Swim Lincolnshire

Paul Rigden - Pentaqua Head Coach

2011-02-11T11:16:00.000Z

It was with great sadness that I heard that Paul had lost his battle with cancer.

Back in 2002 I first met up with Paul, I can’t remember the circumstances but at the time I was swimming with the Vulcan Masters and within a short time I knew it was time to move to Pentaqua and be under the guidance of Paul.

Swimming on a regular basis within the squad system, he tutored me to great things in breaststroke. I broke the County Record for my Age Group. Paul persuaded me to enter more adventurous events like the National Masters at Ponds Forge, even to enter the 200m breast. I was duly challenged coming back with Silver and Bronze medals in subsequent years, unfortunately never Gold.

Paul was always keen on getting the stroke right and had these quirky drills that he pursued – Shark-fin was probably my favourite but I never managed to accomplish this drill successfully. The majority of the drills he taught me for breast I still do and I have found them a great help.

Unfortunately he moved on to better things. He left Pentaqua to setup a swim school in Spain. I had every intention of taking up an offer of going over to Spain but never quite managed it. We kept in touch although only briefly. He always showed interest on how I was swimming in various events.

Yes, Paul will be sadly missed

Godfrey Green

Regional Masters Inter County Team Competition

2010-10-14T03:56:00.002+01:00

Regional Masters Inter County Team Competition

Type:	Event
Title:	Regional Masters Inter County Team Competition
Start Date:	21 November 2010
Region:	East Midlands
Disciplines:	Masters
Venue:	Stafford
	ASA National Masters and Senior Age Group Inter County Competition 2010 Results

South Yorkshire Open Masters

2010-10-11T17:14:00.011+01:00

Date
Sunday 21st November 2010
Type
Event
Further Date Info
21st November
Warm up starts 1pm
Venue
Ponds Forge International Sports Centre
Sheffield
Competition Course
Short Course, 10 lanes
Contact Name
Phillip Johnson
Email
Phillip@johnson55.freeserve.co.uk
Documents
Information Pack & Entry Form

South Yorkshire Open Masters Results

CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES: 24th October 2010

2010-10-02T10:28:00.004+01:00

BRITISH GAS ASA NATIONAL MASTERS AND SENIOR AGE GROUP SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Date

Friday 29th October 2010

Type

Event

Description

Entries now closed.

Further Date Info

Event Dates: 29th-31st October 2010

Venue

Ponds Forge, Sheffield

Competition Course

25m

Click here for Live results

Lincolnshire County Masters Championship 2010

2010-09-25T09:47:00.005+01:00

Lincolnshire County Masters Championship 2010

at Meridian Leisure Centre, Wood Lane, Louth, Lincs LN11 8RS

on Sunday 10th October 2010

Carol Patch Memorial Trophy Results

Combined Web Page/ Spreadsheet Results

6TH ETWALL EAGLES MASTERS MEET

2010-09-22T15:24:00.001+01:00

6TH ETWALL EAGLES MASTERS MEET

Date

Saturday 27th November 2010

Type

Event

Description

Closing date 30th October 2010

18/24 years & all Masters

25m, 50m & 100m all strokes, 100m IM. Men’s, women’s & mixed relays.

For start lists see http://www.etwalleagles.co.uk

Venue

Queen’s Leisure Centre, Derby

Competition Course

25m

Contact Name

Janet Briggs

Email

nigel.briggs@btinternet.com

Results Etwall Eagles Masters 2010 Results

Great North Swim

2010-09-16T11:58:00.004+01:00

Pool substitution for the cancelled charity swim

SWIMMERS unable to take part in the Great North Swim after the event was cancelled last week can complete the challenge in a city pool.
Bosses at Total Fitness off Whisby Road, Lincoln Fields, are offering anyone who was registered to take part in the event in Lake Windermere the chance to swim the mile in their pool instead.
The swim was abandoned over safety fears after blue-green algae was found in the water.
Call 01522 508200 to book a place. Evidence of registration for the swim will also be required.

from Lincolnshire Echo

British Gas Great North Swim

2010-09-10T10:50:00.002+01:00

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE BRITISH GAS GREAT NORTH SWIM

The British Gas ASA North East Region Masters 2010

2010-08-04T03:00:00.011+01:00

The British Gas ASANER Masters Championships (25m)
at Freeman's Quay Leisure Centre, Walkergate, Durham City DH1 1SW
on Saturday 18th September 2010

CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES – Saturday 4th September 2010
Individual Events Entry fee £20.00 for unlimited events. 60 years and over Free

Entry Form and Schedule of Events

Breaststroke - Breath Control

2010-06-17T06:23:00.005+01:00

A YouTube Video on how it should be done

Breaststroke Breath Control

Paul Rigden

Webpage: www.swimspain.com

Yorkshire Masters & Seniors Competition 2010

2010-05-21T23:03:00.001+01:00

Yorkshire Masters & Seniors Competition

Type:	Event
Title:	Yorkshire Masters & Seniors Competition
Start Date:	15 May 2010
Further Date Information:	Closing date: 17th April 2010
Disciplines:	Masters
Venue:	Scarborough Pool
Description:	Events: 50m &; 100m all strokes, 100m & 200m IM, 4x25m men, women & mixed relays.
Website Link:	2010 Open Masters Competition
Entry Information:	Download Results
Contact Details:	David Alexander, 21 Spring Valley Close, Leeds. LS13 4RT. (Tel 0113 219 8535) E-mail: yorkswim@ntlworld.com
Competition Course:	25m

Midlands Masters Championship 2010

2010-05-05T17:53:00.003+01:00

The Midland Masters Championships 2010 held on 23rd, 24th and 25th April 2010 at Newbold Comyn Leisure Centre, Leamington Spa.
CLICK HERE for the full results

Open Water Trial

2010-04-05T11:07:00.004+01:00

Open Water Trial Document

Place: National Water Sports Centre - HOLME PIERREPONT
Dates: Saturday 24th April onwards (May, July, Aug, Sept)
Times: 11AM-1PM
Deliver: Specific Open Water BTF coach
Contact: rebeccarowley@britishtriathlon.org, 07860 695235, to book your place

East Midlands Inter County Masters 2010

2010-03-27T06:28:00.004Z

East Midlands Region Inter Couny Masters Sun 23rd May Braunstone Leicester. Warm up not notified but expected to be 1pm

Counties competing:
Derbyshire
Leics
Lincs
Northhamptonshire
Notts

Summary of Results

British Gas Great North Swim

2010-02-24T13:00:00.002Z

British Gas Great North Swim 2010
4th and 5th September 2010
Entries £35

Breaking News - Great North Swim Postponed

Web Log on British Gas Great North Swim 2009

Breaststroke Kick for Butterfly

2010-02-19T11:46:00.001Z

Many of you have already taken part in the FINA Technical Rules updates and are aware of the recent changes. However, I have been asked that you draw the attention of any Masters swimmers that you know of to the changes made to the Masters Rules with reference to the Butterfly.

The new rule is included below.

MSW 3.10 A breaststroke kicking movement is permitted for butterfly.

Only one breaststroke kick is permitted per arm pull except that a single breaststroke kick is permitted prior to the turn and the finish without an arm pull. After the start and after each turn, a single breaststroke kick is permitted prior to the first arm pull.

Pauline Brand

2010-02-15T19:37:00.010Z

It is with great sorrow that I have to tell you that Pauline passed away just over a week ago.

Those of you that have swum with her over the last 10 years will remember a kind, determined and witty lady.

I have written a short piece to remember her by.

I'm sure that with me your thoughts go out to Judith and her sister and all those that she has left behind.

Mike Keeble

Pauline Brand

I have found this piece enormously difficult to write, partly because it doesn’t seem right to write about Pauline in the past tense, and partly because I’m struggling to express what I feel about her as an individual, a team-mate, and above all as a swimmer.

As an individual she was always positive, witty and lively. As a team-mate she was loyal and would always give of her best for the team; she swam in countless relays and contributed huge quantities of points to Gainsborough’s efforts at the County sprints. We all knew her best as a swimmer, and it is as a swimmer that I will devote the rest of this piece.

Although Pauline trained at Birmingham SC and occasionally swam as a Birmingham SC swimmer when Gainsborough was not fielding a team, she was first claim Gainsborough and she would always swim for us if invited. I have trawled through my PC archives to try to find when Pauline actually first competed for us and the earliest record I can find is from 2001 in a press release relating to the May Scarborough event where I write “Mother and daughter, Pauline and Judith Brand won a Gold each....”; I suspect that this may have been the first event that we saw Pauline swim. She continued to compete for us at Scarborough and at the County Championships and collected a huge quantity of medals in the process. While other swimmers (myself included) would only compete in one or two races that we felt we could do well at, Pauline took the attitude that if she was going to travel all this way she was going to make the most of it. At times it seemed that whatever the race and whatever the distance Pauline would be there at the starting blocks.

In more recent years, Pauline suffered from pain in her legs and I was privileged to be able to help her up on the blocks. Initially I had been nervous in offering to help because in spite of her openness and unassuming manner, she was a very determined and proud lady. But it was typical of her attitude that she was proud enough to always start from the blocks however much of a struggle it took to get onto them, but never too proud to accept help when it was offered.

It wasn’t until 2002 that Pauline started recording her County records. Typically for Pauline she wouldn’t be fazed by the big event or the wrong end of the age group, and achieved records in 400 free, 50 back, 100 back and 200 back at the Nationals at the age of 69. The following year in her new age group of 70-74, Pauline travelled to Guernsey to record her next batch of records in 100 free, 200 free, 50 back, 100 back, 200 back, 200 breast, 50 fly and 100 IM. She returned to Guernsey the following year to add the 400m free to her tally of records but it wasn’t until 2005, at the age of 72 that she went to Scarborough and added the 50 free, 50 breast and 100 breast to complete her exclusive score of 12 records in one age group, making a total of 16 records still standing. Only two other County swimmers can claim more records still standing!

In 2008 at the age of 75 (a new age group under ASA rules), Pauline entered 8 events at Scarborough achieving County record times in each event, as well as being part of 4 relays. The claim for these records was rejected by the Hon. Masters Secretary of the Lincolnshire ASA on the grounds that it was unnecessary to create a new age group for just one swimmer, this in spite of records being recorded at 75-79 regionally in the East Midlands, Nationally at the ASA and Internationally in FINA. Subsequently, Pauline recorded Lincolnshire record times in a further 4 events at the Nationals. None of these records were allowed by Lincs ASA. The total record times that Pauline would have been holding at her death had Lincs ASA not disallowed the 75-79 age group records would have been 28 in all strokes and many distances; more than any Masters swimmer at any time in the County. Lincs ASA must bear the shame of this aberration collectively although the decision to reject the record claims lies with the Hon. Masters Secretary of the time. It is to Pauline’s credit that, while upset with the decision, she was phlegmatic enough not to let it interrupt her swimming and so she continued to swim for the pleasure of competing.

The last most of us saw of Pauline was at Cranwell last year where she competed for Gainsborough in the County Masters championships and, in spite of being unable to swim in her correct age group of 75+ (another Lincs ASA exclusive!), and being in a lot of pain, she contributed to our points and our relative success.

I have no doubt whatsoever that Pauline has gone to Heaven where I sincerely hope there is a swimming pool. If there isn’t, they had better start building one!

Master the art of swimming to beat joint pain

2010-01-17T11:07:00.003Z

www.telegraph.co.uk - Master the art of swimming to beat joint pain

Breaststroke - Band Kick

2010-01-01T14:41:00.006Z

Paul Rigden,
I've always believed that the BR kick needs to be narrow. This drill works on it. I wished I'd thought it up when I was in full time coaching.

Enjoy

GoSwim Site - Breaststroke Band Kick

Paul Rigden

Webpage: www.swimspain.com

South Yorkshire Masters 2009 Meet

2009-12-22T15:40:00.011Z

South Yorkshire Masters 2009 Results

Ponds Forge December 2009

(or to be more accurate)

South Yorkshire Open Masters 2009

This is usually a big event in our calendar, marking the end of the year and an opportunity to have a drink or two together in the Elm Cottage when we get back, but unfortunately, on both counts it was a bit quiet. Never mind, for those of us that went, it was its usual fun event and medals were won.

This year, Chris brought a team of 5 from Trenton Dolphins which included himself and Adam Bilton from Gainsborough. As there were only six of us from Gainsborough and 5 of them, and we sat together and watched each other swim, I have included their results as well.

Our five swimmers were:

Mike Keeble
Mike Sloan
Mike Patchett
Mike (James) Lugg
Mike (Jari) Goddard
Mike (Sam) Garrison

TD’s five were:

Adam Bilton
Adam Butters
Adam (Chris) Webster
Adam (Mark) Smith
Adam (Matthew) Lumley

Men’s Open 400m Freestyle

Only one of “our” swimmers was brave (foolish) enough to attempt this, and that was Matthew Lumley of TD. For his efforts he won a gold. OK so it was an uncontested gold, but he was the only one in the age group to go for it, so well done him.

Men’s Open 50m Backstroke

Mike Patchett did a creditable 34.56 for his 50 back, beating Adam Bilton by something less than 0.2 of a second. Both of them really should try harder as Mark Smith of TD swimming in the 45-49 age group destroyed both of their times with 33.60, winning himself the gold medal and taking my county record with it (actually in truth destroying it, but hey ho, it was going to be either him or Anton Kiss, and it had stood for 13 years.) I was quite pleased with my time of 37.63, being my best time in 2009, but that isn’t saying a lot when you consider what the other times were; anyway, a gold for my troubles.

Men’s Open 100m Butterfly

Chris Webster is getting quite blasé about the 100m fly now, having completed the 200m earlier this year. He won himself a gold medal in a time of 1:07.24. Again the medal was uncontested (do TD do something to the opposition to make sure they don’t swim?)

Men’s 100m Medley Team 100+

I had only originally planned to do the 160+ men’s relays, but poor Mike Patchett felt left out and, as baby Masters were allowed to join in the Masters relays, we decided to swim the 100+ as well. We were up against TD in this one, but were pretty old being only just within the age band at 155, but we came third in a time of 1:01.70, less than 2 seconds slower than the much younger TD team who came in 2^nd in 58.99. We were both destroyed by Kenilworth Masters who managed an impressive 54.07. anyway, 4 silvers for TD and 4 bronze for Gainsborough isn’t bad for a couple of clubs from a Lincolnshire backwater.

Men’s 100m Medley Team 160+

OK, in fact the less said about this the better. Actually that would mean that James got let off, and when have I ever let anyone off (remember when Godfrey did the Breaststroke instead of fly in the County championships). It all started quite well, until James that is. We were guaranteed a bronze medal unless we got disqualified. In fact James was in a strong position to win a silver for us, if only he hadn’t cruised in at the end, thinking he was firmly beaten into third – or perhaps he already knew that his takeover was a tad enthusiastic (we have it on video; if we can find a way of downloading it, we’ll post it to Godfrey’s blog). Anyway, so much for the guaranteed bronze.

Men’s Open 50m Breaststroke

Gainsborough’s breaststrokers were all absent for this event, so we had to rely on TD Baby Masters Adam Butters and Matthew Lumley. Adam managed a creditable 34.51 and gold while Matt took the bronze with 37.07.

Men’s Open 200m Freestyle

James swam this one for us as the first of his three freestyle races. He managed a bronze medal in a time of 2:29.22 which gives him something to improve on next time. Chris swam this for TD in a time of 2:21.35 winning himself a (yes you guessed it, uncontested) gold in the process.

Women’s Open 50m Butterfly

Our Sam finally got into the water for her party piece and managed a pretty impressive 33.19 for her efforts (incidentally more effort than I have seen from her in training), and a gold.

Men’s Open 50m Butterfly

This was Sloany’s debut event for this meet and he won it in some style in a time of 32.49 which I understand is a new county record. He was faster than Jari, who again managed a very reasonable time of 33.51, just outside 3^rd place. There was in fact some dispute over the positions in this race due to some conflict between the electronic timing and the timekeepers, but I guess Jari will not whinge about for too long. Adam Butters of TD was the fastest of all our fly swimmers and just broke the 30 second barrier at 29.99.

Women’s Open 50m Freestyle

Our only lady (or swimmer of the female gender if you prefer), only entered two races and being non male she was excluded from the men’s relays. She squeezed a 3^rd place out of this race in a time of 31.33.

Men’s Open 50m Freestyle

It was Adam Bilton’s turn to just beat Mike Patchett this time by 1/10^th of a second. Adam 28.66, Mike 28.78. James was just slower at 28.80. Mark Smith was faster than everyone at 27.3 and won the gold for his age group with Jari in 3^rd place in a time of 31.11. Bringing up the rear in terms of time and once more stuffed by Jari, my time was 32.42 and won me a silver for my efforts.

Men’s Open 100m Breaststroke

Once again it fell to YD to represent the town in the breaststroke. Adam Butters won the gold in a time of 1:15.39 and Matthew Lumley came second with 1:21.30.

Men’s Open 100m Open 100m IM

For TD this was the race that achieved the strongest results. Adam Butters won a silver in a time of 1:08.82 with Adam Bilton in 3^rd in a time of 1:13.19. In this same age group, Mike Patchett came 5^th in 1:18.04 (must work on his breaststroke). Mark Smith, a few age groups up, won gold in a time of 1:11.37 which is a new county record.

Men’s Open 100m Freestyle

Given the number of races already swum by both these swimmers, James’ time of 1:05.62 and Chris’ time of 1:01.68 were very respectable, although both would probably have preferred to have been below 60 seconds. Chris’ time gained him a bronze and very nearly silver.

Men’s 100m Freestyle Team 100+

Once again, we were up against TD and Kenilworth, and once again we were knocked into 3^rd place in a time of 51.18, TD came in second in a time of 51.18.

Men’s 100m Freestyle Team

Interestingly enough, our 160+ team swam faster than our 100+ team in a time of 54.98 in spite of the fact that it followed almost immediately after. We won silver and would have done even if the other team had not been disqualified.

Rotherham Metro Open Masters (Long Course) 2010

2009-12-18T12:39:00.001Z

Breaking News
The news so far is that the Rotherham Metro Long Course is NOT going ahead.

British Swimming Decathlon Competition

2009-12-18T12:13:00.004Z

A Competition managed by British Swimmers ASA.

For the current 2009 Results
British Swimming Decathlon Competition 2009

Bitish Swimmers Decathlon Competition Overview

South Yorkshire Masters 2009 Meet

2009-12-13T13:49:00.010Z

South Yorkshire Masters 2009 Meet

Type:	Event
Title:	South Yorkshire Masters 2009 Meet
Start Date:	13 December 2009
Further Date Information:	Closing Date: November 29th 2009
Disciplines:	Masters
Venue:	Ponds Forge, Sheffield
Description:	Events: 400 Free, 200 Free, 100m & 50m all Strokes, 100 I.M. Relays: Ladies & Mens F/S Relay & Medley Relay, 100+, 160+ Ages: 18-24, Masters up to 70+
Entry Information:	Download Entry Information
Results File:	Download Results File
Contact Details:	Philip Johnson 55 Sheffield Road, Hackenthorpe, Sheffield, S12 4LR. Tel. 014 251 9448. Email: Philip@johnson55.freeserve.co,uk
Competition Course:	25m

Lincolnshire County ASA AGM 2009 Agenda

2009-11-24T12:06:00.003Z

LINCOLNSHIRE COUNTY AMATEUR SWIMMING ASSOCIATION

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2009 AGENDA

The 59th AGM of the Association held at Heckington Sports and Social Club, Howell Road, Heckington NG34 9RX on Tuesday 24th November 2009 at 7.30pm

All clubs are invited to send 2 delegates with full voting powers to the meeting. Others may attend but may not vote.

Lincolnshire County ASA Officers and Sub Committees 2009

ASA National Masters & Seniors Inter-County 2009

2009-11-15T16:27:00.003Z

ASA National Masters & Seniors Inter-County Results

Lincolnshire Team Results

British Gas ASA Masters and Senior Age Group Championships

2009-10-26T12:17:00.001Z

ASA Masters and Senior Age Group Championships Results

Carol Patch Memorial Trophy

2009-10-12T12:11:00.001+01:00

RESULT 2009

Place	Club	Points
1	Lincoln Vulcans	184
2	Grantham	115
3	Gainsborough	111
4	Louth	74
5	Lincoln Pentaqua	49
6	Trenton	17
7	Boston	14
8	Spalding	7

Lincoln Vulcans - The Winning Team

Lincolnshire County Masters Championship 2009

2009-10-12T10:27:00.006+01:00

Lincolnshire ASA Web Site
Lincolnshire County Masters Event 1-10
Lincolnshire County Masters Event 11-20

Swim Lincolnshire Results Spreadsheet
Lincolnshire County Masters Results Web Page

Great Swim

2009-09-14T12:09:00.004+01:00

Great Swim

Great Swim Results

Some photos from Windermere

Wellingborough - Masters & Seniors Inter Counties Challenge

2009-06-07T18:41:00.001+01:00

Masters & Seniors Inter Counties Challenge Results

Scarborough - Yorkshire Open Masters 2009

2009-05-16T16:02:00.002+01:00

Yorkshire Swimming Association Open Masters 2009 Results

Scarborough Report by Michael Keeble

Gainsborough Wrinklies

30 Gold medals
20 silver medals
11 Bronze medals

18 wins
8 second
8 third

5 County records

14 relays

11 individual competing male swimmers
1 relay only male
2 oops I got my entry in too late males
4 individual competing ladies
2 relay only ladies

We fielded one of the biggest teams ever at Scarborough this year. A total of 20 potential swimmers (2 entered too late) and a huge haul of 61 medals of which nearly half were gold. 21 people stayed over, fully booking the hotel.

If it is true that we enjoy relays most of all, then this was the event to really go for it. 14 relays in all competed in by:

Steve Lormor (8 relays)
Keith Palmer (4 relays)
Chris Webster (3 relays)
James Lugg (6 relays)
Steve Morris (2 relays)
Jari Goddard (4 relays)
Mike Keeble (7 relays)
Richard Cafferata (2 relays)
Dawn Bottoms (1 relay)
Anne Jolly (1 relay)
Dawn Clark (2 relays
Sam Garrison (8 relays)
Godfrey Green (4 relays)
Pauline Brand (2 relays)

The ladies were statistically far superior to the men in terms of the proportion of medals won (in particular gold) to the numbers of swimmers. Excluding relay medals, Pauline won a clean sweep of 8 gold medals, and Sam won 2 gold and one silver. Pauline went on to win another 2 gold medals in the relays and Sam 3 gold one silver and one bronze. By my calculations that means that Pauline and Sam won half of all the gold medals between them, and more than two thirds of the individual golds. The men fought back with the records though. Chris broke his own county record for the 100m fly by a significant margin, and Godfrey won the other four county records in 50m free, 100 Breast, 50m Fly and 100m IM.

The evening statistics were also revealing. In effect we split into two initial groups. The older group sat around telling each other how mischievous they had been when they had been younger, and the younger group just went ahead and did it. The older group got some takeaways and ate them in the hotel. Nobody seems sure whether the younger group ate anything or not, although there was some vague idea that one of the pubs could have been Wetherspoons, in which case they might have eaten.

Meanwhile, the older group (minus one who had decided that she needed to check the insides of her eyelids a little closer) having drifted on to the Scarborough Arms happened upon a Karaoke night. I will cast a veil over the rest of the night in order to respect the sensitivities of those that were singled out to make the rest suffer. Suffice to say that Britain may have talent, but that night, Gainsborough Wrinklies certainly did not. The Karaoke closed at midnight and the massed Wrinkly choir sang a farewell ditty and meandered back to the hotel.

From what I can gather, the younger group had by now lost one of its number who had slipped away from what must have been a punishing drinking schedule and returned to the hotel. Another who had succumbed to the negative effects of what I understand is known as a White Russian, had been advised that he could not enter the hostelry to which the majority had adjourned. It is at this stage that accounts of the evening become very vague indeed. It is certain that a small group returned to the hotel in the early hours and proceeded to throw footwear at each other. I am also given to understand that the combatant that had been wounded by the White Russian returned at about this time, and proceeded to make calls on the big white telephone all night, much to the disgust of his roommate. Only one was declared Missing in Action. He, it seems, returned at around 6am and promptly fell asleep until waking in a panic in the late morning when he realised he should have been out of his room by 10.30am. It should also be mentioned here that one of the younger set never even managed to make it to Scarborough.

Generally speaking it seems that this was one of the best Scarboroughs ever, and one which will no doubt be remembered in another 15 years or so.

So back to the swimming:

Women’s Open 100m Breaststroke

Our only swimmer in this event was Pauline, who started her run of 8 gold medals with this event.

Men’s 100+ Medley Relay

The team for this event comprised Steve Lormor (Back), Keith Palmer (Breast), Chris Webster (Fly) and James Lugg (Free). The team won a silver in this event being beaten by York City, but beating New Earswick (also from York).

Men’s 180+ Medley

This team comprised Mike Keeble (Back), Keith Palmer (Breast), Jari Goddard (Fly) and Richard Cafferata (Free). These too won a silver, beating Rykneld (Clay Cross, Derbyshire) and being beaten by Stalybridge (Manchester). Incidentally, this team would have beaten the Wrinklies 100+ medley by nearly 8 seconds.

Men’s 50m Breaststroke

Keith managed a time which by my reckoning is a personal best. At the very least it gives him a higher county ranking speed. Steve didn’t manage to break the 40 second barrier, but got as close as he could with a 40.00, winning him a bronze medal. Godfrey started his campaign off with a win, although he failed to make a record, having already been credited with the record in this event from his time at the Long Course event in February.

Women’s 50m Backstroke

Anne may have been a bit disappointed with her time here as it was quite a bit slower than her county ranking time. She could have used the distraction caused by bringing her complete family with her if she hadn’t managed to palm most of them off on Little Dawn who seemed to be very happy looking after the children. Pauline went on to win her second gold.

Men’s Open 100m Fly

This was Chris’ tour de force. Having established a new record in our own club championships earlier this year, he knocked nearly half a second off his own record to establish a new county record of 1:07.72 and a silver medal.

Women’s 100m Free

Anne may have been happier with this time as it ranks her 5^th in the county with her first ranking time for this distance. Pauline picked up her third gold medal.

Men’s 140+ medley relay

Competing for us were Steve Lormor (Back), Steve Morris (Breast), Jari Goddard (Fly) and James Lugg. Unfortunately we were beaten into 6^th place by some of the bigger clubs, but did manage to beat South Axholm.

Men’s 50m Free

In spite of fielding 9 of the available 11 swimmers, none of them managed to improve on their county ranking times. Swimming were Michael Patchett, Luke Watson, James Lugg, Keith Palmer, Chris Webster, Richard Cafferata, Jari Goddard, Mike Keeble and Godfrey Green. Only Mike and Godfrey won medals (bronze), and Godfrey recorded his first county record of the event.

Women’s 50m Fly

Sam won a convincing gold here recording one of the fastest times of the race in any age group, although slower than her county ranking time.

Men’s 100m Backstroke

Michael Patchett destroyed his previous ranking time by over 3 seconds but even so did not quite manage to get into the medals.

Women’s 100m IM

Sam managed a silver in this race, and Pauline recorded her 4^th win.

Mixed 220+ medley relay

We managed to win this race quite comfortably. In fact there were no other teams in sight. Team members: Mike Keeble (Back), Godfrey Green (Breast), Sam Garrison (Fly) and Pauline Brand (Free).

Mixed 100+ free relay

The team members were: Dawn Bottoms, Steve Lormor, Sam Garrison and James Lugg. Unfortunately we came last.

Mixed 180+ medley relay

We were beaten into second place in this relay in which (to add to my other failings) I was beaten in the backstroke leg by a girl (and not one of 65 either Mrs Trott). The rest of the team were Godfrey (Breast), Sam (Fly) and Anne.

Mixed 140+ free relay

A bit of a hiatus at the beginning of this race when we realised that we were missing a swimmer didn’t really help us much, but in spite of this we didn’t come last. Swimmers were: Steve Lormor, Mike Keeble, Sam Garrison, Dawn Bottoms.

Men’s and Women’s 200m Free

I have no record of any previous times for James in this event, so maybe it was his first time. If it was, well done him, he won a silver. It was certainly Anne’s first time; it will give her a time to beat next time. Pauline picked up her fifth gold.

Men’s 100m Breaststroke

Steve did OK in this event with a bronze and a pretty good time. This was Adrian’s first race and he too managed a bronze. Godfrey managed his second gold and also his second county record.

Men’s 100+ free relay

What a race this was! Typically we do better at the medleys than we do at the free relays, but not this time. A fabulous race which went right down to the touch was won by our illustrious team of Chris Webster, Steve Lormor, James Lugg and Keith Palmer with Keith doing his aggressive best to give us a race to remember. His takeover was rather slow so that the slight lead he had been given at the takeover was lost and he and the York man entered the water together. It was all down to who wanted it most, and I’m pleased to say it was Keith. A brilliant gold in a seriously impressive time of 52.64.

Men’s 180+ free relay

Although the team managed a faster time than the 100+ in the medley, there was no chance of that in the free relay. Nonetheless, we won a creditable silver. Team members were Jari Goddard, Richard Cafferata, Mike Keeble and Keith Palmer.

Women’s 50m Breaststroke

This was Gemma’s opening event, but unfortunately she didn’t quite improve on her county ranking time. If she had she probably could have won a bronze. Pauline won yet another gold; her 6^th.

Men’s 50m Backstroke

Michael Patchett once again smashed his county ranking time by nearly a second, but just got edged out of the medals. Adrian proved what I had believed, that his backstroke is improving steadily, bu improving on his county ranking time, even though he didn’t manage to get a medal. In an effort to live down the shame of being beaten by not only a man doing old English backstroke and a girl, I tried to use a faster arm turnover. This led to me messing up both my turn and my finish, but I wasn’t too unhappy with my position of 2^nd to the GB record holder.

Men’s 100m Free

Luke again showed the lack of training, coming in much slower than his county ranking time. James had no time to compare to, but Chris improved his ranking time in this event unlike Richard and Adrian. Regrettably no medals to show for this race.

Men’s 140+ free relay

140+ doesn’t seem to be a good age for us. We won no medals in this age group in any of the relays, so it comes as no surprise that we came 5^th in this one, though we did beat South Axholme. Competing were Chris Webster, Steve Lormor, Jari Goddard, James Lugg.

Women’s 50m free

Sam won a gold in this event in a time which was a whisker outside her county ranking time, and Pauline won her 7^th gold. Not a bad haul, 100% gold medals.

Men’s 50m Fly

We wrinkly chaps seem to have a bit of a penchant for the 50 fly. Well not me obviously, but 5 of my colleagues do. Luke finally found form with a storming 33.78 which makes a significant difference to his county ranking time, Keith was close to his county time and was rewarded with a bronze, as was Chris although unfortunately not below the magic 30 point this time. If only Jari were to train as hard as he works at the excuses he would probably not have dropped the second and a bit from his county time. Godfrey won a gold with a very satisfactory time which also gets him the county record.

Women’s 100m Backstroke

Gemma’s time in this race should give her no 1 county ranking and represents an excellent effort. It would be nice to see her train more often and perhaps improve these times. Pauline won her 8^th and final gold. It’s worth noting here that none of our swimmers swam in so many events, and that had Pauline been in a Yorkshire ASA affiliated club, she would almost certainly have won the swimmer of the competition award. She swam 800m in races, that’s more than some of you train in a week!

Men’s 100m IM

Michael Patchett’s improvements have been seen to be spectacular, but never more so than in this event when he knocked 7 seconds from his previous best. Keith managed to match exactly his time in the rankings, whereas Adrian was somewhat slower, as was Godfrey, but then Godfrey also won gold and a record.

Mixed 220+ free relay

Once more we won this out of sight. There hardly seemed to be any competition. Those present: Pauline Brand, Godfrey Green, Mike Keeble, Sam Garrison.

Mixed 100+ Medley

Well a bronze will do, although I thought we’d actually managed to pip them to the pads.

Mixed 180+ Free

This was a clear win even though the other team were disqualified for an illegal takeover. Taking part were: Anne Jolly, Godfrey Green, Mike Keeble, Sam Garrison.

Mixed 140+ Medley

Well this age group may not have been our best, but we did well here to come 4^th against stiff competition. Our final illustrious team were: Steve Lormor (Back), Steve Morris (Breast), Sam Garrison (fly), Dawn Clark (free).

Midland Masters Championships

2009-04-27T12:22:00.002+01:00

Midland Masters Championships

Type:	Event
Title:	Midland Masters Championships
Start Date:	24 April 2009
Further Date Information:	Closing date: 27th March 2009
Disciplines:	Masters
Venue:	Newbold Comyn Leisure Centre, Leamington
Description:	The meet will be held on the weekend of 24th, 25th and 26th April 2009. Events: 50m, 100m, 200m all strokes plus 400m F/C & IM. Relays: Mens, Ladies & Mixed. Age Groups : 18-24yrs & All Masters.
Entry Information:	Download Entry Information
Results File:	Download Results File
Contact Details:	Tony Ward, Joint Midland Masters Championships, 103 Crowther Road, Wolverhampton, WV6 0HX. Email: tony.ward@westmidlandswimming.org
Competition Course:	25m

Rotherham Metro Open Masters (Long Course)

2009-02-08T16:12:00.002Z

Rotherham Metro Open Masters (Long Course) Results

Report by Mike Keeble

	Races	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Michael Keeble	3			3
Michael Patchett	4	2		1
Gemma Cawte	4		3	1
Helen Scarf	3			1
Chris Webster	4		1	1
Jari Goddard	2
Josh Jones	4		1	1
Sam Garrison	2			1
Dawn Bottoms	2
Richard Cafferata	2
and
Pauline Brand (swimming for Birmingham)	5	5
Godfrey Green (swimming for Pentaqua)	3		2

This was a strange event for us, not only because each length was twice as long as we are used to, but more particularly because there were no relays. Because of this, Godfrey chose to swim as Lincoln Pentaqua for which he is technically first claim, (although I can’t think of the last time he swam in competition for them), and Pauline swam for Birmingham for which she is second claim, but …oh never mind, it gets far too complicated. Suffice to say whichever club they named, they were really swimming with us. Luke was with us, but a few days before had picked a fight with an itinerant who had proved to be bigger and meaner than him and was thus unable to swim due to his wounds. So it was that 12 of us went out to challenge the best that Ponds Forge could throw at us.

As you can see from the table above, we didn’t do badly for medals. Of particular note, Pauline won 5 golds from 5 races, and Mike Patchett won 2 golds and bronze from 4 races.

Click the conversion table for those of you who want to see the 25m equivalents.

As usual I will go through the names in the order they swam, which in this case is lucky for me because I can get it out of the way quickly.

Mike Keeble

OK you may have received an email from someone purporting to be Jari Goddard about a bit of a thrashing I might have got from some young whippersnapper of 57 doing Old English Backstroke. Well let me explain …..erm…..erm….erm…these youngsters come in with their new fangled arm strokes….erm OK I give in. Apparently my arm turnover rate is a wee bit slow too. There, has that covered it? I did OK though on the whole, and did manage to beat someone in the 50m back and 50m free.

Michael Patchett

Michael has suddenly become quite passionate about his swimming and has been working hard at training. I believed that this would have improved his results significantly, but even I was surprised at the amount of improvement. It is generally accepted that times are slower long course than short course, so to achieve a similar time long course as that achieved in a short course pool would be measured as an improvement, so when Michael knocked nearly half a second from his short course 50m backstroke time, we were pleasantly surprised. This was put to shame by the whole second he knocked off his 100m backstroke time and by three quarters of a second from his 50m free time. Just watch this space for Scarborough.

Gemma Cawte

If I have one complaint about Gemma it is that she doesn’t train nearly enough. Usually our Thursday conversation goes something like this:

Me “Hi Gem, you training tonight?”

Gemma “I would but I haven’t brought my costume/need to lifeguard/am teaching/can’t get wet/just washed my hair/have to go to work/maybe….”

She then gives me that cutesy smile and a little giggle and I say “Oh OK”.

Actually to be fair, she does train when she can, and particularly when there is a competition coming up, and gazing down on her backstroke I was very impressed with the grace and style with which she performed. Not only that, but her times were pretty good too. Her 50m breaststroke was only slightly slower than her time at Boston and her 100m breaststroke was a very respectable 1:37.59. Her times in the two backstroke races, while not faster than her previous efforts, were certainly in line with her short course times.

Helen Scarf

This is the first time that Helen has swum for us, so I don’t really have anything to compare to. I am only pleased that she did swim with us, and hope that she enjoyed herself. Next time she swims with us I’ll be able to look at these results and see how much faster she is.

Chris Webster

Nobody works as hard in training or puts himself under more pressure than Chris. As if swimming at the same 50m pool as he swam at in the World Student Games was not enough, he also brought his other coach and his parents to watch. His 100m Fly was a pleasure to watch; he split on a 31 point and started back well ahead of the guy who would subsequently take the gold. Unfortunately for Chris, he had picked the very lane above which a very large African elephant was hanging around in the rafters. At about 10 metres out this malevolent beast launched itself from the roof and landed fairly and squarely on Chris’ shoulders, somewhat slowing him down. It is to Chris’ credit that in spite of this big buck elephant on his back he maintained his rhythm and finished the race in a strong second place. In the 50m fly Chris beat the guy that beat him in the 100m fly, but only made third place with a time which was only 0.33s outside his short course time in December. Chris ended the 100m and 200m freestyle just outside the medals.

Jari Goddard

Jari has recently adopted the Steve Morris training method (although there are rumours that he has popped in to the pool on a couple of Saturdays), but despite that he has managed to maintain reasonable performances in the pool. His times in the 50m fly and freestyle in this competition were pretty much the same as those in the December event if short to long course conversions are applied. It should be noted here though that Jari was convinced that long course times were generally faster than short course times, in which case his performance was desperately poor.

Josh Jones

Josh is another of our great untrained. Well at least he rarely trains on a Thursday because of lifeguard duties or his social life or something. He does come in with us on a Monday from time to time and puts a fair amount of work in. Having thus far slagged him off, he did manage to knock nearly a second off his short course time for 50 fly from last year, avoided getting disqualified in the 50m Breast and as a result won a bronze medal, was a bit slower in his 50m free, and won himself a silver in the 50m Breast in a pretty respectable time.

Sam Garrison

At this stage I am wondering whether in fact Jari is right and the long course times are faster than short course, or, as the conversion tables would indicate, in fact some of our swimmers have improved so much since December that they have improved their times over the short course event. Sam appears to be one of these. Her long course time for 50m free was faster than her short course time for the same distance. Unfortunately she was just outside the medals this time. Her time for 50m fly was marginally outside the time she did in the short course in December, but still represents a major improvement. Sam has really got her head around training lately and seems to have begun to enjoy it (probably because she and Chris gang up on me). The effect can be seen in these results.

Dawn Bottoms

I guess if you measure less than 5 foot from top to toe, 50m must seem even longer than for us less vertically challenged individuals. I’m not sure if this warrants the number of attempts she made to convince me to let her off at least one of her two races, particularly as she only dropped just over 1 second from each of her short course 50m free and fly times last December, and in her fly she avoided the elephant that had so successfully hampered Chris’ efforts in his 100m fly. It is a cross that Dawn has to bear that her finest stroke is the stroke that most of us find by far the most difficult.

Richard Cafferata

Or Cafferath or Cafeteria or….. Poor Richard, for some reason no one seems to be able to spell his surname. It must be one of those names that everyone knows how to spell better than the name’s owner. Perhaps this time it was Richard’s way of staying out of the limelight as I suspect that neither of his times impressed him much, but then it was nice to see him in the water. He does have this habit of convincing himself that he will return to regular training and usually manages a week or so before the end of January and then …… Well we shall see how 2009 pans out.

Pauline Brand

Pauline took it easy for this competition, only entering 5 races and not being required for relays. Of course it should be noted that the distance that Pauline swam was more than twice that of anyone else (the nearest being Chris with 400m) at 950m and she is as old as Godfrey and Mike Patchett added together (although you’d never know it to see her). And, what can you say about 5 races and 5 golds?

Godfrey Green

It would be fair to say that Godfrey had a mixed result from this event. Firstly he managed 40.86 for his 50m breast, which compares very favourably with his result in December when he was only 0.3 faster in a short course pool, and buoyed up with this result his 200m was a very creditable 3.25:41. Unfortunately he was disqualified from his 100 Breast for an illegal finish, which translates into touching with one hand. Now Godfrey claims that that is impossible, that he never touches one handed – except in training maybe sometimes. Let that be a warning to all you breaststrokers who think it is OK to touch one handed in training. If you do it in training, sooner or later you will forget and do it in competition.