Trophies were handed out in a ceremony at Saltcoats Town Hall to the swimmers who came out top.

A huge 30 awards were given for rounds of the North Ayrshire Swimming club championships and winners chosen by the coaches for their performances during the last year.

Swimming sisters Evie and Caelin Chan, from Stevenson, were among the local athletes celebrating being crowned champions at the annual club’s ceremony.

Caelin collected the 11-year-old girls trophy and younger sister, Evie, 10, received Alan Dickson’s nomination for the Junior Coach’s Award.

Alan said: “It’s been a great year of swimming for Caelin, making finals at West District and qualifying for DRP.

“She deserves the award for her attention to detail and hard work in training.”

“Evie’s had a superb year and I’ve seen progress in every aspect of her swimming. There’s no secret to Evie’s success: it’s her fantastic listening skills coupled to an ability to put it into action. I’m sure we’ll see a lot more from her in 2020.”

Rachel McGuire was double award winning, coming out top among the 13-year-old girls and chosen by land training coach, and vice president Sheena Currie, as her senior athlete of the year.

Sheena said: “I’ve seen a huge improvement in Rachel’s attitude to land-based training and a recognition that it makes real benefits to your swimming.”

Hannah Smart, from Saltcoats, was the youngest of the individual champions, taking home the shield for 8-year-old girls.

Alan said: “Hannah’s made steady progress over the last year in the Development squad.

“Everytime I see her training I notice the improvements she’s made in her technique across all four strokes. I know she’s keen to compete and that’s an attribute which has helped her win the 8-year-olds shield.”

Charlotte Adair, 9, from Kilbirnie, was selected for the girls award.

Ruby McInnes, from Dalry, won the 9-year-old girls shield. Her coach, Alan, said: “Ruby’s one our best attendees. She’s got a real attention to detail and she tries hard to better herself every time she comes to train.”

James Stuart, from Dalry, received the 12-year-old boy shield.

Beth Hill followed on from her age-group win last year to take home the 14-year-old prize with head coach, Jess Wilkie, telling the club: “Beth’s been working really hard in training and she’s got her goals for 2020.”

Rachael Grant, from Beith, received the 16-year-old girls shield and Synchro coach Helen Ternent, from Dalry, came out joint top in the voting for Volunteer of the Year.

Her Synchro colleague, Lynne Harper, from Kilbirnie, was voted Volunteer Coach of the Year by club members.