Milngavie and Bearsden swim to success at Clyde Coast meet

The Clyde Coast Mini League is the premier team competition for young swimmers in the area and a meet the kids look forward to all year as it is the loudest, most fun event of the year.

Unfortunately M&B didn’t manage to make the A final after being given a tough qualifying draw against the teams who finished first, second and third in last year’s A final.

But that wasn’t going to put off this this team when swimming in the B final as they were determined to show that this was a really good squad of swimmers.

The coach left the Allander nice and early and the weather held which gave the team the opportunity to go down to the beach for some fun and a light warm up.

On poolside the team really stood out with their Olympic themed, bright yellow t-shirt (kindly sponsored by INCo direct & digital marketing).

The team was ready to have a great time and hopefully swim fast and that they certainly did.

From the start the team were terrific - from the two eight-year-old girls swimming up in the relay helping collect three points in the first race to the sheer dominance of the Milngavie & Bearsden boys’ team who managed to win their first nine events.

The team led from start to finish and the final margin of victory was an impressive 54 points.

Out of the 45 races they swam in the club had 21 first place finishes and a further 15 placings in the top three.

Individual winners were Eklavya Singh, Willem Van Kommer, Zander Buxton, David McCallum, Amy Shiels, Elle MacDonald, Tom Wicklow, Jamie Ritchie and Kirsty Wicklow.

The nine, 10 and 11-year-old boys and the 10-year-old girls won their relays and the boys finished off the meet by winning the final event, the boys’ squadron.

Special thanks go to Pam Gavin, the head coach of the Mini League team, and Jenny MacDonald who was the team manager this year.

Thanks also go to Zoe Black and Adam Riley for coaching through the rounds and the final as well as the parent volunteers who were on poolside assisting the coaches.

Next year the plan is to try getting back into the A final but for now the club are making sure they enjoy a well-deserved victory.