As you will all be aware, Huntly swimming pool is closing on the 19th of March 2018 for major repairs for an estimated 12 weeks. HASC committee members had a meeting to discuss various options on Thursday the 22nd of February. We discussed taking some of our swimmers to different pools which offered us some pool time, However, we could only take a handful of our swimmers & as a committee we made the decision that this would be unfair to all our swimmers. To be fair to everyone we decided that club would unfortunately close along with the pool. We also decided that club would not start back until after the summer holidays. If this changes as a result of pool re-opening before 12 weeks, we will reconsider this decision. Please just keep an eye on your emails. Every swimmer will still be eligible for swimming galas over the weeks that HASC is closed, provided they have renewed their SASA membership (see email). If parents & swimmers would still like to do training, Ivan can write up sets for them according to their swimming ability. We are saddened to close HASC & we apologise for the inconvenience caused. We look forward to seeing everyone back as soon as Huntly swimming pool re -opens & we will keep you all updated. Thank you all for your support & understanding in this difficult situation. Kind regards from all at HASC Committee

Wednesday night swimming club is ON for those that can travel there safely. Please check that the pool is still open before you set off please as they may shut if the weather deteriorates.

Round 2 of the SASA North District Age Championships were held in Aberdeen on the 17th and 18th February with 35 clubs taking part. Saturday saw Sarah Rodwell entered in the 16 - 17 age category of the 50m breaststroke taking 11th place making her 1st reserve for the finals in the evening. A long wait ensued, but it was worth it. 1 finalist withdrew meaning that Sarah was able to swim in her first ever Championship final and a time of 38.63 left her finishing 9th overall. On Sunday Beth Cowie and Isla Menzies were entered in the 50m freestyle where Beth achieved a PB of 30.56 and Isla qualified for the 11-13 age group finals in a time of 31.46. Sarah then took part in the 100m breaststroke and qualified for the finals in a time of 1.25.90. The afternoon session saw Beth and Isla in the 200m freestyle with more PB's for both girls and Isla finishing 9th overall. Ivan remarked "5 top 10 finishes at the District Championships for a small club like HASC, that doesn't happen very often!" The finals were very exciting Isla finished 10th in the 50m freestyle and Sarah 7th in the 50m breaststroke. What a great weekend with excellent results. Very well done to the girls, you were a credit to HASC and Ivan was a very happy Coach.

Saturday saw a small group of our swimmers attend a graded meet in Peterhead (apologises to Emily & Lindsay who left before I managed to get a photo). As always the girls did an excellent job of representing Huntly with some brilliant PB's and true team spirit. Beth took bronze in the 100m breaststroke & silver in the 100m freestyle, while Sarah took silver in the 100m fly and the club record for 200m breaststroke in a time of 3.00.81. Well done to all the girls who took part you did Huntly proud 😊

A small contingent from HASC were at the Aberdeen ASC Mini Meet today, but what a result for Amelie our wee fish! 3 gold from 3 races in the morning session, well done!! The boys in the afternoon swam superbly and held their own in their heats gaining PB’s in many events, well done Evan and to Logan in his first gala for the club! Happy smiles all round 🙂

Another busy weekend for Ivan and 3 of our swimmers who were eligible to compete at the SASA North District 2018 Age Group Championships at the Aberdeen Aquatic Centre with excellent alround swims from Beth Cowie, Isla Menzies & Sarah Rodwell. Isla qualified for the finals in the 100m freestyle with a time of 1.10.75 in the 11 - 13 age category finishing 8th overall with a finals time of 1.11.20. An amazing achievement to make the finals at a district event, well done Isla. Beth had an incredible 3.5 second PB in the 100m free with a time of 1.08.00 a fantastic performance from Beth who currently only trains once a week, wow! Sarah narrowly missed out on finals in the 50m and 100m backstroke. Overall, another weekend celebrating the success of our HASC swimmers 🏊‍♂️😊

http://online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/sport-nominations/ Folks - Jenny has asked that we nominate Ivan for disability sports coach of the year for all the hours he puts in and interest he shows in Tegan’s swimming, all off his own back and unpaid. We all agree here on the committee that he is well deserving of an award and the area manager of disability sport has already nominated him. As with all these things, the more nominations the better chance so if you agree too please take 5 mins out of ur day to give Ivan a chance! His date of birth for the form is 16th April 1963. Thank you HASC

For info - NO club on Friday or Monday this week due to school being off for half term. Wednesday club ON presently but watch this space. Have a great long weekend folks and we will see you back the Friday after. Normal rule - no school, no pool Thank you

We are very lucky as a club to have supportive families and Isla's family recently asked if there was anything we needed ? Well, the club laptop has been with us for a good number of years and has recently become unreliable, so this was something we were needing to replace. William Sheret MBE: Showjumper and Trainer agreed to donate a new one, which we recieved last night and here's what he had to say : Ivan Anderson does a fantastic job coaching the team at Huntly Swimming Club. He and many others give up their free time to help youngsters achieve goals, compete, keep fit and most importantly, enjoy themselves. I’m delighted to have been able to help support them a little by donating a new computer to the club from my book proceeds. Keep Up The Good Work Ivan! www.keepgoingclear.com Thank you for kindness and generosity Bill it is very much appreciated 😀 from all at HASC

Another successful weekend for our swimmers at the Garioch Mix Up Meet with personal bests and medals in abundance. On Saturday Isla had a super PB in the 100m breaststroke and was an unlucky 4th in the 50m free by 0.1 seconds! Annie swam a credible 50m free inspite of developing sore eyes in the pool. Sarah took gold in the 100m breaststroke and bronze in the 50m freestyle. The afternoon brought more PBs for Isla and Sarah in the 200m IM and a silver for Sarah in the 100m IM. Sunday brought more success with Jasmine taking gold in the 50m fly and Isla and Sarah taking silver in their age categories and Sarah also took silver in the 100m free. Unfortunately due to the extreme weather the air and water temperatures at the pool were so cold that the officials declared it was unfit to continue and the afternoon session was cancelled 😑 well done swimmers 😊

Good afternoon everyone This is a general notice of information for our Monday swimmers only. Huntly swimming pool will be closed for maintenance work on water tomorrow from 10am to 5pm, I have been reassured from pool staff that they are open for swimming club, however incase something goes wrong ( as we all know things can do with work men) can I ask that you all check your emails or Facebook page before heading off for swimming club. If there is nothing on emails or on Facebook then it is business as normal. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause & I thank you all for your patience. Kind regards Linda

What a busy week for HASC swimmers and parents! A huge well done to everyone involved in the coffee morning, especially Stephen Young for bringing it all together, we raised a massive £650 for Club funds! A great display from HASC swimmers today at the TGS swimming gala, we almost won every age group, boys and girls! Great sportsmanship and team spirit on display once more. A big special congratulations to Sarah Rodwell for taking home the Grant McKay memorial cup, a great honour to win and wow, that girl can move! Seton took the house honours this year but watch out, Gordon is coming to get u 😉 Well done all and a thank you to all parent helpers at both the coffee morning and the gala, without you these things don’t happen. HASC