North District Sprint Championships - 2 October 2010

South Mainland ASC took 6 of their swimmers to the North District Sprint Championships held at Inverness.

In age 13/14 events, Donnie Price, 14, achieved PBs in each of his 50m races in the heats and qualified for finals in the breaststroke and butterfly where he improved times once more. With a 30.43 he finished 5th in the butterfly, having earlier in the day achieved a bronze medal with a time of 35.18 in the breaststroke. Donnie also swam the open 100m IM and had a tremendous 3 second PB for a 1.07.74.

Karl Eldridge, 14, accomplished four good PBs in his races, with his biggest improvement achieved in the butterfly with 34.09. His younger brother Darin, 13, gained a PB in the two races that he swam, with 31.49 for freestyle and 40.38 in the breaststroke.

South Mainland girls, Sarah Keay, 14, and Kirsty Laurenson, 14, both had good swims. Sarah was very pleased to gain a PB in her breaststroke with 39.94 finishing in 11th place and was satisfied to be on her entry times in her other events. Kirsty also managed a PB with a 31.52 for her freestyle and was within a second of entry times for her fly and backstroke.

In the youngest age group, 10-12 years, Eddie Price, 11, made PBs in every event, and with another year to go in the age groups was delighted to make three finals. He swam a 31.40 for his freestyle to finish 5th, 42.88 in breaststroke for 6th and 37.00 in butterfly for 7th.

The club again wishes to thank Mainlands, Freefield Pharmacy & Northlink Ferries for their continued support.

Inverclyde Masters - September 2010

Last weekend, Jan Price, South Mainland ASC, competed at the Inverclyde Masters held at the Waterfront Leisure Centre, Greenock. As always the meet got underway on the Friday evening with the ‘Inverclyde 800’, a mere race of 32 lengths in the 25metre pool. A challenging race for many, it was even tougher this year due to the water temperature more akin to baby pool than competitive swimming. Heat exhaustion is not usually associated with swimming but on this occasion many complained of being uncomfortable after the first few hundred metres, some finding they were having breathing difficulties and a few competitors not finishing. Jan herself felt a bit queasy during the second half of the race but that may have been a residue of a bumpy ferry trip the previous night! Her resulting time however was only 6 seconds outside her entry time set last year, with the 6 seconds being lost in the final 200 metres and she came 2nd overall in the 50 -54 age group.

After a good night’s sleep it was back in the pool early next morning for the start of a further 12 events over the day. The 200m freestyle resulted in her 2nd fastest ever time and a first place in the age group. Other events in the morning finished close on entry times apart from the 200m IM which was a disappointing 6 seconds away from her target. After a refuelling lunch break, the afternoon started with the rather dreaded 100m butterfly, not at all popular with the over 50s, so although her time again was outside entry time, Jan got a first in her age group – due to being the only one brave or daft enough to tackle the event! The remaining races of the day went much as planned, entry times being matched for most swims with a pleasant surprise coming in her 11th race of the day, 100 metre backstroke by finishing 2 seconds inside entry time.

Bridge of Don September Splash & Cult Otters Bibby Offshore Challenge - 4/5 September 2010

A team of 14 young swimmers from South Mainland Amateur Swimming Club had a terrific weekend participating in two competitions in Aberdeen and amongst them won 2 dozen medals and achieved 3 dozen personal best times. On top of this, one of the youngest swimmers, Sophie Morris, 10, broke 3 Shetland Age Group records out of her six swims over the two days. At the September Splash at the Bridge of Don Pool she took 12 seconds off her 100m breaststroke time and won the silver medal, but it was in the Cults Otters competition at Northfield Pool that she pulled off her record breaking swims with a 1.34.30 in the 100m butterfly taking a silver and a 1.18.70 in the 100m freestyle for the bronze. Earlier she was given the challenge by South Mainland coach Jan Price to get a 3.15 for the 200m IM, and excelled herself by going 3.12.67 for another record and bronze medal. The talented youngster also won the silver for the 400m freestyle and only just missed a medal in the 100m backstroke. Her successful day resulted in being runner up for her age group.

Also swimming in the 8-10 age group was Erraid Davies, 9, South Mainland’s youngest competitor who swam the same races as Sophie. She finished only a fraction of a second behind her in the breaststroke at the Splash to take the bronze and continued this trend the following day with bronzes in the butterfly and the 400m freestyle. She had a further pb in the 100m freestyle and her biggest improvement was an 8 second pb for a 3.18.76 in the 200m IM.

In the boys 400m freestyle, Donnie Price, 14, led from the start and extended his lead throughout the race to take the gold in the 13/14 age group in a pb time of 4.25.77, while younger brother Eddie 11, pushed all the way in his heat by a older boy, took the silver in the 11/12 age group with his pb of 5.04.36. Silver seemed to be the favoured colour for the brothers with Eddie achieving second places in a further 4 events, all in pb times, and Donnie for his 200m IM, 100 free and a tremendous 1.16.38 in the100 breaststroke. Each came runner up in their age group overall.

Kirsty Laurenson, 14, had a very busy two days racing eight events in the 13/14 age group, with 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle being swum on both days. Her fly at Splash earned her a bronze medal while a 3 second pb for a 1.20.54 in the 100m IM gained her silver. She also improved her 100m breaststroke by a superb 3 seconds and the following day, her backstroke by 2 seconds.

In the same age group, Sarah Keay had some great swims at the Splash, starting to regain her form after a long spell out of training due to illness. Her efforts won her gold in the 100m breaststroke with her best time this year, a 1.30.26 and a bronze in the 100m freestyle. Morven Davies, 13, also gained a pb in the 100m breaststroke with a 1.44.80 and broke the 1.20 for the first time in her 100m freestyle with a 1.19.43.

The club had several girls in the 11/12 age group. Vhairi Davies, 12, swam 2 pbs at the Splash in her breaststroke and freestyle and was the only girl in the age group who had a race at the Cults meet. In her one race there, the 100m backstroke, she improved by 2 seconds for a 1.28.69 which should qualify her for the North District Age Group Meet in December. Also gaining district times were Cara Steven, 11, and Curstaidh Mackay, 11. Cara’s best swim was a 1.41.04 for the 100m breaststroke which resulted in the bronze medal. She improved in her 100m freestyle by 2 seconds and had a brilliant 5 second pb with a time of 1.36.82 in the 100m backstroke. Curstaidh swam equal or just a fraction of a second faster than her pbs in her 100 IM, 100m breaststroke and 100m butterfly, but it was in the 100m freestyle that she pulled out all the stops with a huge 4 second pb for a 1.16.20 resulting in a very well deserved gold.

12 year old Lucy Morris had 2 races at the Splash finishing marginally outside pbs in her freestyle and butterfly. Her twin brother James competed at both competitions. In the first day he successfully took the bronze in the 100m butterfly. At the Cults meet he then had 5 races during the day. He swam close to entry times but managed to achieve a 1 second pb in the 100m freestyle with a 1.14.07. Also gaining pbs for his 100m freestyle was Scott Riise, 12, and he did it twice over the weekend. A 1.17.08 at the Splash was a 1 second improvement on his pb and gained him silver medal. He then smashed this time the following day reducing it to 1.15.42. Scott also made a good pb in his 100m breaststroke at the Splash and also swam the 100m backstroke on the Sunday at the Cults meet. Big brother Jason, 14 competed in all 5 races at the Splash meet. His best race was his 100m backstroke where he dropped his time to 1.31.19 while his other times were close to entry times.

At the end of the weekend the tally was 3 golds, 12 silver and 9 bronze. Due to allocating of points to the top 10 swimmers in each event at the Cults meet, South Mainland ASC, one of the smallest clubs in the district, were proud to finish in 5th club place overall.

South Mainland would like to thank the following for their support; Mainlands, Freefield Pharmacy and Northlink.

Scottish National Open Championships - June 2010

South Mainland’s Donnie Price, 13, competing in the championships for the first time, swam 9 events spread over four days at the Championships in the Boys 16 and under age group and successfully managed to produce PBs in all but two races. As well as improving times in nearly all his swims he moved up the rankings from his seeded position in the heats. A two second improvement in his 200m freestyle, and a time of 2.09.29, placed him in the top third of the field of 125 competitors. In another event with over 100 competitors, the 200m IM, he again took off over 2 seconds and leapt up 30 places to finish in the top half. His highest finishing position in the age group events was 31st out of 74 swimmers in the 200m Breaststroke with a very good 4 second PB of 2.50.83.

Donnie also qualified for one open event as the youngest competitor in the 1500m freestyle. Using experience gained in previous races in recent months, he swam the second half of the race faster than the first half finishing it off with a very strong final hundred resulting in an excellent 8 seconds PB with a time of 17.47.23.

North District Open Championships, Westhill - 5/6 June 2010

Donnie Price, 13, South Mainland ASC, swam 11 events over the weekend. As a first-timer and amongst the youngest of male swimmers to qualify for the competition, he started off with a 2 second PB in the 200m IM. This was followed by another PB in the 400free where he came 17th out of 37 competitors. A further 2 PBs were gained in the afternoon by taking an excellent 8 seconds of his 200m butterfly and 6 seconds in the 200m breaststroke, where he came a remarkable 12th overall. The first day finished with breaking 1minute for the 100m freestyle for the first time with a 59.63.

Sunday started with a good swim in the 100m butterfly, scraping a fraction of a second off his PB. Mid morning was the 1500m freestyle, where once again Donnie paced it very well to finish with a new PB and overall 5th place. Only 20 minutes later and without a chance to fully recover, he was one of only three of the 1500m swimmers who opted to race the 200m backstroke, and like the other two he finished just outside entry time. In the afternoon session, Donnie produced another hat-trick of PBs with improvements in his 200m freestyle, 100 breaststroke and 400m IM.

Head to Head - May 2010

City of Glasgow Open Meet - 1-2 May 2010

Donnie and Eddie Price, swimming for South Mainland Amateur Swimming Club competed at the City of Glasgow Open Meet last weekend at Tollcross Pool, Glasgow.

Returning to this venue only three weeks after his successes at the Scottish Age Groups, Donnie, 13, did remarkably well to improve on his times in the 7 events swum then and also broke best times in a further 2 races. In the shorter 100metre distances tiny fractions of a second were chipped off his previous best times in freestyle and butterfly, his breaststroke just under a second, and 1.3 seconds in his backstroke. In the 200 metres backstroke, a race that he hadn’t swum since February, he gained a 7 second Pb, while in the 200m breaststroke he was thrilled to improve his time by 5 seconds for a 2.54.26 and, as the fastest 13year old, finish in 4th place in the 13/14 year age group. In the mid distance 400m freestyle, he dropped his time by 3 seconds and again came top amongst the 13year olds with 7th place.

Becoming recognised as a very good distance swimmer, Donnie had his best result of the weekend in the 1500m freestyle. Seeded in the first heat, while some lads started off at a fast pace, Donnie started at a slightly slower pace but by 300metres had settled in to a rate that he was able to maintain. He started overtaking then increasing his distance ahead of the all the other competitors and by the final third of the race he was well in front. Touching first in the heat, in 17.55.19, he had knocked an incredible 13 seconds off his 3 week old previous best time, and had achieved his target of gaining a Scottish National Open time. This was also his highest placed event, winning bronze behind two14year olds.

For younger brother Eddie, 11, the competition was only the second occasion competing in a 50metre pool, having only swum a single length race at the Scottish Schools. This meant that each of his 9 races would be a long course personal best. He set out to match or improve all his entry times, which were conversions of short course times.

He achieved his aim in all but 2 races, but in one of these, the 200m breaststroke, his time of 3.22.47 was still extremely good and, like big brother Donnie, he came 4th – and the fastest 11 year old in the 9-12 year age group. Eddie coped excellently with the challenge of long course butterfly by slicing a huge 6 seconds off his time for a 1.26.76 to come 8th. Another challenge was racing the 800m freestyle, having only ever raced this distance once before, but again he went well under his time by 15 seconds to finish 9th in a time of 10.56.18. In his last race of the weekend he had another brilliant freestyle race in the 400m where he smashed his entry time by 10seconds to round off a most successful long course meet.

Inverness Graded Meet - 1st May 2010

Thirteen year old Morven Davies had a very good day of competition as the only South Mainland swimmer competing at this year’s Inverness Graded Meet.

In her first race in the girls 13/14 years age group, Morven took almost 3 seconds of her entry time in the 100m breaststroke to finish in 5th place with a 1.45.15. Following this, she knocked 2 seconds off in the 100m IM with a 1.33.70, and in a very tight race came 7th – which was only 1 second behind the swimmer who took the bronze. The morning’s schedule finished with another 3 second PB with a time of 1.36.98 in the 100m backstroke.

The afternoon started with the 100m butterfly, a challenging event for Morven. A huge PB was gained with her time of 1.50.33.

The last event, the 100m freestyle resulted in her biggest success of the day, by taking the gold with a time of 1.20.08, an excellent 4 seconds better than her previous best.

A full quota of PBs was gained during the day showing all round improvement.

Scottish Masters Short Course Championships, Tollcross, Glasgow - April 2010

Jan Price, representing South Mainland Amateur Swimming Club, competed at the Scottish Masters Short Course Championships. Her fourth time at this meet, she increased the number of events entered to 12, spread over Friday evening, Saturday morning and afternoon and duly discovered that this was the most number of events swam by anyone in the women’s 50-54 year age group. Despite having little rest between races she successfully managed to slightly better her 2009 times in all but 3 races and came 2nd in 8 events and 3rd in a further 2. However it was in a race where she only managed 4th place that she had undoubtedly her best race. In the last session was the 400 freestyle where she was in the lane next to Carolyn Swanson from Thurso who had a similar entry time. Jan went out faster and by the 300 metres had a 2 metre lead. Carolyn had held back in the early stages and was more able to put in a really fast final 100m and by the last turn had closed the gap. The last length was an all out sprint finish by both, resulting in Jan being beaten by a finger tip 0.08sec, but was delighted to make a Pb as did Carolyn. Both are looking forward to a re-match next year.

As well as having a great time in her own swimming, the competition always provides Jan the chance to chat to and watch other Masters swimmers, some who are new to the sport, others who have been competing for decades, but very many, like herself returning to competitive swimming after many years away from the sport. One such swimmer, that Jan took the opportunity to talk to was 50 year old Judy Hattle, who swam up to the age of 20, then returned to competing after having a family. Little did Jan know that just 15 minutes after their chat, she was to witness Judy setting a new WORLD record in the 200m butterfly – certainly THE highlight of the championships.

As in previous years, Jan opted to substitute receiving medals for a donation of £1 per medal to this year’s nominated charity Macmillan Cancer Support.

Scottish National Age Group Championships, Tollcross, Glasgow, 8-11 April 2010

Donnie Price, representing South Mainland ASC, swam 11 events in the boys’ 13 year age group and had a most successful championships, returning home with a gold medal as Scottish Champion in one event and silver and bronze medals for a further two.

On day one of the 4 day competition, he headed off with a great start. Qualifying for the first time for the 200m butterfly, he managed to knock 10 seconds off his long course time to finish in 17th place with a time of 2.47.99.

This was followed by a Pb in the heats of the 100m freestyle. His time of 1.01.84 gave him 8th ranked place for the final, which he then improved to 5th when again he had a Pb to bring his time down to1.01.20.

Taking place in the afternoon of the first day was the event at the other end of the range; the 1500m freestyle. Donnie had an amazing swim and, with an 18.08.65, won the event and was awarded the Scottish Age Group Champion title, repeating last year’s success.

Day two brought more chances to gain long course Pbs, and again started very well with an excellent 100m butterfly. His time of 1.10.98 gave him 13th place. In the afternoon it was the 400m IM. A tough race in a 50m pool, this was Donnie’s first ever experience of the event long course and he was extremely pleased to swim a 5.28.89 and achieve 12th place.

 

The third day started with Donnie producing another Pb in the 100m breaststroke; with a 1.23.60 he came 12th, a reserve for the final. In the 200m IM he had another well paced swim to finish in 2.34.96, once more a Pb and 13th place. In the afternoon session, Donnie raced a superb 400m freestyle, and with a time of 4.37.80 won his second medal, the bronze.

 

Sunday, the last day of the competition, started with the 200m freestyle. Aiming to make the final, Donnie produced a Pb time of 2.13.67, comfortably gaining a place in the final. In next race, the 200 breaststroke, he managed to meet his target of breaking 3 minutes. However he was disappointed that his time of 2.59.49 meant 12th place, again reserve finalist, knowing that only half a second faster would have given him the desired place.

In the afternoon session, Donnie faced his last distance event, the 800m freestyle. In a heat with 14 year olds pushing him all the way, he finished well inside his entry time in a 9.28.63. At that point he was fastest 13year old and with only 2 more swimmers his age left to swim, he was guaranteed a medal. Only the outstanding Jordan Hughes of North Ayrshire finished faster, so Donnie won silver, bringing his medal tally to one of each colour.

One last race remained in the evening’s finals. Although he had made a Pb in the morning heats, Donnie knew that with slightly different pacing he could better his time. He had a brilliant race and improved his time by a further 1.5 seconds to finish in 5th place with a 2.12.08.

Dyce Hunting Trophy Meet, Westhill, March 2010

South Mainland ASC took nine of their swimmers to compete in the Dyce Hunting Trophy Meet at Westhill last weekend giving them all the opportunity to race in 100m events in their age groups. A great number of personal best times were achieved and two of the team brought home medals.

Scott Riise, 11, swimming in his first competition south for a year, was last of the South Mainland swimmers to race in the morning, but was first to win a medal, by taking bronze in the boys 10/11 years 100m backstroke with an excellent 5 seconds pb of 1.28.12. In the afternoon session, he then won gold in the 100m freestyle with another pb time of 1.18.09 and finished his successful day with the 100m breaststroke where he equalled his pb.

James Morris,12, swam all 4 races in the 12/13 year age group, but started his busy day competing in the Open 200m IM, which he swam extremely well for a 7 second pb of 3.03.84. His best swim of the day was in the 100m backstroke where he had a brilliant 3 second improvement on his time, finishing in silver place with a 1.21.37. James also gained pbs in the 100m freestyle with 1.15.06 and the breaststroke with 1.39.09. His time for the butterfly was on pb pace.

Jason Riise, 13, also swam 5 events. In the open 100m IM he had a pb of 1.28.32. In his age group events he managed a further 3 pbs which included a tremendous 6 seconds off his entry time with a 1.13.40 for the freestyle and a most impressive 7 second improvement in breaststroke with a 1.31.46. In both these events he came 5th.

Lucy Morris, 12, swam two events in the 12/13 year girls. Her backstroke was on her pb and she had a super 5 second pb in freestyle with a time of 1.21.60.

Four of the South Mainland girls competed in the 10/11 year age group. Vhairi Davies, 11 had a chunky 5 seconds pb for a 1.30.83 in the backstroke where she came 4th, only missing out on a medal by less than a second. Her breaststroke was also a good 3 second pb with 1.50.48, and both freestyle and butterfly finished on entry times.

Curstaidh Mackay, 11, got off to a fantastic start to the day in the 100m butterfly. Seeded only as reserve, but given the chance to swim, she dropped her entry time by 13 seconds to finish in a 1.48.43. In backstroke and breaststroke, her times were just outside entry times, but another fabulous pb was achieved by knocking almost 7 seconds off her freestyle with a 1.20.07.

Cara Steven, 11, competing south for the first time in two years, also had a good pb in her freestyle, improving on her time by 3 seconds for a 1.25.48, with her swims in breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly close to entry times.

Ten year old Sophie Morris, swimming for the first time south at this level of competition, had brilliant swims in all three of her races. Her butterfly resulted in an excellent 1.37.01 to finish well up the rankings in 6th place. In backstroke, too, she finished 6th with a pb of 1.32.40 and then finished off her day with a massive 6 second pb in the freestyle for a 1.21.48.

Youngest of the SMASC swimmers was Erraid Davies, 9, who swam two races in the 9 year age group. Her breaststroke showed good improvement with a 3 second pb for a 1.53.74 and a 5th place, and her backstroke was also swam well.

The club would like to thank Northlink and Mainlands for their support.

Shetland Sprints, 21 March 2010

Sunday 21st March was a very busy swimming day for nearly all South Mainland swimmers age 11 and over, who took part in the Shetland Sprints at the Clickimin.

For several swimmers this was their first outing to the event, and along with those who have had more experience, had a very successful day, at the end of which at least 64 personal best times had been achieved by the team of 15.

In the boys age groups, South Mainland took two of the champion titles – Darin Eldridge, 12, in the 11/12 years, achieving 4 pbs while winning all five races, and Donnie Price,13, for the 13/14 age group, winning 4golds and 1 silver – all pbs.

Other medallists in individual races were;

• Eddie Price, 11, silver in fly, breaststroke, IM & bronze in free.

• James Morris, bronze in backstroke.

• Karl Eldridge, silver in breaststroke and bronze in fly, back & IM.

• Vhairi Davies, 11, bronze in backstroke.

• Kirsty Laurenson, 14, silver in breaststroke.

• Jan Price, 51, was also awarded for her efforts – bronze in each race – due to there only being 3 swimmers in the age group.

Every swimmer achieved something on the day – here’s a list, nowhere near complete, but a mention of some highlights;

• Curstaidh Mackay, 11, – a superb 9 second pb for IM & tremendous last leg of the relay.

• Cara Steven, 11, – 2 seconds off backstroke time and gigantic 24 seconds off her IM.

• Vhairi Davies, 11, – Bronze in backstroke with a good pb & 3 seconds improvement in fly.

• Lucy Morris, 12, – Breaststroke – brilliant 4 seconds pb, & 5 seconds for the IM

• Morven Davies, 13, - Demonstrating she can swim fly with an 8 second pb, & 7 sec pb for her IM.

• Kirsty Laurenson, 14, – Making pbs only weeks after recent competition & winning silver in her least favourite stroke, breaststroke

• Jan Price, 51, - getting a 0.12 pb for Breaststroke and not getting caught by big Callum in the freestyle relay.

• Eddie Price, 11, - 7 second pb in IM. Runner up in age group. Fabulous freestyle leg of medley relay.

• Scott Riise, 11, - Pbs in 4 out of 5 races.

• James Morris, 12, - Pb every time he hit the water. Bronze in backstroke.

• Philip Hilditch, 12, - Having a super first time with immense pbs such as 16seconds off breaststroke.

• Darin Eldrige, 12, - Getting the champion title – what else is there?!

• Jason Riise, 13, - Five out of five for pbs – with a 4 second pb for IM

• Donnie Price, 13, - Swimming in lane 6 for each event against the big guys. 5/5 pbs including 4 seconds off IM.

• Karl Eldridge, 14, - Pbs all day long – fantastic drop in time for breaststroke.

• Nathan Hilditch, 15, - Incredible improvements in all strokes – whacking 16 seconds off backstroke, 13 off breaststroke and 10second in free for a very respectable time.

Many of the swimmers also took part in the relays, and for some this was the first time in the Clickimin, having only done them at Beta League. The boys 13 & under had two terrific races against Delting but were just out-touched by the tiniest of margins in both events. In the girls 13& under, South Mainland was a young team with more 11 year olds than the stronger teams from other clubs, but to their credit and a marvellous last leg by Curstaidh Mackay, came 3rd in the freestyle relay.

For the first time, the gala had mixed relays for the 14 years and over, and the SMASC team comprised of ALL of their swimmers in this age group – Kirsty, Karl, Nathan and Jan were up against Delting and Lerwick who both had several Shetland record holders past and present in their teams. In both the races, Jan, as the 3rd swimmer had the additional challenge of trying hard to ensure that we wouldn’t be lapped –and succeeded – just! The next challenge was all trying to fit on the podium to collect the medals.

Forres Meet, 13-14 March 2010

Two South Mainland ASC swimmers attended the Forres Meet.

Darin Eldridge, 12, had a successful weekend achieving 3 personal bests and winning 2 bronze medals. His first medal was in the 100m breaststroke where he took almost a second off his pb with a time of 1:31.06. Then in the freestyle he swam a closely fought race to come 3rd equal in a time just a touch away from a pb. A time of 1.20.66 was a good 2 seconds pb for his 100m backstroke and another pb came in the IM where he lowered his time to 1:20.66. In the 100m butterfly Darin swam close to entry time.

Karl Eldridge, 14, also had a very good weekend gaining pbs in 4 out of 5 races. In the 100m butterfly he took an excellent 4 seconds off his entry time with a 1:22.83. In the breaststroke he finished with a time of 1:26.58, a 2 sec pb. Again in the 100 IM he got a 2 sec pb with a 1:19.09. In the 100m backstroke he got a 1:18.67 giving him a 2 sec pb and in the 100 free he swam a 1:08.98, only just outside his pb.

North District Age Group Championships, Inverness, 6-7 March 2010

South Mainland ASC was represented at the North District Age Group championships by brothers Donnie and Eddie Price. Donnie, 13, swam 11 events in the 13/14 age group, and successfully broke pb times for every event. His weekend started off with a super 6 second improvement in his 200m butterfly with a 2.44.00. In his next race, the 100m freestyle, he crept nearer to breaking the 1 minute mark with a 1.00.79.

After another pb in the 200m IM, Donnie then produced an excellent 4.33.58 for the 400m freestyle and sixth place, the fastest of the 13 year old boys. The afternoon’s results were a satisfying 1.10.12 for his 100m butterfly followed shortly later with a 2.56.88 for the 200m breaststroke. In the last session of the day, Donnie had a terrific swim in the 1500m freestyle. Aiming to break 18 minutes he smashed 24 seconds off his entry time for a 17.43.12, which earned him the silver medal.

Sunday’s events started with a 2.10.63 for the 200m freestyle. Then in the 800m freestyle he swam very well to finish in 9.23.77, only missing out on third place by a mere 0.19 seconds. Donnie’s last session produced a pb in the 100m breaststroke and a chunky 7 seconds improvement in his time for the 400m IM.

Eddie, 11, swam 3 events in the 10-12 year age group. His competition got off to a great start by taking 3 seconds off his 100m freestyle time with a 1.08.97, and gained him a place in the final, where he moved up one place to finish 7th. Eddie was also 7th in the 200m freestyle where he swam 7 seconds faster than his entry time for a new pb of 2.27.51. In the 200 breaststroke Eddie had another tremendous swim with a 3.18.13 finishing in 5th place.

Shetland Junior Age Group Championships - February 2010

The Shetland Junior Age Group Championships was a great success for the youngest of the South Mainland swimmers, with the trophies for the top girl and boy in the 8 years and younger going to Erraid Davies and Seumas Mackay. Both won all 4 of their 25m races, and they also achieved first place in the 9 & under 50m freestyle events. Nine more youngsters took part in the gala, some winning medals, and all having super swims.

Competing in the Girls eight and under age group were Jasmin Smith, Kirsten Keay, Sarah-Marie Riise and Ruth Morris. Jasmin won the silver medal in the breaststroke and bronze in the butterfly. She came 4th in the backstroke, 5th in freestyle and 8th in the 50m freestyle. Kirsten also won 2 medals, a silver for butterfly, bronze for breaststroke and came 6th in freestyle and 8th in backstroke, with a very good 5th for her 50m freestyle.

Sarah-Marie was just below medal places with 4th in butterfly, breaststroke and freestyle and a 5th in backstroke. In the 50m freestyle she came 9th. Ruth swam good races to come 5th in the butterfly, 6th in backstroke and 7th in breaststroke and freestyle with a 10th place for the 50 freestyle.

Sophie Black swam in the 9 year age group and came home with a silver medal in butterfly and bronzes for backstroke and freestyle, and just missed a medal with her 4th place finish in breaststroke. She finished 6th in the 50 m freestyle.

In the 10year age group, Sophie Morris had a very good day. Swimming 50m in all her races, she produced excellent times to gain silver medals in the butterfly and backstroke, and made bronze for the freestyle. In the breaststroke she came 5th.

Rachel Keay also swam in this age group. Having only recently returned to the pool due to injury, she too produced good swims in the 50m events with a 6th place in the backstroke and 7th in breaststroke and 11th in the freestyle.

The youngest of the boys competing for South Mainland was Dylan Black. He won silver medals in the backstroke and the freestyle came 4th in breaststroke. Bobby Laurenson was also a medallist. In the 9 year age group he won silver for breaststroke and bronze for the butterfly and came 4th in the backstroke and freestyle with 5th place in the 9 and under 50m freestyle.

All swimmers were a credit to the club, their coaches and their parents.

Elgin Spring Meet, Buckie Pool - 20-21 February 2010

Two South Mainland ASC swimmers attended the Elgin Spring Meet, at Buckie Pool.

Eddie Price, 11, had a tremendous weekend breaking PBs and winning medals in each event in the 10-11 year age group, and finishing overall runner up to Aberdeen Dolphin, Jack Watson.

In the 50 metre races, he took 4 seconds off his entry time in the breaststroke with 43.07 and came first. In the butterfly, backstroke and freestyle he came 3rd in each very closely fought race. However, it was in the longer distance, 200m races, that Eddie really shone. In the backstroke he took a huge 8 seconds off his time for a 2.53.96, and finished fourth. In the breaststroke there was a 4 second improvement for a 3.20.69, a clear 9seconds ahead of his nearest rival. Again in the freestyle, he was the clear winner with a 2.31.63. But his most remarkable swim came in the tough 200m butterfly, taking 2nd place by knocking an astounding 38 seconds off his time to finish in 3.13.42, only one second behind the winner.

Eddie also swam in the open 400m freestyle as the youngest competitor and successfully chopped 9 seconds off his time to touch in 5.16.96.

Kirsty Laurenson, 13, swam well in her 8 races over the weekend. She finished close to entry times for her 200m freestyle and backstroke and in the butterfly she finished in 7th position. The 50m sprints in these strokes gave her more success. In an event that saw four Shetland girls in the top 7, she swam a great 50m freestyle to win her heat in 31.98 which earned her 7th place. A 2 second improvement was achieved in her backstroke with a 37.59. Kirsty’s highest place and a well deserved 4th place medal was awarded for a 2 second PB in the 50m butterfly in 34.55.

Edinburgh International on Tour, Tollcross Pool, Glasgow, 13-14 February 2010

Representing South Mainland ASC, Donnie Price,13, gained valuable long course experience swimming 8 events in the boys 13-14 year age group. On the Saturday, he started off the weekend with a long course PB in the 100m backstroke and followed this by another long course PB for 200m breaststroke. Following this trend he completed the afternoon with a further 2 PBs for the 200m backstroke and a 1.24.79 in the 100m breaststroke gave him a time eligible to enter the Scottish Age Groups in April.

More successful swims were accomplished on Sunday with races in freestyle and butterfly. A good, strong swim in the 100m fly resulted in a PB of 1.12.14 gaining him his second Scottish Age Group time. In the 100m freestyle he swam a 1.02.21 and in the 200m freestyle a 2.14.91, both events breaking PB times set a fortnight earlier in the same pool. Finally, tackling the challenge of long course 200m butterfly for the first time since last year, Donnie finished with substantial improvement in time.

SMASC Members Recieving a Cheque from SolutionX - December 2009

Shetland Senior Age Group Championships - November 2009

Buckie Mini Meet - 14th November 2009

Eight-year-old Erraid Davies recently travelled south to compete in the Buckie Mini Meet and was delighted to return home with a medal from each of her 25 metre races.

The lively one-day event attracted many swimmers aged 8 – 11 from across the North District.

In her first race of the day, 25m backstroke, Erraid gained a bronze with a PB of 21.12. She followed with a gold, with a time of 19.15 in her favourite stroke, the butterfly.

Later came a silver place and another PB of 24.18 in the breaststroke and finally silver in the freestyle in a time equalling her PB with 18.15.

Her results meant she came second overall in the 8 year girls.

Erraid was given funding for her trip from the Callum Younger Reach Fund.

North District Sprint Championships, Inverness - 3rd October 2009

Three swimmers from South Mainland Amateur Swimming Club qualified for the North District Sprint Championships.

Competing in all four events in the 10-12 year age group, 12 year old Darin Eldridge had a very good day which started with a PB of 32.55 in the 50m freestyle. He swam well in his second race of the morning, the 50m butterfly, and returned after lunch to PB his 50m breaststroke with a time of 42.42 which earned him a place in the final as eighth fastest qualifier. Before the final, he swam the 50m backstroke and touched on his PB. To finish off his day, Darin had a super swim in the breaststroke final and produced another PB of 42.01 to finish in 7th place.

In the 13-14 year age group, Sarah Keay swam the same events as Darin and like him broke PBs for two of her strokes and was on her PBs for the other two. She improved her freestyle to finish in 31.31, and shaved a fraction off her breaststroke time for a 40.03 which resulted in 11th place - her highest place of the day.

Donnie Price, 13, swam in this age group, and also had qualified for the open 100m Individual Medley. He successfully managed to produce PBs in all 5 events. His biggest improvement was a 2sec PB time of 37.81 for 50m breaststroke and his highest place for the day was 10th in butterfly with a 32.22.

South Mainland ASC would like to thank Mainlands, Northlink and Freefield Pharmacy for their support.

Shetland Junior Sprints - September 2009

Marc's Medley - September 2009

Inverclyde Masters, Greenock - 11-12 September 2009

At the recent Inverclyde Masters Swimming Meet, held at the Waterside Leisure Centre, Greenock, Jan Price swam an extremely busy schedule of 13 events. Representing South Mainland, Jan was one of a very small number of women competing in the 50-54 age band.

As such, placings were fairly irrelevant, while more significant was the target of matching times she swam in the competition when she previously took part in 2007. Her first event was the 800metres freestyle on the Friday evening. Pacing was excellent throughout, and with enough energy left to finish with a fast final 50 metres, she touched in 12.13.11, a new personal best time and a chunky 10 seconds faster than in 2007.

Saturday’s programme started at 9am with the 200m freestyle, which resulted in a 5 second PB. For the rest of the day it was one race after another, a mixture of 50m and 100m races in each stroke plus 200m breaststroke and Jan’s favourite event the 200m Individual Medley which she swam close to her PB time and 4 seconds faster than 2 years ago.

With little recovery time between races, some events were particularly tough going; the last length of the 100m butterfly was a near death experience and her one time strongest event, the 200m breaststroke was swam in survival mode. By 5pm even the normally easy 100m IM, the very last event, was unusually painful!

Despite this, and although no more personal best times were achieved during the day another 4 races; 50m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 50m backstroke and 100m freestyle resulted in times a touch faster than 2007.

Bridge of Don September Splash and Cults Otter Meets - 5-6 September 2009

Nine young swimmers from South Mainland Amateur Swimming Club participated in two recent competitions in Aberdeen. At the Bridge of Don September Splash, all competed in at least one event and amongst them achieved 17 personal best times.

In the Open 100m Individual Medley eldest of the girls, Sarah Keay (13) took 3 seconds off her PB with a 1.21.82 and finished 5th. Competing in the 13/14 year age group she gained higher place results with bronze for both the 100m backstroke with a 1.24.36 PB and the 100m butterfly. In a tremendous race she won the 100m freestyle in 1.09.77.

Vhairi Davies (11) produced three excellent PBs with a 1.35.03 in the Open 100m IM, and in the 11/12 year girls age group she swam 1.53.76 in 100m breaststroke, and 1.26.02 in 100m freestyle. Morven Davies (12) swam just outside her best with 1.24.69 in the 100m freestyle.

The youngest of the Davies sisters, eight year old Erraid had a very successful day, swimming in the 8-10 years age group. She won the 100m freestyle in 1.26.10, and came 3rd in 100m butterfly with an excellent time for her age 1.50.89. She also improved her 100m breaststroke time by 4 seconds.

Eldest of the boys, 13 year old Karl Eldridge, had a very good day, producing PBs in all of his 4 races. In the Open 100m Individual Medley he came 13th in 1.22.22. In the 13/14 age group, he came 5th in the 100m butterfly in 1.28.80, and took half a second off his 100m freestyle with 1.12.36. His best result came with a huge 5 second improvement in 100m breaststroke in 1.30.16 and a fourth place finish.

James Morris (11) also swam the Open 100m IM and gained a PB with 1.33.06. In the 11/12 age group he came 5th in the 100m breaststroke and was thrilled with a silver place in the 100m butterfly.

Three other South Mainland boys competed in the Open 100m IM, and all had a PB, Eddie Price (10) swam 1.30.44, Darin Eldridge (12) swam 1.23.00, and Donnie Price (13) with a 1.14.17 finished 4th out of 48 swimmers.

Having only one swim on the Saturday, this threesome had a far more demanding Sunday, each having qualified for all 6 races in the Cults Otter Bibby Challenge, at Northfield Pool. First in the pool was Eddie in the 400m freestyle, which he swam well and achieved 1st place in the 8-10 age group. In the 200m Individual Medley he equalled his PB and came second, but saved his best for his last race of the day when he won the100m freestyle and lowered his time by a second to 1.14.82, a new Shetland 10 year and under age group record.

Darin gained a 3 second PB in the 400m freestyle with a 5.17.14, and took a fraction of a second off his 100m backstroke in 1.24.56. He had 4 more good swims, all touching within a second of PBs. Donnie, although not on his best form on the day, still managed to pull off times close to his PBs. James Morris had one swim at the meet, the 100m freestyle and took a second off his PB finishing in 1.16.84.

One of the girls, Erraid competed at Sunday’s meet. As youngest girl competitor in the 8-10 year age group, took 2 seconds off her 100m backstroke PB for a 1.41.87 and finished her weekend with a good 100m freestyle.

South Mainland Asc would like to thank the following for their support; Mainlands, Freefield Pharmacy, Broonies Taing Pier Trust , Shetland Office Supplies, Dunrossness Community Council and NorthLink Ferries.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Fins Graded Meet, Kircaldy - 22-23 August 2009

Three members of South Mainland Amateur Swimming Club competed at the two day Fins Graded Meet in Kirkcaldy, Fife on 22nd and 23rd August 2009.

Erraid (8), Vhairi (11) and Morven (12) Davies were keen to swim at a meet where all three could participate. The gala was a huge success and a lot of fun; between them they qualified for 23 events and achieved 13 personal best times.

Vhairi swam all 9 events in her age group (11 years and under), which was a tough schedule. On the first morning, Vhairi swam in the 50m butterfly (pb 44.29), 100 IM (pb 1.38.50) and 50m backstroke (pb 43.72). She was shocked to find herself in the 50m backstroke final! It was a highly charged event but she raced through the water to come 4th overall (31 girls swam in this event) lowering her earlier pb to a superb 42.48.

In the afternoon Vhairi swam one of her favourite events, the 100m butterfly. Touching in 1.45.11, she once more qualified for the final, which resulted in another excellent pb of 1.42.53 and 6th place. After her successes on Saturday, Vhairi went on to gain further pbs in all of Sunday’s events. Her best result was in the 100m freestyle where she lowered her entry time by 6 seconds to get a new pb of 1.24.69. To finish her perfect tally of pbs her other times were in the 100m back (1.35.49), 50m free (38.71) and 100m breaststroke (1.57.25).

Erraid qualified for 7 events in the 11years and under age group and although reserve for the 100m breaststroke, was able to swim, improving her entry time by 4 seconds for a pb of 2.04.28. Erraid also got a pb in the 100m free; 1.30.16 a 3 seconds improvement. She swam close to her previous pb times in 50m free (39.62), 100m backstroke (1.44.75), 50m breaststroke (58.06) and 50m backstroke (47.26).

Morven was delighted to qualify for five events at the meet and like her youngest sister had held a reserve position for an event, the 50m freestyle. Also, like her sister, being able to swim it allowed her to obtain a pb time of 38.91. In the 50m backstroke (47.11) and the 50m breaststroke (47.13) Morven swam just outside her pb times, which was a good, result for her in the 12-13 year old age group. Morven also swam in the 100m breaststroke, 100m freestyle and 100m backstroke.

Attending the Fins Gala in Fife was a memorable event where all three sisters achieved significantly and were delighted at their own and each other’s success. They now look forward to further training and to have new opportunities to compete both in Shetland and south.

Westray Swimming Club Friendly Gala - June 2009

InCAS Distance Meet, Glenrothes - June 2009

Swimmers representing three Shetland clubs competed at the InCAS Distance Meet held in Glenrothes where medals and awards were presented to the top 6 swimmers in each event.

For South Mainland ASC brothers Donnie & Eddie Price it was a very successful meet. The weekend provided older brother Donnie with his last chance to break Shetland Records in the 11/12 year age group before his 13th birthday at the end of the month and he achieved this in 5 out of 7 races, and won medals in all but 1 event.

On day 1 of the competition, in the 1500 metre freestyle, he smashed his own PB and Shetland record and set a meet record with a gold winning time of 18.16.53. With very little time to recover from the 1500m, 20 minutes later he swam the 200m Individual Medley in a time just outside his best. Earlier in the day he had taken off 6 seconds from his 200m breaststroke PB and finished 4th in 2.59.84, and another DRP qualifying time.

 

Sunday’s first race for Donnie was the 200m freestyle and once again he achieved a PB finishing in 2.15.28 to take silver. In the 400m IM he improved his PB by a chunky 12 seconds, finishing in 5.34.48 and in 6th place. In his final race, the 400m freestyle, Donnie once again had an outstanding race, lowered his Shetland age group record time to 4.41.43, and again finished in silver position.

10 year old Eddie had a tremendous weekend too, starting with the 200m breaststroke where he knocked 13 seconds off his entry time with a 3.36.53 which earned him 2nd place. Seeded only as reserve in the 200m IM he was delighted to be given the chance to compete. With a superb swim through all four strokes, he finished in 4th place in 3.12.57, a 10second PB and a clear 2 seconds inside the DRP target time.

The second day of competition resulted in Eddie breaking Shetland records in the 10 years and under age group in all three of his events. In a brilliant race in the 200m freestyle he lowered his previously set record to 2.40.15 and gained a bronze medal. In his next race, the 200m backstroke, he swam a very well-paced race finishing in a time of 3.03.59. Finally in the 400m freestyle, he swam a phenomenal 38 seconds faster than his entry time producing a 5.32.59 and took a very well deserved 3rd place. Eddie has now DRP qualifying times for 200m freestyle, 200m backstroke, 200m IM and 400m freestyle.

Presentation of the Beta League Shield - May 2009

Inverness Graded Meet - May 2009

South Mainland’s young swimmers brought home a number of medals, speeding tickets and personal best times (pbs) from the Inverness Graded Meet this weekend.

For the boys 10years & under were Edward Oldbury, Christopher Byrne-McCombie, Seumas MacKay & Lewis Tait. Edward had a fabulous start to the meet with a Speeding Ticket in the 50m freestyle (39.62s), followed by a Gold medal in 50m backstroke, a Bronze in 50m butterfly and a superb 12s pb in 100IM. Christopher swam extremely well to take Silver in 50m butterfly (54.01) and had great pbs in 100IM and 50m breaststroke.

The 2 youngest South Mainland swimmers Seumas & Lewis, both 8years, had some great pbs in 50m backstroke & breaststroke with Seumas taking 17s off his breaststroke time and Lewis improving by 5s in backstroke. In 50m freestyle, Seumas again achieved a pb time (45.62) All the boys completed their day by winning Silver in the freestyle relay.

In the girls 10yrs & under events ,9yr old Rachel Keay had a excellent swim in 50m freestyle to take Silver (40.94s). She also had some super pbs in 100IM & 50m breaststroke.

Harriet Bell & Morven Davies, both 12yrs, competed in the 11-12yr age group. In their first event, 100m backstroke, Morven gained a terrific 4th place & Harriet reduced her pb by a superb 12s. In 100m

freestyle, both swam well to get new pbs, with Morven getting a Speeding Ticket for her efforts (1.22.60). Harriet achieved her highest position (6th) in 100m breaststroke and another pb swim in 100IM.

South Mainland ASC would like to thank NorthLink Ferries and Mainlands for their support.

Scottish National Masters Championships, Scotstoun, Glasgow - April 2009

All colours of medals were won by two Shetland swimmers last weekend at the Scottish National Masters Championships at Scotstoun, Glasgow. Competitors aged 18 – 80 from clubs throughout the UK and Ireland and the now regular visitors from Catalonia, Spain were attracted to this top event for adult swimmers.

On Friday evening, Lynsey Henderson, 26, of Lerwick Amateur Swimming Club gained her first silver medal in the women’s 25-29 years 100m freestyle in a time just outside her entry time. She then came 4th in the 50m butterfly and finished the evening with another silver in the 100m individual medley.

Saturday morning started with the 200m IM where Lynsey swam a good time for the bronze. Her next race, the 200m freestyle provided a tough race with seven competitors in her age group seeded in the fastest heat. Onlookers witnessed a fantastic race, with all swimmers turning together after the first 50m. At 100m, little seperated the three leaders with not one falling behind during the second half. Once again Lynsey was awarded the silver, but was the fastest British swimmer, having narrowly been beaten by a Catalonian.

The afternoon session began with the 400m freestyle, a mid-distance event that has always been one of Lynsey’s strengths. Similar to the earlier 200m, the fastest heat proved to be a very closely fought race. Lynsey went out quickly for the first 100m, maintained a fast pace for the next 200m and really pushed hard in the final 100m. Touching in an excellent time of 5.11.32, Lynsey gained her final medal of the competition – another silver, and with gold going to a swimmer from the top London Masters club Otter, once again she was the fastest Scot. In her final swim of the day, the 50m freestyle, the favourite event for masters, Lynsey came 5th. Overall in her age group, on points total, Lynsey came third out of 18.

Representing South Mainland Amateur Swimming Club, 50 year old Jan Price raced 11 events over 3 sessions. Having reached an age where PBs are tougher to achieve, matching entry times based on last year’s times was her aim. Friday evening’s four races were all just a touch slower than targets but still resulted in silvers for 100m breaststroke and 50m butterfly and bronzes for 100m freestyle and 100m individual medley.The next day began very well with a superb race in the 200m IM. For the first 50m butterfly, Jan was close to her previous evening’s sprint time. Then having dropped a little in the backstroke she pulled back on swimmers on either side during the breaststroke and closed the gap on the first length of freestyle. A determined spurt in the final length resulted in a time of 3.14.59 just inside her entry time and first place in her age group. In the 50m backstroke she came third and a second gold of the morning was gained in the 200m breaststroke.

After a relaxed lunch outside in the sunshine, Jan’s next challenge came in the 400m freestyle, the first event in the final session. She paced it well throughout with a strong finish and was delighted with a time only a second slower than her personal best which earned her the bronze.

By mid afternoon, like many swimmers, Jan was looking forward to finishing her events. A time equalling her entry time in the 50m breaststroke resulted in silver, followed by a 4thin her first ever 100m backstroke. 24 hours after arriving at the pool, she finished off her competition with bronze place in 50m freestyle, just a second outside her best. Overall in the women’s 50-54 age group, her points total earned her second place out of 15.