Five Spencer Swim Team ‘out-of-town’ members entered the 8th Cyprus International Masters Swimming Meet on 18th-19th October 2025 as an alternative (or warm up) for the Short Course Masters Nationals at Ponds Forge, Sheffield. Esther had attended last year and said what a great meet it was, so four more of us checked it out this year and agreed with her!
The outdoor 8-lane 50m competition pool (with a smaller warm-up/swim-down pool) is right on the beach in Limassol, with 3 and 4-star hotels a few minutes walk away. Equidistant from Larnaca and Paphos airports, where there are frequent flights from all over the U.K., it’s the ideal location to combine pool racing with sea swimming, relaxation and autumn sunshine.
The Meet attracts competitors from all over Europe and beyond – this year there were teams from Malta, Slovakia, Serbia, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, Egypt, Israel, Greece, Germany, Ireland to name a few, with flags from all the nationalities decorating the poolside.
Our motley crew of 65-69ers came from far and wide to compete for Spencer. Esther (Guernsey) and Amanda love racing each other, so they chose the same events, achieving 1-2 in the 50m, 100m and 200m breast, 200m and 400m IM and 200m back. Fran (Cornwall) joined them in the 400m IM and 200m back to make it a Spencer 1-2-3. She went on to win the 800m and 1500m free. Adopted Spencerite, Lisa, from the US won the 400m free, came 2nd in the 100m, 3rd in the 50m and 4th in the 50m breast.
Alan was undefeated in his events, the 100m, 200m and 800m free, and 50m back and fly.
The ladies also won the 240+ 4×50 freestyle relay.
A great time was had by all, with everyone winning medals. It was a very relaxed and friendly meet, with breaks for presentations and plenty of time to meet new friends. So maybe forget the hassle and stress of entering Sheffield next year and head to Cyprus instead, especially if you love racing outdoors, or have never experienced it before. Dates for next year are 17th-18th October 2026, and chat to Amanda, Esther, Fran or Alan if you’d like to hear more about it.