Young members of the area’s largest swimming club are celebrating after an impressive victory in the final of this year’s Clyde Coast Mini-League.
The REN96 team was up against rivals from Cumbernauld, City of Glasgow, Larkhall, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire at the prestigious event, which is one of the highlights in the Scottish swimming calendar.
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Victorious in three heats over the past few months, the pressure was on REN96 to maintain their unbeaten record in the final, which took place in Ayr, and they didn’t disappoint.
A squad of 33 swimmers from across Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire represented the club, which took a convincing lead from early on.
And, thanks to a string of fine performances from youngsters aged between nine and 12, they had widened their lead by the end of the competition, finishing on 224 points.
City of Glasgow were runners-up with 205 points, while Cumbernauld’s haul of 175 points was enough to secure third place.
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Adam Riley, REN96 squad coach, said “Congratulations go to everyone involved in this year’s Mini-League. The whole team looked amazing throughout the final and the heats.
“Every member of our Mini-League squad of 56 swimmers got us here, not just the team in the final, and I’m very proud of them all.
“Mini-League is the first taste of competitive swimming for some of our junior swimmers and they were inspired by having such a great team and electric atmosphere around them, along with club captains Adam, Rebecca, Tom and Molly giving advice and cheering them on.
“Although this is a team event, every swimmer rose to the occasion and more than 75 per cent of our swims were personal best times.
“None of this would be possible without the help and support of the coaches, team managers, other helpers and our kit sponsors GMH Chartered Accountants. The swimmers give a big thank-you to them all.
“We also give congratulations and commiserations to the other finalists.”
REN96 has around 260 members and is based and trains at the On-X leisure hub, in Linwood.
It holds 50 training sessions every week across several local pools, including those in Johnstone, Erskine, Barrhead, Neilston and Eastwood.
The club works in partnership with Renfrewshire Council, East Renfrewshire Council and Scottish Swimming to further its aim to continuously develop local swimmers and help them realise their full potential.
A spokesperson added: “The club offers a safe and welcoming community where people of all ages can improve their health and fitness and learn to develop their competitive swimming performance.”
Anyone who would like more information about the club should visit https://uk.teamunify.com/team/ren96/page/home or www.facebook.com/ren96swim.
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