‘Fantastic team spirit’ in busy end to season for Wick swimmers
Members of Wick Amateur Swimming Club have been busy as the racing season begins to draw to a close.
Sixteen from the club took part in the annual Thurso Mini Meet, hosted by Thurso Amateur Swimming Club, in which swimmers do each stroke over 50 metres.
They were Sophie Innes, Jack Angus, Paige Ronaldson, Rory Donaldson, Morven Begg, Tyler Ronai, Ian Campbell, Ayla Sinclair, Eva Forbes, Anya Donaldson, Archie Tait, Leighton Lunn, Finlay Nicolson, Logan Bruce, Owen Harding and Olivia Oag.
The Wick swimmers – some of whom were competing for the first time – were supported by coach Russell Angus and club captains Eva Robertson and Nebi Senguler.
“It was a great day’s swimming from our younger swimmers, rewarded by personal bests and a clutch of medals,” Angus said.
“There was a fantastic team spirit all day, and a great effort by all swimmers. It was an absolute pleasure to be their coach.”
The swimmers were also commended on the standard of their strokes on the day. They have spent a lot of time with the coaches during training refining their technique and style, and this was reflected in the minimal disqualifications from Wick swimmers on the day.
The coaches say they are delighted with how well the younger swimmers are developing and seeing their efforts being rewarded with technically accurate swims.
Rona Taylor travelled to Westhill, Aberdeen, earlier this month in pursuit of entry times for the Scottish open and summer meets. She shaved an impressive four seconds from her 200m breaststroke.
Rona, Davie Swanson, Eva Forbes and Nebi Senguler have all qualified for the Scottish Summer Meet to be held in Aberdeen in July, with Nebi also qualifying for the British meet in Sheffield.
Additionally, Rona, Eva and Nebi are on the list for the Scottish open event in Edinburgh in June. The club coaches describe this “a huge achievement”, praising the swimmers as “fantastic role models” for the younger ones in the club.
On May 19, Jack Angus, Jackson and Leighton Lunn, Rory Donaldson, Mikolaj Hutny-Wojcicki and Connor Carter flew the flag for the Wick club in Inverness at the Nairn IM Challenge.
The group had an excellent meet, coming away with nine medals as well as trophies for Jack (11) and Connor (13) for performances in their respective age groups.
The Wick swimmers are now preparing for the Highland Swim Team meet in Inverness on the weekend of June 7/8, followed by their club gala to be held on Tuesday, June 10.