Danielle Joyce, Heather McClymont, Rheanna Sloss, Maggie Stewart, her older sister Robyn and John Wright.

Full details of the results can be found on the Club’s website at www.naasc.co.uk.

A team of young swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club enjoyed great success recently at the South Ayrshire Mini Meet, hosted by the South Ayrshire Swim Team at the Citadel Leisure Centre in Ayr, which was open for swimmers aged up to 12 years old.

Eleven North Ayrshire swimmers took part and between them secured a fantastic medal haul and recorded some impressive Personal Best (“PB”) times.

Emma Scully (9) led the medal charge with a super five gold medals in the girls’ age 8-9 category 50m Butterfly, Backstroke and Freestyle, the 100m Individual Medley and the 200m Freestyle with some good PBs, and also securing the silver in the 50m Breaststroke.

Rory Dickson (9) bagged a hat-trick of gold medals in the boys’ age 8-9 category 100m Individual Medley, 50m Backstroke and the 200m Freestyle, over-hauling the race leader in the last 25m of the last of those events with a great 15 second PB, and also grabbing a silver in the 50m Breaststroke and two bronze medals in the 50m Butterfly and Freestyle.

Rory’s older brothers, Angus (11) and Andrew (12), were also swimming well with Angus picking up two silver and two bronze medals in the boys’ age 11 category 200m Freestyle, 50m Butterfly and Breaststroke and 100m Individual Medley with excellent PBs across the board and Andrew also achieved some great PBs.

Georgia Henry (12) delivered a good PB time to secure a silver in the girls’ age 12 category of the 100m Individual Medley and younger brother Lewis (10) achieved a bronze in the boys’ age 10 category 50m Backstroke with a fine PB.

Katie Inch (10) won a pair of bronze medals in the 50m Butterfly and 200m Freestyle in the girls’ age 10 category and recorded good PBs. In the girls’ age 8-9 category, Meredith Scott (9) also won two bronze medals in the 50m Breaststroke and Freestyle, with excellent PBs. In the same category, Abbie Freeman (9) took the silver medal in the 200m Freestyle behind teammate, Emma Scully.

Jamie Love (9) swam well to record some great PBs in the boys’ age 8-9 category and Louis Dymond (11) also delivered two fine PBs in his two swims in the boys’ age 11 category.

Full details of the results can be found on the Club’s website at www.naasc.co.uk.

Swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club competed recently at the Stirling Junior Open meet, held over two days at the Peak Sports Village in Stirling. This meet is for swimmers aged up to 14 years old and, being held in central Scotland, attracts a high standard of entries from all across Scotland, including a number of the strongest clubs in the country. The meet also has the unusual feature at this level of the 100m events being swum in heats with the fastest six swimmers qualifying for finals.

North Ayrshire’s swimmers performed strongly against the stiff competition that was in action. Liam Cairns (11) secured the Best Boy award for the meet in the age 11 category with a string of new Personal Best (“PB”) times and five gold medals in the 100m Breaststroke, Freestyle, Butterfly and Individual Medley and the 200m Freestyle with a silver medal in the 100m Backstroke.

Jennifer King (12) was awarded the Best Girl trophy in the age 12 category with some great PBs and gold medals in the 200m Individual Medley and Freestyle, 100m Backstroke, Freestyle and Butterfly and a silver in the 100m Breaststroke.

Julie McClymont (13) swam strongly to win a gold medal in the girls’ age 13 category 200m Individual Medley, silver medals in the 100m Butterfly and Backstroke and a bronze in the 100m Freestyle.

Catriona Fowlie (11) enjoyed a good meet with a silver medal in the girls’ age 11 category 100m Backstroke and a bronze in the 200m Freestyle. John Wright (13) completed North Ayrshire’s medal tally with a bronze in the boys’ age 13 category 200m Freestyle.

Ross Hughes moved up an age group as he turned 13 on the first day of the meet and swam well against the older competition, recording some good PBs, as did Georgia Henry (12) and Craig Nisbet (12).

The previous weekend a team of young swimmers from the club took part in the Milngavie & Bearsden Graded Meet which was held at Johnstone Pool. Louis Dymond (11) won a gold medal in the boys’ age 11 category 50m Freestyle and a bronze in the 50m Backstroke. Meredith Scott (9) swam strongly to take the gold medal in the girls’ age 9 category 50m Backstroke and swam too fast in the 100m Individual Medley, recording a 15 second PB. Katie Inch (10) grabbed a pair of silver medals in the girls’ age 10 category 50m Butterfly and 100m Freestyle and Connor Tarran took a hat-trick of bronze medals in the boys’ age 9 category 50m Breaststroke, Freestyle and Backstroke.

Full details of the results can be found on the Club’s website at www.naasc.co.uk.

The New Year kicked off in style for a team of swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club who competed recently at the British Gas Scottish National Short Course Championships. This meet was held over three days at Tollcross Leisure Centre in Glasgow, the venue for the swimming competition at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and saw North Ayrshire’s swimmers rubbing shoulders with Scotland’s two swimming gold medal winners from the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Hannah Miley and Robbie Renwick, who were competing, which is indicative of the elite standard of competition.

Qualification for the meet is a fine achievement in itself, with swimmers having attained nationally set consideration times.

Jennifer King (12) was in record-breaking form as she broke three Scottish National age group records in the 800m Freestyle, 200m Backstroke and 400m Individual Medley (“IM”), winning a bronze medal in the last of those events in the girls’ age 14 and under category.

Jordan Hughes (14) was in superb form, securing silver medals in the boys’ age 15 and under category in the 400m Freestyle and 100m IM and a bronze in the 400m IM. Jordan also broke the Scottish National age group record for the 100m Butterfly and broke West District records in the 50m, 100m and 200m Freestyle, the 200m Butterfly and the 100m and 400m IM.

Julie McClymont’s (13) performance stood out as she swam consistently well to secure a number of Personal Best (“PB”) times as did Raymond Stone (15), Graham Brown (15), Sarah Reford (14) and Pamela Wright (23).

The other North Ayrshire swimmers who competed were Kirsten Andrew (13), Ross Hughes (12), Danielle Joyce (14), Jade Mackillop (14), Heather McClymont (15), Rheanna Sloss (15), Robyn Stewart (16) and John Wright (13).

Full details of the results can be found on the Club’s website at www.naasc.co.uk .

$Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: C:\Users\CFraser\Documents\NAASC Web Site Files\SQUAD\graphics\wee_green.gif$ West District Group 6

A team of swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club finished as top club at the recent Group 6 meet of the 2010 West District Championships. This meet was held over two days at Grangemouth Sports Complex and is for swimmers aged up to age thirteen years old with competitors having qualified through achieving the required consideration time.

In addition to finishing as top club there were some fantastic individual performances from a number of North Ayrshire swimmers with several Scottish and West District records being broken.

Jennifer King (12) had a terrific two days as she broke three Scottish national age group records in the 200m Backstroke, 400m Freestyle and 800m Freestyle as she swam her way to a super seven gold medals from her seven events in the girls’ age 12 category. Liam Cairns (11) was also in record-breaking form as he broke the West District record for the 200m Individual Medley as he also grabbed a clean sweep of seven gold medals from his seven events in the boys’ age 10-11 category.

Demi Orr (11) was in great form as she won five gold and two bronze medals in the girls’ age 10-11 category. Julie McClymont (13) delivered excellent performances across the board as she collected one gold and three silver medals in the girls’ age 13 category. Catriona Fowlie (11) swam well in the girls’ age 10-11 category as she collected the bronze medal in the 200m Backstroke.

For the boys, Ross Hughes (12) swam really well to bag four gold, one silver and one bronze medal in the boys’ age 12 category. Glen Duffy (11) delivered a good swim in his favourite 200m Butterfly event to collect the silver medal in the boys’ age 10-11 category. John Wright (13) also produced some fine performances as he collected a pair of bronze medals in the boys’ age 13 category.

Points are awarded for places in the first six in each event and in addition to the medals won, Demi, Julie, Catriona and John also secured valuable points for the team to help to clinch first place for North Ayrshire.

$Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: C:\Users\CFraser\Documents\NAASC Web Site Files\SQUAD\graphics\wee_green.gif$ North Ayrshire Graded Meet

North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club was in action recently at two meets, the North Ayrshire 2010 Graded Meet and the Carnegie Long Course Open Winter Meet. The Graded Meet, held over two days at Auchenharvie Leisure Centre, attracted swimming clubs from across Scotland, including as far afield as Oban and Stranraer. The Graded Meet is aimed at newer and improving swimmers with competitors swimming faster than the entry times being awarded certificates and excluded from the medal awards.

The meet provides a great opportunity for a first experience of competitive swimming: swimming in their first meet from North Ayrshire were Evan Clark (8), Aimee Kelly (13), Charlotte Kelly (10), Shawn Reid (11) and Declan Kerr (11) who won a bronze medal in the age 11 boys’ 200m Breaststroke.

The more experienced North Ayrshire swimmers won medals aplenty. The Dickson brothers, Andrew (12), Angus (11) and Rory (8) amassed a huge medal haul with Angus taking four golds, Andrew taking a gold, three silvers and a bronze and Rory winning two gold medals and a silver. Jade Mackillop (14) won two golds and a silver and younger sister Jasmine (9) won gold in the girls’ age 8-10 50m Butterfly.

Katie Inch (10) swam well to take four gold medals, a silver and a bronze in the girls’ age 8-10 category with Emma Scully (9) also swimming strongly in the same age category as she took a gold and two silver medals. Louise Downie (12) won a complete set of medals as she took a gold, a silver and a bronze in the girls’ age 12 category.

Georgia Henry (12) won gold in the girls’ age 12 category 200m Medley and younger brother, Lewis (9), won two silver medals in the boys’ age 9 category 200m events. Calvin Wardell (9) pipped Lewis to pick up the gold medals in these two events and also picked up a bronze in the age 8-10 category.

Craig Nisbet (12) secured a hat-trick of gold medals in the boys’ age 12 category and also took a silver and a bronze. Connor Nicol (14) won three golds, two silver and two bronze medals in the boys’ age 14 category. At the upper end of the age groups Michael Thompson (16) collected five gold medals and a silver in the age 16 and over category.

Among the younger swimmers Jamie Love (8) won gold in the boys’ age 8 category 200m Freestyle and Meredith Scott (8) won gold in the girls’ age 8 category 200m Breaststroke with Catriona Fowlie (11) grabbing gold in the age 11 category of the same event.

Louis Dymond (11) collected a silver and a bronze medal in the boys’ age 11 category and Sarah Reford (14) bagged a bronze in the girls’ age 14 category.

The previous weekend a team of swimmers was in action at the Carnegie Long Course Open Winter Meet held at the 50m pool at Tollcross Leisure Centre, Glasgow. This meet, hosted by the Carnegie Club from Dunfermline, attracted top age group swimmers from all over Scotland and North Ayrshire’s swimmers performed strongly against this level of competition.

Liam Cairns (11) was outstanding, winning six gold medals and a silver in the boys’ age 10-11 category with some super Personal Best times secured too. In the same age group, Glen Duffy (11) won a gold and a bronze in his favourite Butterfly event. In the girls’ age 12-13 category, North Ayrshire swimmers excelled with Jennifer King (12) in fine form as she picked up four gold medals and two silvers and Julie McClymont (13) winning two gold and two silver medals. In the younger girls’ age 10-11 group Demi Orr (11) performed impressively as she amassed four gold medals and two silvers.

Jordan Hughes (14), swimming in the boys’ age 14-15 category, secured three silver medals and a bronze with Graham Brown (15) winning a silver in the same age group.

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