Non-stop swimming in the Olympic Pool

Posted: Wednesday November 19, 2008

Three Scottish Swimming Clubs all at once @ CLS. North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club, South Ayrshire Swim Team and Milngavie & Beardsen Amateur Swimming Club caused brisk trade in the Olympic Pool last week.

Club La Santa, early in the morning. While most guests were still sleeping the swimmers of both clubs were full of beans and on their feet to the Olympic Pool. The three coaches, Sharon Welsh from the North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club (NAASC), Steven Tigg from the South Ayrshire Swim Team (SAST) and David Hill from the Milngavie & Beardsen Amateur Swimming Club used the early morning hours for their first training session.

In order to unify the Councils lesson program, NAASC was formed in 1985 as club where all local swimming clubs join forces. Its former name, Cunninghame Swimming Club, was replaced by the today’s one North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club in January 1997. There, talented swimmers get the opportunity to improve their swimming through more individual and intensive training.

They came to CLS together with the South Ayrshire Swim Team (SATS). SATS is a quite “young” club. It was only formed as an amalgamation of three clubs in 2001 and belongs to the most premier competitive swimming clubs of West Scotland. All in all they were here with 19 swimmers, aged 12-16 years, two coaches and treasurer Morag Love who was responsible for organizational matters. All of them were here for the very first time but their clubs has come to Club La Santa for 5 or 6 years. Amongst the young talented swimmers are three who participated in the last British Championships. Alix Picken from SATS, Jordan Hughes from NAASC who even won two gold medals (100m and 200m freestyle) and his team mate Samantha King who became third in 100m butterfly.

On the contrary, Milngavie & Beardsen Amateur Swimming Club was already founded in 1969 as a competitive swimming club and has come to CLS for a long time. It’s their only training camp abroad and they are really enthusiastic by the great facilities and fabulous atmosphere of this sporty complex time and time again. The 24 young talented swimmers at the age of 12-16 years who came this year were accompanied by two coaches and two parents. Some of them are even successful swimmers in the Scottish National Team and established several new records in their age group.

As whole Scotland only have four 50m Olympic Pools, the three swimming clubs are used to train in a 25m pool and were really glad to have the 50m Olympic Pool of Club La Santa as they wanted to improve their long course experience. Here at CLS they trained twice a day, every time for two hours. The first one starts mostly very early at 7 o’clock in the morning, the second one followed at 5 o’clock in the evening. Furthermore they had land training and stretching units.

Besides the training, there was enough time for participating in the CLS’s activities, excursions around the islands and for recovery of course.

NAASC and SATS did a snorkeling safari and joint in different sport activities as well just like Milngavie&Beardsen whose swimmers and their companions played tennis, beach volleyball or participated in Aerobic classes for a change.

All three Scottish swimming clubs will definitively come back next year as they hold the view that there is no better place for it, especially the ‘huge’ 50m Olympic Pool!

Hopefully all swimmers enjoy their stay at Club La Santa! We are looking forward to see you again!