On Friday 11th January, it was great to see around 50 Otters from swimming and water polo congregate at the Reliance Pub to mark the beginning of the 150th anniversary celebrations. We thanked James Stewart and Cat Hasnain for their work on producing the 150th anniversary “History of Otter report”, which had been posted to all members earlier in the week. We heard from our current and recent ex-Presidents (Paul Hindle, John Iliffe, James Stewart and Charles Doxat) as they shared some of their highlights and reflections from their time with the club.

Gina Hobson shared some of the plans for 2019, including:

Very shortly, we’ll be launching a range of anniversary kit for members to buy, featuring t-shirts, sweatshirts, costumes and more. Detail to follow very soon.

On Saturday 1st June we'll be holding a gala dinner at the RAC Club and it’ll be THE social event of the year, when current and previous members will come together to celebrate the Club on a massive scale. Tickets will be available in March and you’ll need to make sure you sign up quickly.
On Sunday 14th July, Otter will be commandeering the Olympic Pool - London Aquatics Centre - for the day and we’ll be hosting an invitational swimming gala and polo matches. We’re in the process of finalising the format of the day, but make sure it’s in your diaries. It’s going to be a great day for all elements of the club to come together
This is along with all the regular club events we’ll be holding over the year: the open water events, handicaps and club champs, golf, monthly socials and the list goes on.

We reflected on how the success of Otter is built on an army of volunteers behind the scenes offering their time and expertise - thanks were shared. And on this occasion to Mike Reys, Hayley Davies and Tracey Allen, who'd made the launch event happen! All in all a very pleasant, and merry evening!