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At the end of January, a small team from Stroud Masters Swimming Club travelled to Crawley to swim in the South East Regional Masters Swimming Championships. Mark Partridge, Geoff Twinning, Jessica Wooddisse The two day event attracted many of the best swimmers in the region with all events swum long course in the 50m pool. Jessica Wooddisse had a great competition recording personal best times in all of her six events, winning gold medals in two, as well gaining a silver and bronze medal in other events.

Stroud Masters swimmers kicked off 2012 with a busy weekend of competition. Stroud Masters at Shrewsbury 2012 On Saturday the 7th January a team of six travelled to compete at the Shrewsbury Masters New Year Gala. Unlike the majority of competitions, swimmers could only enter one event in each of the four strokes from a choice of three distances and also an individual medley. Swimmers gained points for each event which were added together and resulted in an overall age group placing.

Stroud Masters swimmers Lorraine Savagar and Richard Searle saw out 2011 with a wetsuited swim in Cotswold Water Parks Lake 32 on New Years Eve. With an air temperature of 10oC and a water temperature of just 6.5oC (brrrrr), Lorraine and Richard dipped their toes into the chilly water - immediately glancing each other a concerned look as their wetsuits seemed to amplify the coldness of the winter darkened water on their extremities.

Stroud Masters swimmers Lewis Saunders and Richard Searle, along with other swimmers aged 16+, braved the 70C waters of Cheltenham Lido on Christmas morning. The air temperature, although a positively warm 11oC, felt bitterly cold due to the windy conditions. The pair, who earlier in the year took part in a ½ Ironman, must have felt more like men of steel than iron, when, along with 200 other fool hardy souls, they plunged into the icy waters of Cheltenham’s famous swimming resort.

Results from Etwall Open Meet Richard Long, Mark Partridge, Lorraine Savagar, Joe Lewis, Elaine Lewis Swimmer Event Time Position Elaine Lewis 100m IM 1.20.91 3rd 50m Breaststroke 42.24 2nd 50m Backstroke 37.25 2nd 100m Backstroke 1.19.11 1st 50m Freestyle 30.79 2nd Joe Lewis 100m IM 1.12.00 2nd 100m Freestyle 1.01.09 2nd 50m Backstroke 31.50 1st 50m Butterfly 30.33 1st 100m Backstroke 1.10.41 1st Lorraine Savagar 100m Freestyle 1.17.95 PB 5th 50m Backstroke 47.

Apologies to several swimmers whose running exploits got sent to me, but were lost in my system. Belatedly, they deserve a wider audience! Lewis Saunders in Toronto Congratulations to all our Members who recently took part in the Stroud Half Marathon last autumn. Those participants that I am aware of are: Gwen Kinsey, Bob Wilson, Mario Macnamara, Debbie Kedge and Simon Offord. All successfully crossed the finishing line. One swimmer, however, travelled a little further afield to compete in the 26.

Four members of Stroud Masters SC travelled north to take part in the British Gas ASA National Masters and Senior Age Group Championships, at Sheffield’s Ponds Forge swimming pool. Geoff Twinning, Kerrie Aldridge, Jessica Wooddisse, Mark Partridge With over one thousand entrants this annual event is the largest and most competitive Master’s pool based swimming event of the year. The team made a great start to the three day event with both Geoff Twinning and Jessica Wooddisse gaining medals in the 1500m freestyle; Jessica winning gold and Geoff, silver.

A team of six Stroud Masters competed at the annual Gloucester and Somerset Masters Championships held at Horfield Leisure Centre in Bristol. Jessica Wooddisse, Nikki Gaunt, Richard Long, Mark Partridge, Lorraine Savager, Emma Gardner First off the blocks was Loughborough University student Emma Gardner who took gold in the 200 metres breaststroke. She later won the 100 metre event and took away silver in the 200 metres freestyle. Also competing in this event was Lorraine Savagar who swam to second place in a personal best time.

Sean, Jessica, Lorraine and Mark travelled to Dorney Lake near Windsor to compete in the final and series deciding race in this year’s VOTWO 3.8km swim series. Mark Partridge, Jessica Wooddisse, Sean Kinsey, Lorraine Savagar The team had taken part in two of the previous series races earlier in the year, the first at Bowsmoor Sailing Club near Lechlade and the second, a sea swim, at Bournemouth beach. Going into the final race Jessica was well placed to win the series prize for first female having won both of her two previous races.

Lorraine, Jessica and Mark travelled to Henley on Thames to take part in a 14km swim down the Thames between the bridges at Henley and Marlow. The event was organised by The Henley Swim and has been run each year for the past eight years by the Club but with only a handful of Henley swimmers taking part. This was the first year it has been opened up to swimmers from other clubs.