Below is our blog of our Stirling swim camp, a 3 day (2 night) event which was held over the weekend of 6th, 7th and 8th April (Easter) for A & B squad swimmers.
Friday 6th April
5.00pm -Sitting in the GLC main car park with about six other cars waiting for the bus, not worrying as such but just a little surprised that there are so few swimmers. There’s still 15min to go so no panic yet. Another 2-3mins go by and we’re joined by at least one more car but no where near the numbers expected and still no bus! So we decide to have a drive around the other side of the GLC just in case and wouldn’t you credit it, there’s a near full bus waiting for us – note to self for next time be more specific with the pick up and drop off locations J.
The “last person on the bus prize” goes to Hannah Daglish – no prize as such just the prestige! Two head counts later – it’s difficult this counting to 40 – all present and correct and we’re off, 15mins ahead of schedule, so a big thank you parents for getting the kids there so promptly. – SR
11.00pm – We arrived safe around 9pm and after a getting checked in, we settled down to eat cake and celebrate Rachel’s birthday . Kids very excited about their bedrooms, so excited that Ellie and Taylor forgot they needed a key to get back in – “down to the reception girls”. I can see this could be a recurring theme throughout the weekend.
Anyway after the initial excitement the kids have settled down remarkable quickly. It’s actually another group from the USA which our patrolling chaperones are keeping in check. Anyway all quiet now so off to bed as early breakfast tomorrow and then the fun and games begin. – SR
Saturday 7th April
7.30am – Rise and shine everyone. Actually they all look bright eyed – with the exception of Ross! By these kid can eat and they haven’t even trained yet, good job it’s an “eat as much as you like” breakfast. A full Scottish breakfast, with haggis as an optional extra – though I’m not sure that many tried it. Even the fruit took a hammering. 60mins and counting to the first training session.
10.00am – Wow, great pool – Macy says its “long!!”.
Ken had a nice easy set to ease the kids into the weekend – fly.
Taylor says she doesn’t like butterfly in a 50m pool L.
So one down 3 more to go, kids can’t wait until 4.00pm and they do it all over again – Ken has a super challenge for them!
1.00pm – Paige really enjoyed the dead flies in her Caburys Brunch Bar for lunch.
Lunch over and the kids are well rested – well Luke fell asleep on the sofa – so what better to do than another 2 hours session with a bit of sprint work at the end of the session.
And after 4 hours of training Carissa still had enough energy to decorate her shoes.
Really good day today, though the boys all collectively think 1000m kick is just not cricket in a 50m pool especially after doing the IM set. Roll on tomorrow morning, early morning wake up calls all booked.
Sunday 8th April
6.30am – Split session this morning, A Squad up first for the 7-8am training slot. Then B squad 8-9am Not so bright eyed this morning and definitely not looking forward to the sprint set Ken has planned. Macy and Hannah are also up and dressed… “girls you’ve got another hour and a half before training so back to bed!”
9.30am – Another full Scottish breakfast today and the kids – especially A squad – are really hungry as they’ve waited until B squad finish their session.
After breakfast and with the bedrooms all cleared – no mean feat I must say – look who has pop around with a whole load of Easter Eggs for all.
And as you can see, it doesn’t take them long to get stuck into them – where do they put it?? – SR
11.00am – And guess what, there’s a stack more outside – lets go hunting!!
At lunch Lucy is puzzled how her napkin ended up in her glass of water, she has her suspicions but it could easily be because she rested it on the glass herself J.
1.30pm – Guess who’s the star of the GAW charades ??
2.00pm – So you’d think the kids would be really tired by now, but not GAW kids! Everyone outside for a spot of Giants, Wizards and Dwarfs. And the for those those with real staying power – not many A squad left – tag for half an hour. Just what the doctor ordered before the last 2 hour training session…. – SR
3.30pm – Last training session, you’d think Ken would have pity on them, but oh no – poor kids. Roll on 5.30pm! – SR
6.00pm – Well that its, all finished. Kids all dressed and where back on the road heading home. We’ve had a really great time, worked hard and had a few laughs. The hotel and their staff were excellent and couldn’t have been more helpful.
9.30pm – Home safe and sound. Some tuneful sounds on the journey home led mainly by Taylor and the Bradley boys. Also some not some pleasant smells caused mainly by Brad and Andrew – not sure what you’ve been eating lads! I’m glad I was sitting at the front of the bus!!
Hope everyone who attended the camp had a super time and for those back at home, I hope you enjoyed the blog and photos – SR
