Sixteen national titles were won by Otter swimmers at the British Masters Championships 2022 held in Aberdeen (17-19 June). The small but mighty team of ten Otters also collected 12 silver and five bronze medals for a total of 33 podium finishes, marking a thoroughly successful trip to the northeast coast of Scotland.
The premier event in the domestic masters swimming calendar was attended by 613 swimmers representing 179 clubs from all across the country, the state-of-the-art Aberdeen Sports Village hosted the three-day competition as it did back in 2017.
Every single Otter swimmer returned home with at least one individual medal, a particularly noteworthy feat which has not been achieved in recent years, if ever. The terrific ten are Amy Barton (25-29), Megan McDonagh (25-29), Alice Dinsdale-Young (30-34), Fraser Peh (30-34), David Adamson (35-39), Elizabeth Shaw (55-59), Derek Parr (75-79), Anthony Ray (75-79), Robert Thomas (75-79) and Peter Vider (75-79).
Making up for their numerical paucity with abundant quality, the compact Otter squad swam their way to an impressive seventh in the overall team standings. Ten club records were also rewritten over the weekend.
Special mention goes to Dave Adamson who completed a hat-trick of wins and a treble of club records in his three races. Kudos as well to Liz Shaw for achieving a clean sweep of five club records in as many events. Not to be outdone, Derek Parr racked up eight medals, including six gold, in eight swims — almost Phelpsian. All three relay quartets also triumphed.
All that effort requires refuelling — perhaps the highlight of any swimmer’s swim meet. Masters swimming brings with it an additional dimension of camaraderie and friendship between like-minded adults of all ages. On the Saturday evening at a generic Italian chain restaurant, the younger (immature) Otters (and an interloper) were delighted to be joined by a mature Otter who regaled the younger ones with journalistic stories of Olympics past.
In a fit of inspiration, and helped by a glass of wine or a cocktail (another perk of masters swimming), some of the immature Otters might have enthusiastically/reluctantly (delete as applicable) agreed to race a 200m butterfly (long course) in the near future. Please check back for the results.
These annual long course championships rotate between England, Scotland and Wales every year. Greater participation from fellow Otters at future editions of the competition is highly encouraged, as each swim contributes to the determination of the Cupar Trophy for the best-performing club, which Otter last lifted in 2018. For the more hesitant (read: short course connoisseurs), the Swim England National Masters Championships is held at the end of October each year in Sheffield and is a fun and fast meet.
Full Otter results are available here (open the link, then click the heading to view the GB 2022 page).