Border Telegraph | Sport | Borders swimmers make waves

Friday, 5th December, 2008

Published: Friday, 26th September, 2008 09:30

Borders swimmers make waves

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MORNING training sessions for Borders swimming club members started this week at the Borders Swimming Performance Centre, Selkirk Leisure Centre.

This is one of a number of initiatives in the Borders swimming performance development programme.

Alex Jordan, the Borders Performance Swimming Coach is coaching the sessions. The morning training group is known as Swim Team Borders and is working towards a “performance squad standard”.

Borders club members attend the Swim Team Borders training sessions in addition to the sessions offered by their club programmes. Together, Swim Team Borders and Borders club programmes give those taking part the chance to meet the British Swimming recommended number of sessions.

Swim Team Borders members attend three to five mornings each week, year round, depending on their age, plus several club sessions.

Participation by club swimmers has been encouraging so far and Scottish Borders Council, Borders Sport and Leisure Trust and Scottish Swimming - three of the major partners involved in the swimming performance development programme - are delighted with the turnout so far.

Alex Jordan said: “It’s great to have started morning squad training after so much planning and research. The programme now gets to show what it is capable of after so much talk. It will only be a matter of time before the hard work and commitment of the swimmers involved starts to bear fruit.”

Swim Team Borders training sessions also give Borders swimming club coaches, all of whom are volunteers, a continued education opportunity. Swimming club coaches can attend training sessions and get experience by working with many of the region’s most competitive swimmers. Coaches will also gain knowledge through working directly on poolside with the Borders Performance Swimming Coach.

Councillor Graham Garvie, Scottish Borders Council Executive Member for Culture, Sport and Community Learning and Development, said: “This is a great start to an exciting swimming initiative. It will help to provide our best local swimmers and their coaches with the opportunity for both additional training and the benefit of coaching assistance from a highly qualified performance swim coach.”

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