Our Masters are prepared to travel, be it North, South, East & West, in search of Club & County Records. Mark Lewis was even prepared to go the extra few miles. After competing with Sam Bradley at the London Aquatics Centre he left early to fly across the Irish Sea in his quest.
Five gold, four silver and three bronze medals were won by the six of our Masters who competed at the 10th Newmarket Open Meet. They took the rare opportunity to compete in the Mixed relay events which ended each of the two sessions.
No fewer than four County and thirteen Club records were established or beaten in two Long Course meets during the month as some of our squad tested themselves over new events.
All of the swimmers were pleased they went the extra distance – be it Derby or Swansea!
Seven of our Masters tested their early season sprinting ability at the inaugural Hemel Hempstead Meet with some narrow margins determining the colour of the medals won.
Mark Lewis claimed his first Beds County Masters record at the South East Region’s Masters Long Course Championships in Crawley. Alastair Gibb also claimed a County record on a weekend that saw Karen MacKenzie, Mark and Alastair set a total of 7 new Club Masters records to kick – start the new year.
Congratulations to Graham Powell on being the highest scoring Beds County Male Master in the 2024 GB Decathlon competition.
Both our Men’s and Ladies Teams improved on their 2023 placings. Read here for more details
Great times – both in the pool and outside – were the order of the days (and nights) at the National Masters in Sheffield.
Twelve medals were won, two County and a further two Club Masters records were set with all seven swimmers achieving season best times.
Our Masters demonstrated that all that glitters is not always gold at the 2024 East Region Masters Championships. The seven competitors claimed no fewer than 13 silvers out of a total medal tally of 22.
Highlights of the day may be found here.
September has come and after a brief respite for the Masters their competitive calendar year resumed with trips to Maidenhead and Barnet.
They gave a chance for some of our younger and recent recruits to lay down marker times whilst for others the opportunity to get in race practice ahead of the National Championships in late October.
Read here for details of their individual and relay successes.
The Masters squad had its largest representation of the year (so far) at the Barnet Distance Meet, complete with “debutants” and “bandits”. Three Masters Club records were broken and a new Beds County Mixed Relay record was established. Everyone gave a good account of themselves with a theoretic* medal haul of 10 Golds, 7 Silver and 2 Bronze and three 4th place finishes.
Read here for further details.
*At Barnet’s Masters Swim Meets medals can be swapped for vouchers donating to the Teenagers Cancer Trust charity