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Representing the club at this one were the following swimmers:-

Ruraidh, Lewis, Kara, Tim, Hamish, Emma , and Natalia and this turned out to be a very special day indeed. To say they all swam well would be a massive understatement as each individual swimmer deserves a report so I will start in the order of names above.

Ruaridh

50 Breastroke – 56.50.- 50 Backstroke 47.92. -50 freestyle 40.59

At last we are seeing some amazing swims from him and nobody deserves this more than this swimmer who works his socks off in training. The determination shown by him meant he could cope with the long course pool . I am so proud of him for sticking in as it can be tough in training at times but it is now reflected in his competitions. Amazing transformation and he is evolving at each and every competition.

Lewis 50 Breastroke-49.35 -50 Backstroke 45.82-50Free -37.91. Lewis has missed a bit of training however his swims were outstanding and he more than held his own in his heats. What impressed me the mostwas his stamina so the aerobic base training is making a huge difference. There are a few alterations required on his strokes but other than that a fantastic days work so congratulations to him.

Kara 50 Breastroke 50.44- 50 Backstroke -.80 50 Free 39.69 -100 Free 1.30.85 – 100 Backstroke- 1.38.20. When you do your very best in coaching swimmers what you want to happen is for those who stick in to improve. This young lady over the last few months has trained solid and now copes with her swims either over 50 metres or 100 metres in length. I think I am right in saying that she had personal bests on all her swims which is some achievement and one to be so proud of. Well done Kara and I think there are more cracking swims to come.

Tim 50 Freestyle 31.71 – 100 Freestyle- 1.11.87 – 100 Backstroke -1.24.78 I don’t know quite what to say here other than I am gobsmacked on his swims especially his 100 Freestyle taking 7 seconds off his time . His 50 free also was very quick. Tim is a silent assassin in the pool always produces outstanding swims and comes out with a huge smile on his face. Again pleased as punch for him and he also trains his socks off.

Hamish 100 Free- 1.25.47-50 Freestyle-38.71- Hamish swam brilliant and I didn’t realize that he wanted to come to the RCP on Thursday just to see what it was like which shows what dedication is when you enjoy your sport. Hamish has come a long way and is starting to see his times tumble down and head in the right direction. He always has a smile on his face however inwardly he has an in built desire to improve and swim faster. Great days swimming at RCP so well done Hamish .

Emma 50 Back-41.69- 50 Freestyle-34.82-100 Freestyle- 1.18.49 -100 Backstroke-1.33.26. Emma is always hard on herself and to be honest she doesn’t need to be as she is posting great times for her swims. It was a very long day however she gives it everything in her swims. When we return after summer break I am going to look at the second half of her swims to keep her length of stroke . A very valuable member of the team and an inspiration to all her teammates. She will break her freestyle times by a mile I have no doubt whatsoever and that is due to a great attitude in training. Emma had a great day and her times were excellent.

Natalia 50 Freestyle-30.02- 100 Freestyle-1.05.58-50 Back -34.89 -100 fly – 1.22.76 -100 Backstroke 1.15.75- What can you say about this young lady she never ceases to amaze with her times and talent. Of all the swims Natalia wanted to break her long course time for 100 free and posted a remarkable 1.05 which converts down to 1.04.20. and the joy on her face was there for all to see. She posted astonishing times on her freestyle and backstroke however her shoulder was a problem on her butterfly. Susan will when she gets time verify what club records she has broken however I am aware there are several which have tumbled. To be honest there are some I thought would stand the test of time but they have gone which shows what dedication can produce. There is still work to be done on her starts but will cover that off when we all return after summer break. Natalia trains extremely hard and is never satisfied if things don’t go according to plan but that is a good mentality to have for sure.

Emma , Hamish, Tim and Natalia represented the club in both the 4×50 freestyle and 4x 50 medley relays with everyone posting tremendous split times.

We always see to perform well at this event and this time around was no exception just as well the aerobic base training has kicked in as all swimmers know how difficult long course events are. So have a great holiday and we will see you back in early August for some more thrills and spills. Finally I don’t know how many times over the tannoy scorpions were mentioned with high praise so we are getting a great reputation which is down to the hard work you are putting in so proud of you all. A huge thanks to Susan for once again running this gala so smoothly as it could not have been easy given the number of entries.

Colin Galbraith Head Coach Scorpion Swim Team

We were represented in the morning session by Aimee and Alena and both set good times for their 50 back (Aimee) and 100 IM (Alena). Aimee 50 Back 54.37 -200 Free 3.58.78 -Alena 100 IM 2.03.26-50 Breast 1.09.27
Aimee was tackling 200 free for the first time and this distance is a tough one however she kept going and it was valuable experience gained. Alena swam a decent 50 breastroke despite losing her cap half way down the first 25. It was me who helped her put the swim cap on so I am partly to blame. Her IM swim was excellent for a first go at this event .

Overall the strokes are really good however there is a lot of work to do on being race fit which will be addressed in training over the next few weeks.

The afternoon session was busy with twelve swimmers representing the club namely Natalia, Emma, Darcy, Katy, Tim, Willis, Hamish, Ruraidh, Lewis, Kara, Ruby, and Kaleigh. I shall go through the swimmers individually with the times posted.

Natalia 200 Im 2.45.26 -100 Fly 1.18.97

Natalia smashed her IM time due to a big difference in her breastroke although still work to be done on this stroke. She hit her personal best on fly which was a very good swim. Most pleasing was her two relay splits hitting 29 secs for a fifty which is not hanging about to say the least.

Emma 100 back 1.29.23-100 breast 1.45.81

Emma hit two personal bests and despite hating breastroke the stroke was by far improved from the last time she swam this event. Still working on her not taking two many strokes on the second half of her back swims. As per usual a flying machine in the relay team.

Darcy 200 free 2.48.48 The purpose of this swim was to blast out the first hundred and see what split she could achieve and she clocked 1.16 on this which all bodes well for the next 100 free she enters into. Darcy gave it everything she had and deserves great credit for a tough swim on 200. She said she had nothing left in the tank after this swim Darcy swam a 34 counting swim in first leg of the relay.

Katy 200 IM 3.00.13 100 Back 1.21.83 Katy at last proved to herself she is a great swimmer posting good times on both her swims and not drilling the fly her split for fly on theIM was 34 secs. She also provided a very fast 50 free in the two relays at the end of this meet. So pleased for her as she is a graceful swimmer and is now believing in herself which we have been trying to install in her for a long time

Tim 200 free 2.43.23 -100 Back 1.23.43 Tim swam two good swims although he found the 200 free tough but it’s his turns which need a bit of work. He was a valuable member of the mixed relay posting a fast 32 secs for his 50 . Time always works hard and deserves the success he is having.

Willis 200 IM 3.04.25 Willis swam this event really well and no technical faults which was very pleasing. He also posted a fast time of 34 secs on his 50 free in the relay and is showing he has talent just needs to concentrate on the small improvements and it will help him post great times.

Hamish 100 breast 1.44.56 Hamish had to wait patiently for his swim and posted a creditable time on this stroke. Hamish timing on breastroke is very good and a bit more work on the underwater phase after the turns will smash his time I have no doubt. Hamish hopefully will get his 100 free swim in the future as this is his favourite stroke.

Ruaridh 100 Back 1.43.49 Ruaridh swam his backstroke very well and is a valuable member of the relay team. Each gala event he improves his times and is getting faster which is down to hard training which he is reaping the reward for. Well done Ruraidh..

Lewis 100 Breast 1.50.17 Lewis swam this extremely well and if he did not pause on each stroke on his front end would have smashed this time even further. Lewis also is a valuable member of the relay team and posted a fast time on his 50 free split. Well done Lewis.

Kara 200 IM 3.27.63- 100 Breast 1.50.19 Kara is probably the most improved swimmer in the team which is down to getting stuck into training.She is now able to come back the last part of her races speeding up and she has come a long way over the last six months. Delighted for her and she deserves all the credit for working so hard. She comes out the pool having given it everything and still smiles. Well done Kara.

RUBY 200 Free 3.04.58 -100 Back 1.37.38 Ruby was heading for a sub 3mins on her free however she miscounted and stopped after 6 lengths and then realized she had 50 to go . It’s such a shame as she was swimming the event really well. She then posted a good time on her 100 back. The most pleasing thing was her split in the relay where she posted 40 secs for the first time and this now counts as her 50 free time for future galas. That’s shifting fast and definitely heading in the right direction.

Kaleigh 100 fly 1.47.08 Kaleigh did try a 200 free but it was a big ask of her and she did the right thing by stopping. This young lady has guts though as she was in a gala for the very first time tackling the most difficult of swims the 100 fly posting a brilliant time for her first attempt. She has improved remarkably from when she first joined the club and all credit to her for sticking with it and showing what can be done if you start to believe in yourself .

Overall I was pleased with how we performed at this league event however there is still a lot of hard work to be done especially with aerobic conditioning moving forward to further events. I will be discussing the plans for this over the next few sessions.

Finally it’s been quite hectic behind the scenes and once things calm down the club records will be updated to take into account swims which have taken place.

Colin Galbraith Headcoach Scorpion Swim Team