Major Swimming Event Returns to the Capital for the Scottish National Short Course Championships 2015

The Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh will play host to an impressive line-up for the Scottish National Short Course Swimming Championships from 11 to 13 December 2015.

Michael Jamieson (Edinburgh University) will be in action for the first time since his move back to Edinburgh in September. The 27-year old contest the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke alongside University of Stirling athlete Ross Murdoch who recently won bronze in the 100m event at the FINA/airweave Swimming World Cup 2015 in Doha.

Keri-anne Payne will look to continue her good form competing in the freestyle events. Payne won the Open Water test event in Rio back in August before winning the FINA/HOSA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup 2015 in Hong Kong. Payne’s Warrender team-mate Craig McNally will contest the backstroke events.

Robbie Renwick, Duncan Scott and Stephen Milne are all due to compete, with Milne having just returned from a British Swimming familiarisation camp in Rio.

Belgium’s National Team also makes a welcome return to the event with 16 athletes competing, including Olympian Kimberley Buys who having competed at the FINA World Championships in Kazan, is now on the comeback trail after fracturing her wrist in a cycling accident.

With such a great line-up Scottish Swimming, in partnership with Glasgow-based QTV Sports, can confirm that they will once again be providing a free-to-air live stream from the Championships, broadcasting the finals session each evening as professional sports coverage. The stream can be found online at www.scottishswimming.com/live. The morning and afternoon heats can be followed with our CoverItLive feed, which can be found at www.scottishswimming.com/scotnsclive 

Speaking ahead of the event, Forbes Dunlop, Chief Executive of Scottish Swimming said,

“This event has grown in stature and deserves its status as the premier short course competition in the UK. With the swimming calendar so busy it is great to have so many teams from across the UK as well as the National squad from Belgium return to Edinburgh.

“For those who are unable to attend, I am also delighted that we are working again with QTV Sports and can bring the action and excitement of the finals direct into people’s homes through live streaming from the Scottish Swimming website.”

The Scottish National Short Course Swimming Championships will also showcase the partnership between Scottish Swimming and Edinburgh Airport. Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport commented:

“Edinburgh Airport is delighted to be backing a world class organisation like Scottish Swimming and we’re looking forward to the Scottish National Short Course Championships in Edinburgh this weekend.

“With shared values of performance excellence and a commitment to delivering for Scotland on the world stage this promises to be a fantastic event to showcase the start of a very special relationship.”

The event is also supported by Strathmore, the Official Water of Scottish Swimming and who encourages everyone to be active and do a little bit more each day, through its ‘Do More’ campaign.

Edinburgh City Council has also provided support through the Active Edinburgh Funding Programme which supports events that promote physical activity and sport within the city.

The competition will run over three days from 11 – 13 December 2015. Morning heats start at 08:45, afternoon heats at 13:30 (12:45 on Sunday) and finals at 17:30. Tickets for children can be bought for as little as £1 and for adults, advance tickets start at £4 for heats and £5 for finals and will allow individuals to fast-track into the venue. Tickets can be bought online at https://scottishswimming.eventbrite.co.uk.

Tickets will also be available to buy at the door.

The event can be followed live on Twitter @scottishswim with the hashtag #ScotNSC15. Pictures from the daily race action can be found at www.flickr.com/scottishswimming and on Instagram atwww.instagram.com/scottishswimming.

The event is open to the public with the following fees applying if bought in advance from Eventbrite (http://scottishswimming.eventbrite.co.uk) Please note that tickets are £1 cheaper if purchased in advance online 

Adults
£4 per person – Heats
£5 per person – Evening finals

Concessions (over 60/students)
£3 per person – Heats
£4 per person – Evening finals

Children
£1 per person – Heats
£1 per person – Evening finals

Session Start Times
Friday 11th December – 08:45, 13:30, 17:30
Saturday 12th December – 08:45, 13.30, 17:30
Sunday 13th December – 08:45, 12:45, 17:30

Warm up sessions begin one hour prior to the session start times and times may be subject to change depending on the entry list.   

More information about the event and daily summary reports can be found atwww.scottishswimming.com or www.facebook.com/scottishswimming  

Venue: Royal Commonwealth Pool, Dalkeith Road, Edinburgh EH16 5BB

For more information about the venue and details of location please click on the dedicated website:http://www.edinburghleisure.co.uk/venues/royal-commonwealth-pool

About Scottish Swimming
We are the national governing body for swimming in Scotland.  Scottish Swimming represents our clubs, swim schools, aquatic disciplines, athletes, coaches and thousands of talented and committed volunteers across the entire swimmer pathway.  We are focused on delivering in the following key areas to reach our vision to ensure that everyone can swim: learn to swim, participation in aquatic activities, club development, coaching partnerships and performance.

About sportscotland
sportscotland investment provides opportunities for members involved in every aspect of our pathway. The funding also supports the area of governance, where we continue to strive for best practice. As our Association is professionally managed, we can provide the framework within which our members and partners can flourish.

About Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh Airport is Scotland's busiest airport. More than 40 airlines serve 130-plus destinations and 10.2 million passengers passed through the airport in 2014 – the busiest year ever for a Scottish airport.

July 2015 was the airport’s busiest month ever with over 1.2 million passengers travelling through its terminal.  It is the 6th largest in the UK, in terms of passenger numbers, and employs over 7000 people, contributing hundreds of millions of pounds to Scotland’s economy.

About Speedo®
The world's leading swimwear brand, Speedo® is passionate about life in and around the water, creating revolutionary new technologies, designs and innovations. Supporting swimming from grass-roots through to elite level, including the phenomenal Michael Phelps, Speedo® is owned by Speedo Holdings B.V and distributed in over 170 countries around the world.

About Active Edinburgh Funding Programme
The Active Edinburgh Funding Programme is an initiative of the City of Edinburgh Council. It supports events that promote physical activity and sport within the city.  These range from sports events that attract a national audience to small community festivals that aim to get people involved in physical activity in their local area.