press release

- press release

NORTH AYRSHIRE SWIMMERS IN ACTION AT NATIONAL MEET

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.

NORTH AYRSHIRE SWIMMERS EXCEL AT DISTRICT MEETS

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.

AUCHENHARVIE HOSTS DISTANCE SWIM MEET

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 HOSTS SUCCESSFUL MEET

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.

NORTH AYRSHIRE SWIMMERS EXCEL AT DISTRICT MEET

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.

Glory for Jordan Hughes at the British

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.

TAKE THE PLUNGE – LOCAL SWIM CLUB TO HOLD OPEN SESSION

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.

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.

NORTH AYRSHIRE SWIMMERS EXCEL AT DISTRICT MEET

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 HOSTS JUNIOR SWIM MEET

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.

NORTH AYRSHIRE SWIMMERS TAKE SECOND AT FALKIRK

A team of fourteen young swimmers from North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club recently secured second place amongst the clubs competing at the Falkirk Otter Mini Meet. This popular one day meet is for swimmers aged up to 11 years old and was held at Larkhall Swimming Pool in Lanarkshire.

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.

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.

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.

YOUNG NORTH AYRSHIRE SWIMMERS IN ACTION AT REN

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..

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.

NORTH AYRSHIRE SWIMMERS AT DISTRICT MEET

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.

NORTH AYRSHIRE SWIM CLUB HOSTS 200 MEET

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.

NORTH AYRSHIRE SWIMMERS AMONG THE MEDALS

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.

NORTH AYRSHIRE SWIMMERS EXCEL AT AYR MEET

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.

North Ayrshire Swimmers among the Medals

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.

North Ayrshire Swimmers Excel at Scottish Nationals

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 .

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.

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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