Author: Sue Haigh
CALLING ALL MASTERS SWIMMERS
MESSAGE FROM JEROEN PETERS
CHAIR OF MASTERS WORKING GROUP
When I started as Chair of SE Masters Working Group (MWG), I promised to
be open and transparent. As part of that promise, I am pleased to
announce the first Masters Town Hall meeting for English masters on
Thursday 6th May.
The objective is to share what has happened in the past year and, more
importantly, looking forward to the challenges and topics that are
coming the Masters Working Group's way.
It is also an opportunity to hear about some initiatives for competition
in times of Covid from Glen Isaacs (SE Region) and Suzy Hegg (Lincs).
I will be sharing the priorities and longer-term initiatives and how you
can get involved in shaping Masters, having your say, and become part of
a team that has to make, sometimes difficult, decisions.
I will also answer questions you may have but am asking for these to be
submitted prior to the Town Hall meeting. I will do my best to address
as many as I can within the time.
The meeting starts at 7pm and should not last more than 90 minutes. If
you want to join, click on the link below to register. On the
registration page is also the email address to send your questions to.
I look forward to seeing many of you on the night.
be open and transparent. As part of that promise, I am pleased to
announce the first Masters Town Hall meeting for English masters on
Thursday 6th May.
The objective is to share what has happened in the past year and, more
importantly, looking forward to the challenges and topics that are
coming the Masters Working Group's way.
It is also an opportunity to hear about some initiatives for competition
in times of Covid from Glen Isaacs (SE Region) and Suzy Hegg (Lincs).
I will be sharing the priorities and longer-term initiatives and how you
can get involved in shaping Masters, having your say, and become part of
a team that has to make, sometimes difficult, decisions.
I will also answer questions you may have but am asking for these to be
submitted prior to the Town Hall meeting. I will do my best to address
as many as I can within the time.
The meeting starts at 7pm and should not last more than 90 minutes. If
you want to join, click on the link below to register. On the
registration page is also the email address to send your questions to.
I look forward to seeing many of you on the night.
Sue Haigh
Devon Masters Rep
CALLING ALL MASTERS SWIMMERS
The Masters Working Group Chair, Jeroen Peters, has organised a 'Townhall Meeting' for Masters swimmers on 6 May starting at 7 pm
The meeting has a number of objectives:
* Informing masters of developments regarding the MWG and recruitment of
MWG members
* Topics and agenda for the new MWG (call for candidates to consider/put
themselves forward)
themselves forward)
* Share information on return to competition
* Share information on different initiatives that are happening with
Masters: ie “virtual” Inter County Competition (SE region) and Masters
Internet League.
* SE Master Championships in Sheffield
* National Inter County Competition
* Officiating standards at Masters events
* Masters Coaching training/CPD
* Club Development
* Mentoring scheme
* Membership (Cat 1/2)
Speakers presenting during the meeting will be Jeroen Peters, Glen Isaacs
(SE region on Virtual Intercounty comp)) and Suzy Hegg (Lincs on
Internet league).
To ensure the Q&A will be orderly and manageable, questions need to be
submitted beforehand, as questions on the night will be limited to explanation
and clarification on what is presented.
If you have questions for the meeting, please send them to:
The link for joining the meeting will be published shortly on this website.
The link will also be advertised on the “Unofficially” British Masters Swimming Facebook page and it is hoped it will appear on the official SE Masters page as well.
Sue Haigh
MASTERS SWIMMING
CALLING ALL MASTERS SWIMMERS
The Home Countries Masters Swimming Management Group want to know what you, the swimmers really want.
SO please complete this very short survey ………It asks some questions about how/if Masters want to return to racing in 2021.
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/WM5GGQT
Also, for those of you who haven't already seen this, here is a link to the Masters Swimming League.
This is a free, fun initiative for Masters swimmers.
https://www.facebook.com/Masters-Internet-Swim-League-2020-107752884441043.
New voluntary roles will have ‘positive impact’ on future of Masters swimming
Four key voluntary roles that will have a positive impact on the future of Masters swimming have been advertised by Swim England.
The Swim England Masters Working Group is searching for new competitions, communications, coaching and open water leads.
Jeroen Peters, the chairperson of the Swim England Masters Working Group, said: “This is an ideal opportunity for those looking to make a positive impact on the future of Masters swimming.
“You must have an appreciation of the needs of swimmers from all types of background.
“It would be beneficial if you are an experienced Masters swimmer or volunteer who has previously been involved in Masters groups or committees.”
Applications for each role close on Wednesday 17 June with shortlisted candidates being invited for a professional discussion week commencing Monday 29 June.
Competitions lead
Essential criteria
- You must have an in-depth understanding and experience of managing swimming events and the specific issues this elicits.
- You must have experience of writing effective meet conditions
- You must have an understanding of the need for and of officials at Masters events
- You must have an understanding of the needs of different types of Masters swimmers
- To be an effective communicator
Desirable
- To have involvement in the organisation of a national Masters event
Communications lead
Essential criteria
- Must have good written and verbal communication skills.
- Must be an effective communicator, have good listening skills and be able to hold discussions from a non-biased perspective.
- Must be organised and able to plan own time
- Must have experience in the organisation of Masters at some level and understand the specific needs of Masters when communicating to the community.
- To be an effective communicator
Desirable
- To have involvement in the organisation of Masters Events
- Have experience of writing short articles/social media either in print and/or web based.
Coaching lead
Essential criteria
- Must be qualified to a minimum of level 2/pool coach
- Must understand the swimming education programme and be able to effectively lead the education programme for Masters coaches
- Must be experienced coaching Masters Sswimmers from different levels
- Must be able to work well as part of a voluntary group and understand the needs of voluntary coaches
- To be an effective communicator
Desirable
- Be qualified to a level 3/head coach or have experience at this level
- Be a qualified open water coach
Open water competition lead
Essential criteria
- You must have experience of managing open water events and the specific issues this elicits.
- You must have experience of writing effective open water meet conditions
- You must have an understanding of the need for and of officials at open water Masters events
- You must have an understanding of the needs of different types of open water Masters swimmers
- To be an effective communicator
Desirable
- To have involvement in the organisation of a national open water Masters event
- To be an open water qualified official/referee
NATIONAL MASTERS INTER COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP
The Regional round of the National Masters Inter County Championship took place at Millfield on Sunday.
Teams from Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Cornwall, Gloucestershire and Devon all took part in a varied programme with swimmers ranging in age from 18 to 82.
The Devon Team, comprised:
Mark Ashton Warren Barrett
Darren Beer Katelyn Bergin
Emma Bickley Jane Bickley
Fin Bowden Emma Challis
Matt Clarke Graham Cridland
Tegan Drew Tara Dudley
Sue Haigh Matt Henry
Tom Hughes Ann Humphris
Rebecca Jenkinson Bill Letch
Nye Levett Andy Matchett
Alex McCrae Fiona Mullin
Jamie Page Shelagh Ratcliffe
Adam Reed Danielle Scagell
Charlie Smith Ollie Taverner
Katie Townsend Nigel Travers Griffin
Simon Veale Kalon Veale
Levin Veal Sue Walker
Rob Will Terry Windeatt
It was in every way a brilliant team effort, with each swimmer ‘pulling out all the stops’ to help Devon win by a convincing margin of over 90 points!!!!
My thanks go to Kalon Veale for his expert team selection and to Karen Adams and Mel Jeynes for supporting the team in their official capacity.
The final scores :
Devon 355
Gloucestershire 264
Wiltshire 240
Dorset 230
Cornwall 230
Somerset 175
It will be interesting to learn how we have fared against other Regions in the National competition.
Sue Haigh
DEVON MASTERS TAKE 21 NATIONAL TITLES
Congratulations to the Masters swimmers from clubs all over Devon who took part in the National Championships in Sheffield at the end of October. By the end of the weekend, Devon had produced 21 National Champions.
Pride of place must go to Totnes Swimming Club.
Simon Veale swam to victory in seven events, the 100m and 200 IM, 200m, 400m, 800m freestyle, 50m backstroke and 50m fly.
Kalon Veale took the 50m 100m and 200m backstroke titles along with the 200m IM; Margaret Bickley the 100m back and 200m breaststroke and Dan John the 1500 freestyle.
The newly formed club Exe Masters also had its share of gold medals.; Adele Parham in the 400 individual medley, Philippa O’Grady in the 200 individual medley and Sue Haigh in the 200 back with the Exe Masters 72+ mixed freestyle team of Tara Dudley, Victoria Malcolm, Jim Capron, Adam Tapp winning gold ian exciting tussle with the team from Exeter Swimming Club.
Stephen Hurley of Exeter Swimming Club won the 1500m freestyle and Warren Barrett from the Exeter University alumni team took the 50 butterfly title.
The Exeter University alumni team of Warren Barrett, Ilya Skliarov , Nye Levett and Josep Massey also took the 100+ 4 x 50m freestyle title
There were also many other great swims & podium positions that can be seen from the results below.
Devon-Results.xlsx
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DEVON COUNTY SWIMMERS TRIUMPH IN COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP
County Team Championships 2019
Having finished 3rd the previous year and runners up in 2017, both times to Yorkshire, spirits were high that maybe this was the year that Devon would top the podium.
Team coaches Dan Dew – Plymouth, David Hill – Exmouth, Glenn Currie – Exeter, discussed with the squad at their team meeting at the hotel on the night before the racing that it was important to race hard and fast but at the same time support each other in the team and have a good team spirit, most of all be loud, colourful in team colour face paints and have fun.
Under the guidance of Lynn Rayment as Team Manager – Plymouth and this season’s chosen captains of Reid Jones – Plymouth and Macy Lawrence – Mount Kelly the team was ready for action.
As usual after the opening races the leader board chopped and changed but as racing settled down it wasn’t long before Devon was on top and began to gradually increase their lead. .Team spirit was high and the noise was deafening.
When the half time interval arrived and Devon had a clear lead, captains Reid and Macy gathered the team for a ‘team talk’ to motivate the squad even more and told them to all support each other and to race to the finish.
Racing was going well, even with the re-race of the girls 14/15 backstroke due to a technical problem. Good points were being picked up in all events to extend Devon’s lead, the chasing pack of Northumberland & Durham, Yorkshire, Scotland West and Kent kept on trying but to no avail.
Wins from Honey Osrin – Plymouth in the 100m backstroke, Cameron Williams – Dartmoor Darts in the 100m breaststroke, the boys 16/17 year’s Medley relay ( Ra-eez Warley, Filippo Coacci, Sam Perks, Reid Jones) and the girls 16/17 years Medley Relay ( Honey Osrin, Lucia Grant, Olivia Marshall Macy Lawrence all helped to seal the county’s first ever win in this championship.
Of course, the success of the team was also down to the high amount of top 5 finishes within the 31 races, of which 18 were top 5 finishes, proving the strength and depth of Devon’s swimming talent. To add to this 26 of the 31 races were top 10 finishes.
The Top 5 final leader board was as follows with Yorkshire relinquishing their crown that they had held for 3 years running
|
Place
|
Club
|
Points
|
|
1.
|
Devon
|
469
|
|
2.
|
N & Durham
|
439
|
|
3.
|
Kent
|
438
|
|
4.
|
Scot West
|
419
|
|
4.
|
Yorkshire
|
419
|
This year’s team consisted of the following swimmers
Reid Jones – Plymouth
James Wheatley – Mount Kelly
Macy Lawrence – Mount Kelly
Imogen Lambert – Mount Kelly
Jasmine D’cunha – Dinnaton
Cameron William – Dartmoor Darts
Joshua Williams – Plymouth
Caoimhe Quinn – Mount Kelly
Sophie Freeman – Plymouth
Joshua Gammon – Dartmoor Darts
James Hart – Plymouth
Ella Osborne – Exeter City
Honey Osrin – Plymouth
Finn Broekhoven – Plymouth
Sam Perks – Plymouth
Filippo Coacci – Plymouth
Ruby Griffiths – Plymouth
Blythe Kinsman – Plymouth
Lana Broekhoven – Plymouth
Bella Hodges – Mount Kelly
Hubert Gdaniec – Plymouth
Aidan Watts – Plymouth
Ra’eez Warley – Plymouth
Ella Bardgett – Plymouth
Lucia Grant – Plymouth
Harriette Lewcock – Paignton
Sara Sari – Exeter City
Olivia Marshall – Plymouth
Aiden Symons-Brown – Devonport
Thanks must go to the travelling officials,Tom Osborne, Exeter and Elaine Hedger, Barnstaple, who supported the team over the weekend and also to the Devon County President Roger Bossom, and our County Secretary Karen Adams, who were both on poolside cheering on the team.
One of the Team coaches Glenn Currie spoke with swim England after the event and he praised the team for their hard work yet fun approach to the championships.
“We come here and we have some fun. We came to race hard from the start and it’s just a great experience for us all. We said in our team meeting that we should just go have some fun, race hard and it’s worked.”
