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.

Buckie Age Group Championships - April 2009

Nine swimmers from South Mainland Amateur Swimming Club had a very successful trip at the recent Buckie one day event returning with 2 golds, 1 silver and 1 bronze, some Shetland Age Group records and a very creditable 18 personal bests.

Eddie Price, 10, led the way with Golds in the boys 10years 100m butterfly in 1.36.24 and 100m freestyle where he improved on his PB by 1.94 seconds to finish in 1.15.73, a new Shetland Age Group record for 10 & under. He also had a pb and a bronze in the boys 10 year 100m breaststroke with a time of 1.44.73. In the 100m backstroke he swam 1.32.67 and came 4th.

Not to be undone, his older brother Donnie, 12, won Silver in the boys 12-13 100m Butterfly improving his personal best by 2.79 seconds with a time of 1.16.49. Finishing as the fastest 12 year old in all events, he also achieved personal bests and Shetland Age Group records in the 200m freestyle (2.16.71), 200m IM (2.37.26), and the 100m backstroke (1.15.86).

James Morris, 11, had a very good meet gaining PBs in each of his four events, the 11 year old boys 100m breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and freestyle where his times were 1.46.05, 1.28.09, 1.41.5 and 1.17.49

respectively.

Scott Riise, 10, swam in the boys 10 year old 100m breaststroke, backstroke and freestyle. In both the breaststroke and freestyle he lowered his best times by a huge 6.77s and 5.56s with times of 1.49.99 and 1.20.63 and achieved 4th place in both races.

Older brother Jason Riise, 12, swam consistently well in all four 12-13 year old boys 100m events. His best result was in the 100m freestyle where he narrowly missed a personal best in a time of 1.20.52.

Eldest of the South Mainland girls was Bethany Byrne-McCombie, 13, who swam in all four 12-13 years girls 100m events and the girls 10-15years 200m IM. Like Jason, Bethany swam consistently well, narrowly missing a PB in the 100mfreestyle in a time of 1.16.21.

Lucy Morris did nearly as well as her brother James, gaining three PBs in the 11 year old girls 100m backstroke, butterfly and freestyle with times of 1.36.02, 1.48.62 and 1.26.60 respectively.Vhairi Davies, 10, like Lucy, gained three PBs the best of which was in the 100m butterfly for10 year old girls where she lowered her time by 3.83s to 1.44.54 which was rewarded with a 7th place. Her other times were  1.58.65 for the 100m Breaststroke, (0.34pb), 1.37.93 for the 100m Backstroke, (3.16pb), and 1.32.09 for the 100m Freestyle.

Curstaidh MacKay, 10, swam in the 10year old girls 100m breaststroke, backstroke and freestyle gaining a personal best of nearly two seconds in the freestyle with a time of 1.27.87. She narrowly missed a PB in the breaststroke with a time of 1.57.99.

The South Mainland club would like to thank the continued support of their sponsors and the invaluable contributions made by Jill and Iain Henderson of Mainlands and the Freefield Pharmacy.

Scottish National Age Group Championships, Royal Commonwealth Pool, Edinburgh - April 2009

At the Scottish National Age Group Championships held at Edinburgh’s Royal Commonwealth Pool, Donnie Price,12, became the first swimmer from South Mainland Amateur Swimming Club to win an Age Group Scottish National Champion title, which he achieved in the 10-12 year boys 1500m freestyle.

Swimmers representing 29 English and 32 Scottish swim clubs competed over 5 days at this top level competition. Competing for his first time in a National championship, Donnie had qualified for 10 events. He produced good personal best times in the 200m breaststroke, long course bests in the 200m backstroke and 200m individual medley and was on his entry time for the 100m breaststroke. Only his 100m backstroke was a little off his entry time. However it was in the 5 freestyle races that Donnie, without doubt, performed his best, breaking his Shetland Age Group records.

On the first day of competition, in the 200m freestyle heats, Donnie improved by 1.5 seconds on his previous long course time which was enough to qualify for the evening’s final. An excellent race resulted in taking over 1 second off his heat time to finish in 2.18.91, 7th place and 4th out of the Scottish boys, just behind 12year old Sandy Waller from Heart of Midlothian. Having met Sandy last year when the Hearts club visited Shetland for a training weekend, Sandy and Donnie now met in race after race. On the Thursday in the 800m freestyle, Donnie was a fraction ahead of Sandy until the last turn and in the final 50m was pushed all the way with Sandy just touching 1 second ahead to take 3rd place to Donnie’s 4th.

A virtual repeat performance took place on Friday during the 400m freestyle when again the two boys kept pace with one another throughout the 8 length race, with once more Sandy just beating Donnie by a mere fingernail, 0.12 seconds ahead. The result was a 5th place for Donnie. Then on Saturday, for the fourth day in a row the boys lined up in lanes 1 and 2, with 12year old Dale McAnish from Grangemouth in lane 3. With similar entry times and having witnessed the earlier freestyle events, again an exciting race was expected. The youngsters did not disappoint. For the first 400m all three could not be separated, but over the next 400m Donnie inched slightly in front of Sandy and a couple of body lengths ahead of Dale. Donnie worked hard, maintained excellent pace and increased his lead a fraction of a second each length. At the final 100m both boys gave it their utmost, but the lead Donnie had built up was just enough to give him a clear 3 seconds over Sandy and a superb long course time of 18.53.22. At this stage of the event Donnie was the fastest 10-12 year boy, but in the following heat Thomas Gregson, all the way from Portsmouth, produced an outstanding swim to take 1st overall place. As Thomas is English, it was then Donnie, in addition to getting silver medal for 2nd place, as the top Scot was awarded a Scottish National Age Group Champion medal.

On the last day, the 100m freestyle heats brought an unanticipated challenge, when as the race started, the starting flash light for a deaf swimmer failed and the false start rope was dropped as the rest of the swimmers hit the water. Unfortunately Donnie swam hard into the rope giving himself a painful red rope burn. In the few minutes that it took to re-start the race, Donnie started to shiver and was disappointed in his heat time. Fortunately it was still fast enough to qualify for the final. In the final of an exciting 100m freestyle Donnie just lost out on the bronze medal by half a second.

Altogether, this five day event was a tremendous experience. Both Donnie and Mum/coach Jan gained a lot of valuable knowledge from the competition which included having the opportunity to chat with swimmers and coaches from bigger clubs.

One of the main differences to other events is that morning session warms ups are earlier – 7am and last for up to an hour and a half, so swimmers can choose when they want to warm up and for how long. Donnie found that he benefitted from the extra long warm up. There is no segregation of sexes or clubs, and depending on what events are being swum in a session, it can be a very busy pool. Another facility at top level competitions is having the use of an extra pool – at the RCP it was the diving pool to swim down after a race.There were also tighter controls on access to changing rooms and poolside – no-one being allowed in these areas without an official pass. Spectators were only allowed in designated areas in the seating area, and swimmers were only allowed to spectator area once in dry & dressed in non swimwear.

Then and now

Jan had swum at the Royal Commonwealth Pool at same event 35 years ago, but there were far fewer swimmers back then and the whole competition lasted only 2 days. Swimmers started at the shallow end – yes back in the olden days, diving into less than 1m was allowed!

Forres Bluefins two Day Meet - March 2009

Nine swimmers from South Mainland Amateur Swimming Club competed in the recent Forres Bluefins 2 day Meet and each achieved at least one personal best time in their races, with some returning home with medals.

Eddie Price, 10, had a very successful weekend, winning gold in the boys 8-10 50m freestyle, 50m breaststroke and 100m Individual Medley where his time of 1.31.43 was a 3.5 second improvement on his PB. A great race in the 50m butterfly earned him a silver.

Also competing in this age group was Scott Riise, 10, whose best times were a PB in 50m freestyle and 50m breaststroke, where he was 5th in both events. Older brother, Jason Riise swam 100m events in the 12 year age group and had his best result when he improved his 100m IM time by 3 seconds. His highest place was finishing 6th in 100m breaststroke.

Eleven year old James Morris swam consistently well to achieve 4 PBs. In the 100m freestyle he lowered his PB by one second to 1.17.74 and just missed out on a medal by a tiny 7/100 of a second. He was also placed 4th in 100m breaststroke, 5th in 100m backstroke and 6th in 100m IM, so was thrilled when he made 3rd place and a bronze medal in the 100m butterfly.

The four boys took part in two relay races, and came 5th in Saturday’s medley relay.

Late on Sunday afternoon, club swimmers, coaches, parents and friends were provided with one of the most exciting races of the weekend by the boys in the 4x50m freestyle relay. James led off well, followed by Jason, then Scott. At the final takeover, Eddie was about 5 metres ahead of a 12year old Forres boy. At the turn Eddie could see the older boy was gaining on him, but put in a determined effort and managed to hold on to the lead touching just 1/2 second in front. This fantastic swim was enough to result in the boys winning the bronze medal, only beaten by a team of 12 year olds boys from Thurso and a first class gold medal team from Delting.

Eldest of the South Mainland girls was 12 year old Morven Davies, in her first event south for nearly two years. She had 4 PBs and displayed improvement in all her strokes. Her biggest PB was in the 100m IM where she knocked off a substantial 5 seconds. In her last individual event she was set the target of breaking the 1.30 mark and was delighted to touch in 1.28.06.

Lucy Morris, 11, made 3 PBs over the two days. Her best event was in the 100m backstroke where she improved her PB by over 3 seconds with a time of 1.38.97 and finished in 9th place. Her other PBs were for

100m butterfly and the 100m IM.

Vhairi Davies, 10, managed to gain 4 good PBs. Improving on her entry time by just over 1 second in the 50m backstroke she narrowly missed a medal, finishing in 4th place and was 7th in 50m butterfly, 9th in breaststroke and free style. Her 100m IM time of 1.40.53 was a super 6 second PB and gained her 6th place.

Curstaidh Mackay, 10, had a perfect 5 out of 5 PBs, showing excellent, steady improvement in all events where her best placings were 7th for both the 50m backstroke and 50m freestyle. Curstaidh also managed to drop her 50m free times when it came to joining Lucy, Vhairi and Morven in the relays, where she brilliantly swam the final leg in both the medley relay and the freestyle relay.

While in the boys relays, only 2 heats were swum, there were 3 heats for the girls and with some teams made up of four 12 year old girls, the younger girls from South Mainland were up against some very experienced and faster opposition. Although not managing to win a medal like the boys, they nevertheless gained valuable experience in the thrill and excitement of relay races.

Morven and Vhairi’s younger sister Erraid at just 8 was one of the youngest competitors at Forres and swam all 5 races in the 8-10 girls age group. The talented youngster gained superb PBs and was placed 8th in 50m backstroke and 9th in 100IM. Whizzing through the water in her last race, the 50m butterfly, she astounded all with an incredible time of 43.46, which gained her a excellent 5th position.

South Mainland ASC would like to thank Northlink and Freefield Pharmacy for their continued support and sponsorship.

SMASC Coaches Report, April 2008 – March 2009

South Mainland Amateur Swimming Club has a healthy swimmer membership of 37, from 7 years to 50! who have continued to progress in their abilities over the last year with many taking part in both local & south galas.

At local galas, South Mainland continue to do very well with Junior & Senior members taking home a huge range of Age Group Trophies, medals and personal best times (pbs). There are quite a variety of galas in Shetland & it is great to see the attendance we have at them. We definitely had the noisiest support for our swimmers.

A special congratulation to the whole team for recently winning this years Beta League competition. Beta League gives a wide age range & ability of swimmers a chance to compete against other Shetland swimmers AS A TEAM. Well Done. Thanks should also go to parents & families for all the timekeeping we provide & the super support given.

Congratulations also to Darin Eldridge, Donnie Price, James Morris & Eddie Price who have broken existing Shetland Records.

At this point, we should definitely take the time to thank all the technical officials, without whom these galas would not be able to take place, or be accredited.

Shetland is getting to a critical point for Judges & I would urge anyone to think of volunteering for Judge 1. Everyone is now mentored until they feel accomplished at timekeeping, before progressing on to the judging part.

Over the year the club attended 13 galas south. It would have been slightly more but due to unforeseen circumstances some were cancelled. Attending meets on the mainland takes a huge amount of planning mainly before the club even leaves Shetland. But the benefits the swimmers gain from competing in a bigger field make it definitely worthwhile. Many regularly return home with pbs, medals, speeding tickets and trophies which are an absolute credit to their enthusiasm & dedication.

As the swimmers attend more meets within the North District & further afield they regularly meet the same swimmers & its great to see friendships forming from across Scotland. These meets also give coaches a chance to network & tap into a huge resource of information.

Twenty one swimmers attended meets south, mostly part-funded by the club. Some swimmers self funded due to choice or being outwith our trips policy.

The range of meets we attend is huge- from Inverness Graded meet, often the first meet south a swimmer attends through to the Scottish National Age Group Championships, where a mention must go to Donnie Price in becoming the 11-12year old SNAGs Boys Champion in 1500m Freestyle – a tremendous achievement coming from a 17m pool!

In the month preceding this Donnie brought home another top award - the North District Age Group Champion overall 11/12year boy. This certainly gives our younger swimmers something to aspire to.

DEVELOPMENT of swimmers is ongoing in Shetland with progression from club swimming to include development & then County Squad Training in their hectic schedules. This can be a huge boost to the children & gives them the opportunity to train with swimmers from throughout Shetland.

The Shetland Development Squad now includes Jason & Scott Riise, James, Lucy & Sophie Morris, Eddie Price, Morven & Vhairi Davies, Sophie Moar, Curstaidh MacKay, & Cara Steven within their ranks.

And those who swim with the Shetland County Squad are Donnie Price, Bethany Byrne McCombie, Sarah Keay, Kirsty Laurenson & Darin & Karl Eldridge

For the first time 2 swimmers, Donnie Price & Sarah Keay, gained places in the North District Regional Programme & travelled to Aberdeen to take part in land & pool training days with other North District swimmers. These sessions, led by Olympic Coach Doug Campbell are also beneficial to coaches, bringing back tips to other club swimmers.

At home our Club Sessions continue on Sundays 4-6pm. Thank You to the clubs poolside volunteers for giving up their time & providing commitment & enthusiasm.

I was recently asked about poolside volunteers qualifications; We have 2 Coaches at Level 1 – Jan Price & Susan Keay & 4 Teachers at Level 1 - Yvonne MacGregor, Jan Price, Justin Eldridge & Susan Keay. But the club could not operate without ALL the poolside volunteers who give up their Sunday teatimes – Jimmie Morris & Ian Bray.

Also thanks to parents for getting swimmers to poolside in plenty of time!!!!!!!!!!!!! The club is always on the lookout for those willing to assist on poolside.

We have had a number of extra timing sessions and a few coaching sessions at Clickimin, which we hope to increase over the next year, along with the addition of an early morning session at Sandwick.

Masters – Our oldest swimmer, Jan Price, continues to win medals at Masters competitions South & is always on the lookout for a relay team –volunteers welcome.

Disability Swimming- Erraid Davies was invited as a guest swimmer to the National Disability Gala for Physical & sensory impairment. This was funded by the Callum Younger Reach Fund & was a great experience for her.

Land Training- There have been a few land training sessions over the year, the last being with Jake Williams. These have been a success, although finding a suitable time slot always proves difficult.

So all in all it has been a very successful year for the club & hopefully the next year will continue in the same way.

North District Age Group Championships, Inverness - 7-8 March 2009

South Mainland Amateur Swimming Club swimmer, Donnie Price, 12, was awarded the trophy for top boy age 10-12 at the North District Age Group Championships in Inverness. On his way to achieving this title he won 4 gold (100m, 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle), 1 silver (100m breaststroke), and 3 bronze medals (200m breaststroke, 200m IM and 400m IM). In the 200m backstroke he was placed 4th, 7th in 100m butterfly and 8th in 100m backstroke. In all but the 400m IM he produced personal best times, lowering his previously set Shetland Age Group records.

A convincing winner in the 4 freestyle events, Donnie was aiming for a time under 10 minutes in the 800m and was thrilled to hit the touch pad well under target in an excellent time of 9.52.68. In other races he experienced tough challenges with his competitors being equal or faster. After Saturday afternoon’s heats of the 100m breaststroke, 4 boys had qualified for the evening final with only 1/2 second between them. A tremendous race for the youngsters pushed the first three to each swim a massive 2 seconds faster than in the heats, with Donnie just being beaten into second place by 7/100 second.

Day two of the competition continued with plenty more events, again some with evening finals. Having knocked over 2 seconds off his entry time, Donnie found himself ranked in 3rd place for the 200IM. Determined not to lose out on a medal he swam a superb race, finished 3rd and had taken a further 2 seconds off his PB, thus his biggest improvement of the weekend.

South Mainland’s other swimmers who had qualified for the Championships for the first time, were Darin Eldridge 11, and Sarah Keay 12. Only a few 11 year olds were competing, and Darin swam very well in his 5 races. He had a brilliant 2 sec PB in the 100m freestyle finishing in 1.10.59. His 200m breaststroke was his highest placed event finishing in 11th and his remaining events were all on entry times.

Due to illness, Sarah reduced her events to just 3; 100m free, 100m breaststroke & 100m butterfly. All 3 races left her exhausted but she had performed tremendously well to finish each just a fraction of a second outside PBs.

South Mainland ASC would like to express their thanks and appreciation of the support and sponsorship towards this trip, given by Northlink, Mainlands, Dunrossness Community Council, and Sandwick Community Council.

Shetland Junior Age Group Championships, 22nd February 2009

Edinburgh International Age Group Championships, Royal Commonwealth Pool - February 2009

Two young swimmers from South Mainland Amateur Swimming Club recently attended the Edinburgh International Age Groups Championships, a 3 day competition held at the Royal Commonwealth Pool.

For Sarah Keay, age 12, this was her first time of competing in a 50metre pool, long course competition and for team mate Donnie Price, 12, his first opportunity to swim more than a 1 length race long course.

With a view to progressing to competing in Scottish National events, the swimmers gained valuable experience in learning to adapt to the different pool length and coped well with the challenges of races without the additional push offs with more frequent turns in standard 25m pools.

Meeting up with top ranked swimmers from throughout Scotland, Sarah swam 8 events and Donnie swam all 9 events for 11/12 year boys. This included the tremendously demanding 200m butterfly, a race that only attracted up to 12 swimmers – a lot less than the 48 qualifiers for other events in their age group.

Since neither Donnie or Sarah had previously swam their races in a 50 metre pool, all times were recorded as new long course Personal Bests. Their times, converted to short course were all close to PBs or improvements.

On the first day of competition, Donnie found himself in the fastest heats for the 200m freestyle and the 100m breaststroke. He came 4th in the 200m freestyle with a PB and a new Shetland Age Group record and qualified in 6th place for the final of the 100m breaststroke. Returning for the evening’s finals, he improved both his time and his place, and in a closely fought race finished in 4th position.

On day two, the 200m butterfly was a low point for Donnie, but excellent swims in the heats of the 100m backstroke and the 100m freestyle resulted in two more evening finals.

In the backstroke he maintained his position, finishing in 6th. In the 100m freestyle, like the previous day, he swam his final faster than the heats and held on to his position of third place, his time of 1.04.46 his second Shetland Age Group record of the meet.

On the last day of competition, Donnie had a very good 200m breaststroke with a time when converted to short course provided him with his third Shetland Age Group record. In the 200m backstroke race he finished 6th and with a new personal best in the 100m butterfly came 10th

Sarah had a mixed 3 days. On the Friday, her 200m freestyle and 100m breaststroke were just outside her entry times, but like most young swimmers, she was disappointed not to swim any times that when converted would have been personal bests. However, after a good night’s sleep, she bounced back on day two, when in her 100m backstroke improved greatly on her position from ranked 30th to finishing a creditable 17th overall. In her 100 freestyle, she was delighted to then swim a personal best of 1.11.26.

On the third day, the 200 breaststroke gave Sarah her next chance show what she’s capable of, and once again swam a PB. Her final 2 races were both swum well, although just slightly down on times.

The South Mainland swimmers and coaches would like to thank Mainlands and Northlink for their ongoing sponsorship and support.

North District Age Group Meet, Inverness - December 2008

Six young swimmers from South Mainland Amateur Swimming Club had a successful weekend last month, competing at the North District Age Group Meet at Inverness.

While fellow Shetland county squad swimmer, Felix Gifford of Delting Dolphins stood out as the most successful 13-14 boy, South Mainland’s Donnie Price, age 12, was the top boy in the 10-12 year age bracket.

The only boy in his age group to compete in all 12 events, Donnie won golds for 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle and 1500m freestyle. Silver was won in the 100m breaststroke and bronze medals came in the 200m breaststroke and 200m backstroke. In each swim a personal best time was achieved and 10 new Shetland 11/12 years age group records were accomplished on the way, including the 200m butterfly, and both the 200m and 400m individual medleys. Undoubtedly Donnie’s most outstanding swim was in the 1500m freestyle. Guaranteed to win a medal, since only 3 boys age 10-12 were competing in this the longest pool event, he swam in a seeded heat that also included boys from the older age group.

Going out fast from the start, he maintained his pace in clockwork fashion, pulled ahead of some of the bigger boys by halfway, and, cheered on by his team mates on poolside during the last 200m, finished 2 lengths clear of the second position swimmer in his age group. Finishing in a time of 18.50.22, he had knocked off 59 seconds from the previous Shetland 11/12 years record.

Darin Eldridge, age 11, competing in this meet for the second year, was kept very busy with 11 events. He displayed improvement in entry times for all strokes and distances, but especially in the 200m & 400m events where he has had little previous experience at this level of competition. In the 400m IM he took off a remarkable 15 seconds from his PB, to finish in 6.14.72, 11th place overall but 3rd out of the 11 year old boys. Darin’s best achievement was in the 200m breaststroke where he finished 7th overall, the 2nd fastest 11 year old.

Only five 10 year old boys had qualified for the Inverness meet, and two of them, James Morris and Eddie Price were from South Mainland. James swam in 5 events, and despite having been ill the previous week, managed to produce 3 good personal best times. James and Eddie, used to pushing each other in training at Sandwick, had a fantastic race in the 200m backstroke, where Eddie was just out-touched by 1/2 second by James, whose time of 3.08.77 was a new Shetland record for 10 year boys.

In both the 100m and the 200m freestyle James and Eddie were again swimming in the same heat. Eddie finished with a good PB in the 100m and James was just outside his previous best. The 200m free, the last event for both boys, once more was closely fought – both producing huge 8 second PBs. Eddie, the very youngest boy from over 20 clubs competing at the meet, finished in a time of 2.43.72, beating his big brother’s Shetland 10year boys record by over 2 seconds.

The girls taking part were 12 year olds Kirsty Laurenson, competing at the event for the first time, and Sarah Keay. Sarah woke up on the Saturday with a stinking cold, so the weekend was going to be a real challenge. However, despite feeling far from top form, she coped well with the fairly hefty schedule of 10 events, and produced swims close to her entry times. Remarkably, Sarah even managed to pull off a couple of PBs. In her best event of the weekend, the 100m breaststroke she broke the 1.30 mark for the first time, with 1.29.00, a 2sec PB and finished in an excellent 7th overall position.

In 2007, Kirsty just missed qualifying for the event, but with a further 12 months of sound training found herself now swimming in 10 events. In nearly all her races she produced good PBs. Her best swims came in 200m butterfly and the 400m IM, arguably the two toughest events in competitive swimming. With her stamina gained from regular hard work in the pool, Kirsty showed brilliant improvement from her previous times.

South Mainland ASC would like to thank the following for their sponsorship and support; Nothlink Ferries, Mainlands, JHB Ltd, JA&GD Nicolson and Freefield Pharmacy.

Shetland Junior Age Group Sprints - 28 September 2008