Pupils make a splash at East Sutherland Primary Swimming Gala

The recent primary schools swimming gala for East Sutherland went swimmingly, with eight schools represented! Backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle, a medley relay and freestyle relay put the young swimmers to the test at Sutherland Swimming Pool.

There were 35 heats with a total of 54 swimmers racing on the day (10^th September). All swimmers put in an amazing effort with some incredibly close races – and plenty of cheering making for a brilliant and loud atmosphere!

Elissa Stevenson, Active Schools Co-ordinator said: “It was great to see all schools represented this year, another great event with a positive buzz!  You could really see the swimmers giving it their all in each race and cheering on their team mates – the team work was obvious from the two relays.  he swimmers did their schools proud and listened to the race officials which meant all the heats ran smoothly and on time.

“Events like these can only take place with the support of a band of dedicated volunteers and a big thank you goes to Rona Gordon, Clare Crisp, Gayle MacRae, Aileen MacKay and Claire Gordon.  We also had the great support of seven sports leaders from Golspie High School who did the race timings and other roles, along with school staff and parents who also did the race timings.

“It was a truly great start to our yearly programme of activities and competitions for East Sutherland schools.”

Local Councillor Jim McGillvray along with GB Athlete in Hill and Mountain Running, Ross Gollan – who hails from Edderton – were on hand to present the awards. Trophies were awarded to the schools coming first in the Rural Schools, Small Schools and Big Schools categories, as well as each pupil receiving a medal for first place. The results are as follows:

Backstroke Girls

1^st – Rosie (Dornoch Primary School)

2^nd – Eilidh (Brora Primary School)

3^rd – Patience (Dornoch Primary School)

Backstroke Boys

1^st – Leo (Golspie Primary School)

2^nd – Archie (Golspie Primary School)

3^rd – Sholto (Helmsdale Primary School)

Breaststroke Girls

1^st – Anna (Dornoch Primary School)

2^nd – Bonnie (Golspie Primary School)

3^rd – Eva (Helmsdale Primary School)

Breaststroke Boys

1^st – Murdo (Golspie Primary School)

2^nd – Leon (Golspie Primary School)

3^rd – James (Rogart Primary School)

Butterfly Girls

1^st – Ella (Golspie Primary School)

2^nd – Anna (Dornoch Primary School)

3^rd – Izzy (Dornoch Primary School)

Butterfly Boys

1^st – Murdo (Golspie Primary School)

2^nd – Leon (Golspie Primary School)

3^rd – Oliver (Brora Primary School)

Freestyle Girls

1^st – Ella (Golspie Primary School)

2^nd – Rosie (Dornoch Primary School)

3^rd – Rhian (Dornoch Primary School)

Freestyle Boys

1^st (Joint) – Leo (Golspie Primary School) & Oliver (Brora Primary School)

3^rd – Harvey (Golspie Primary School)

Medlay Relay

1^st – Golspie Primary School

2^nd – Helmsdale Primary School (A)

3^rd – Dornoch Primary School

Freestyle Relay

1^st – Golspie Primary School (A)

2^nd – Dornoch Primary School

3^rd – Helmsdale Primary School

Overall Winners:

Rural Schools – Rosehall Primary School
Small Schools – Helmsdale Primary School

Big Schools – Golspie Primary School

The East Sutherland Primary Schools Swimming Gala took place on Tuesday 10^th September at Sutherland Swimming Pool, Golspie.