New Ullapool swim coaches now poolside

Ullapool Swimming Club has strengthened its coaching team thanks to support from ferry operator CalMac's Community Fund.

Its 'Riding the Wave' project aimed to train new coaches and help boost club members. The five new coaches will now concentrate on improving swimmers ability and encouraging better levels of fitness among local young people.

Swimming Club organiser, Gillian Meighan said: 'Thanks to CalMac's Community Fund we now have five new Level 1 Coaches in the club. We now have two parents, a local teacher and two club members trained up and ready to get started, the new coaches will ensure continuity of the club for its current members and more to come over many years.'

Picture shows: The news coaches start their career poolside in Ullapool

One of the newly qualified coaches was Elaine from Lochinver

'Completing this course means that I have a sports qualification that will help me to be involved in training my children and others to swim. It's a great way to contribute to an important community sports club and could not have happened without this support from CalMac,' she said

CalMac's Community Fund is designed to create new opportunities for young people by supporting non-profit youth organisations based in a mainland port or island the company serves. Organisations applied for an award between £500 to £2000.

So far the Fund has supported 76 projects from woman's football in the Outer Hebrides, to the Campbeltown Sea Cadets and a Gaelic youth club on Skye. Each application was judged by a screening panel of young people recruited from across the company's network, in partnership with Young Scot.

'A key part of the Community Fund's aims is making sure any new opportunities for young people are for the long term. By putting in place new coaches the club is ensuring that they will have qualified instructors to teach local young people for many years to come,' said CalMac's Corporate Social Responsibility manager, Gordon McKillop.