Instead, swimmers of all age groups take on the Spencer Mile, a 2k open water course (spot the irony). This two-lap, ‘first-back-on-the-pontoon’ event is another great feature of the club’s commitment to providing a varied swimming programme for our members. Plus, we all love having a bit of fun.

The Open Water Race and Winners

This year’s race was tightly fought on both the men’s and women’s side, with Matthew Taylor and Helen Cumber coming in ahead of the chasing pack. There was the usual competitive spirit on show, with some mini-races at different stages around the course.

With friends and families also welcome, our two time-keeping assistants were gainfully employed in return for payment in Haribo sweets – which suited them fine!

This year’s competition saw far fewer wetsuits, as the long, hot summer created ideal conditions for an open-water event. On the day, we were also fortunate to have full sun and a delightfully warm morning.

With winners announced and prizes awarded, the serious business of hot drinks and cake provided a great opportunity to socialise. As ever, we were deeply grateful to those who supplied a variety of tasty treats for our delectation.

We can’t wait for next year!

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A few years back, a group of our swimmers banded together for a day out at the coast and a sea swim. Now, that annual trip has become a fixture on the calendar, and its popularity has spread. 

This year, we were treated to open blue skies and sunshine, which immediately lifted the mood as we congregated at Clapham Junction station. A few coffees and pastries later, as we chugged south, the train turned towards Hastings and tracked the coastline, revealing beautiful calm and inviting coastal waters. 

As we disembarked at Hastings station and scurried to acquire more provisions for the day ahead, the excitement levels began to rise, and the potential cooling effects of the sea became increasingly motivating. 

Arriving in Hastings

We convened at the Coastguard Cafe in Hastings, hosted by our coach, Steve. We drank more fluids and ate extra calories for the impending swim. Then came the walk down to the sea, taking in the coastal footpaths across headlands and down through the woods. 

Emerging from the dense woods, our swimmers were hot and ready. The eagerness was palpable. Without hesitation, we stripped to our swimsuits and stuffed our towfloats, launching ourselves into the breakers and heading immediately for deeper waters and along the coast to Hastings town.

What a total delight it was, with warm water and sun on our backs. The swim almost went too fast, but we were united in exiting the water in Hastings town and heading back to the cafe for a post-swim BBQ and a bit of refreshment.  Since the bus taking us there wasn’t as quick as our swimmers, we had extra time to lie on the beach and grab some Mr Whippy ice creams. 

The high-energy atmosphere after the swim showed just how enjoyable it had been. The team had a lot of fun as the burgers and hot dogs topped up their energy, while the beverages kept the laughs rolling. 

Swimming at Spencer starts in the water but extends far beyond.

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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

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A small but sparkling team from Spencer made the long journey to Aberdeen to compete in the GB Masters Championships, held on 12-14 June, with everyone bringing back medals.

The Mixed 240+ team consisting of John Fitzgerald on back, Amanda Heath on breast, Clive Benson on fly and Esther Iseppi on front crawl were victorious in the 4×50 and 4×100 medley teams and took silver in the 4×100 free.

We then won a further 5 gold, 5 silver and 7 bronze medals in the individual events as follows:

John Fitzgerald 50-54

Gold 50m back

Guy Emerson 60-64

Bronze 50m back, 100m back

8th 50m free

9th 100m free

Clive Benson – Male – 60-64 years

Bronze 100 fly

4th 50 fly

Suzanne Maidment 60-64

Bronze 100 breast, 200 breast

4th 100 free, 200 free, 800 free, 5th 400 free

Esther Iseppi 65-69

Silver 100 breast, 200 breast, 200 IM, 400 IM

Bronze 400 free

5th 50 breast

Amanda Heath 65-69

Gold 100 breast, 200 breast, 200 IM, 400 IM

Silver 400 free

Bronze 50 breast

The GB Masters alternates each year between England and Scotland/Wales – it was announced that next year’s venue will be Sunderland, 11-13 June.

The post Spencer Swimmers Hit the Podium at British Championships appeared first on Spencer Swim Team London.

Chris Dunn came home in a time of 22.47.90, knocking nearly 4 minutes off the British record and 2 minutes off the European record, to win the 80-84 age group.

Also winning their age groups were Jennifer Kelly (40-44) in 23.13.01 and Christine Lutsch (45-49) in 22.50.90. 

Relay World Record

Chris then stayed on for the relay gala in the evening, joining up with Esther Iseppi (back), Amanda Heath (breast) and Clive Benson (fly) to break the world record for the 280+ Mixed Medley relay.

“We knew we had a chance of a World Record” said Amanda, “but after Esther fractured her wrist when we were in Abu Dhabi for the Open Masters Games last month, we thought it might be a tough ask. Almost fully recovered, Esther swam a great 100 backstroke leg and at the half way point we knew the record was within our grasp. Clive and Chris swam fabulous splits and we ended up over a second inside the old record, which was set in 2015 by a team from Tamalpais Masters in USA. Prior to that, Spencer held the record, with Esther (then on fly), Nigel Salsbury, Diane Ford and Geoff Stokes, so it’s nice to get it back again”.

The Team then went on to break Spencer’s European records in the 4x100m free (set last year at the same meet) and 4x50m free (set in Japan in 2023), and also broke the European record in the 4x50m medley held by a Hungarian team.

For their efforts, they were awarded the trophy for the Top Team performance.

Much further north, Suzanne Maidment was racing in Aberdeen, checking out the venue of the GB championships in June. Newly aged up to the 60-64 age group, she had some great swims, winning gold in the 200 breast and silver in the 200 and 400 free.

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Windermere is England’s longest lake and for open water swimmers it’s something of a rite of passage. For our member Luke, it was a challenge that had to be taken on, so 2025 became the year to do it.

The swim was organised by Chillswim, who run several Lake District events including the iconic Windermere crossing. September 6th was the date, with around 300 swimmers signed up. Entries require you to declare your intended pace, as swimmers are set off in waves. For the first hour you must stay with your wave, so pacing matters – too slow and you’ll spend the swim frustrated, too fast and you risk blowing up early.

Training started in the pool through the winter before moving into open water in early May. Luke kicked things off with a 5km lake swim, where he was beaten by his 15-year-old son, a reminder he is not as young as he once was! However rather than denting morale, it sharpened Luke’s focus.

Next up was a 9km swim at Lake Bala. True to form, the Welsh weather delivered rain, wind and chop. It was a tough and slightly unnerving experience, especially knowing it was only half the distance of Windermere. Confidence returned later in the summer during a 4.5 hour training swim in a large, flat-calm lake in France. Luke swam the entire session alone (phone safely in his tow float and always close to shore). After that, he was ready!

Event day begins with registration in a field at the north end of the lake, followed by a minibus ride to the southern start, an uncomfortably long journey when you know you’ll soon be swimming the whole way back.

The route is 17km (11 miles in the event’s preferred metric). Feed stops appear every mile, with small boats offering isotonic drinks and jelly babies, yum! Luke also carried carbohydrate pouches in his tow float and aimed to refuel roughly every two miles, about once an hour.

The opening miles were perfect. Flat calm water, a group of around 40 swimmers, and a pace that felt just right. The first feed stop broke the pack apart and from there it became a steady process of overtaking swimmers from earlier waves.

Just before halfway, the course cuts across the lake from east to west to keep swimmers clear of other lake traffic. It’s a welcome change of direction before the halfway point and the scenic stretch past the islands, where the waves begin to merge and the water fills with swimmers.

Beyond the islands the lake opens into its wider northern section. More boats, more waves and by now the weather had picked up slightly. Fatigue started to creep in, and thoughts turned increasingly to the large yellow rubber duck marking the finish line. At one point Luke spent nearly a mile chasing a swimmer with a small yellow duck tow float before realising it wasn’t the finish..!

The final mile crosses toward Ambleside, the real duck finally in sight. Tired arms are replaced by determination as the shoreline gets closer. At the finish, the enclosure is full of tired but happy swimmers, supporters and volunteers and the unmistakable camaraderie that seems to define open water swimming.

Huge well done to you Luke — you’ve shown the way and inspired a few of us to give it a go! An iconic swim, and a brilliant one to tick off the list!

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Spencer Swim Team will celebrate its 50th year next year, placing it among some of the most long-standing and prestigious masters swimming clubs in the UK. With a strong community of adult swimmers achieving success at regional, national, and international competitions, and the growing interest in all forms of adult swimming, we are experiencing membership growth.

Building on our coaching success

Spencer has already established a fantastic coaching team, with four coaches covering our seven scheduled sessions across the week. With over eighty regular swimmers, the club provides sessions for a wide cross-section of the masters swimming community.

Over the past year, the club has evolved its coaching structure to meet the demands of competition cycles. Our evolving structure has increased the popularity of many of our training sessions.

In response, the club is now seeking to recruit additional coaching experience. This appointment will support our expanding swim squad with development and performance.

Adding the right skills and experience

Spencer Swim Team seeks a passionate coach committed to improving masters swimmers to fulfil an open job role. The role will cover 1-2 sessions per week across our schedule.

An incoming coach must work with an existing team that has deep swim-coaching experience and knowledge. Our goal in appointing a new coach is to identify skills and experience that complement the current team. As a club, we’re interested in assistant coaches and those with more experience in planning and delivering training sessions for masters swimmers. Any new coach should be familiar with the principles of long-term development in adult fitness and performance. Experience of modern coaching approaches, including emerging research. Applicants must be at least a Level 1 Swim England Assistant Coach and preferably a Level 2 Swim England Swim Coach.

The coach must be local to our sessions across South London and able to access Dulwich, Forest Hill, Clapham, Tooting, and Putney.

Coaches interested in talking to us about joining the coaching team, can email us at spencerswimteam@gmail.com

The post Spencer Swim Team Seeks to Recruit Additional Coaches appeared first on Spencer Swim Team London.

The Masters Swimmer’s Podcasts

Torpedo Swimtalk

Conversations at the heart of masters swimming

Torpedo Swimtalk has earned its place among the most beloved swimming podcasts in the masters swimming community. It brings warmth and genuine curiosity to every conversation, interviewing masters swimmers and coaches, elite age group competitors, and record holders from around the world. The show explores what keeps adult swimmers motivated across decades, how veterans approach periodisation and recovery differently from their younger counterparts, and the personal stories behind some of swimming’s most remarkable late-career performances. Episodes are accessible to swimmers of all levels, making it an ideal starting point if you are new to swim podcasts.

Pursue Potential Podcast

Unlocking the athlete mindset for lifelong competitors

The Pursue Potential Podcast takes a performance psychology lens to competitive swimming, examining the mental frameworks that allow athletes to keep improving well into their thirties, forties, fifties and beyond. Episodes draw on interviews with sports scientists, high-performance coaches, and masters athletes who have found ways to train smarter rather than simply harder. Topics range from goal setting, strength training, handling race-day nerves, to building sustainable training habits and bouncing back from injury. For the masters swimmer who wants to understand the ‘why’ behind their performance, this show offers genuinely actionable insight. Check out the excellent video content from these providers, Aquatic Sports Performance.

Freestyle Media

Swimming culture, stories, and the wider aquatic world

Freestyle Media takes a broader view of the sport, blending interviews, storytelling, and commentary that covers everything from grass-roots club culture to the upper reaches of competitive swimming. Masters athletes feature regularly, and the show does an excellent job of showing the continuum between recreational and elite participation. The production quality is high, the conversation is engaging, and episodes often surface perspectives from parts of the swimming world — open water, triathlon transition, para swimming — that do not always get airtime on more narrowly focused shows.

Unfiltered Waters

Honest, unscripted conversations about the sport we love

As the name suggests, Unfiltered Waters leans into candid, free-flowing discussion rather than tightly scripted interviews. The result is a show that feels like an honest conversation between passionate swimmers rather than a broadcast, which gives it an intimacy that fans appreciate. Topics range from training philosophy and meet preparation to the politics of the sport and the quirks of pool culture. Masters swimmers will recognise themselves in many of the discussions, and the lack of filter means opinions are genuinely expressed rather than carefully hedged.

Propulsion Swimming

Technical depth for the swimmer who wants to go faster

Propulsion Swimming is the show for the analytically minded masters athlete who wants to understand the mechanics of speed. Episodes dig into stroke technique, underwater work, starts and turns, and the biomechanics of efficient swimming with a level of detail that repays careful listening. Coaches and sports scientists appear alongside competitive swimmers, and the show does not shy away from complexity. If you have ever wanted a genuinely deep explanation of how to improve your distance per stroke or reduce drag through better body position, Propulsion Swimming delivers.

The Aqua Pod

Community, competition, and the joys of adult swimming

A podcast by Scottish Swimming, The Aqua Pod celebrates the community side of masters swimming as much as the competitive side. The show captures the camaraderie of swim clubs, the experience of training alongside people of wildly different ages and backgrounds, and the particular pleasure of a sport you can practise for a lifetime. Episodes feature a mix of competitive masters athletes and recreational swimmers, and the tone is inclusive and encouraging throughout. For anyone who wants a podcast that reminds them why they got into the water in the first place, The Aqua Pod delivers that with genuine affection for the sport.

Making the Most of Your Listening

The beauty of swimming podcasts is that they fit naturally into the rhythms of a training life. Long car journeys to swim meets, foam rolling sessions, early morning commutes before a dawn practice — all of these become opportunities to absorb coaching insights, hear from inspiring athletes, and deepen your connection to swimming.

Consider keeping a small notebook nearby when you listen to these swimmign podcasts. Masters swimmers are typically motivated, detail-oriented athletes, and you may find that a single observation from an interview — a cue for your catch, an idea about how to structure your taper, a mindset shift for approaching a target time — can have a meaningful impact on your training.

The swimming podcasts listed here vary in style, depth, and focus, which means there is something for every type of masters swimmer. Subscribe to a few, follow the ones that resonate, and enjoy the extra lane that swimming podcasts open up alongside the one you already occupy in the water.

The post Podcasts for Masters Swimmers – Dive into the Content appeared first on Spencer Swim Team London.

We also welcomed Valentyna Foytlova to the Spencer competitive squad for the first time, and what a fantastic performance she put in, delivering three gold medals in the 100m and 50m breaststroke, as well as the 50m freestyle. She also added potency to our relay teams, so it was great to have her as part of the squad.

Early Racing Sets Tone for the Team

The meet got off to a winning start, as both Luca Milana (50-54 yrs – men) and Simon Berrey (55-59 yrs – men) both came home in gold medal positions in the 200m Individual Medley. This was followed in event two by Valentyna’s triumphant 100m breaststroke (25-29 yrs – women) in 1:19.01.

Then came the legion of Spencer swimmers in the mixed 200m freestyle.

• Gold:
  • Leo Murison (30–34 men)
  • Amanda Heath (65–69 women)
• Silver:
  • Karl Simpson (50–54 men)
  • Jennifer Kelley (40–44 women)
• Bronze:
  • Emily Hayter (40–44 women)
  • Matthew Taylor (55–59 men)

The meet had started well, and next up, three Spencer swimmers came charging down the first length of the 200m fly side by side. Robyn Le Friec (35-39 – women), Leo Murison (30-34 – men) and John Fitzpatrick (50-54 – men), all pushing themselves in an unforgiving event. Leo and Robyn collected gold medals, with Robyn producing a new Bracknell Masters Meet Performance in 2:29.07.

Valentyna won gold in the 50m freestyle (29.59), Helen Cumber also won gold (29.20), and Leo Murison kept the trend going with a win for the men (26.01).

More Spencer Swim Team Results

A string of excellent individual performances continued through the afternoon as the masters swimming programme continued:

Backstroke

• Amanda Heath – 100m Backstroke, 1:33.53 (65–69 women) – Gold
• John Fitzgerald – 100m Backstroke, 1:08.19 (50–54 men) – Gold
• Simon Berrey – 200m Backstroke, 2:43.25 (55–59 men) – Gold
• Helen Cumber – 200m Backstroke, 2:38.83 (30–34 women) – Gold
• Amanda Heath – 200m Backstroke, 3:12.95 (65–69 women) – Gold

Additional Backstroke Sprints

• Helen Cumber – 50m Backstroke, 33.34 (30–34 women) – Gold
• Amanda Heath – 50m Backstroke, 43.44 (65–69 women) – Gold
• John Fitzgerald – 50m Backstroke, 31.42 (50–54 men) – Gold

Butterfly

• Robyn Le Friec – 50m Fly, 30.40 (35–39 women) – Gold
• Leo Murison – 50m Fly, 28.29 (30–34 men) – Silver
• Clive Benson – 50m Fly, 30.15 (60–64 men) – Gold
• John Fitzgerald – 100m Fly – 1:07.33 (men 50-54 age) – Gold
• Clive Benson – 100m Fly – 1:09.32 (men 60-64 age) – Gold

Individual Medley

• Leo Murison – 100m IM, 1:03.66 (30–34 men) – Gold

Breaststroke

• Jennifer Kelly – 50m Breaststroke, 43.27 (40–44 women) – Silver
• Amanda Heath – 50m Breaststroke, 43.55 (65–69 women) – Gold
• Luca Milana – 200m Breaststroke, 3:04.22 (50–54 men) – Gold

Freestyle

• Jennifer Kelly – 100m Freestyle, 1:11.42 (40–44 women) – Silver
• Amanda Heath – 100m Freestyle, 1:18.32 (65–69 women) – Gold
• Clive Benson – 100m Freestyle, 1:04.53 (60–64 men) – Silver

Some excellent results for individual performances but also some fantastic swims that perhaps fell outside the medal places but were . However, the Spencer team loves a relay, and it was here that the team spirit really came alive. The team scooped gold in the 4x50m freestyle (120+) and the 4x50m butterfly (160+). We also came in a close 4^th place on a couple of the other relay events for the 200+ team.

A Successful Day for Spencer Swim Team

An impressive collection of medals, season’s bests, and even a meet record reflects what a strong day this was for the Spencer Masters squad. With excellent team spirit and enthusiastic participation across all age groups, the Bracknell Open Masters Meet showcased the best of masters swimming and was a resounding success.

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In the 65-69 category, Amanda Heath won golds in the 400 free, 50m, 100m & 200m breast and silver in the 400m IM.

Guy Emerson 60-64

50 back Gold 34.83

100 back Gold 1.19.18

Suzanne Maidment 60-64

100 free Silver 1.15.32

200 free Gold 2.45.67

400 free Silver 5.53.83 

100 breast Silver 1.39.12

200 breast Silver 3.37.29

Amanda Heath 65-69

50 breast Gold 43.22

100 breast Gold 1.33.12

200 breast Gold 3.19.17

400 free Gold 5.58.55

400 IM Silver 6.43.72

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