Over 430 children from swimming lessons across 8 venues in Edinburgh experienced the excitement of a club-style Gala last month with a final Medallist Gala held yesterday for 151 children, Sunday 9^th June.

This was a great opportunity for swimmers across all Edinburgh Leisure venues to come together, participate and experience the excitement of taking part in a Gala, many of whom participated for the first time.

The Learn to Swim - Club Gala was aimed at children in Swim Skills 3, Swim Skills 4, Club Ready and Junior Skills and Drills levels of the National Learn to Swim Framework in partnership with Scottish Water.

The Royal Commonwealth Pool played host to hundreds of children who enjoyed experiencing the race environment, having previously got through a Gala at their usual swimming lessons venue.

Venues entering the ‘Medallist Gala’ included Royal Commonwealth Pool, Drumbrae, Gracemount and Ainslie Park Leisure Centres, Dalry, Warrender, Portobello and Leith Victoria Swim Centres and Queensferry and Balerno High Schools  

“I remember competing as a youngster myself and the anticipation and excitement before a race, so it was great to see so many smiling faces yesterday. It’s also great to involve the swimming clubs who had stalls here on the day and assisted with time keeping at the competition.”

Gordon Hunter, Aquatics Partnership Manager at Scottish Swimming commented: “The Learn to Swim pathway starts before school and progresses through to ‘club ready’. It’s great to be able to give a competitive opportunity for children in the upper stages of Learn to Swim as it gives them a real insight into what the sport is like.

“The focus in Learn to Swim is on developing swimmers to be safe, confident and competent rather than providing competitive opportunities but once children can swim competently it’s fantastic to give them a taste of what club competitions look and feel like.”

To enter the Gala, 430 children had a Mini Gala in their own Learn to Swim venues to start off with and then a final medallist gala was held at the Royal Commonwealth Pool with participants competing to win points for their own venue.

For those that enjoyed the experience and want to find out more about club swimming in Edinburgh please see the attached Swimming and Aquatics Club Leaflet.

Edinburgh Leisure is one of 39 providers on the National Framework for Learn to Swim supported by Scottish Water and delivered in over 165 pools across Scotland.

ENDS