What a Difference a Year Makes!

That may be this year’s East District Championships over for another year, but our club has a lot to celebrate, as Head Coach Craig Holmes has pointed out on the club’s Facebook pages.

The first thing to notice is just how many swimmers made the East Districts (or EDAGS as it is commonly known). Even to be considered for entry requires great ability and good personal best times across all ages, so last year to have ten swimmers accepted for the third round was a good achievement. However, the number of swimmers involved at that stage this year has jumped to 21 which is quite amazing, and shows how well our coaches are developing strength in depth across the age groups.

In 2022, our swimmers won 9 silver medals and one bronze, but in 2023, that changed to a total of seventeen medals, seven of which were gold! We also had two swimmers, Alex Holmes and Amelia Burel, who finished overall in the top three in their age groups across all events which is another remarkable achievement.

Although it might seem strange to say it, perhaps our best achievements came from swimmers who are sometimes the ‘unsung heroes’ of the team. No, they didn’t win any medals – this time! – but did you notice how many fourth and fifth places we achieved?

Take a bow Maisie Adair (Breast), Sophie Carruthers (Breast), Miller Cunningham (Breast), Amy Horsburgh (Butterfly and Freestyle), Eevie Lamont (Back), Eilidh McNicol (Breast), Sylvie McNicol (Breast), and Ella Poolman (Freestyle). A year ago, many of these swimmers would not have got near a final, but next year…?

And we haven’t even mentioned all those brilliant PBs which are quite difficult to achieve in a 50m pool. So, well done to all our swimmers and well done too to our great coaching team!