Ears will still be ringing in Greenock and Glasgow from the cheers and team shouts when REN96 swimmers competed in rounds 1 & 2 of swimming’s annual Clydecoast Mini-League. In the very exciting - and loud - first round, REN96 - who finished joint 2nd in last year’s competition - fought off tough competition from Inverclyde Amateur Swimming Club - last year’s Mini-League winners - and North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club, to come from behind at the half-way point and win by 4 points! The three teams were very closely matched, but REN96’s strength in the very closely fought relays let them just pull ahead in the end.
Two weeks later, 41 REN96 swimmers headed to Scotstoun in Glasgow to meet City of Glasgow and Dumfries swimming clubs, in what was always going to be a closely fought second round. Intense rivalry and adrenaline-fuelled performances made for a noisy and electrifying atmosphere with the 3 teams displaying remarkable speed, skill and team spirit in the pool. Although REN96 were always just in the lead, it was only in the final relays that their strength shone through, bringing another victory in this very closely fought competition.
Coach Adam Riley said “I have been attending Mini League since 2011 and I'm not sure I've ever heard louder meets than these, they were unbelievable! Our whole team was amazing - the swimmers, team managers, coaches, our club captain and vice captain, the technical officials and the parents watching the meet who definitely could be heard - it was a true team effort. Thank you to everybody involved in this fantastic event, including our kit sponsor ‘GMH Chartered Accountants’. Good luck to Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, City of Glasgow and Dumfries in your next rounds.”
REN96 now move on to round 3, and although hopeful that their 2 wins will put them in a good position for making the final they will still give their all to achieve a third victory. The Mini-League is one of the highlights in the Scottish swimming calendar - it is always a fun, noisy way for swimmers under the age of 12 to get invaluable competition experience and learn to be part of a team. After 3 rounds of hard fought events against different swim clubs, the leading teams qualify for the finals, and if the early rounds are noisy and exciting wait for the finals!
Over another exciting, action packed weekend, REN96 hosted its own 2 day event, at which 200 swimmers from 26 clubs competed to achieve qualifying times for the Scottish National Age Group (SNAGS) swimming event in Aberdeen in April. A real team effort from everybody involved, with 60 REN96 swimmers competing across the weekend and setting 194 Personal Best times (PBs) out of 250 swims, an impressive 76% strike rate which is hard to achieve at this time of the season. Three REN96 swimmers got their first SNAGS qualifying times of the season and many more swimmers got times for entry to additional events that will improve their chances of swimming at SNAGS. Overall the team won 30 gold medals - with standout swimmer Charlotte winning 6 of these - 20 silver and 19 bronze medals and had 51 top-6 finishes. This year REN96 will take over 40 swimmers to SNAGS which is twice last year’s entry from REN96 - great evidence of how the club continues to progress.
Showcasing the amount and depth of talent that REN96 has in its ranks, 86 swimmers also competed at the excellent Renfrew Baths swimming club’s 2-day development meet held at the On-x in Linwood. Saturday
was the turn of the 11 years and under swimmers, and for many this was their first competition so there were a lot of nerves at the start of each session. They quickly put this behind them though and got down to some serious racing, with all showing a marked increase in their skill levels, resulting in many PBs being set. REN96 won an incredible 24 gold, 17 silver and 13 bronze medals and finished top club on the Saturday for both the girls and boys teams.
Sunday saw REN96’s 12 to 16 years of age squad in action at the same meet and although a lot more experienced than the younger squad there were still some first-timers. In a highly charged atmosphere, team spirit shone through, with REN96 swimmers cheering and waving on their team mates all around the pool, bringing them home to win 10 gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze medals, making REN96 overall top club at this excellent 2 day event.
Last weekend, 4 of REN96’s senior performance swimmers raced at the Edinburgh International meet, which is a key preparation meet leading into the British Olympic Trials in London in April. The meet attracted some of the best swimmers in Britain, including multiple Olympic medallists, as well as senior international teams from across Europe. REN96 Head Coach Ross McCafferty said “It’s not only great to see REN96 swimmers competing at this level, but to see them all make improvements in times, set PBs in their races and make finals across the three days is excellent. From REN96, Magnus’s performance was the standout of the weekend, as he made the 50m freestyle final but narrowly missed the Olympic trials time by 0.04 seconds! However, with a strong performance in the final he finished 2nd in the youth final and his time qualifies him for the Olympic trials in April. Well done to Tom Jeffords, Gabi Lessing, Adam Scott and Magnus Morris!”
Competing and performing so well at these events would not be possible without the support of the many coaches, Team Managers and helpers, club volunteers and supporters - REN96’s swimmers give a massive thank you to everybody that gives up their time to help the club.
Allan Kelly for
Ren96
