Meet the Team
Meet the Team Page
Managing Director Gail Smith has a wide experience of swimming at all levels and has successfully built SwimEasy into Scotland’s largest independent swim school over the past 7 years. Gail recognised the importance of swimming at an early age and has watched her two sons become among the leading swimmers in Britain. Eldest son Taylor was the Scottish Junior Breaststroke Champion and recently just missed out on the qualification standard for the Scottish Commonwealth Games team. Younger brother Lewis represented Great Britain at the European Junior Championships in 2005 and 2006. He also represented Scotland at the 2004 Commonwealth Youth Games in Australia winning two silver medals. In 2006 Lewis was a member of the British Senior Swim Team where he was placed 9th in Europe for the 400 Individual Medley.
As well as running her own company, Gail also finds time to coach some of the rapidly improving competitive swimmers at Warrender Baths Club, Scotland’s leading swimming club. Gail is very passionate about swimming and one of her goals is to enhance the quality of learn to swim provision in Scotland. She takes every opportunity to learn more about the wider aspects of the sport of swimming and attended the Olympic Games in Sydney and Athens and has recently returned form Melbourne Australia having attended the World Championships as part of her professional development.
Gail’s business ambitions are unique for a woman. She makes a living from swimming lessons, but re-invests any extra money back into the company to improve the service for her customers. Unlike any other learn to swim programme available in either the private or public sector, Gail ensures that SwimEasy remains a truly local company where customers are able to speak directly to the SwimEasy staff.
Gail is regularly seen to be hands on at the various pool venues operating throughout the company. Although she does not do quite so much actual teaching of pupils as previously, her involvement now includes the training of teachers and the provision of regular staff training workshops. This guarantees good quality teaching control, by ensuring that progressive practices and correct teaching methods are being delivered by the teachers. It also guarantees that the techniques of all four strokes are being taught at the highest standards to the pupils.
As sole director of SwimEasy, Gail Smith has put in place a wide ranging team of experts to build and develop the business.
These include
Ian Wright, Head Coach of Warrender Baths Club and a regular coach to Scotland and Great Britain teams;
Lara Kirkpatrick Office Manager
Jill Mitchelson, Bookkeeper;
Jenni Holt, Pool Manager for our West Lothian and Central regions.
Stuart Capaldi, Operations Manager.
Laurel Bailey, one of Australia’s most highly rated swimming teachers who acts as a consultant.
Kalie Lygo, bookings administrator
Gay Blott, bookings administratorJames McMeekin, looks after the teachers and pool hire
Ian Wright
Ian is Head Coach of Warrender Baths Club, Scotland’s most famous and successful swimming club. Over the past decade, Ian has progressed Warrender Baths Swimming Club through the national rankings to become in 2005, Scotland’s Top Club National Championships in Glasgow. Further, at the 2005 British National Championships in Sheffield, Warrender achieved second place overall in the boys youth category, missing out on the top spot by only a few points. A number of swimmers, now coached by Ian and who have helped Warrender achieve these results, came through the SwimEasy Way!
Ian is one of SwimEasy’s specialist advisors, providing valuable input on information technology systems and important contributions to all swimming technical aspects of the programme. As swim programming requires enormous planning with ideas coming from a variety of view points, Ian has been instrumental in bringing together these ideas which have greatly enhanced many aspects of the Learn to Swim Programme.
In addition, one of Ian’s most important roles is to oversee the progression of swimmers from SwimEasy into Warrender as they pass through the final stages of the SwimEasy Passport.
Jill Mitchelson
Jill has joined SwimEasy recently and has taken on the role of providing an essential back up service in terms of dealing with all of the accounting, most importantly she ensures all the wages are paid.
Jenni Holt
Jenni is committed to the provision of the best swimming lessons in her area and, with the help of all her family, Jenni ensures that all the pupils are taught swimming, according to the SwimEasy Way!
Lara Kirkpatrick
Lara is SwimEasy's office manager. She joined SwimEasy as a member of the bookings team and has since been promoted to office manager having built up an extensive knowledge of the internal workings of SwimEasy. Her role as office manager involves ensuring all the systems are running smoothly behind the scenes in order for the swimming lessons to run seemlessly.
Laurel Bailey
Laurel came to SwimEasy in 2004 having met Managing Director Gail Smith and SwimEasy Advisor Ian Wright on a train in Athens when all three were attending the 2004 Olympics Games. As luck would have it, Laurel overheard Gail talking about swimming on the train and this resulted in contact details being exchanged. Laurel arrived at SwimEasy with an extensive background of swimming teaching and coaching from a swim school in her home town of Melbourne, Australia.
Laurel has had to opportunity to work in every aspect of SwimEasy, including teaching classes, coodinatating pool venues, training teachers, and taking bookings to name a few. With this under her belt she is now brought into the office on a consultation basis, offering advice and assistance when required.
In addition to her many talents Laurel was a successful Australian Age Group National Swimmer. Her main events were the 100 and 200m breaststroke. In keeping with the theme of other staff members, Laurel also works with the coaching team at Warrender Baths Club where she is the Director of Age Group Swimming and lead coach of one of the Age Group squads.
Gay Blott
Gay has been a swimming teacher for over 6 years now, joining swimeasy with a wealth of experience. She joined the office team recently to help take the bookings. As a parent of 3 children, Gay is highly enthusiastic in quality swimming lessons, in particular she is aware of the importance of teaching swimming to children at an early age.
Kalie Lygo
Kalie has taught with SwimEasy for a number of years now, gaining all her swimming qualifications, she has become so passionate about swimming that she recently left her job in the city, to come and work more hours with SwimEasy. Kalie now is part of the bookings team in the SwimEasy office, along with working at a number of swimming pools as a teacher.
Stuart Capaldi
Stuart has worked in various careers, thus bringing a wealth of knowledge and understanding with him. Stuart works as the operations manager, ensuring procedures and health and safety standards are met. Stuart provides on-going training for the coordinators of the pool venues helping them work as effectively as possible.
James has come from a background in both swimming and lifesaving, having taught and competed in lifesaving from a young age. He started teaching with SwimEasy as a student, on graduation he assumed the position within SwimEasy looking after the teachers and pool hire, he also continues to teach swimming and coordinates at two venues.
