Peebles Triathlon - Donald McFarlane (land training coach)
On the 8th June, 14 swimmers (from 3 squads) took part in the Peebles Triathlon. It was a new experience for everyone and not only did all14 complete the event, but everyone managed excellent times. Many of the swimmers put in extra training for the event through land training on a Thursday & thanks to the staff at the Penicuik Centre, we also made good use of the bikes in the gym on a Monday evening.
There were quite a few nerves before the event but thankfully they soon disappeared as the swim was underway. Thankfully the sun was out & all the parents who were there to cheer the kids on could relax in the warm weather.
As you would expect, the swim the easiest part of the event & the 400 meters was made to look easy by all our crew. However, the 10km cycle & the 2.5km run were far more challenging & tiring. Everyone managed to get home in under an hour (which we thought would be the time of the quickest before the race started) & there some fantastic performances such as:
Lisa competed as a team with her Dad doing the cycle & came home first in an incredible time of just under 36 minutes which was good enough to win her 1st prize in the female event.
Neil, Robbie & Leigh came 4th, 5th & 6th in the Male race (Leigh would have been around 3 mins quicker if he had submitted the correct swim time).
Vicky coming in 4th & Rachael 9th in the Female race
Robbie, Rachael, Rebecca & Lisa had amazing PB’s in the run (the 3 girls took mins off the time trial we did during training)
Allie had the best sprint finish & completed the course in a good time after being really nervous before it started.
Lara, who was sooooooooooooooo nervous beforehand, got round the course & looked fit enough to do it all again at the end.
Linsey bravely managed to finish even although her stomach was rattling like a dishwasher.
We also had 4 of the youngest competitors in the race & Heather, Beth, Amy & Michael all managed superb times & beat the 1 hour mark by a long way.
All the times can be found on http://www.bslt.org.uk/promos/triathlon08/results/PeeblesComeTriResults2008.html
Well done to everyone who took part & hopefully (if it doesn’t clash with any swimming competitions) we will be taking part in a Duathlon (run & swim) event at Dalkeith in September.
East District Open Meet- Colin
This meet was held at the Royal Commonwealth pool on 31st May/1st June 2008 and 9 Midlothian swimmers qualified to compete. The standard was high and involved several swimmers recently selected to compete in the Olympics in China later this year. Our swimmers performed very well in this company and the best results are featured below:
Chris Kerr - 2nd in the 14 years 200m breaststroke, PB - 2.38.79
4th in the open 100m breaststroke and 2nd fastest junior.
Lisa Fraser - 1st in the 13 years 200m IM, PB - 2.38.18
2nd in the 13 years 200m backstroke.
Robbie Dalgetty - 2nd in the 14 years 200m freestyle, PB - 2.17.22
PB in 100m backstroke – 1.11.29.
Jo Pettitt - 4th in the 13 years 200m freestyle.
PB in the 50m freestyle - 30.77
PB in the 200m IM - 2.52.71
Beth Gray - PB in the 200m backstroke - 3.04.99
Fiona Inglis - 4th in the 12 years 200m freestyle, PB - 2.28.37
PB in the 50m freestyle - 31.99
Lindsay Sinclair - 6th in the 14 years 200m freestyle, PB - 2.22.59
7th in the open 100m freestyle, 3rd fastest junior,
PB - 1.03.73.
ASA British Age Group Championships - Colin
Congratulations to Chris Kerr who has attained a qualifying time for the above meet and will travel to Sheffield at the end of July to compete in the 100m breaststroke.
Forres 2 Day Meet (March) - Colin/Lesley
INVERNESS POEM by Laura
Lindsay caught her fingers Who shut the dooooorrrr???? Robbie got tied up And rolled on the floor John experienced Life in a cupboard An incident with toothpaste Meant Jack woke up covered Thirty-three ice creams Soon disappeared And Jack, John and Euan Had suspicious white beards Pass the parcel Was really fun Neil and Chris fought But Christopher won Rosie became Vicky’s cutest new chum Helen found her Nintendo Under her bum Neil had some calpol ‘Cause he was caught out of bed And told Kaye and Lesley He had a sore head |
Kaye’s car broke down It wasn’t the best But its OK ‘cause Allie’s Phoned the RAF Lesley fell down There were four steps not two Ailis and Ailsa Fell asleep by the pool We put on sing-star We all sang along Robbie sang high And guessed the words to the song Vicky and Lindsay Wrote on my bum! And the big costco cake Was amazingly yum Here is my poem It doesn’t really rhyme But it suffices to say We had a good time! |
A group of 30 Midlothian swimmers from squads 1 and 2 made the long journey North on 7th March to compete in this meet for the first time. Our accommodation in Inverness was ideal in terms of location and facilities and after settling in, it was off to Jimmy Chung’s for our evening meal. The short walk through the town added an extra edge to our hunger and we managed to find the restaurant fairly easy, although slightly delayed as Lesley was chatted up by the friendly local drunk.
The meal was good; especially the ice cream with Jack and John doing their best to ensure there wouldn’t be any left for the other diners. The speed in which individuals walked back was directly related to the amount of food consumed and at one point we were so spread out, a sheep dog would have been handy to round everyone up. However, no matter how slow we walked, everyone was back an hour before Alex, who was driving but got lost for the second time since arriving and completed an in depth tour of Inverness before stumbling on the Hostel over an hour later. It was all Ailsa’s fault apparently.
There was still time for Robbie to show us all that Playstation’s Sing Star didn’t really reflect who the best singer is, more who could screech the loudest.
After a short sleep, some much shorter than others, we had an early rise before travelling to Forres for the first session of the meet. We were very warmly greeted by our hosts and provided with our own area on the crowded poolside as we prepared for the first swims.
With all events being heat declared winners, it was important that swimmers made no mistakes in their heats and they showed they were determined to shine right from the start.
Lisa Fraser and Chris Kerr claimed Gold medals and Laura Gray the silver in their 100m breaststroke with Laura hitting a very good PB. A 12 second PB from Leigh Stadnik showed him how much he had improved in his weakest stroke. A 1 second PB from Neil Gibson and over a 2 second PB from Catriona Hudson completed the 13/14 Breaststroke.
There was a 5th place for Kirsty Sutherland in the 100m backstroke and good PBs from Heather Duncan, Helen Cassidy and Amy Flynn. There were more PBs for Callum McKain and Rachel Gibson in the 100m butterfly before the 100m IM which proved to be a good event for Midlothian swimmers. Lisa Fraser and Chris Kerr won their second Gold medals, Laura Gray her second silver and Lindsay Sinclair snatched a bronze. Robbie Dalgetty was just edged out of the medals finishing a very close 4th. All of these swims were excellent personal bests as was the swim from Jack Bissett, John Duncan, Neil Gibson (despite his headache fron the night before) Leigh Stadnik and Catriona Hudson in the same event.
The first event in the afternoon session involving our swimmers was the 12 years 100m breaststroke which saw both Euan Waugh and Jo Pettitt finishing 5 th with both reducing their times by almost 2 seconds. PBs were also gained by Amy Flynn, Jenny Jubb and Heather Duncan.
There was an excellent PB for Jack Bissett in the 100 butterfly before Lisa Fraser made it 3 golds from 3 swims in the corresponding girl’s event also a PB. In the 14 years event, Robbie Dalgetty finished second and Laura Gray 4th.
The final individual event of the day was the 100m freestyle in the oldest age group. As has been the case in their last 3 swims, there was very little between Allie Blyth and Rachel Gibson. On this occasion, Allie edged Rachel out of the medals finishing 3rd, with Rachel in 4th, 0.05 seconds behind. David Graham managed to squeeze a PB in his 100 Free despite having anyone to pull him out. It was a very gutsy swim. It was great to see Leah McCabe return to competition after approx 18 months of absence due to shoulder problems. She still has the determination to get there.
In the medley relays, the girls 12 years and under ‘A’ team of Fiona Inglis, Beth Gray, Kirsty Sutherland and Jo Pettitt won silver and the ‘B’ team comprising Helen Cassidy, Heather Duncan, Jenny Jubb and Amy Flynn finished 4 th.
The older girls achieved an identical result, the ‘A’ team of Lisa Fraser, Ailsa McKain, Lara Sinclair and Lindsay Sinclair and the ‘B’ team, Leah McCabe, Rachel Gibson, Laura Gray and Allie Blyth finished 2nd and 4th respectively.
In the older boy’s event, Robbie Dalgetty, Chris Kerr, Callum McKain and Jack Bissett won the bronze.
These results meant that Midlothian finished the first day as joint second club in the race for the top club award.
It was then back to the hostel, where the 15 huge pizzas were demolished in double quick time. There was a financial inducement offered by Chris for anyone who could eat the extra spicy one and although Colin took him up on this he has still to see the cash.
We then had a party for 3 swimmers who were celebrating their birthdays over the weekend. Games and cake ensured that Robbie (14), Leah (15) and Vicky (16) felt a bit special.
The second day of competition got off to a good start when Euan Waugh claimed the bronze in the 100m IM. Chris Kerr matched this with his 3rd medal, this time a bronze and a good PB in the 100m freestyle. He was closely followed by Robbie Dalgetty in 5 th place. The 3rd bronze of the day was clamed by Laura Gray in the corresponding girl’s event.
Shortly after came the much awaited 13 years girls 100m freestyle with Lisa Fraser going for her 4th gold of the weekend and Lindsay Sinclair looking to continue her recent good form. It was Lindsay who came out on top to win the Gold with Lisa taking the silver. Neil Gibson managed a 2 second PB and Ellie Richardson produced a 6 second PB and finally got the better of the turn judges who seemed to have something against her on the Saturday.
The final medal went to Kirsty Sutherland who comfortably won Gold in the 12 years girls 100m butterfly. In the same event there were good PBs from Jo Pettitt, Beth Gray, Amy Flynn and Heather Duncan.
The medal presentations brought to an end our involvement in the meet. However we let everyone know we were still there, raising the roof with extremely loud cheering for each medal won.
We missed the final session to allow us to travel home and arrive at a reasonably early time. This meant that we were unable to sustain our challenge for the top club award but despite this we finished 5th, only 3.5 points behind the club who finished 3rd. This was an even better placing when you consider that we were not represented in any of the 8-10 years or 11 years events.
On a number of occasions our swimmers were congratulated by the organisers on their behaviour and manners and an invitation was extended by our very friendly hosts to attend next years meet. This is something we will look at nearer the time as it proved to be a very enjoyable weekend.
A huge thanks to Kaye Gray, Kim Cunningham and Alex McKain who ‘volunteered’ their weekend to join in the fun. Alex was his usual valuable self on poolside while Kaye and Kim provided an excellent back up service keeping tabs on all involved and all our ‘mess’.
Scottish National Age Group Championships - Colin
These championships were held at Tollcross, Glasgow over 4 days from 10th – 13th April. As usual they attracted all the top Scottish swimmers as well as some very strong squads from England. Unfortunately Kirsty Sutherland, who had qualified for 3 events, was unable to take part due to illness but despite the tough competition, the 7 Midlothian swimmers who did compete, fared extremely well.
First up was Lisa Fraser who despite being marginally outside her best, qualified for the final of the 100m backstroke finishing 6th. Jo Pettitt, competing at this level for the first time started the day ranked 19th in the 200m freestyle but defied these odds to qualify for the final where she improved her time again finishing 9th in 2.22.15 breaking the junior club record which had stood for over 7 years. Rachel Gibson had done very well to qualify for the 200m breaststroke which was a first for her. Despite being outside her best she did improve on recent performances in this event.
Saturday proved to be a very good day for our swimmers. First, Chris Kerr qualified for the final of the 100m breaststroke. He was followed by Jo Pettitt and Lindsay Sinclair qualifying for the 100m freestyle clocking excellent times of 1.05.68 and 1.03.93 respectively. Fiona Inglis and Lisa Fraser also had good swims in this event with Fiona setting a new personal best time.
In the finals, Chris knocked almost 1 second off his personal best, recording 1.12.24 to claim the bronze medal. Lindsay and Jo swam very marginally slower in their finals finishing 8th and 10th.
The final day saw Midlothian represented in 2 more finals, Chris Kerr and Lisa Fraser comfortably qualified for the 200m breaststroke and 200m backstroke respectively where Chris finished 7th and Lisa 9th. Laura Gray has been suffering from a chest/respiratory complaint in recent months which has hampered her in training. However she swam very bravely through considerable pain and distress to record a good time in the circumstances.
Our involvement finished in the penultimate event, the girls 11-13 years 4 x 100m freestyle relay. The team of Fiona Inglis, Lisa Fraser, Jo Pettitt and Beth Gray who had been drafted in to replace Kirsty Sutherland, swam very well beating several teams from much larger clubs. Lisa and Beth recorded splits which were faster than their personal best times.