Saturday 24th July
It is with great sadness that we heard of the passing away of Andrew Miller a week ago. Andrew was the son of Ron Miller, one of the real personalities of the Serps. Andrew will be very much missed.
Saturday 24th July
Bobby Baxter won the notorious Individual Medley Race, with prizes presented by Andrew Fuller (and his lovely wife). Laura was second with Eric third and Ed fourth. Anthony Cleaver won the Backstroke style award. It was a busy morning at the lake with the ITU World Championship Triathlon taking place this weekend and many age group events preceding the elite athletes. We were also pleased to welcome members of the GBR Open Water swimming team to the Lido. In a year that marks his 25th as a member of the club, Andrew Fuller made an epic speech full of wonderful bits of club history, weaving in references to many of our great characters past and present (of which he is one!) and paid tribute to the "community of swimmers" that the club is. Prior the giving 3 hearty cheers to the Fuller's, members joined Eric Carter in a minute's silence in memory of Andy Miller who sadly passed away recently.
Saturday 10th July
The weather ws absolutely stunning for the Bridge to Bridge race. Anthony and Jenny Cleaver were there to present the prizes, and first place went to Barney Miller.
Saturday 3rd July
Another beautiful morning at the Serps for the The Arthur Goffrey Cup & Championship. 880yd Scratch Race. Arthur's daughter Judy presented prizes. Cameron Kelly won the race with Jenny Rice in 2nd, followed by Neil Price, Brian Thomas, Andrew Fuller and Ron. Mike Olizar and Eric recounted memories of Arthur Goffrey, a legendary handicapper in the club who always dressed smartly and ensured the races began at 0730 sharp. He also oversaw the Wednesday morning races which are no longer part of the club's fixtures. Two swan families and one Serps family had their young out enjoying the 74F water. Tony Cuthbert reminded everyone that it will be a 0730 start on 10 July for the Bridge To Bridge race and that the start will be on the Posh Cafe side this year due to the placement of the reed beds on the "usual side".
Saturday 26th June
A rather surprised new-ish member Matt won the Rosie George cup, by being first over the line in the one mile and one yard race. Happy Birthday was sung, accompanied by bagpipes, to Rose.
Saturday 19th June
Emi won the first mile race of the year, the Radford Mile.
Saturday 12th June
The other side of 'the pond' Sakura Hingley was swimming in the annual Manhattan Island Marathon Swim (MIMS) against and international field. She performed brilliantly, finishing in a time of 8 hours and 25 minutes. She now has the "Swimming Triple Crown", which is a term coined (initially by those in the US) for swimmers who have completed the English Channel, Catalina Channel and MIMS.
Saturday 12th June
Cameron Kelly narrowly piped Nick Adams to take the win in this 880 yard race. The prizes were presented by Bobby Baxter and his family.
Saturday 5th June
Di won the Sidney Levy Cup, just fighting off Boris Mavra for the win. We were lucky enough to enjoy some marzipan swimmers to eat!!
Saturday 22nd May
It was a glorious morning at the Serpentine with Gordon Brody winning the 100yd Veterans' Race for the Leslie Brew Cup and Sakura winning the Alan Titmuss Cup in the 440yd race. Matt was second and Mark FW third. Paulette Titmuss presented the prizes with David and other family members in attendance as fond memories of Alan were shared. It was lovely to see so many old friends of the club make special journeys to celebrate Alan's memory, including Tony Radford and family, Maev, Gayle, Justin, Norman (Saxby) and John Sexton. The swans even hatched their 4 cygnets in time for Alan's race.
Saturday 15th May
Eric Carter won Ron the Con's cup.
Friday 7th May
The Serpentine Lido opened for the summer season on 1 May. The Lido is staffed with professional lifeguards and opens to the paying public 10:00 - 18:00 Saturday and Sundays from the start of May and then all week from June. As well the 100m swimming area, there is a children's paddling pool, waterside tables, sun loungers and a cafe. The Serpentine Lido also offers daytime/early evening triathlon training and coaching sessions (for a fee) and lifeguards are in attendance.Click here to see their site.
Tuesday 4th May
The Serps ladies, that are going to swim Loch Ness this Summer, have set up a website for their event. Click here to see their site.
Saturday 24th April
A perfect morning at the Serps for Eric Carter's Quarter for the Doug Smith Cup. Emmi won the race prizes were awarded for the first 3 females (Emmi, Tori, Clare) and the first 3 males (Anthony, Sam, Hayden). Eric paid tribute to Doug Smith and Cyril Wood commended Eric for the outstanding contribution he has made to the club as a member, and as President. 3 Cheers were give for Doug Smith and another 3 for Eric.
Saturday 17th April
The sun shone throughout the morning at the Serpentine. A perfect start for the penultimate Club Championship Scratch race. There were two 400 yard races, the swimmers in the first race were not just battling against each other but against the surprisingly aggressive swans which led to a very exciting race.
In the first race, Alastair Coulton was first, Kevin second and Andrew third. In the second race, Trevor won in a time of 5.05, beating Nick Adams' club record by 20 seconds. Being a new member he'll have to wait to win anything. Sakura Hingley won with Jenny Rice in second place.
Prizes were supplied by the club as we were missing Maev, one of the first female swimmers to take part in club races.
Saturday 10th April
It was a spectacular morning for Alan Lacy's 220yd Breaststroke Race for the Clary Reed Cup and the water was crystal clear. Alan paid tribute to Clary Reed for his efforts to keep the club running during the challenging years of the second World War and he reminded the members to never take the Club for granted, referencing the fight in the 1980's when it came under threat as part of cost saving proposals. The winner was Allistair, followed by Jenny in second and Simon third. Members also enjoyed a cake in the bright sunshine in celebration of Anthony Cleaver's Birthday.
Sunday 28th March
The South London Swimming CLub hosted a fabulous gala at the Tooting Bec Lido. The Serps and SLSC both produced 2 teams, and then The Guildford Lido Legends and Team Outrageous from Kent produced a team each. The Guildford Lido Legends narrowly beat the SSC#1 team and came first.
Saturday 6th March
The first 110 yard race of the year - the Hunter-Coddington Dash - was a real challenge for all swimmers as the temperature was just 33F, some 10 degrees colder than in previous years.
As a scratch race all the swimmers started at Go"; in three separate races, won by: Nick Adams in the first and "slow" race, Connor in the second "medium" race and Cameron in the third "fastest" race. However well done to all competitors who are to be highly congratulated because of the extreme cold.
Wednesday 3rd March
Simon Studd kindly passed on a scanned of an article in The Times about Serps swimmer Erika Eklundh and her yummy sounding Nordic food. Click here to see the article.
Monday 1st March
Weekday swimmer Jeremy Skeet was at the Serps with the BBC environmental programme of the World Service called "One Planet". The clip on the radio can be heard by clicking here.
Saturday 20th February
It was a wonderful day at the Serps. The deceiving blue sky tricking a few into dressing down, but the ominous frozen puddles gave away the true conditions. There was ice about 40 yards from the board, so the distance of the race was shortened, with swimmers swimming to a marked turning point and then swimming back. There were three races. Ian Stuttard won the first race, with amazing valour. He was so pleased as he has not won for years. Bill Deeley produced some thoughtful and most delectable and very generous prizes for the winner's table. Ian, with the impressive decision of a potential leader and future committee member, without a word quickly chose the bottle of rhenish, and disappeared into the crowd.
Rosie George informed us that the Egyptian ducklings had all died due to the weather. She said the only one left appeared very strong, but it was not to be. A momentous day for the club, but no one dared to suggest a minute's silence, black arm bands etc!!
Sunday 7th February
Over twenty Serps swimmers headed to Brighton for the annual swim there. The water was 4.3C (39F) and there were some lovely waves to play in.
Saturday 6th February
Bill Deeley won the Mike Small cup for the 40 yard series.
Sunday 31st January
Another beautifully crisp and clear morning at the Serps.
Saturday 30th January (evening)
The Annual Serpentine Swimming Club dinner was resurected, after many many years without it. It was held at the Thames Rowing Club in Putney, and around 100 members and their partners enjoyed a fabulous evening, with great food, drink and company. A great start to what we hope will be an annual event from now on. Many thanks to the dinner committee.
Saturday 30th January (morning)
There was a very thin layer of snow on the ground when we all arrived at the Serps. The air was very nippy, as was the water. It was nice to see Andy Harrison coming down from The North for a swim, even with his arm in plaster! It was also a pleasure to see George du Toit again at the Serps. There was a committee meeting after the swimming races were over.
Saturday 23rd January
All the swimmers have been enjoying their swimming again, now that the ice has melted. The third week of the series saw some good racing. The water was 1 degree celcius.
Sunday 17th January
The Serps swimmers are back happily swimming. There is still some ice around. It was Sakura Hingley's birthday. Full res photos click here
Saturday 16th January
The swimming area is now back open to swimmers, but our strict 6am - 9:30am swimming times must be adhered to.
Friday 8th January
The Serpentine has been shut to swimmers from the swimming club by the Royal Parks due to icy conditions (their words). Earlier some of the swimmers were on the BBC, click here for the footage The Serpentine Swimming Club swimmers were also featured in the Irish Times (click here for article)
Tuesday 5th January
There was a lot of ice on the Serps. A small hole was broken in the ice. The ice was around 2 inches thick at it's thickest.
Saturday 2nd January
The Serps swimmers welcomed in the new year with the first races of the Mike Small Competition. The water was pretty much zero celcius, so a tad nippy. The races are now only 40 yards long.