Southampton Masters shine at County Championships

Hampshire ASA saw a venue shift to the brand new facilities at Winchester Sports Park for the 2022 County Masters Championships - a more central location for many local outfits, but untested when it came to the varied requirements for such a broad age-range. A touch of trial and error required, but thankfully, the event did not dissappoint in either atmosphere or race performance...it is rare we see British records set at local event level, but a fiesty 50m Breaststroke from Basingstoke Bluefins Martin Bennell (45-49yrs) saw the needed dip below 30 seconds and the fanfare that makes such competitions special. 

Not to say other Masters clubs or individuals were kept out of the spotlight, least of all from City of Southampton - a fresh eighteen-strong contingent was led by Melissa Dolby (25-29yrs) and her trio of title-winning performances across the 50m FC (00.27.37), 50m Butterfly (00.29.22) and 100m IM (01.08.25) all in County Record times. A collection of Gold matched only by Fiona Carroll (30-34yrs), a firm personal best in the 200m FC (02.13.65) kick started the quartet of podium top-spots, the 50m FC (00.29.25) and 100m FC (01.03.17) completing the full stroke discipline. Issy Lyon-Maris (25-29yrs) and Hannah Dicker (25-29yrs) took Gold in the 100m Backstroke (01.15.82) and 50m Backstroke (00.33.99) respectively, with seasoned CSSC swimmers Cathy Willcocks (45-49yrs) and Rachel James (50-54yrs) proving they still have title winning style over sprints with wins in the 25m FC and near-dead heat (00.15.71 / 00.15.77). Rachel White (40-44yrs) took a duo of medals from the 100m FC (01.08.64) and 100m Backstroke (01.17.82) before an epic 100m Butterfly (01.50.97) from relative newcomer Suzanne Van Leeuwan landed the former 50m specialist with a sterling Silver. A welcome addition in Kim Tarrant (55-59yrs) saw another trio of titles come from a dominant display over all Breastroke distances. 

Young Master Matthew Nash (18-24yrs) upped his game from 2021, casting his net wide across 50m races and rewarded with a hat-trick of golds from 50m Backstroke (00.33.32), Butterfly (00.30.33) and Breaststroke (00.40.09). Absolute beginner Hesham Sakr (30-34yrs) was set to be a spectator, but some gentle coercion from the squad saw him enter, and triumph, in the 25m FC (00.14.21) and 25m Breaststoke (00.19.24) dashes...now he wants more! Carl Halford (25-29yrs) capped his final year in the age-division with season-best times in 100m FC (00.56.68) and 50m FC (00.26.15), held off the top spot only by Havant and Waterlooville's James Faull. Chris Osman (40-44yrs) snatched all four Golds for his taking, the 50m FC (00.26.48) and 100m IM (01.10.16) being the highlights, fending off a tough field. In the same age-group, Coach James MacTavish (40-44yrs) sacrificed a few minor individuals to assist in the ever-vital timekeeping, but managed to squeeze in a season's best in the 200m FC (02.12.69) and solid 100m Butterfly (01.08.67) whist equally darting back-and-forth for a clean sweep of breezy 25m sprint wins. Further along the age spectrum, Joe Cunio (50-54yrs) dusted off his 1987 CSSC T-shirt to claim a worthy Bronze in the 50m FC (00.29.88), Neil Plater (55-59yrs) held off the podium despite a polished 100m IM (01.37.79), and finally, the ever-reliable Richard Osman (65-69yrs) capitalising over the 50m Breaststroke (01.05.20) and defending his County title. 

The nail-biting relays always produce the loudest cheers - and despite some dominant performances from Basingstoke Bluefins across four of the six trophies up for grabs, City of Southampton's quartet of Halford/Lyon-Maris/Dolby/Nash pipped both the Bluefins and impressive challengers West Wight Masters to the 4 x 50m Medley title in the 72yrs+ division. It was a close call for the 120yrs+ collective, with C.Osman/MacTavish/White/Carroll settling for Silver behind Basingstoke, but holding off the incredible depth of the newly formed South Down Trojans in both the 4 x 50m FC and Medley races. A double-down of teams in the 200yrs+ marked a first for the Reds, and testiment to the longevity of the squad and its competitors - Cunio/Plater/Willcocks/James coming closest to the medals in a mad-dash finish over the 4 x 50m FC.

In exceptionally trying times when it comes to organising swimming events, it is always a relief to see Hampshire Masters turn out in force to support this most important of aquatic disciplines - and echo the notion that 'sport is for life'. Many neighbouring counties, and indeed those up and England, struggle to host such events for their Masters due to lack of engagment from local clubs and/or difficulties in drawing in the much-needed officials and judges that give up their weekends to make veteran-racing happen. They are sadly all the poorer for it, but none in Hampshire can go without given an huge thank you to all our own volunteers from all corners of the South East region for continuing to make Masters competition a reality. 

MEDAL TALLY

GOLD : 32

SILVER : 16

BRONZE : 8

TOTAL : 56

James MacTavish

City of Southampton Masters / Hampshire ASA Masters Secretary