Tuesday 8 April 2008
Records were shattered and Olympic qualification secured by Scotland’s swimmers at the British Swimming Championships in Sheffield last week and there was more good news for the sport today as Sports Minister, Stewart Maxwell announced an investment of £818,000 to the national governing body, Scottish Swimming.
Ten Scots have now achieved the qualifying standard for the Beijing Olympics, the highest ever number of Scots to have secured qualification for an Olympic Games, including five first-time Olympians. All ten have now had their selection ratified by the British Olympic Association and make up nearly 29% of the British swimming team.
Congratulating the swimmers on their achievements, Sport Minister Stewart Maxwell said: “This is a sensational achievement for all the swimmers who have worked extremely hard to earn their places in the Olympic team going to Beijing. The Scottish Government is keen that as many Scots as possible get the chance to compete on the world stage and to that end we’re investing more than £800,000 in Scottish Swimming. This money will support swimmers at every level to ensure that talented young swimmers are guided along a seamless pathway from grassroots to elite level.”
The investment will support the development of the sport at all levels, from grassroots to performance. Central to Scottish Swimming’s corporate plan is the aim of providing access to quality coaching and swimming programmes and to ensure that the structures are in place to nurture talent of the future.
Stewart Harris, Chief Executive sportscotland said: “Swimming is one of Scotland’s biggest success stories and it is fantastic to see so many of our swimmers competing at the highest level. Their achievements will do much to inspire the next generation of Scottish swimmers and the funding announced today will ensure that the development programmes are in place to allow them to develop their potential, whatever their abilities.”
Scotland’s young swimmers also signalled their potential in Sheffield as Douglas Scott (East Kilbride ASC), Daniel Scott (Glenrothes ASC), Eloise Barber (Carnegie), Sarah Eaglesham (City of Chester) and Lucy Ellis (Dunedin) all achieved times which will put them in contention for places at the European Junior Championships.
Welcoming the investment, Ashley Howard, Chief Executive Officer of Scottish Swimming said: “Ten Scots selected for the Olympic Games is a fantastic achievement for Scotland. Our corporate target for the performance arm of our work was eight Scots. While we have several excellent peformers training with quality coaches based in England, we were keen to demonstrate that Scottish programmes are also an exciting and effective option for up and coming swimmers. With the selection of ten Scots, we believe we are on track. The governing body and key partners are working hard to support our swimmer pathway, however, we recognise that the chief contributor to the recent success comes from the athletes and their coaches and we offer our sincere congratulations.
“Scottish Swimming is extremely grateful to sportscotland for the part they have played in helping our swimmers and coaches achieve their ambitions. The investment announced today will ensure that we can continue to deliver the range of programmes required to ensure the sport’s continued success from grassroots to the international podium.”
The next phase in the swimmers’ preparations for Beijing will be the World Short Course Championships in Manchester from 9-13 April.
Notes to Editors
- In 2007 sportscotland invested over £10 million in 54 sports governing bodies
- The £818,000 investment in the Scottish Swimming is made up of £528,000 from the sportscotland Lottery Fund and £290,000 sportscotland funding from the Scottish Government.
- The following athletes have all achieved the qualifying standard to represent Team GB at the Beijing Olympics this year:
- Kirsty Balfour, Born: Edinburgh Club: City of Edinburgh
- David Carry, Born: Aberdeen Club: Aberdeen
- Todd Cooper, Born: Kidderminster Club: Stirling
- Euan Dale*, Born: Edinburgh Club: Loughborough University
- Kris Gilchrist*, Born: Edinburgh Club: City of Edinburgh
- Andrew Hunter*, Born: Halton Club: Stirling
- Caitlin McClatchey, Born: Portsmouth Club: Loughborough University
- Hannah Miley*, Born: Swindon Club: Garioch
- Robbie Renwick*, Born: Abu-Dhabi Club: City of Aberdeen
- Gregor Tait, Born: Glasgow Club: City of Edinburgh
- Eight Scots qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
* First-time Olympians
