2018 Preview

Welcome to 2018! Special greetings to those who are moving up to a new age group this year, you know who you are and we expect great things of you.

If your new year’s resolution is to swim in more Masters meets, or even to start competing in one or two, here are a few ideas for pool events coming up in 2018. You can find links to the entry forms and further details in the Competition Calendar on our club website. And for a full listing of events all over the country head to the Masters Swimming hub here.

The first meet of the year is coming up on 20/21 January. It’s the Swim South East (formerly South East Region) Long Course Meet at K2, Crawley. We have 20 swimmers entered plus 4 relays. The event was full well before the closing date, but volunteers are still needed to help run the meet and timekeep – please contact the Promoter, Geoff Stokes if you can help. Supporters are also welcome – we are planning to field a men’s 320+ 4×100 freestyle team to set a new British record in the Saturday afternoon session, which will be worth watching!

On 2nd Feb, there is a fun Meet on the Isle of Wight. This is a friendly one day competition, good for first timers.
3rd March is packed with options to race. For those wanting to practise their Long course racing, the Swim Wales Championships in Swansea 3/4th March is the best bet. This Meet is particularly popular with our out of towners, it is low key and relaxed and is suitable for both experienced and less experienced competitors. It has the full programme of Long Course events, but not much rest between each! Closer to home is the 1 day Bracknell Meet – also popular with Spencer swimmers, this Meet always closes early. Quite a few swimmers are entered already, so don’t miss out on this one. Also on 3rd March is the Essex Open Championships at Basildon Sporting Village, which has a fast new pool with angled starting blocks.

Moving on to April, the pick of the bunch is the well established Guernsey Meet on 13th-15th. The sun normally shines and there is plenty of time to enjoy the island: out of towner Esther Iseppi, who lives there, will give you a warm welcome! New to the calendar is the Fareham Nomads Meet on 28th April in Southampton, which is sure to be worth a try.

On 20th May, the Erith and District Open Meet has been extended to incorporate the Kent County County Championships and now included distance freestyle events – 400, 800 and 1500, but you’ll have to be quick to secure a place.

Later on in the year, look out for the Surrey Masters Championships, the Barnet Copthall Meets (distance in July, sprint in September and 1500 in November) plus the Swim South East Short Course (Sep/Oct)

The major national/international meets of the year are as follows:

GB Masters, Plymouth, 8th-10th June. There will be Qualifying times for this event – the times will probably be easy, but must have been achieved within the last 2 years. So if you haven’t got times on the Swim England database for the events you want to swim in Plymouth, you’ll need to swim them in an event earlier in the year. The event is Long Course (50m), but short course (25m) times will be accepted. The 1500 will be held at a different location and date.

Pan American Masters, Orlando, Florida, 28th July – 04th Aug. There are a few team mates interested, registration is open already. No qualifying times and it’s likely to be popular, so don’t delay if you want to go.

European Masters Championships, Kranj, Slovenia 2nd -9th Sep. There will be 3k and 5k Open Water Events in the beautiful Lake Bled.

Swim England Masters Nationals, Sheffield 26th-28th Oct. Your entry time will be need to be on the SE database.

There will also be some “fun” Inter club meets during the year, including the St Paul’s BBQ Meet in the summer and Midsummer relays at Tooting Bec.

Finally, if you’re interested in Open Water Events, we’ll provide some suggestions later in the year. In the meantime, head to the Outdoor Swimmer website for a good listing of Winter Swimming and outdoor events.

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