Convenor's Reports
Masters Report November 2019
The British short course in October at Ponds Forge had some good results from the East. Ruth Millar (HML) had a great meet with Gold in 200 IM, Silver in 100 IM and Bronze in the 50 and 400 free. Janet McLean (Carnegie) similarly had an impressive medal haul with Gold in 800 free, Silver in the 200 fly and 400 IM, and Bronze in the 100 fly. Other medal winners included Sandy Gellatly (WBC) Gold in the 200 back, Bronze for Dave Taylor (HML) in 200 breast and Carol Lock (HML) Bronze in 200 back. In relays HML won Gold in the 800 Free relay, and Bronze in the 200 Medley relay.
The Scottish 1500m event took place in November at Tollcross where Janet Mclean (Carnegie) set a new Scottish Longcourse record in the women’s 45-49-year age group. Gold medals were won by Phil Harrison (WBC), Dave Taylor (HML) Fergus Maclean (WBC) and Lucy Gale (WBC), with Carol Lock (HML) and Ron Nolan (WBC) both taking Silver.
Our own Masters Gala was held last weekend in Prestonpans and although numbers were down, on previous years, with just under 100 entries, the meet still proved a success. A new Scottish Record was set by Alistair McGregor (WBC) breaking his own 70-74 year age group 200 Freestyle record which he set in April. Age Group winners from the East, included Ruth Millar (HML), Carol Lock (HML), and Sue Hoole (WBC). In the Mens the Age Group winners included Fraser McKane (Swim IT), Dave Taylor (HML), Scott McAllister (HML), Jason Kenney (WBC) and Mark Jones (WBC) . The overall Top Team was won by Warrender, with Heart of Midlothian just behind. We are fortunate that perhaps due to our central location our Gala seems to remains viable, having seen the Midlands Masters cancelled in October. This is in no short measure to the amazing support from the District’s senior STOs, with I think 6 referees being on poolside showing they still knew how to work a stop watch. We cannot thank them enough.
Fiona McEwen
18.11.19
Masters Report August 2019
In June the British Masters Longcourse was held in Swansea. Ian McKay of WBC won gold in the 60-64 50 fly and 50 free. Mark Jones WBC won silver in the 55-59 100 &200 breast, and bronze in the 200IM. Warrender’s 200-239 age group relay consisting of Jason Kenney, Jonathan Boreland, Mark Jones and Ian McKay won silver in both the 200 freestyle and medlay relays. Carol Lock HML won silver in the 25-34 age group 5k at the Scottish National Open Water last weekend. The World Masters in Gwangju are currently taking place with just three swimmers from Scotland making the trip, none from the East.
Fiona McEwen
14.8.19
Masters Report May 2019
The Scottish Masters were held at the RCP over 19-20th April, and probably due to the popularity of the venue, there were a record number of entries with 356 swimmers taking part, with a total of 1672 swims. There were some fantastic swims across the Age Groups, with Sandra Lea from Inverness breaking numerous Scottish records in the 80-85 age group. From the East we saw Ruth Millar HML break the 50 Free record (25-29) in a 27.03, Ian McKay WBC break the 50 free record (60-64) in a 27.52, and Ally McGregor WBC break both the 100 free and 200 free records (70-74) in a 1.10.08 and 2.41.60 respectively, knocking a huge 7 seconds off the previous 200 free record. Age Group winners from the district included John McDonald (HML) 25-29; Jenn Davies WBC (25-29); Janet McLean (45-49); and Sandy Galletly WBC (75-79). Top club as always went to Silver City, followed by Ren 96, Heats of Midlothian came 3rd with 379 points, narrowly beating Warrender into 4th position on 373 points. It was a great weekend, a very well run meet, with huge support from the District which was very much appreciated and there was a great deal of positive feedback from all who attended. Next year the Scottish Masters goes back to Tollcross.
The next main event in the Masters calendar is the British Longcourse taking place in Swansea in June. Entry numbers have been capped with entries to events being closed when they reach capacity and qualifying times have now introduced, both with a mixed reception from the Masters community.
Fiona McEwen
6.5.19
Masters Convenor Report January 2019
The 10th ED Masters Gala was held on the 17th November, with a solid number of entries from the District, although the number of entries out with the District were down on previous years. Well done to WBC who won the top team Trophy with Hearts in 3rd place. Some good swims, with even a Scottish Record being broken by Martin Snape Silver City (40-44) which you don’t see very often at Prestonpans. Well done to the Overall Age Group winners from the East: Euan Dalgleish, SWL (18-24); Ben Sharp, WBC (25-29); Dave Taylor, HML (30-34); Chris Moncrieff, Inverleith (60-64) Raymond Bain, Musselburgh (70-74); Anna Galloway, WBC (17 &U) Rebecca Laing, WBC (18-24); Jenn Davies, WBC and Ruth Millar, HML (25-29) Carol Lock, HML (30-34) Karen Fergusson, Tranent (35-39) Sue Hoole, WBC (45-49); Anne Ewing, WBC (50-54) The Winners of the Sprint Trophies for the fastest Age Converted 50m was Erin Robertson, Edinburgh Uni, and Chris Moncrieff, Inverleith. The Age Converted 400m event was won by Jenn Davies WBC 5.05.10 for a 400 Back, and Dave Taylor HML for his 400 Breast time of 5.45.00.
The Scottish Masters 1500m event was held in Tollcross on the 3rd November. Six winners came from the East: Carol Lock, HML (30-35); Janet McLean, Carnegie (45-49) setting a new Scottish Record; Pat Jackson, (70-74); Nathan Kennedy, LDD (18-24); David Taylor, HML (30-34); Ron Nolan, WBC (50-54).
Next on the Calendar is the Silver City Meet in January, and then Carlisle Masters in February, running up to the Scottish Masters at the RCP in April.
Fiona McEwen
2.1.19
East District Masters AGM Report 2018
2018 has been an exceptional year for the East District. Two of the top three clubs at the Scottish Nationals were from the East, Warrender coming in second to Aberdeen’s Silver City and Heart Of Midlothian in third. In addition to these two strong teams there were another eight teams from the Lothians and Fife represented, reflecting the depth and breadth of our masters swimming. The East’s medal haul from the Scottish was impressive, winning 44 Golds, 45 Silver, and 38 Bronze. There were five overall Age Group winners from the East - John McDonald; Conor Wilson; Carol Lock and Vicki McRae all from Hearts along with Sue Hoole from Warrender. At the British long and short course events East District swimmers won 6 Golds, 10 Silvers and 9 Bronze, with many other just outside the medals. The European championships in Slovenia saw Janet McLean (45-49) Carnegie win a Gold, two Silvers and a Bronze, while Ian McKay (60-64) Musselburgh came home with a Bronze. There have been an incredible seven Scottish Records broken by swimmers from the East in 2018. Connor Wilson (25-29) from Hearts breaking the 200 B/C, 100 B/C and 200 B/S Short Course records, as well as the 100 B/S Long Course record; Ruth Millar (25-29) from Hearts breaking the 50 F/C short course record; Janet McLean (45-49) from Carnegie breaking the 400 IM and 200 B/C Scottish records. In addition to these Scottish records a spectacular swim from Ian McKay in Slovenia saw him break the British Long Course Record in the 60-64 year old 50 Fly.
Masters swimming is as much about participation as it is about medals, encouraging swimming to be part of a healthy lifestyle. We currently have masters swimmers registered under eighteen different clubs in the District, St Andrews Masters being the latest addition. This number suggests that local clubs are supporting masters, seeing it as an important part of their swim programme. Scottish Swimming have piloted a ‘Recreational Membership’ the benefits of which includes discounts on their Adult Swim Series, and ‘Come and Try’ Open Water events. Edinburgh Leisure offer coached sessions for adults across Edinburgh and Enjoy Leisure offer coached sessions at Perstonpans, so adult swimmers have a wide variety of options open to them depending on their ability and needs.
In 2019 the Scottish Masters will be held at the RCP in April, which is a new venue for us. There is also the World Championships in Gwangju South Korea to look forward to, although I suspect our participating numbers may not be high. We have a good number of entries for the East District Masters on 17th November, and I’d like to take this opportunity to that the District for it’s support at this event
Fiona McEwen
4.11.18
Masters Report September 2018
Good Results for the East at the British Longcourse held in Portsmouth in June. Connor Wilson HML (25-29) won 3 golds in the breaststroke events and 2 silvers in the 100 and 200 back. Vicki McRae also HML (40-44) won Gold in the 100 fly, silver in the 200 fly and 3 bronze in the 800 free, 400 free and 50 fly. Fiona Donald Swim IT (25-29) won a bronze in the 50 free, 50 Back and 100 back, and Nathann Kennedy LDD (18-24) won a gold in the 800 free.
The European Championships were held at the start of September in Slovenia. Janet McLean Carnegie (45-49) won a gold in 100 fly, two silvers in the 400 free and 200 fly, and a bronze in the 200 free. Ian McKay of Musselburgh ASC won a bronze in the 50 fly, setting a new British record for the 60-64 age group of 26.64s. Well done to both swimmers.
The entries for the next ED Masters at Prestonpans on 17th November are now open and the Scottish Masters meet next April will be held in the East at RCP.
Fiona McEwen
10.9.18
Masters Report for June 2018
The British Longcourse was held down in Plymouth on the 8th to 10th of June, and a relatively small cohort of swimmers from the East made the journey to compete.
Connor Wilson HML won 3 golds and 2 silvers in the 25-29 age group, winning the 100 breast in a new Scottish Record of 1.07.85. Hearts swimmer Vicky McRae won a gold, silver and four bronze in the 40-44 age group, and team mate Carol Lock won a silver in the tough 30-34 age group. Sandy Gellatly WBC won a silver and bronze in the 75-79 year old age group, Nathan Kennedy LDD a gold and silver in the 18-24 age group, and Fiona Donald Swim-IT came home with two bronze in the 25-29 year old age group. Although numbers were down overall the meet ran well, and comments about the pool and facilities were complimentary.
Next on the Masters calendar is the LEN European Masters in Slovenia in September, with swimmers from Hearts and Warrender and the West planning to make the trip.
Fiona McEwen
16.6.18
Masters Report May 2018
The Scottish Masters were held at Tollcross in April and the East had a fantastic weekend with an excellent turnout. Connor Wilson from Hearts broke three Scottish record in the 25-29 age group with a 2.11.48 in the 200 B/C, 58.40 in the 100 B/C and a 2.17.79 in the 200 B/S. Janet McLean from Carnegie broke two 45-49 year old Scottish Record in the 400 IM in a 5.30.66 and 200 B/C in a 2.40.92.
The District had 5 overall Age Group winners.
John McDonald HML 19-24 Men
Connor Wilson HML 25-29 Men
Carol Lock HML 30-34 Women
Vicki McRae HML 40-44 Women
Sue Hoole WBC 45-49 Women, one point ahead of Janet McLean, Carnegie
The Overall Team Points had Silver City way out in the lead as usual with 804 points, Warrender were second on 391, closely followed by Hearts on 364 points, 70 points ahead of the 4th club. The district is looking very healthy!
The next event is the East District Open Water this weekend at Loch Ore, with several Masters swimmers taking part, then the British Longcourse in Portsmouth in June.
Fiona McEwen
13.5.18
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East District Masters Convenor Report for AGM Dec 2017
The East District continues to have a strong masters contingent, with clubs from the East being represented at every masters gala in Scotland this year, as well as team from both Hearts and Warrender making it to the World Championships in Budapest in August. Unlike other districts the East doesn't have one team that dominates, and at the Scottish in April there were ten East District teams, winning a total of 36 golds, 42 silvers, and 25 bronze medals between them. Vicky McRae from Hearts and Janet McLean from Carnegie both won the overall trophy in their respective age groups. At the British long course in Aberdeen in June, East District swimmers won 10 golds, 20 silvers, and 23 bronze medals, which is a fantastic haul at a national event. More recently at the Scottish 1500m event in November, six age group winners belonged to the East.
2017 has however seen a downturn in numbers of competing masters, leading to the North District gala in August being cancelled, and Inverclyde, the longest running masters gala coming close to being called off. It's not clear why this is, but it's likely multifactorial, in part due to a general sense of disgruntlement among the community following the poorly organised European championships in 2016, in part due to more events taking place up North, with swimmers from the central belt being less inclined to travel, and in part due to more masters events, with the risk that the calendar is becoming saturated. Despite numbers being low elsewhere, entries to our own East District masters meet in mid-November were as numerous as ever. This is undoubtedly testament to the clubs in the district making masters a valued part of their swim programme, ensuring they have adequate pool time, and where possible coaching time. Warrender have built on their master's squad enormously over the past 18 months and this year won the top club at the ED masters by over 150 points. Their strong team of 27 swimmers, aged from 16 to 70, comprising of coaches, parents, recently retired swimmers and older ex swimmers, reflects perfectly the ethos of masters, that swimming is a sport for life.
Scottish Swimming continue to host the successful Adult Swim Series events with three sell out coached training sessions for masters and adult improvers led by Robbie Renwick. Over 150 swimmers attending the events held in Stirling, East Kilbride and Edinburgh, with masters from Carnegie, Dunfermline, Hearts and Warrender all taking part.
Looking forward to 2018, the masters calendar starts early with the Carlisle masters meet on the 12/13th January and the Silver City meet in Aberdeen on 27th January, so we'll be donning our larger race suits for these post festive season outings. The Scottish moves back to Tollcross in April, and the European masters are being held in Slovenia next September. Hopefully our numbers will be maintained or even go up this coming year.
Fiona McEwen
21.11.17
Masters Report September 2017
The World Masters championships were held in Budapest in August. The facilities for the event were incredible with the two venues, the Hajos and Duna arenas each sporting two 50m pools. The temperatures soared well into the 80s but despite that the team of eight swimmers from The East District, four from Warrender and four from Heart of Midlothian, had some great swims. Last weekend Inverclyde hosted their 23rd annual swim meet, the longest running event on the masters calendar, and swimmers from Hearts and Carnegie took part, with Viki McRae from Hearts breaking the meet record for the 200fly and 200IM in the 30-35 age group.
Fiona McEwen
Masters Report 17.8.17
The GB Masters Long Course was held at Aberdeen on 16-18th June and between us, the East District Swimmers won 10 Golds, 20 Silvers, and 23 Bronze medals, which is a tremendous haul.
Gold medallists included Jen Davies - Warrender; Ian Sutherland -Hearts; Nathan Kennedy - Livingston Dolphins; Rachel Donald - Swim IT, Vicky McRae - Hearts; Janet McLean - Carnegie; and Sandy Galletly - Warrender.
The World Masters are taking place in Budapest this week, with a good turn out form both Warrender and Hearts.
Susan Liddle has the meet info and on line entry system all set up for the East District Masters on 18th November in Prestonpans.
Fiona McEwen
East District Masters Report May 2017
The Scottish Masters was held at the Inverness Aquadome this year, and although numbers from the District were a bit down, we had a very successful weekend, with nine clubs from the East being represented. The East District swimmers’ impressive medals haul totalled 39 Golds, 45 Silvers and 18 Bronze. We had two Age Group winners, Vicki McRae winning the women’s 35-39 age group and Janet McLean the women’s 40-44 age group. It was good to see our swimmers competing from the youngest 20-24 age group category right up to the 70-74 age group, which reflects the wide range of swimmers taking part, which is encouraging, as inclusivity is fundamental to the ethos of Masters.
Our next event is the British Longcourse in Aberdeen next month, and several swimmers from the East are planning to travel to Budapest for the World Championships in August.
Fiona McEwen
16.5.17