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.
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