Warrender Baths Club is a swimming club which originated at Warrender Baths in Edinburgh, Scotland, established in 1888. In 2013 the club had 600 members with an active membership of 350 swimmers training at nine swimming pools across Edinburgh. Their swimmers compete in a wide range of international and national competitions including the Olympic and Commonwealth Games. Warrender has been called the premier swimming club in ScotlandRamsay, James. "Fifty Glorious Years", Edinburgh Evening News], 26 November 1938. (This article is also reproduced in Gilmour's One Hundred Years of Warrender baths Club.) and claims to be one of the oldest, most successful swimming clubs in the UK.Warrender Swimming Warrender Baths Club official web page]; retrieved 21 March 2013.
History of the club
1888 to 1918 – Early years In 1886 the Warrender Private Baths Company Ltd. built a private swimming baths in Edinburgh. The land was bought from Sir George Warrender, MP and the baths opened on 17 December 1887.Staff (4 February 2006) Wonder of Warrender The Scotsman, Retrieved 15 February 2013 Warrender Baths Club (Warrender) was established in 1888.Archibald, Cathy (21 November 2008)Report PS 52 – Warrender Baths Club Scottish Parliament Pathways into Sport Committee Report, Retrieved 14 February 2013 George M. Paterson was first Warrender champion swimmer in 1892, but initially, most of Warrender's activities centred around water polo. In 1896, Frank Marshall was Warrender's first water polo internationalist. In 1900 Stanley Bell captained the Scottish team in a Water Polo International against Wales held at Warrender Baths and in 1901 Warrender won the first Scottish National Water Polo Championship organised by the Scottish Amateur Swimming Association (SASA)."One Hundred Years of Scottish Swimming", Peter Bilsborough, 1988, Scottish Amateur Swimming Association, ASIN: B000QB8VIG In 1906 Warrender Baths closed for economic reasons but the Club carried on at Portobello swimming pool. In 1908, Edinburgh Corporation purchased the site and opened the baths to the public. Warrender Baths Club returned to its original location and in 1910 a ladies section was formed.Gilmore, Jamie, editor (1990) "One Hundred Years of Warrender Baths Club 1888-1988" Macdonald Lindsay Pindar plc, Edinburgh, The club wound down activities during World War I as all senior club members joined the forces. A plaque in the front lobby of Warrender Baths commemorates those who died in this war – one, David McGregor, was awarded Britain's highest award for valour, the Victoria Cross. Casualty Details McGregor David Stuart Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Retrieved 29 March 2013
1919 to 1945 – Successful years
After the war, the club returned to its former strength and in 1919 won the Scottish Championships.
In 1924, Warrender produced Ellen King, one of Scotland's greatest ever swimmers. Aged 15 she came sixth in the 100 yards Backstroke in the Paris Olympic Games. She won all Scottish Championship titles for women (except Graceful Diving) and was the only swimmer then, male or female, to have won three British Championships at different strokes. However, the male-dominated Warrender Baths Club of the time, prevented Ellen and other female swimmers from holding a ladies gala event. So Ellen and several other women left the club in 1925 and formed Zenith Ladies Swim Club. Ellen then won two silver medals at the 1928 Summer Olympics and silver and bronze medals at the 1930 British Empire Games. She was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.Ellen King, Swimming, Inducted 2001 Sport Scotland, Scottish Sports Hall of Fame, Retrieved 15 February 2013 Warrender's Jean McDowell came fourth in the 100 yards Freestyle in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics in an extremely close finish.Daniels, Stephanie (Spring 1999) Swimming to the Very End – British Swimming Memories of 1928 Amsterdam LA84 Foundation, Retrieved 17 February 2013 In 1927 and 1928 she won all Scottish freestyle championships.Tedder, Anita and Daniels, Stephanie (12 February 2000) Jean Burnett The Herald, Retrieved 25 January 2013 At the 1930 British Empire Games in Hamilton, Canada, Jean and fellow Warrender swimmer Jessie McVey both won bronze medals as part of the Scottish relay team.Jean McDowell (Jean Burnett) Gazetteer for Scotland, Sports Personalities, Retrieved 17 February 2013 Jean also won two won bronze medals at the 1934 Empire Games in London. Jean later remarked that female competitive swimmers had great difficulty training in the 1920s and 30s as mixed bathing was forbidden and training times for women were often restricted – in Warrender's case only on Saturday mornings when schools were there, leaving little room for Olympic hopefuls to swim. In 1932 Warrender won the Scottish men and women's swimming team race championships and the Scottish Water Polo championships, the first time a Scottish club had done this. In 1938, the Edinburgh Evening News noted at the club's 50th anniversary that between 1888 and 1938, the Warrender men won the Scottish Team Swimming Championships seven times and the East of Scotland Team title 22 times. The Warrender women won the Scottish Team Swimming Championships three times, were runners up seven times and won the East of Scotland title 11 times. The Warrender Water Polo teams won the Scottish Cup eight times, the East of Scotland Championship 14 times and the Edinburgh Corporation Trophy 17 times. Club members had also won over 100 Scottish and Eastern individual championships.
At the start of World War II in 1939, the club wound down its activities but had two charity galas in 1942 and 1943.
1946 to 1967 – Postwar rebuilding of the club
The club resumed officially in 1946, its teams being rebuilt from scratch. Once the swimming teams were re-established, in 1951, Warrender became East District Team Race Champions and three swimmers and two divers(6 January 2010) Bill Law, International diver, coach and manager Obituaries, The Scotsman, retrieved 1 September 2013 represented Scotland in the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games at Cardiff.
1968 to 1989 – Supremacy in Scottish swimming
From 1968 to 1989 Warrender was supreme in Scottish swimming. It was one of the top clubs in British swimming and its swimmers won in European, Commonwealth and World competitions – including David Wilkie who has been described as Scotland's greatest ever swimmer.(June 2008) Scottish Olympic Legends – ...Scotland's greatest ever swimmer, David Wilkie The Winning Zone, Winning Scotland Foundation, Retrieved 17 February 2013(29 June 2012) Golden Scots: David Wilkie in Montreal, 1976 BBC Sport Scotland, Retrieved 21 May 2013Riach, Fraser (26 September 1970) "Poised to join world-class swimmers: Sporting Scots 4 – David Wilkie", The Glasgow Herald, Page 8, A copy is also available on the internet at , Retrieved 1 April 2013 Ten Warrender swimmers, represented Scotland in the 1970 Commonwealth Games including David Wilkie and Sally Hogg who represented Great Britain in the 1970 European Aquatics Championships in Barcelona. In 1971 Warrender were second to Southampton in the unofficial club championships of Britain.
David Wilkie won a bronze medal at the 1970 Commonwealth Games, a silver at the 1972 Summer Olympics, won the 200 metres breaststroke World Championship in world record time in 1973A record swim from Wilkie; 1973 ESPN.co.uk, Retrieved 1 April 2013 and won two golds and a silver at the 1974 Commonwealth Games. In 1976, while at the University of Miami, he won a gold medal in the 200m Breaststroke in World Record time and another silver medal at the Montreal Olympic Games. Warrender swimmers Gordon Downie and Alan McClatchey (then studying at the University of Michigan(15 April 2007) Michigan the Olympics 1976 – Montreal Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan Athletics History, Retrieved 3 September 2013) also won Olympic bronzes as part of the 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay team. Over 300 Warrender members attended a reception in 1976 for Wilkie in Edinburgh where he paid tribute to Warrender coaches Frank Thomas and John Ashton for their contributions to his success. Wilkie was voted European Male Swimmer of the Year(1982) David Wilkie (GBR) 1982 Honor Swimmer International Swimming Hall of Fame, Retrieved 2 June 2013 and also awarded the MBE.(24 July 2012) Olympic heroes, No 25: David Wilkie The Scotsman, Retrieved 13 August 2013 Paul Easter represented Great Britain in the European Cup in Gothenburg and Scotland in the Brisbane 1982 Commonwealth Games winning bronze in the 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay and the 4 × 100 m Medley Relay. He also represented Great Britain in the 1982 World Aquatics Championships in Ecuador. At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Easter (who was then studying at Arizona State UniversityBob Eger, (1 September 2001) "Maroon & Gold: A History of Sun Devil Athletics", P 204 Arizona State well represented at the Olympic Games.. Sports Publishing LLC, , Retrieved 3 March 2013(April 2002) Sun Devil Swimming and Diving, Arizona State University, Retrieved 2 September 2013) won a bronze medal swimming for Britain in the 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay.Paul Easter, Bio, Stats and Results Sports Reference, Olympic Sports results, and Retrieved 3 March 2013 In 1986 Paul Easter, Colin Bole and Andrew Smith swam in the Scottish Commonwealth Games team. In 1987 Warrender won both the Robertson (Scottish National Open Championship) and the Waldie (Scottish National Age Group Championships) Trophies, the first time a club had won both championships in the same season.
In 1988, Warrender's Men's and Women's team won the Scottish heats of the British Swimming Club Team Championships. Warrender again won the Waldie and Robertson Trophies and its swimmers won over 40 individual championships and broke over 30 championship records. Warrender also regained the Wainwright Trophy at the Scottish National Short Course Championships. The Club held a Centenary Gala in Dunfermline and other social events to celebrate the 100 years of its existence.
1990 to 1999 – Barren years
In the mid-1990s the club had financial difficulties, declining membership and several short lived changes to its coaching staff. A few top level senior swimmers remained – in particular Fraser Walker who won silver in the men's 200 m individual medley at the inaugural 1993 FINA Short Course World Championships in Spain and bronze at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in the 200 Metres Individual Medley.(2007) Commonwealth Games Medallists – Swimming and Diving (Men) GBRAthletics web page, retrieved 21 March 2013 Warrender was no longer the dominant age group and youth force in Scotland that it once was. In 1996, the club had shrunk to less than 100 registered swimmers and was only rated 5th best club in the East District and way down the National rankings.The Stars of Warrender Scottish Swimming, Retrieved 17 February 2013 At the end of 1996, Scottish Swimming formed the City of Edinburgh Swimming programme to cater for elite swimmers wanting to train in the capital. Warrender was one of six Edinburgh Clubs working in partnership to ensure the new 'City' programme became established. For several years Warrender became the main contributor of swimmers to the scheme.
2000 to 2014 – Resurgence