North AYRSHIRE Swimming has launched a new Junior Masters squad to improve the mental and physical health of local teenagers.

The aim is to keep members swimming for longer and to encourage those who have given up the sport to get back into the water.

Jess Wilkie, the club’s head coach, said: “We hear a lot of talk about the ‘sporting pathway’ but the reality is that, for too many young athletes, the pathway ends in a cliff edge.

“Whether it’s because they are worn down by the demands of intense training, or the pressures of balancing sporting commitments against the need to focus on their education, too many of our teenagers reach a point where they just stop swimming completely.

“We want to show them that there is another choice.”

The squad is attracting new members all the time, from swimmers in their seventies to Olympic medal winners.

Wilkie said: “I feel the club is in a great position and we are ready to introduce Junior Masters as a new branch to our ever-growing tree.”