On 27 June 2026, we took a team of 21 to the Surrey County Masters Championships in Guildford, including four first timers – Amy, Alicia, Ava and me (MarK T.).
Results and Medals
We kept ourselves busy, swimming 85 individual events and 13 relays. The team won 49 individual golds, ranging from 4 in the 20-24 group (Ava) up to 8 in the 65-69 group (Amanda), as well as 12 silvers and 6 bronzes. In the relays we took 2 golds, 5 silvers and 2 bronzes.
Spencer finished a commendable 3rd in the overall table, behind Woking – who brought some spectacular swimmers – and Croydon Amphibians – who seemingly brought half of Croydon.
Highlights
Whilst there were so many good swims across all our swimmers, some to call out included:
* Leo breaking the 2 minute barrier to win the 30-34 200m Freestyle in 1:58.80, and also swimming the 100m Fly, 100m IM and 200m IM. He wisely took the last session off after all that.
* Alicia winning the 30-34 100m Fly in 1:12.96 after only joining Spencer 3 weeks ago. Imagine the times she’ll post once she’s been training for a whole month.
* Amy, when she wasn’t breaking her cap just before her race started, picking up another impressive debut win in the 30-34 years breaststroke.
* Luca winning gold in the 50-54 years 200m IM in 2:44.82.
* Karl and Helen going neck and neck throughout in adjacent lanes in the 100m IM, with Helen just taking it at the end.
* Jen, not being content with a hard day’s racing, was speeding off to camp overnight and swim the Seahorse on Sunday too.
* Clive kindly taking the hit on pretty much all the Fly in the medleys, leaving us the more enjoyable strokes.
So what makes the Surrey’s Championships good to get into racing?
Personally, I really enjoyed my first gala since 2001, and had been looking at the Surreys for a while for this reason.
* They’re really accessible and inclusive. There are no qualifying times, and no competitive swimming membership requirements.
* The oldest swimmer was an inspiring 95 years old(!), and there was just a huge range of swimmers scoring points for their clubs at a really friendly, supportive event.
* There are some amazing swimmers to watch, with 2 swimmers going 1:52 in the 200m Free and the 50m Free being won in 22.88. Many swimmers are at the other end of the performance scale, which makes it feel very inclusive for all abilities.
* Guildford’s pretty close to us (closer than Aberdeen) and lots of us gave lifts to teammates. The National Express goes to the door too and you might be able to get back for the evening Putney session at a push.
* We were superbly organised by Luca (thank you!), who, in between his races, made sure all the relay teams were ready to go. Christine, when not racing, fed us with some delicious carrot cake she baked for the team.
* It’s a great set up with a warm up/down pool as well as the racing pool.
* Our training is geared for it in the weeks running up to the gala so you’ll definitely feel ready for it.
So if it is something you’d like to consider, do have a chat as we’d love to take more people down next year!
Spencer Full Team
Annabel Barker, Clive Benson, Daniel Cotton, Helen Cumber, Joseph Dean, John Fitzgerald, Valentyna Foytlova, Barbara Halls, Amanda Heath, Clare Humphries, Jennifer Kelly, Christine Lutsch, Laura Mason, Alicia Merlino, Luca Milana, Leo Murison, Alan Parkins, Amy Powell, Ava Simpson, Karl Simpson and Mark Thompson