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Coniston
Water Championships 19th July 2009
Phew! How on earth some swim secretaries cope with 100+ swimmers I’ll
never know. I take off my hat (and goggles) to them!
What a great turn out for this year’s event. In his spring newsletter, Andy Wright (wise old bird) foresaw a busy
season and he was right – this is the first year that the Coniston entry list has had to be closed. For safety reasons
(it gets a bit crowded down at the constricted start) the limit was set at 50, plus the previous year’s trophy
winners. This was reached well before the closing date so sadly there were some disappointed people. Hopefully most of
them got a swim at Derwentwater.
The race was exciting as always. William Bott was first
swimmer home, followed in less than a minute by Rebecca Lewis.
Nicola Fraser, in her first year as a senior, was hot on Rebecca’s heels, followed by second man, Chris Malpass.
Ian Atkinson again took the men’s breaststroke cup, despite having barely dipped a toe in open water this year,
and Irene Meikle was happy to take home the women’s breaststroke trophy after having to retire last year. It was
a great pleasure once again to be joined by Percy Bull, of Warwickshire Long Distance Swimming Club, who presented the
lovely (but heavy! solid bronze) Arthur Ayres Dolphin for endeavour to Nicola Fraser. My congratulations go to all the
swimmers, many of whom were experiencing their first– hopefully
of many– BLDSA event and particularly to Jon Field who last
year staggered out at the finish and was whisked away for first aid treatment. This year he strolled ashore smiling as
though he had just had a quick trip from the Bluebird Cafe.
That it was a successful event was due to the number of
people who took up the reins to cover not only their allocated jobs
but also anything else that was seen to be needed. At the
risk of missing someone out I would like to
thank-
The rescue crews – Daniel, Laura, Vince, Jacky,
Andy, Sandra and also John Bedford, who had intended to spend the
afternoon drinking tea with his family! The timekeepers – Pam,
Silke, Norma and Robert, who was expecting a quiet trip
to accompany Percy and just watch the race! Janet and
John – first aiders and searchers of a wayward retiree who insisted on walking back to his car.
Colin Benn,
a supporter who volunteered to be available to paddle a
kayak if needed – he was. My son
Joe, who gets the sharp end of all the organiser’s stress! And Jenny
Potter and Richard Sharples who, on hearing that the boating
centre had had to take two boats out of commission, volunteered
to relinquish their hire and use alternative escorts – truly
upholding the spirit of what makes long distance swimming
special.
Jean Wilkin-Oxley
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