Five Step Rock swimmers were in action at the Scottish National Age Group Championships (SNAGs), held at the 50m Tollcross Pool in Glasgow. First to experience this level of competition was Kayla, who was one of only six girls nationally in her year group to qualify for the 50m breaststroke. Despite being just unable to match her bronze medal-winning swim at the East District championships earlier this year, Kayla still swam well, gaining valuable experience to finish three places above her seeding going into the competition.
Joining Kayla on the second day of the meet for the 4x100m Medley relay team were Isla T, Isla H and Maddy. The team raced hard, all swimming to their long course entry times, but unfortunately a technical infringement meant that the team were disqualified. This did little to dampen the girls’ spirits; they were all supportive of each other, displaying an excellent team attitude, and really enjoying their experience, to the extent that one swimmer said it was “one of the best days of [her] life!”
On the fifth and final day, the three of the team returned to Tollcross looking to gain further experience, this time in the 4x100m freestyle relay, with Anna replacing Maddy for the final leg. Qualifying in last place, and some 15 seconds slower than the team above them, it would have been easy for the girls to be overawed. This was certainly not the case, and they did their coaches proud with a rousing swim in which all four splits were personal bests, giving them a 9 second overall improvement, and finishing one place above their seeding. Once again, the team spirit was exceptional and with four of the five girls involved still eligible in the same age group next year, the desire to qualify as individuals in 2019 is strong. This is rubbing off on the other swimmers at the club in a very positive way, with a renewed buzz in training as others look towards racing at SNAGs too next year.