On Sunday morning 8th March our entrepid Team Brockwell set forth to battle and conquer the icey waters of Lake Tooting at their annual Cannon Invitation Gala. Our valiant swimmers included Jason Cobb, Corrina Connor, Ed Errington, James Evans, Michael Keane, Jayne Meyrick, Orlaith Richardson, Tim Sutton, David Woodhead, Annie, Tauni and Elwood, representing both regular swimmers and members of Windrush Triathlon.
Meeting at Brockwell Car Park, hats were handed out and we set off to Tooting on our mission to defend the honour of our glorious pool. As usual the races were efficiently organised with no hanging around getting cold. Plus it was a gloriously sunny day so perfect for jumping into freezing cold water! Tooting is usually 1°C colder than Brockwell so the water temperature would have been around 6°C. Luckily they have a poolside sauna to thaw out in afterwards, though it was a bit packed that day with steaming swimmers.
We were placed in lane 4 and racing against teams from the Serpentine, Out to Swim and two teams from Tooting.
First race was the under 45 Backstroke swum by Corrina where we came joint 4th. This was followed by the over 45 backstroke swum by Michael where we came 5th. Our next race was the under 45 breastroke swum by Jayne where we came 5th. Are you starting to spot a pattern yet?
However, we did not come last in every race and actually came third in the under 45 crawl (well done Ed) and third in the over 180 medley (well done Tauni, David, Michael and Tim). We also came 4th in the under 180 medley relay (Elwood, Orlaith, Corrina and James). And in the squadron relay we managed to swim two more widths than any of the other teams for some reason. Usual chaos.
The eventual winners of the day were Out to Swim who had some very strong swimmers in their team, so congratulations to them. Team Brockwell came a very respectable joint 4th with Tooting Team Two, but it was certainly more about the taking part than any prize or cup, as well as the feast of delicious home made cakes provided afterwards!
All great fun and something we hope to repeat at the other splendid Galas Tooting organise throughout the year. We certainly could do with some more team members (speed not necessary, sense of fun essential) so if you would be interested please get in touch via the contact us page>>
Brockwell Swimmers Team
Top row: Tauni, Corrina, Elwood, Ed, Orlaith, Annie, Jason.
Bottom row: Michael, Jayne, Tim, David.
