Perth Swimmers take on the World!

The fantastic athletes at Perth City Swim Club will be representing our city on the international stage once again in the coming weeks, with Olympic silver-medallist Stephen Milne and rising star Scott McLay both in action. Both swimmers have a chance of representing Scotland at next year’s Commonwealth Games and will be hoping to put in impressive performances over the summer months to secure their places!

Scott will be celebrating his 18^th birthday 3,000 miles away in Netanya, Israel, where he will be competing at the European Junior Championships for Team GB. We’re sure he’ll make it a birthday to remember with a big swim! He’ll be competing in the 50m & 100m backstroke and freestyle events, before coming back to Perth to train ahead of what will be a big event for the teenager.

Then he heads out to Nassau in the Bahamas – but not for a Caribbean holiday! Scott’s competing in the Commonwealth Youth Games from the 17^th to the 21^st July, and will be hoping to strengthen his chances of making the squad for the senior games next year. There’s also still a chance he can make the squad for the Junior World Championships in Indianapolis, USA, in August so it’s a busy and exciting summer ahead, and everybody at the Perth City Swim Club will be cheering him on!

Perth’s Olympian swimmer Stephen Milne needs no introduction of course and he has a busy summer ahead too. The Rio 2016 silver-medallist heads to Rome this weekend for the Trofeo Settecolli meet, part of Team GB’s preparations for the upcoming World Championships in Budapest in July. The standard of swimming in Scotland is so high right now that there are no guarantees. There’s no rest for Stephen though and after competing in Budapest he’ll be back swimming with the Perth City squad for the start of the Scottish National Open Championships on July 29^th.

The event is an opportunity to qualify for the 2018 Commonwealth Games Scottish squad, and although Stephen is expected to produce a time that will see him safely make the national team he is certainly not complacent.

“The standard of swimming in Scotland is so high right now that there are no guarantees. The team is still to be selected, and everyone will be chasing the opportunity to represent our Nation next year in Australia.

“Knowing everyone at home is behind you makes such a difference. The medal in Rio belonged to everyone who helped me to get there, and it meant so much to bring it back home and share that success with all the people across Tayside who were such a big part of it.”

Stephen will be back to Scotland after this weekend’s meet in Rome for the British squad’s holding camp in Edinburgh before he jets off to Budapest, and we have every confidence in Perth’s Olympian to deliver in Hungary!

The pair’s success and representation on the international stage is a testament to the fantastic work of the team at Perth City, who operate at Live Active’s Perth Leisure Pool as a competitive age group swimming club. We're extremely proud that our athletes are representing club and country on the international stage once again. They work incredibly hard and enjoy amazing support from the local community in Perth, and club president, Gary Thomson, is proud of his two starlets who are getting the Perth City name out there internationally.

“Stephen and Scott developed through age group competitive swimming with Perth City. We're extremely proud that our athletes are representing club and country on the international stage once again, and wish them every success in their respective competitions.”

All the best to Stephen and Scott from everyone here at Small City – you’re both doing Perth proud!

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Perth City Swim Club welcomes enquiries from new members, and operates try-outs twice a year for swimmers aged 6-10 years.

To find out more or to enquire about pre-registering for a try-out, visit the club’s website.