News

As usual, there were lots of entries from the usual suspects and a couple of blindsiders from some new recruits to the competition! The ones that were received (the printable ones, at least) were as below.

• Lindy: On reflection, James was to bitterly regret remarking on the size of Marion's stetsons ...
• Karen: What began as a perfect bow became something altogether more sinister as the curry James had a 2am last night came back to haunt him!
• Jack: That'll teach him to say my Iain's got rubbish technique!
• Lindy: Having tolerated James's breastroke demonstration, Marion was pleased to have had the chance to show off her powerful kick.
• Lindy: James wasn't familiar with the coaching technique Marion had just demonstrated but he was sure it would reduce his stroke count.
• Tom: Blazing Saddles - I told him not to eat those beans!
• Karen: No, James, it's not the queen mum!
• Karen: Marion gives James a bit too much assistance reaching those high notes as he performs his Johnny Cash impression.
• Marion: As I am only a minor Royal you really do not have to bow so deeply, James.
• Iain: Is that Jack's flippers she's wearing?
• Iain: Arise, Sir James.
• Iain: Is James looking for a Wireless Access Network Key?
• Marion: Stick to swimmming - 0 points on Strictly I'm afraid!
• Lindy: Tired of waiting for James to announce the results of the caption competition, Marion decided the time had come for some gentle persuasion. (Yes, thanks for that! Ed.)

As usual, the quality of the responses was high, but in the end there can be only one winner and this time it's Lindy with this!

• Marion had never had a customer ask for "assaulted" nuts before ... she just hoped she'd given him what he'd asked for ...

So, congratulations to Lindy, who will no doubt be asking her husband for her well-deserved prize - and maybe a small bottle of Bunnahabhain too! Thanks to everyone who took part and hope you enjoyed it. The Caption Competition will return with a new photo later on this year.

MLC SHUT DOWN WEEK
This is from the 10th to the 14th December. No swimming on Tuesday and Friday unless it is in the sea.

LAST NIGHT OF SWIMMING
This will be on the 18th of December. Drinks and nibbles (if you are good) at Lochside.

FIRST NIGHT OF SWIMMING
This will be on Tuesday the 8th January.

DONALD
We could think of a more perfect way to lose some of those extra pounds gained over Christmas than a weekend session with Donald. Date to be confirmed when Donald finds a dog sitter.

AGM
Friday 18th January. Agenda will be going out on the first night back. If there is any other business please let Shona know.

CHRISTMAS NIGHT OUT
It's confirmed – Jack’s house is still available. 9th February 2008. Portnahaven pub as usual. Any suggestions for a theme?

As usual, great fun was had by all. Thanks go to everyone who turned up and especially to Dave Protherough of Re-JIG (whose quad-bike and various trailers were invaluable during the rubbish collection), to Jack Glover for bringing along some beers and to Karen Fleming for providing some extremely tasty home-made pizza for us all to enjoy!

From left to right: Tom Dunn, Karen's friend, Karen Fleming, Louise Gregory, Jack Glover, James McGregor, Dave Protherough (Re-JIG) and Sandy Maclean.

Pre-meeting Meeting
26th October
Don’t worry it will be conducted in the pub after swimming, therefore avoiding all format of a meeting and disguised as a quick drink. The pool controversy continues. Hopefully all of will know that we have been asked to move our session from a Tuesday to a Monday in order to fit in with the pools other commitments and new heating system. Although this logically seems like a fair enough request we have a few reservations.

1. Are we the only club been asked to compromise?
2. Compensation if we have to move?
3. If Aquacare is funded by a grant surely the extra costs of heating the pool should be already covered?
4. What is the mission statement of MLC (are we included in it)?
5. How long will it take the heat exchange system to start working properly? (32 degrees on a Friday not acceptable)
6. Are the other ways of increasing temp quickly (heat boost)?
7. Are there other ways of decreasing heat faster (covers off)?

We would really like as many members to attend the MLC AGM (united we stand) and before this we would like to get as many different views from our members as possible. This has been going on a while and no solution has been found. Please let us know your thoughts!

Mactaggart Leisure Centre AGM
1st November
We have very few members at present and the majority would prefer to stick to Tuesdays. The uncertainty of change is also hindering our quest for new members. Please come and support your club.

Donald Weekend
Early November
Donald still has to get back to us with a date. But we also thought it would be nice to throw him a little party as it was his 70th not that long ago. Fri and Sat or Sun Sessions with meal at Luccie's in between somewhere.

Aberdeen Masters Meet
February 2008
A very long way but if anyone is keen ..? See Karen.

Carlise Masters Meet
May 2008
Much better option and Donald has space for us in his minibus. See Karen.

• 9 of our 14 members attended the meeting to discuss the Pools proposal to change the night of masters swimming.
• Members were posted a note detailing the pools proposals and a number of questions were asked regarding the proposal.

1. What would be the actual cost to the pool of boosting the waste heat with their own boilers for the required period, and if they don't know would they be willing to give it a go to find out?
2. Could we afford to compensate them for that in increased hire costs?
3. What happens to the residual heat – could this be managed more effectively?

On a Tuesday evening the waste heat from the distillery cannot be utilised until 9pm when the masters club finishes. This only leaves 3 hours (9-12pm) of FREE heat until we lose it again at around midnight. At midnight the waste heat is diverted else where in the distillery and we lose the heat source very quickly therefore there is very little latent heat to utilise. At around 6am the waste heat process starts again but does not instantly arrive over at 75'C it takes some little time to reach that temperature. The temperature of the swimming pool water must be 33'C by 11am Wednesday therefore this leaves only 3-4 hours to achieve this.

In trials we have run on nights when the distillery heat is available all evening it has taken from 5pm until 11am the following morning to raise the swim pool temperature by 3'C. This equates to 1'C every 6 hours. On a Tuesday night at present we are only achieving an increase of 1'C in swim pool temperature (over a 6 hour period) or in other words the oil-fired boilers are providing 66% of the heat.

The oil-fired boilers have the capacity to raise the temperature of the swimming pool water by 1'C every 2 hours. The cost of increasing the temperature of the swimming pool by 3'C using oil fired boilers only is approx £70. Therefore at present each Tuesday evening it is costing approx £46 in fuel oil to heat the pool (66% x £70). Over the course of a year's Aquacare this equates to around £2000.

The cost of upgrading & automating the heat recovery system with the distillery has been approx £50k & although this has mostly been funded by grants we are under pressure to reduce all costs, especially spiralling energy costs, as much as possible.

The total fuel oil costs for last trading year 2006-7 was approx £14k. The upgraded heat recovery system (when it is working efficiently) is estimated to save us up to 50% of these costs. Quite a significant saving for a small company. Those present agreed that the costs would be too much for the Masters to bear and supported the pool in trying to save money.

We then discussed other possible options. It is clear that not all members are going to agree on an alternative night and it was proposed that we would swim half an hour earlier on a Tuesday night. It is proposed that this should be a trial run until Oct 2007 and that the pool try and manage their heat as far s possible to allow us to swim in pool waster as cold as possible. LG to discuss this with Gary.

NB: After talks with MLC there will be no reasonable differnce in pool tem if we swim half-an-hour earlier. Time will remain at 8pm on Tuesdays. The committie will be recording the pool temperatures and the situation will be assessed in October Half-Term.

Members also asked if we could define the conditions of use of the pool, particularly the presence of staff members who would be able to assist in emergency situations. Also a possible discount for swimming in hot water - LG to discuss with Gary.

The committee are still unhappy with the lack of compromise from MLC as Islay Masters seem to be doing all the compromising. We will soon have a member of our club on the board of MLC and continue in discussions with the mangement to find a solution. We are also going to dicuss maters with the Dolphins.

OPEN OCTOBER
Please invite all friends we are trying to recruit new members.

BEACH CLEAN
October 21st – Head of Loch Indall.

OPEN WATER SWIMMING
23rd August
Swimming the Gulf of Corryvreckan ... so far we have Louise, Karen, Shona, Amy, Jack, James, Sandy and Ian. We will have four more places on the boat. Swimmers get priority but we would welcome some support. Let one of the exec know.

FIRST FRIDAY BACK AT SWIMMING
17th August
No Excuses (apart from Louise who is at a hen night in York).

INVERCLYDE MEET
7th September
Would be good to have a few more along – no excuses for not enough warning. I think the deadline for entries have closed but if you speak to Karen nicely ...

• Carlisle - 12th May 2007
• Gateshead - 30th June 2007
• Lomond - 18th August 2007
• Perth - 29th September 2007
• Aberdeen - February/March 2008

Membership Stuff
That usual time of year again. Scottish Swimming Association will be wanting our money again soon. Can all current SSA members please hand over £25 to Shona. Any new members that haven’t heard of SSA before contact Shona – she will need you to fill in a form. Any new members – the treasurer will soon be chasing you for direct debit details.

February Free for all
Remember to get all your friends along using exercise and good health as the excuse. See Ileach for details. Prizes for members who actually get someone to sign up.

Weekend of Donald
23rd-25th February
Prepare yourselves. Exact times and dates to be confirmed but he will definitely be about on the evening of the 23rd. It is a great opportunity to really improve your techniques and for those of who need to be stretched – yip yip yip!!!! Free sandwiches at the Lochside after training on the Friday – how else would we entice you (beer perhaps – but food usually does it too).

Stirling Long Course
10-11th March
We have a session booked in the Stirling 50m pool for Saturday afternoon and also Sunday morning if you can handle it. Only a small contribution will need to be made as with all the fundraising we have been doing and we will top it up after the beach clean fundraiser. Please let Sandy know if you are interested.

Beach Clean
25th March
This was a massive success last year. A very good excuse for a bit of exercise and you can polish your environmental halo while you are at it. BBQ on the beach also planned. Details closer to the time.

Ramsay Dance
7th April
The usual attempt to make loads of money. We will need at least six people to help out. Raising money for our Gala in June!

Official Annual Going Out Night
27th April
Prepare yourselves - most likely a late meal at the Bowmore Hotel and a pub crawl around Bowmore. However, there has been talk of going further afield (Port Charlotte). Let us know what you think, but book the next day off!

National Masters Meet Glasgow
20th-21st April
Get in touch with Sandy if you are interested! Last date for entries is the 23rd March.

Islay V Rest of World
9 June (TBC)
Hmmm – seemed like a good idea at the time. Loads of work to be put into this yet so any members willing to give a hand please let the exec know. We are inviting a number of clubs (of course Inverclyde) and it will be a competition for 16yrs +. The usual entertainment will be provided afterwards.

Open Water Swim
Mid August (23/22)
Execs still working on this but there have been plenty of suggestions. Training will come in the form of out door swimming in the summer. More details later on in the year.

Ramsay Dance
22nd September (TBC)
Again chance to make loadsa money!!! This time the fund raiser will be for out foreign exchange (see below) so this has to be a massive effort!!!

Inverclyde Masters Meet
Early September
Would be good to have a few more along – so there are no excuses for not enough warning! More details later on in the year.

Swim Exchange to Europe (TBC)
Winter
We have just had an idea, and we are working on it. More details to come. Could be Spain, could be Norway, could be Greece – who knows – however a long weekend swimming in a foreign language is to be expected!

Annual Pool Closure
11th-17th December 2006
Pool is shut for cleaning, so no swimming.

Last night of swimming
22nd December 2006
The last night of swimming for 2006! Some of us won't be in attendance but should you feel the need to swim and work off the approaching turkey, Jack probably will be. Please feel free to find the absentees later on in the evening in some drunken hole!

First night of swimming
9th January 2007
The first night of swimming in 2007!

Annual General Meeting
12th January 2007
In the Lochside after swimming at 9.30pm. We will try to organise a little buffet and will progress to a small pub crawl. Executive positions up for grabs include Vice Chair and an AOB person. Don't be shy and make sure that you attend!

Christmas Party 2007
3rd February 2007
The venue is Portnahaven and the theme will be Bond ... James Bond.

Trip to Stirling
10th-11th March 2007
For swimming, not shopping! Long course training, all in the aid of fun!

Offical April Going Out After Swimming Night
27th April 2007
Snappy title or what? Just rolls off the tongue ...

Islay v The Rest of the World
9th or 16th June 2007
Plenty of warning, so get training now! More details to come.

Karen, all the best with your adventures in New Zealand. You will be sorely missed by all of us. We'll be thinking of you.

There were a number of entries, but the best were as follows:

• From Robin: Jack says "Aye, tried it, but how do you stop the sheep from jumping?"
• From Lindy: "No Alan, i said let's find a couple of whoors, not horses ..."
• From Louise: "Whoa there, who said anything about ladies?"

But, in the judge's humble opinion, the winner is from Karen, with the following wee gem:

• "Brokeback Mountain reunion – 30 years on".

Well done to Karen! A prize of some sort will be winging its way to you shortly, hopefully arriving before you wing your own way to New Zealand!

It's a BYOB event (that's Bring Your Own Bottle or, if you're Jack, Bring Your Own Barrel) so remember to bring along a corkscrew, bottle opener, beer hat or whatever. Dress to impress.

Many thanks to all those who were involved including Ian and Gordon for their sterling work in providing safety boats, the Coastguard, Waterside Catering Services, Ian and Marion of the Port Askaig Hotel who generously provided post-swim soup and refreshments and to everyone who came along to watch the event. Your support was very much appreciated.

Also, many thanks to those who sponsored the swimmers! The total amount raised is estimated to be around £1,000, three-quarters of which will be donated to the RNLI with the remainder going to the Islay Masters Swimming Club. Not bad at all for 22 minutes work!

The comeraderie was fantastic, as it was September 2005 when we last met the Inverclyde crowd so plenty of merriment was had by all! When the competition finished on Saturday, Karen presented Donald with a Seal of Islay plaque in an unexpectedly touching mini-ceremony.

... Amy builds a beer mat house and puts someone's beer on top of it (could have been mine). Tell you, the fun never stops here on Islay!

Anytime - Coach Training
Seen as Karen is abandoning us (sometime) we are in need of coaches. Anyone who is interested in helping out once a month please see Karen. Training will be arranged and paid for. Something else for your CV!

24-25 March - Stirling Long Course
We have a session booked in the Stirling 50m pool for Saturday afternoon and also Sunday morning if you can handle it. We have money from Argyll and Bute Council so transport and accommodation is paid for. Please let Karen know if you are interested.

29 April (TBC) - Peat Smoke and the Roaches (aka Jura Boys)
A little fund raiser at the Ramsay Hall. We could really do with all the help we can get. More info coming.

21-22 April - National Masters Meet Glasgow
Get in touch with Karen if you are interested!

23 April - Beach Clean
This was a really good family day last year and a bit of exercise never harmed anyone. BBQ on the beach also planned. Photos of the day available shortly!

17 June - Inverclyde/Islay Masters/Dolphins Meet
Donald has invited us over to Inverclyde for a swim in their 33m outdoor salt water pool and a party. We are also hoping that some of us that are willing to coach can shadow him on the sun morning if he is available.

2 September - Open Water Swim
With our superior nautical knowledge we have determined this is the best day to swim the Sound of Islay. More info coming.

9 September - Inverclyde Masters Meet
Always a good laugh and another chance to prove to the nation that the party people are alive and kicking.

7 October - 10th Anniversary Bash
Not to sure what this event will involve, however the usual ingredients of a masters night out; food, drink and dancing will be included. All involved with masters over the years to be invited.

Notice - Swim Gym Training Programmes
We have acquired some rather fancy swim-gym training packs. They are basically sets of training programmes available for use anytime. They are located in our box in the first aid room in the pool.

Christmas Night Out
Saturday 11th February
Black Tie at Portnahaven and Cocktails at Jack's.
£15 see Shona for tickets and transport needs
BYO cocktail ingredients

Free For All February
More at the AGM, but start thinking of friends who could do with a swim.

Islay Masters 10th Anniversary
Very large party – Tom you're in charge!

Master Swimming Competition in Aberdeen
Saturday March 4th
See Karen for details
Let's see if we can gain global recognition for our partying swimming skills this time!

National Recognition
Recently celebrated on the British Swimming Website as ‘Party Starters’ we can now perhaps move on to a swimming accolade ... (see link on our own website)

Social Gathering
Seen as we can’t seem to entice half of you to the pool with promises of stroke technique sessions and fitness training we thought we would try and entice you another way. How about a nice leisurely swim followed by a little something to eat? Friday the 18th of November we have asked Bowmore Hotel if they will serve food a little later. So get yourselves down to the pool for a swim at 7:30pm and then we will head up the hill for a bit of food and then on to other various nightspots of Bowmore.

60’s, 70’s and 80’s DISCO
On Saturday 3rd of December we have booked the Ramsay Hall for another night of partying/fundraising. It was a really successful event last time and it would be good to see more masters tripping the light fantastic. We also need volunteers for sober activities such as bar and door staff. There is a prize for the best fancy dress so start dusting off those flares.

Hope to see you soon ...
The Exec!

Summer is going to be a busy time for the club. We have a number of fund raising events organised including a beach clean and an open water swim. We are also in the midst of organising a swimming gala: ‘Islay V Inverclyde’ where there will be a chance for everyone to break their personal bests (preferably in the pool not at the bar…) If anyone is interested in joining the club we meet at MacTaggarts Leisure Centre on a Tuesday night at 8pm and on a Friday night at 7.30pm. Coaching sessions usually concentrate on fitness and skill, with individual needs catered for. However, we’re not a serious bunch, and it’s a chance to have a bit of fun with swimming as the excuse.

Hope to see you soon!