Swimming Update Jul-Sep 2021

The weekend of 10 September saw one intrepid Otter make their way up to the Scottish Masters Championships in Tollcross, Glasgow. Alice Dinsdale-Young (30-34 age group) took part in her first external swimming competition in approximately 2.5 years. While not expecting much from her performances, she was pleasantly surprised by consistently hitting her long-course times in a short course pool! She also finished first or second in her age group for every event. The meet itself was very well run, but did have some oddities due to Covid; everyone had to keep their stuff in clear plastic bags (just like the professionals) and masks had to be worn when not in the pool. Also, somewhat strangely they weren’t providing medals. Hopefully, that’s a one-off as we all know Otters are attracted to metal.

After the amazing performance of our only representative at the Scottish event, we were slightly more numerous at the Barnet Sprint Meet meet held on 25 September.

The six Otters swimming did particularly well with results of being placed mostly either 1st or 2nd of their race in their category.

The meet itself was a real success after the long period out of competition. Around 50 clubs had swimmers in attendance with Barnet, Teddington and Otters leading the way with number of athletes present.

As always the 50 and 100 freestyle were very competitive and we were delighted that Catherine Demont and Peter Vider came 1st in their age groups.

Fraser Peh was our only representative at the London Region Festival of Swimming meet held at the London Aquatic Center on 24 July. He performed under a minute for the 100 fly and just above 55s for the 100 freestyle. Clearly Fraser has not lost it during lockdown!

We are now looking forward to many Otters competing at the Swim England Masters Nationals in Sheffield at the end of October. As always, the club will be well represented in the individuals and relays.

Go Otter!

Four Rivers Swim (Sep 24-26)

Chris (left) and friends at the Henley Half-Mile, 2021

Having raced the Henley Swim with a few friends as an Otter guest this summer, I was sufficiently inspired to join the club. I’ve continued open water swimming and thought the “4 River Swim” I did last weekend was worthy of a write-up.

A small group of friends aim for an open water swim every year. Our link is that we all swam together in the Oxford University Modern Pentathlon team too many years ago to remember, but swimming is a good way to have an excuse to meet up and to stay in trim. Over recent years, we have ranged from big competitive swims in the sea or lake (Costa Brava, northern Italian lakes, European Masters Champs in Lake Bled) to sea swimming in Cornwall (Sea Swim Cornwall - highly recommended). This year we decided we could make a weekend of it ourselves, based around Andy living near Gloucester and using various of his daughters on their SUP as safety cover.

River Severn (Friday night): Haw Bridge to the Red Lion Inn, just north of Gloucester. 2km

An easy downstream swim in deep enough water with a few deliberately sunk wrecks and rocks at the end of the swim to navigate round (placed there to shore up the bank) finishing at a pub (where else!) to discuss and contemplate the plans for the weekend.

River Usk (Saturday morning): Usk Island to Weir and back. 2km

Smiling for the camer in the Usk!

An organised swim (more of a festival than a race) by Angela Jones (Swim Wild Wye). Beautifully clear water, although at 15 degrees, a tad chilly even in a wetsuit. A bit shallow in parts (pulling with your thumb running down your chest) but entirely swimmable and upstream 1km to a Weir and back – although with no noticeable stream it didn’t seem like the downstream leg offered any advantage. Great fun and good to be with like-minded people.

This lulled us into a false sense of security for the next swim…

River Wye (Saturday afternoon). Ross-on-Wye to Backney Bridge 6km

With Angela having said our original choice of swim would be too shallow, we reassessed and thought this other part of the Wye would be deeper. And emboldened by the lack of flow in the Usk, we thought an up and back would be logistically easier and very doable. These Strava traces tell the sorry story!

River Wye Upstream

River Wye Downstream

2:36 per 100m upstream; 1:30 per 100m back downstream!

In the upstream portion, we were sometimes pretty much stationary (like in a training pool) with a few more manageable sections to recover. More of an adventure than a swim, it was hard, exhausting work and a punishing 3km. But the joy of speeding past the bank on the return leg made it all worthwhile and only once did we have to assume the inverted turtle position and lead with our feet to negotiate gentle rapids. A great swim in all respect and made the cider that evening all the more well-deserved.

Rver Avon (Sunday morning). Eckington Wharf to Strensham Lock. 3km

Jim, Andy, Duncan and Chris at the Fleet Inn, Twyning on the Avon

The final swim of a very enjoyable weekend, but we were pretty tired even starting it. We had grand plans for a longer swim but with deep water (great for swimming) but no stream at all (not great for swimming), going wasn’t quick and having somehow missed the lock and ended up in a boating park spur of the River Avon (yes, you can take wrong turnings river swimming!), we called it a day then. A great stretch of river, and by far the busiest river of the weekend in terms of other traffic, but with a SUP assistant, we were well flagged by the various dingies, dragon boats and pleasure cruisers that passed us.

We feel there are many other stretches of river, lakes and sea to be swum in the UK – so this taster inspired us to do more…and hopefully it will inspire some of you to as well.

Chris Daniels

Open Water and Multisport Round Up Aug-Sep 2021

Otters have been making the most of racing opportunities in open water and multisport all around the country. As the 'outdoor' season comes to a close in the UK, some of their results are below. On top of the Otter private open water races usually held each year (Mile, Half Mile and Quarter Mile) you can see that Otters keep themselves busy. If you are keen to get involved with open water or multisport do ask your team mates for info and advice.

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15th Aug - Thames Marathon and Half Marathon - Henley

Amy Barton, Lucy Barton, and Carla Thornewell competed in the arduous Thames Marathon events this year. Amy finished 3rd in her category and 10th overall in the marathon event and Lucy won her category in the half with Carla finishing 2nd in the same category.

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20th Aug - Annual JLL Triathlon - Dorney Lake

On Friday 20th August, James Manning took part in the annual JLL triathlon and swim event at Eton Dorney. He took home the bronze in the 2.2km swim and was part of the winning relay team for the men’s triathlon relay, having swum the first leg.

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4th Sept - Great Britain Masters Open Water Championships - Pontypool

Lots of familiar faces gathered at the reservoir just outside the village for the British Champs 3km open water. Although it was a bit of a melee to the first turn buoy the field spread out by 500m. A strong wind and surface chop certainly made it feel like a proper open water race. Pip Bennett won Gold in the M40-44 category.

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4th Sept - Dock2Dock - London Royal Docks

Rosie Galvin has been competing in long-distance open water events for the past few years. Most recently she competed in the Dock2Dock 15km, coming 2nd in her category (female, non-wetsuit). Last summer she was also part of an English Channel relay, in prep for a solo attempt (hopefully) next summer.

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19th Sept - English Aquathlon Championships - Worthing

A calm(ish) sea swim followed by a looped 5km course on the promenade was the site of Otter success at the recent English Aquathlon Champs. As ever the run-in beach mass start was frantic with the multitude of swimmers doing their best against the tide to reach the first turn buoy in one piece. The run was busy but well organised with athletes collecting a band after the first lap. All competitors enjoyed the breakfast put on for them afterwards! Pip Bennett won Gold/12 (M40-44), Heather Shannon Silver/9 (W35-39), and Ed Buckley finished 6th/13 (M45-49).

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25th Sept - VO2 Eton Dorney Triathlon - Dorney Lake

In her final triathlon of the season, Jenny Chaplin competed at the VO2 Eton Dorney Triathlon. She was first out of the swim, kept her position on the bike and finished 2nd in her category having been passed by an 'absolute machine' on the run.

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26th Sept - Keen as Mustard SwimRun - Bewl Water

On Sunday 26th September, the “As Keen As Mustard” SwimRun event was held at Bewl Water, Kent. Whilst slightly overcast it was a great event for everyone involved. In his first SwimRun James Manning won his age group and took the silver overall in the 6km race.

Otter Half-Mile 2021

The Otter Half-Mile was held at Henley Sailing club on the River Thames at Wargrave, near Henley on Friday 16 July. This was the first Otter event that has been held since the 150th celebration events in 2019 and it was a welcome return to Otter traditional social activities!

While there were still some COVID lockdown restrictions in place, this did not have any impact to an thoroughly enjoyable evening

The weather was glorious, with 24 in attendance although very well attended by the “mature” Otters. 15 swimmers completed the handicap swim event, being led off by David Skidmore OBE with Matt Burgham chasing the field from the back, 6 minutes 30 seconds later.

The race for the win was very close, with just 4 seconds between first and second, although it was the only female in the race, Alice Dinsdale-Young who won, with Ric Jones in second.

Many thanks to Jeff and his team at Henley Sailing club for hosting us as they have now for many years, and we hope, for many more to come.

Results and pictures follow.

Dave Warren

Hon. Handicapper

GB Aquathlon Championships

Saturday 17th July saw Ed Buckley and Pip Bennett competing at Dorney Lake in the GB Aquathlon Championships. Blistering heat, even with a race start of 8AM meant the 750m swim was non wetsuit. The 5km flat race course to the other end of the lake and back meant, even with Covid distancing, it was possible to keep track of other competitors. Ed finished 4th in the M45-49 category while Pip picked up bronze in M40-44. He adds this to his series win at that South London Swimming Club Aquathlon Series held in Tooting over the previous couple of months.

Open Water and Multisport News

On Sunday 4th July a few Otters made the most of the racing opportunities at the Hever Castle Festival of Endurance. Despite the sometimes torrential rain, all the events took place.

First off was Rosie Galvin in the 10km open water swim. The 06:15 race start time did not stop her powering through to finish 3rd in the women’s non-wetsuit category. At the more civilised time of 08:30, Robyn Carter and Pip Bennett took part in the 1.9km swim/10.5km run Aquathlon. Undeterred by the wet and muddy trails Robyn finished 2nd woman and category winner and Pip overall winner.

Getting away from the event was rather trickier with the wet weather turning the car park into a muddy trap for city cars!

“Return to Pools” - Update – 26th May 2021

Dear Otters

“RETURN TO POOLS” - MASTERS SWIMMING

Further to our update note of the 6th May, the Committee has agreed that the 3 training sessions per week attendance limit can be lifted with immediate effect.

We will continue to monitor the attendance v pool time availability equation and reintroduce attendance limits if necessary in the interests of fair access for all members.

The need to make a prior booking for each training session you attend remains – NO BOOKING – NO SWIM.

And finally, if you are attending training sessions please make sure that your subscription payments are up to date.

Thanks for all your co-operation.

Happy Swimming and Stay Safe

On behalf of the Otter Committee

Paul Hindle

President

“Return to Pools” and Otter Subscription Payments - Update – 6th May 2021

Dear Otters

The reopening of society after Lockdown #3 feels much more sustainable than previous attempts. Hopefully, this one will be for good!

“RETURN TO POOLS” - MASTERS SWIMMING

The Committee is now focused on getting the Master Swimming section back in the pool starting from Monday 17th May. We are working hard to ensure that we can retain as many as possible of our pre-Covid training sessions and to that end, we are already engaging with the pool owners/operators.

We will let everyone know all the details in due course.

SESSION BOOKING SYSTEM

Covid restrictions have meant that pool operators are required to impose maximum number limits on all indoor Club training sessions. We expect this policy will continue for some time and possibly beyond the June 21st target date for a full reopening of society.

The Booking System we put in place for previous “Return to the Pool” episodes will be reinstated and as before all session participants will need to have made a booking for each training session they attend. NO BOOKING - NO SWIM.

In the interests of fairness to all, we will initially be asking everyone to limit their bookings to not more than 3 sessions per week. Members who abuse this simple request will be denied access to the Booking System. We will keep this booking limitation under review and will relax it as soon as we feel we are able to do so.

The Booking System requires you to have a set of personal log-in credentials. If do not have those log-in details or need a reminder then please email otterbookingsystem@gmail.com.

OTTER SUBSCRIPTIONS – MASTERS SWIMMING

We expect all returning Masters Swimmers to continue to pay or to reinstate their Otter subscriptions prior to attending their first Otter swim training session after Lockdown #3 as follows:

1. IF YOU CONTINUED TO PAY NORMAL SUBS
   Thank you.
   We will have automatically registered you with Swim England as Category 1 (an active member who does not compete externally) or Category 3 (volunteers, coaches etc), as appropriate.
   However, if you wish to wish to retain/change your Swim England registration at Category 2 (i.e. an active member of the club who competes externally) and have not already done so, please pay an additional one off payment of £20 (this being the cost differential between Category 2 and Category 1 SE registration); this approach is in line with the policy adopted by the Club in recent years.

2. IF YOU PAUSED PAYING NORMAL SUBS BUT PAID A £35 FEE IN JANUARY/FEBRUARY
   Please subtract £35 from your 1st reinstated Subscriptions payment, and then pay in full from the 2nd reinstated Subscriptions payment onwards.
   We will have automatically registered you with Swim England as Category 1 (an active member who does not compete externally) or Category 3 (volunteers, coaches etc), as appropriate.
   However, if you wish to wish to retain/change your Swim England registration at Category 2 (i.e. an active member of the club who competes externally) and have not already done so, please pay an additional one-off payment of £20 (this being the cost differential between Category 2 and Category 1 registration); this approach is in line with the policy adopted by the Club in recent years.

3. IF YOU PAUSED PAYING NORMAL SUBS AND PAID NOTHING MORE
   Please reinstate your Subscriptions payments in full.
   Once your 1st reinstatement payment has been received we will automatically register you with Swim England as Category 1 (an active member who does not compete externally) or Category 3 (volunteers, coaches etc), as appropriate.
   However, if you wish to wish to retain/change your Swim England registration at Category 2 (i.e. an active member of the club who competes externally) please pay an additional one-off payment of £20 (this being the cost differential between Category 2 and Category 1 registration); this approach is in line with the policy adopted by the Club in recent years

FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT WISH TO RETURN TO TRAINING IMMEDIATELY

In normal circumstances anyone who leaves the Club, i.e. stops paying subscriptions, and then wishes to rejoin at a later date has to pay another joining fee. In today’s circumstances, the Committee has decided that for all existing members we will waive the re-joining fee providing you rejoin the club and commence paying subscriptions before the end of 2021. If you wish to rejoin after that date you will be expected to pay a new joining fee.

OTTER SUBSCRIPTION RATES

Are available on the admin page of the Otter Swimming Club website.

We look forward to seeing you all back in the pool very soon, and in the meantime please stay safe.

On behalf of the Otter Committee

Paul Hindle

President

“Return to Pools” - Update – 30th November 2020

Dear Otters

I am pleased to announce that our Master Swimming training venues will start to reopen again on Wednesday 2nd December. Initially, this will be QMSC only, however, for the foreseeable future, this will NOT include the Sunday afternoon nor the early morning Monday sessions. Hopefully, other venues will follow very soon; we will keep you informed as they do.

Session Booking System

The Session Booking System will be re-opened from 8:00 am tomorrow (Tuesday 1st December).

When you make a booking please make sure that you have read the Pre-training Covid-19 Health Survey and then tick the box to confirm that you are symptom-free, will only attend training if you remain symptom-free, you are not self-isolating and are returning to training fully aware of the risks associated with the Covid‑19 virus. You will not be able to make a booking unless you do so.

Please also note, as before:

• If you turn up to an Otter training session without having made a Booking you will NOT be allowed in the water.

• There is a cut off time for all Bookings, as follows:

• Morning sessions – 9:00 pm the evening before

• Evening sessions – 12 noon on that day.

• The Booking and Attendance Register that we set up for every training session will be prepared shortly after the above cut off times – any Bookings made after the cut off times will be considered void and omitted.

Otter Subscriptions

If you are intending to restart Masters Swimming training with Otter for the first time after the Covid lockdowns, please reinstate your subscription standing order before attending any Otter training sessions. You will also need to get some personal login credentials to access the Session Booking System – please email otterbookingsystem@gmail.com.

If you paused your Otter subscription standing order for the duration of the 2nd lockdown please reinstate it before you attend any further Otter training sessions. We are aware that timing issues may mean that some of you will have paid for November and then subsequently found that the Otter training sessions were being cancelled because of the new Lockdown. If you would like to carry your November payment over to cover December then please discuss with our Hon. Treasurer (Chris Eden); he can be contacted by email at otter.hon.treasurer@gmail.com.

The Otter Committee will continue to monitor the situation and keep you updated on new developments. In the meantime please all stay safe and look after yourselves and your families.

Thank you for all your help, understanding and co-operation during these difficult times.

On behalf of the Otter Committee

Paul Hindle

President