One of the Borders’ most successful swimmers and now leading Great Britain (GB) coach has warned that the closure of a Berwickshire swimming club would reduce opportunities for the area to produce top talent.

Euan Dale started his swimming career in Berwickshire and says he would not have achieved global success were it not for Duns Amateur Swimming Club.

He went on to win double Commonwealth Games silver for Scotland in Melbourne in 2006 and competed for GB at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

After being part of the GB coaching team that secured the best-ever haul of Olympic medals in Tokyo 2020 and nurturing the likes of James Guy and Matt Richards to double Olympic golds from school to elite level, he was last year appointed Aquatics GB’s Performance Pathway Lead.

Euan Dale, who started off at Duns Amateur Swimming Club, in his Great Britain tracksuit for the 2008 Olympic Games. Picture by by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images.

placeholder image — Euan Dale, who started off at Duns Amateur Swimming Club, in his Great Britain tracksuit for the 2008 Olympic Games. Picture by by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images.

The 40-year-old was upset to learn that his old club is facing closure this summer if it cannot persuade more youngsters to pursue swimming and more local businesses to back them to cope with the increasing costs of pool hire.

He said: “It would be devastating for the community if the swimming club was to close, but also for the wider development of swimming as a sport in the Borders.

“The Duns club has been such a positive platform for so many over the years and while there are other clubs in Eyemouth, Kelso and Galashiels, for example, which do fantastic work in bringing on swimmers, the Borders pools are small and have only so much pool time so they can’t accommodate a lot of people.

“So, if the Duns club closes it would be really disappointing and would reduce the opportunities for youngsters now and in the future, in Berwickshire and further afield, to step up into regular swimming.

“I still remember walking through the doors of Duns Swimming Club and that catalyst moment in terms of wondering if I could achieve something in sport.

“I looked at a picture on the wall of David Wilkie, with two Olympic medals around his neck, and that was the aspirational moment for me that triggered a desire to go on and do great things.

“I hope the community can once again rally around the Duns club and keep it part of the Borders, but also Scotland’s and GB’s future in swimming. We need it.”