SESSION 2 - DAVE WARREN SETS NEW GB RECORD

Dave Warren set a new 100 Breastroke GB Record in Session two today. Dave's 1:06.81 was a new British Record in the mens 45-49 age group. Michael Wake is National Champion in the 75-79 age group (1:42.96), Fiona Marshall Stains picked up silver 35-39 (1:20.21) as did Dontony Gill-Nasadi the 18-24 (1:15.77). Mike Reys (1.12.85) was good enough for Bronze in the mens 40-44 race.  Kim Liu (1:07.40) & Roger Sharpley (1:35.53) both finished just outside the medals in 4th. Wai Kwong Wan was 5th in the 30-34 (1:10.34), Craig Gillespie 6th in the 25-29 (1:07.79) & Liz Shaw 7th in the 50-54 (1.32.74) 

Otter teams placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd in their respective age groups in the Mens / Womens Open 200 Free team event. The Otter 240+ team of Roger Phillips 38.91, Lesley Davies 43.73, Michael Wake 39.05, Michelle Senecal 32.77 won the 240+ age group. Otter 160+ finished second (David Warren 24.87, Olivier Geleoc, 26.59, Gina Hobson 28.28, Fiona Marshall Staines, 28.70) while the Otter 120+ team (Craig Gillespie 25.38, Wai Kwong Wan 26.19, Hayley Davis 28.50, Olivia Reynolds 28.72) picked up Bronze.

Hayley Davis Backed up her session 1 1500 Free win with another great swim in the 200 back finishing 2nd in the 30-34 age group in 2:27.27. Wade Rimbach finished 3rd in the 30-34 mens age group (2:16.98), and Alex  Fraser was 5th in the 18-24s (2:19.13).

There were lots of Otters in action in the 50 Fly. Derek Parr did what Derek Parr does - winning the 70-74 age group in 33.57. Dave Warren was 2nd in 45-49 in 26.51. Hayley Davis & Gina Hobson finished 3rd in their age groups in 30.49 & 30.72 respectively. Catherine Dermot was 6th in the 25-29 (30.94) & Aeron Brown 11th in the 18-24 (32.01). Michelle Senecal (32.28) & Nico Barber (28.99) both finished 12th. Catherine Hasnain   finished her first nationals race as a mum with a 33.05 finishing 14th. While Abi Hucker was 15th in the 18-24s (32.99) & Alexander Fraser was 16th in the 25-29 (28.83).    

 

 

 

ASA National Masters Short Course Championships 2016

The 2016 ASA National Masters Short Course Championships have kicked off at Ponds Forge in Sheffield. Keep up with the all the action over the next three days here  

Session 1 : Pip Bennett (35-39) & Hayley Davis (30-34) became Otters first National Champions of the weekend winning the 1500 Freestyle in their age groups in 18:09:54 & 18:40:43 respectively. Nico Barber (30-34) was the speediest Otter swimmer clocking 17:26:79 to finish 2nd. While Daniel Bullock (46-49) 18:24.53, Roger Lloyd-Mostyn (75-29) 27:33.11 & Cristina Bertucci (18-24) 19:34.76 all also finished 2nd in their age groups in the weekends most gruelling event. 

Good start to the weekend by the distance team! 

Impressive Otter retain girls’ U15 title in Manchester

Otter completed the defence of their girls’ U15 ASA National Age Group Water Polo Championship title with an impressive display in Manchester.

Otter conceded just four goals across their five games, storming through their group with comprehensive victories over Cheltenham (9-0) and Rotherham (16-0), then defeated 2010 champions Tyldesley (9-2). A repeat of last year’s final saw Otter see off City of Liverpool in the semis (12-2).

A dominant display saw Otter storm to a 6-0 lead at half-time in the final vs Newton Abbot before adding another five goals in the second half. They also secured their third shutout of the day as they finished 11-0 winners, with Otter captain Erin Andrew finishing tournament top scorer with 14 goals.

“We have worked so hard for this and done loads of training so it feels really good,” said Andrew. “We worked really well as a team and I think we’ve bonded as the tournament has gone on. Before the final, we just talked about having fun and think about what we’d done in training.”

Manchester outfit Tyldesley secured the bronze medal with a 9-4 victory over local rivals City of Liverpool.

Otter's younger development team Otter Futura was also in action. The team gained valuable match experience in the group stage against some of the best teams in the country. Taking on finalists Newton Abbot (9-0), Semi finalists City of Liverpool (6-2) & beating City of Machester (5-0). The girls went down in the classification match vs Rotherham (8-1) before ending on a high with a (5-0) win vs Manchester City to finish 7th. 

Congratulations Dave & Gina!

Record breaking Otter swim stars Dave Warren and Gina Hobson became Mr and Mrs in truly unique style this October on a SwimQuest swimming wedding holiday in Formentera, just off Ibiza.

Gina, Dave & Otters, frineds & family members, headed over to Spain, to celebrate their marriage & take part in group sea swims. The wedding / holiday itinerary included six swim guides, four powerboats, one fishing boat, an underwater photo shoot, copious bottles of fizz, swimming games, wedding themed swim hats, beach bar welcome drinks, a sunset reception, fine dining with sea views, marine themed favours, and a sunrise wedding breakfast swim. It was "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to share our favourite sport with our friends and family, combining it with our wedding.” (Gina's words). “The water around Formentera Island is so clear; it’s a breath-taking place. This was the perfect excuse to get everyone we know in the water,” (Dave's words). 

The morning before the wedding, guests completed a 4km swim along Playa des Illetes beach. The following day, guests swam from the hotel and up the coast to a headland, on a post wedding ‘recovery swim’ before taking part in the underwater wedding photo shoot in the afternoon.

By all accounts Dave & Gina looked ace, everyone had a ball, and we all wish Dave & Gina would get married every year. 

Congrats Dave & Gina, from everyone at Otter. We couldn't be happier for you. 

Otter Club Handicap

Now that the summer is feeling well and truly over it is time to kick off the pool handicap events.

Starting with the 150m Freestyle Handicap on Sunday 16 October. This will be held during the normal Sunday session at QMSC, about 45-60 minutes after the start of the session.

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Otter kick off the BWPL season

The Otter ladies 1st team kicked off their BWPL season over the weekend in Gloucester with a 16-7 win against Caledonia.

Otter jumped out to a 5-1 lead and never looked back, taking the 2nd quarter 9-3. A quieter 3rd quarter had the score at 10-5 before a strong 4th saw out the game. 8 Different Otters scored in the game with three goals apiece for Danica Brazier and Isabelle Dean. 

Otters second match of the weekend was perhaps the most exciting game of the women's Division 1 weekend with a goal just 19 seconds from the end by Otters Claudia Ferrone clinching a 10-9 victory for Otter over Leeds Sharks.

Otter started strongly, leading 3-0, then 6-2, before a run of four goals by Leeds and two more from (Otter on loan to Leeds) Hannah Pritchett gave Leeds a 7-6 advantage. t didn't last long. Otter hit back to go 9-7 up in the last period, only for spirited Leeds to respond with goal and then another two and a half minutes from the end. In a frantic finale, both sides had a player excluded and both called time-outs - before Ferrone settled the issue at the death. 

Manchester were the only other team to hold a 100% record over the opening weekend. For full results & tables see the BWPL website. 

Otter open water success

Congrats to Pip Bennett & Jess Thorpe on becoming British Champions in the M35-39 & W30-34 in Hyde Park on September 25th.  Otter had further success with Silver and Bronze for John Talbott & Nico Barber in the M30-34, and impressive swimming from Maddie Parra in the elite race.

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Susie Rodgers wins Gold in Rio

As many Otters will already know, our friend and former member, Susie Rodgers, won Paralympic gold in the S7 women's 50m butterfly in Rio. Susie also won bronze in the 50m free and 400m free in her category.

We congratulate Susie on her amazing achievements. Well done Susie!