Swimmers from West Fife CSS enjoyed a very productive day at the 2019 Disability Sport Fife swimming championships held at the Michael Woods Sports & Leisure Centre on Friday 1st March.
The championships are supported by Fife Sports and Leisure Trust and Fife Council and as always are the first event of the Annual Fife Sports Festival that has been running for 43 years. The championships are also a qualifying event for the Scottish Senior Swimming Championships organised by Scottish Disability Sport.
Hannah Moffat and Connor Mitchell started the day off perfectly for the West Fife CSS team with wins in each of the two trophy races reserved for the leading community support services swimmers. Tanis Murphy and Ryan Peterson from East Fife CSS picked up the trophy race silver medals.
The day ended exactly as it had begun for West Fife CSS swimmers when they won the Inter CSS relay and the Sonia Kane Trophy followed by the overall team competition and the Anne H Brodie trophy. East Fife CSS finished second and Central third. An outstanding championships for West Fife CSS.
Eight schools contested the inter schools competition for the new Sky Trophy and it was the powerful Woodmill HS swim team that ran out worthy winners with 60 points. Madras college swimmers finished second and Balwearie HS third. This meant that Woodmill HS completed the junior swimming double having won the Russel Hogg trophy at the Inter shools gala held last September at Lochgelly HS. This was the highest number of schools entered for the championships to date and Queen Anne HS and Auchmuty HS were welcomed to the gala for the first time.
There were fine swims by Fife’s leading physically disabled swimmers Cara Smyth, Craig Smith and Katie Pake. Cara and Katie swim with Carnegie SC and Craig was making his return to competition swimming after an absence of several years.
Shaun Rowlcliffe, Liam McIntyre and Carter Taylor were the outstanding senior swimmers with a learning disability. Skye Hammon (Dunfermline HS), Nathan Smith (Woodmill HS), Josh Johnstone (Woodmill HS), Stephen Braid (Woodmill HS), Cameron Hay (John Fergus School), Kieran Beaton (Madras College) and Keir Fisher (Auchmuty HS) showed up extremely well in the equivalent section for juniors.
The championships as always came to an exciting end with excellent relay events involving juniors, swimmers with physical disabilities and four teams of independent swimmers with a learning disability who attend coach led sessions at Michael Woods Sports and Leisure Centre and Cowdenbeath Leisure Centre supported by Spirit of 2012 under the GOGA in Fife programme.
At the conclusion of the championships tribute was paid to the many people involved with the organisation and running of the event including Kirkcaldy HS sports leaders, Scottish Swimming officials, DSF volunteers and peer mentor volunteers, FSLT duty staff and school and Health and social Care support staff. The 2019 Sports Festival is well and truly up and running.
Rchard Brickley MBE – Chairman DSF (SCIO) Board Of Charity Trustees