Reading Swimming Club News 2003-2004

27 August: Sorry, I didn't find time to update the site between Nationals and going on holiday, but to wind up this season's newsfile - as you will have seen from the entry page, Garry Dixon was RSC's star in Sheffield, finishing fifth overall in the 14 years 1500 free in his best swim. One of the four ahead of him was a guest competitor from South Africa, so Garry - in a 15-second PB - was fourth best home entrant. The girls didn't really set things on fire, with Louisa Downs's 9.26 PB in the 800 free the best effort. Amazingly in a sport calculating its times in hundredths, she and Holly Tanner tied exactly on time in a Pond's Forge swim for the second time this season. All Reading's girls were in the younger half of two-year age bands and the club will be aiming to get all those who qualified this season, near missers and others back in Sheffield next summer.
More recently, Glasgow-based RSC member Becky Cooke placed sixth in the Olympics 800 free final and eighth in the 400, but Ian Edmond's 200 breaststroke hopes ended in a semi-final DQ after he placed seventh in the heats.
And a piece of news from Reading Masters - in late July Lucy Roper was a member of a relay team which broke the world record for a two-way channel crossing on the way to also breaking the record for a three-way crossing, and the British record for a France to England swim. Lucy has also been selected for the GB open water team.

27 July: A great article about Graham Edmunds in the Evening Post today. The paper will be following Graham's progress at the Paralympics. Many thanks everyone who signed the RSC flag for him last Thursday.

(Photo from the Post)

15 July: The home competitive season ends at Central Pool with round 2 of the club sprints. Full results and report on both rounds via the meet calendar.

9 July: This is very much an experiment, but click here (now removed to save space in the archive)for what should be a soundfile of yesterday's Radio Berks coverage. (Thanks Jonathan for digitizing it from cassette.) Webmaster is at the outer limits of his techy knowledge here, but you may need a reasonably up-to-date Windows Media player to hear it (v.7 or above) and it's nearly 5 MB so presumably broadband is desirable. And of course, if you feel moved to pledge it will be most welcome - the phone no. is on the file.

8 July (cont): The first leg of the annual club sprints at Central Pool, with several records set - link to full results via the meet calendar, plus one to Sunday's Haslemere meet where Adam Barrett in particular had an outstanding day. The sprints featured the debut of our new Colorado electronic starting system - major thanks to Lynsey and Debbie Thompson of Keith Thompson Photography for their fantastic fundraising effort, which contributed much of the cost.

8 July: "I felt like a 10-ton juggernaut trundling along in the inside lane, with speeding, sleek sports cars whipping past me in the fast lane." This was BBC Radio Berkshire's Tim Dellor's verdict after tackling the Sport Relief Mile at Central Pool along with RSC swimmers, in an event organized by Rob Knott. Rob and Tim were joined in the water by Leanne Haas, Hannah Lamb, Luke Pegna, Matt Sandell, Holly Tanner, coach Emma Tarrant, Kayleigh Taylor, David Thomas, Emily Tyrrell, Sally Wise and Emma Zadrozny. Head coach Graeme Thomas, ladies' captain Charlotte Zadrozny, Emma T., Rob and David were interviewed, and all came over really well. No-one listening could fail to have been impressed. And if Tim wants to take it up, he would be welcome in our Masters section...

4 July: Apologies to anyone who may have been trying to plan a weekend around the 17-18 July Northampton SC meet. Our entry cheque was returned yesterday, 3 July, with a covering note which reads:

"Your entry has not been accepted... The reason for our rejection of your entry in no way reflects on your swimming ability or submitted entry time. Our criteria for entries to this gala were that (sic) of a `first come, first served' basis. Although our last date for entries was 14th June, our gala was effectively `full' by 25th May. We had received almost double the number of entries that we were able to accept... by the closing date. Our delay in replying is due in part to the fact that we seriously considered running two galas. We have, however, decided that we only have the resources to operate one. Your entry was received after 24th May and so, unfortunately, we must reject your entry... We hope this will not disincline you from entering our galas in future."

I'm afraid this sort of thing is way outside RSC control. Our club details included an email address which we specifically said was checked daily, but we heard nothing in the long interval between the meet filling up and us being notified that it had.

So why not get down to Winnersh for the sprints disco instead?!

25-27 June: An outstanding weekend at the Swim Swansea Open, where RSC are top visiting club. A larger version of this photo and one of the top club presentation to Emma Zadrozny and Callum Willcox, plus a report and a link to full results, can be viewed via the meet calendar.

Most of the RSC team outside the Wales National Pool in Swansea, with coaches Harry Wild (left), David Wittig (the tall guy in the middle) and Graeme Thomas (next to the duck), plus team manager Chris Thomas (right). Thanks Geoff Willcox for the photo.

25 June: Latest Southern Counties press report can now be viewed via the meet calendar, plus a photo of Russel and Garry's BAGCAT group presentation. And very sincere apologies to Kristina Paige, whose 100m fly swim was missed out of the previous report. (I thought she was doing the 200 so didn't look in her year in the 100.) Anyway, Kristina swam a very good 1:18.09, finishing 22nd 12-year-old, and the time was an improvement of almost a second on her previous best at the Beckenham meet only a month earlier.

22 June: Another round of the Reading junior schools centenary championships at Central Pool, with RSC swimmers to the fore and excellent performances from, among others, Rachael Mills (open IM winner), Frankie Wilkins, Isobel Wise, Henry Tyrrell and Conor Sandell.

20 June: Early news of Southern Counties yesterday is that Garry Dixon has won the 14s 1500 free, with Russel Korting third. And a message for parents of swimmers going to Swansea this weekend - it's a no-cards meet, which is why you haven't had any.

17 June: Several RSC teaching programme graduates or members star at the first round of the Reading junior schools championships at Central Pool, for small schools - the competition's 100th year. Teaching programme head Jakie Cantle was delighted to see the first four home in the blue riband boys' IM all from the club - winner Oscar Wilson, Jack Donaldson, Matthew Waters and Rayner O'Brien. Larger schools compete next Tuesday, with overall finals two weeks later.

12-13 June: Sweltering conditions at Crystal Palace for the first weekend of BAGCATS championships, and Reading produces its first champion for a couple of years in Russel Korting with a storming 400 free, tackled from the front as always. Further finalist placings for him and Garry Dixon, and an excellent 200 breast 10th spot for Callum Willcox, our youngest districts swimmer this year.

11 June: Webmaster has been mucking about with new colour schemes and thought he'd give this one a go. Only a few pages have been changed so far, so most of those linked from the index frame on the left will still come up in the old marbled look. I'll take a look at this again over a few days and see if I still like it. Sensible suggestions received with thanks!

10 June: Many congratulations to the latest RSC Swimmer of the Month, Rob Knott, coached by Maria Leonard and Clive Alderson in Club. There will be brief meetings looking ahead to next season for parents next Thursday club night, 17 June. Times as follows - Top Squad 6 p.m, Age Group 6.20, C Squad 6.45, D Squad 7.00, Link 7.15, then B Squad.

5 June: You can find links to this week's press report and full results of the Sheffield meet via our meet calendar. Forms for the annual Club Sprints on Thursdays 8 and 15 July will be distributed this week. Week one is girls' 100 IM, 50 breast and fly, boys' 50 back and fly, the reverse in week two. This is a full-fledged part of the annual club championships and we will need as many timekeepers and helpers as we can get! Thanks.

1 June: The programme for the upcoming Southern Counties age group championships has been tweaked.Event 407, boys' 200m free, will now be the first event in Session 22 (preceding the girls' 800) rather than the last event in Session 21 (i.e. moved from the session starting at 0800 on Sunday 20 June to the one starting at 1200.) See the excellent www.southernswimming.org for full details of session times, and our meet calendar for detailed road directions.

29-30 May: Excellent weekend at the City of Sheffield meet. Garry Dixon adds 200 IM and back NQTs to his schedule, Leona Jones misses out by a whisker in the 100 breast but has done brilliantly to get so close, event wins for Russel Korting and Louisa Downs and strong PBs improve NQTs for Holly Tanner and Emma Zadrozny.

28 May: Very sorry, fresh technical problems at Reading Boys' mean the pool will now be closed until after half-term. Completely outside RSC's control - Graeme is trying to rejig sessions to accommodate squads affected elsewhere, please see your squad coach.

22 May: Fantastic news a few days ago from Swansea, where Reading's Graham Edmunds has been training in a bid to qualify for the British Paralympic team. Graham broke the British S10 50 free record in winning the event at the British trials and has now been confirmed in the team, where he will swim the 50 and 100 plus a relay and possibly the 200 IM. Everyone at Reading is delighted for him.

21 May: Brief report on the Southern Counties youth 800 now loaded - highlights are Holly Tanner fourth and Louisa Downs sixth in the 14/15 group (and two fastest in the younger half of the field), and an excellent PB for Louisa Herring.

10 May: Quite a bit of catching up to do. Full results of our graded meet on 1 May can now be seen via the meet calendar, together with a link to results from the Beckenham Open where we placed eighth club and York Kloeppel's 100 breaststroke age group gold was our top swim. Report on both meets in the Post Thursday, plus a brief one on the Aldershot No Frills meet. Belated congratulations to Frankie Wilkins, whose school will be at the national Bazuka finals in Sheffield soon. And full Counties results have finally emerged and can be seen at the Amersham SC site here.

1-3 May: Good weekend at Southern Counties - medals for Emma Zadrozny and Louisa Downs (plus a 400 IM NQT), further finalist places for Emma, Louisa, Leona Jones, Holly Tanner and Daniel John, excellent district debuts for Louisa Herring, Kayleigh Taylor and Amy Thomas. Anyone going to Crystal Palace for the Beckenham Open - road directions via the meet calendar.

30 April: Congratulations to Swimmer of the Month Amy Kunicki. Haslemere results and report can now be read via the meet calendar.

27 April: News of Sunday's junior graded meet at Haslemere - big fields, a long day and Reading swims include numerous top-10 places and medals for Matteo Spanu, Jason Passmore, Charles Davey and Natalia Ciecierska. Full report in the Post Thursday. And a council flyer pushed through the webmaster's door today states categorically that Central Pool will not be demolished until a replacement has been built in the Chatham Street development!

20 Apr: Reading School pool is now back in use, but we have just been notified of a change in parking arrangements. A barrier will now prevent parking at the back of the school near the pool entrance and visitors are asked to use the car park in the walled area near the chapel. Thanks.

15-18 April: Welsh Nationals in Swansea, four golds, two thirds and two fourths for Holly Tanner in the 14s age group.

13 Apr: With Easter behind us, we'd like to take this opportunity to thank our Grand Final sponsors. Every event was backed, thanks to great efforts by swimmer Rob Knott and Steve James and Andy Leggett of Drivers Direct, and the Renaissance Hotel sponsored medals across the programme, Asda kept everyone hydrated and HSBC provided the officials' shirts. The full list runs to two pages and can be seen here and here. And of course there will be a full report plus photos in Thursday's edition of the Post, our main sponsor year-round.

12 Apr: If anyone needs to save photos of the half-marathon fun run, please could they download them from the linked "marathon" page in the next day or two as the host needs the web space. The two photos on this site will be staying. Thanks.

11 Apr: Easter Open day three - results here for for session six, session seven and session eight (beware the last of these needs some interpretation because of the age group/grand final thing). Reading's top swim is a grand final 100 breaststroke win for Leona Jones, Louisa Downs is second in the 200 fly GF and Garry Dixon - the latest Evening Post Swimmer of the Month, by the way - gets his 200 free NQT. Several age group medals for the home team, and Alex Macarthur wins top boy in his year and Danielle Mason top girl in hers - points based on heat times.
Thanks everyone who worked so hard before and during the meet. We hope everyone visiting Reading enjoyed swimming and watching as much as we enjoyed putting it on.

10 Apr: Very exciting second day of the Easter Open. Too many highlights to list, but including a 200 breaststroke grand final win for Dani Mason with Emma Zadrozny a very close second. Here are the results for session three, session four and session five.

9 Apr: The big weekend is here - Easter Open results for sessions one here and session two here. Reading highlights include sixth for Dani Mason in the ladies' 50 free, a two-second-plus PB for Alex Macarthur for an age group 50 free silver and a second place overall 9.13 PB for Holly Tanner in the 800 free. We hope to be able to load results day by day. Meanwhile in Sheffield, RSC life member Becky Cooke breaks Sharron Davies's 24-year British 400 IM record at the Olympic trials.

5 Apr: Afraid pump and leak problems at Reading School mean no training for Harry Wild's C squad there tomorrow evening, Tuesday. Friday is, of course, Easter, and Tuesday and Friday 13th and 16th April the pool is closed for decoration, but we hope it will be back in use in two weeks, Tuesday 20th.

30 Mar: Belated news of counties. A great swim gives Leona Jones both the overall and junior bronze in the 50 breaststroke. Bruno Bamberger is also a junior bronze winner, Leanne Haas wins the 14s 200 fly a whisker off an NQT and Holly Tanner makes the 100 free final in a big PB. Afraid the very limited availability of results means detail will be a bit sparse in this week's press report - which is based on only a few scribbled times - especially where the younger swimmers are concerned. Full results will be passed to the club on paper, but we may not get a version publishable here.
Meanwhile, a great weekend for five swimmers in t'North where Garry Dixon, Louisa Downs, Emma Zadrozny and Dani Mason all make or improve NQTs at the Sheffield Open, and Russel Korting makes further big strides in that direction.

26 Mar: The Thames Valley team made yet another long away trip last week, third place in a closely fought B final at Amersham. Report via the meet calendar. I hope to get more Counties results in a publishable form at tomorrow's session, the last set of individual swims.

18 Mar: Latest counties report now viewable via the meet calendar, plus one on a great meet for Reading Masters in the Welsh Open at Swansea.

13 Mar: Sorry, full results for sessions 5-7 not yet available but the big news from Counties is a first ever NQT for Dani Mason, who has been threatening one for ages. Dani won the 200 breaststroke championship and also on the rostrum for either junior or senior medals were Daniel John, Louisa Downs, Emma Zadrozny, Bruno Bamberger and Russel Korting. And belated congratulations to our latest Swimmer of the Month, Katie Hawkins.

9 Mar: See the "Marathon" link in the index frame for a link to some great photos of swimmers at the Green Park fun run.

8 Mar: Full results of Counties sessions 1-4 can now be accessed via the meet calendar. Saturday's highlights included second spot in the 800 for Emma Zadrozny in both junior and senior categories, Russel Korting third junior in the 1500 and a relay silver and fourth place for the 10/U boys.

7 Mar: Well done all who ran the half-marathon or the Green Park Challenge and the 30-plus who ran a super-efficient water station on Market Place. I hope to get some photos of the running team up here within a day or two.

6 Mar: With the entry deadline for the Easter Open looming, this is the point where we start to badger people for their help over the weekend. It's hard work but very rewarding, and it's great for the club that we are one of the relatively few able to put on meets at this level. And of course the meet's contribution to club funds helps keep training fees in check for all squads at a time when pool hire costs are rising inexorably. Help will be needed in various teams - the door, raffle, meet office, stewards - and of course we'll need a bit of muscle to set up benches and the PA beforehand. Please come forward, even if you can only manage a session or two.

27 Feb: Counties kick off at Maidenhead. Reading results included golds for Louisa Downs, Russel Korting and Amy Kunicki and two third spots in the junior girls' relay. Half-marathon update - as well as Tina's run for CRY, a number of swimmers will be tackling the shorter "fun run" for the British Heart Foundation, and David Murphy will be running his first ever Half for the Douglas House hospice.

23 Feb: To bring you up to date on the Reading half-marathon - Tina Wilson is running to raise funds for the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young, which was founded in 1995 to raise awareness of the issue, promote research and support families. Did you know that every week in the UK between four and eight young people who were apparently perfectly fit die suddenly from undiagnosed heart conditions? You can read details of CRY's work at http://www.c-r-y.org.uk/ Please sponsor Tina generously. I believe we also have some swimmers running the Green Park "fun run" in the same cause.

22 Feb: Wycombe press report and link to their site with full results can now be accessed via the meet calendar.

19 Feb: Sorry, folks, I have fouled up (er, again) with the Swimreading list and locked myself out of the admin functions. Please could all members (and any who are hanging on at the Topica list, which will close at the end of the month) join the latest incarnation of the list by sending a blank message to ReadingSC-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and once membership has been approved, another to swimreading-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Thanks and apologies.

18 Feb: Continuing the update. Dates have now been set for the season-ending club sprints. Rather than a Saturday, they will be held on club nights at Central on 8th and 15th July, from 6-8 p.m. A disco is planned for presentations on Saturday 17th and Thurs 22nd is the last club night of the season. Looking further ahead, our autumn B-grade will be on 16th October and the main part of club championships on 30th (p.m.) and 31st October (all day).

17 Feb: Sorry for the hiatus, the webmaster's computer has been out of action. Quite a few things to report:
- congrats to Alice Tourell, our latest Swimmer of the Month;
- the junior league team again placed third, this time at Newbury, and we await confirmation that this will again put them in the A final. Report will be available via the meet calendar in a day or two;
- please sign up for the half-marathon water station team. Maria Leonard is recruiting - thanks everyone who has already done so;
- looking forward to Easter, Rob Knott is recruiting sponsors for grand finals. If you would like to sponsor an event, or know someone who would be interested, please email sponsorship@readingswimclub.org;
- back in the pool, some very good swims at the Wycombe Classic in a pool where PBs were at a premium. Highlights include fresh national times for Garry Dixon and Emma Zadrozny, with Louisa Downs, Leanne Haas and Dani Mason close, and excellent breaststroke swims by Leona Jones (bronze in her year's 100) and York Kloeppel (ninth 13/14, but beaten by only one 13-year-old.) Full report in the Post Thursday.

27 Jan: Well done all 52 RSC swimmers who have qualified for 2004's Berks and South Bucks championships! Forms went in today.

24-25 Jan: Graded meet action again, this time at Ealing. Numerous medals in both B and C categories, with swimmers competing on the basis of ages at year-end. Overall we had three category winners in Ashley James, Kristian Statham and Louisa Herring, runners-up in Callum Willcox, Elliott Packham and Rheannon Sandell, third places for Rachael Mills and Kayleigh Taylor and a fourth for Beth Ayerst. Full report in the Evening Post Thursday.

24 Jan: This week's press report on the B/C meet can now be read via the meet calendar. Many thanks all parents who helped run it. And belated congratulations to our club secretary, Julie Perrin, for her award at the Evening Post Reading sports personality of the year evening.

17 Jan: Reading's inaugural B/C graded meet at Central Pool. Results for session one here and session two here.

10-11 Jan: Good start for the Junior League team - third at Amersham, with several swimmers in the youngest age groups stepping up from the teaching programme. Meanwhile in Sheffield, Louisa Downs and Holly Tanner (2) make 2004 national times and Garry Dixon adds another. Reading place an excellent eighth club overall. Downs and Dixon place second under BAGCATS, Russel Korting sixth and in older age groups, Tanner is ninth, Emma Zadrozny 11th, Dani Mason 12th, Bruno Bamberger 18th and Leanne Haas 20th in large fields at a top-quality meet.

7 January: Happy New Year! Two meets this weekend. Directions to Amersham, where our Thames Valley Junior League season kicks off, can be found via the meet calendar. And the City of Derby Open at Sheffield promises session-by-session results.

30 December: As you can see from the index, full meet info for the Easter Open is now downloadable. We'd like to point out the excellent accommodation offer at the Reading Renaissance Hotel, a supporter of the meet, five minutes' walk from the pool. (And thanks to the hotel for the star prize at the Awards Night draw, which was won by Jo Mills.) Any offers to help sponsor the meet, e.g. an individual event grand final, will be most welcome.
Latest on the mailing list saga. Because it was being blocked by BT and NTL, Swimreading is now moving to Yahoogroups. Please could remaining Topica members join up via the link above as the Topica list will be closed down. And, of course, new members are also welcome.

21 December: You can access full venues/times for training over Xmas here. I suspect few clubs our size will be offering anywhere near as much scope to stay fit over the holiday, so get stuck in... Thanks all coaches.

20 December: Apologies to Henry Tyrrell, whose name was omitted from the Speedo teams listed in this week's press report. Now added to the web site version. And news of our Swim for Terri fundraiser - RSC swimmers raised in excess of 400-00. Brilliant. Follow-up news can be found via www.swimforterri.org

16 December: News of the B team - fifth at Waterlooville and thus also fifth out of 14 in their division (and easily the highest of the three B teams there). And some more stats on the previous week's Waterlooville sprint meet courtesy coach Harry Wild - 61 out of 69 Reading swims were PBs, and of these 35 were in the top eight including nine gold, four silver and five bronze. Chris Boyce and Markus Orgill were top boys in their age groups.

13 December: Simply thrilling Speedo final round at Bracknell - we finish third (and thus ninth out of 18 overall) in a meet where just five points cover places two to five. Full reports on both Reading teams in the Post Thursday.

12 December: Waterlooville meet report can now be accessed via the meet calendar. I also have some more detail from coach Harry Wild which I'll add to it over the weekend. Very many thanks to everyone who took part in the Swim for Terri fundraiser. Once we have a final total I'll include the story in a press report - grateful if everyone could get the money in by next Thursday. Mail list users on BTOpenworld might find Topica postings in their webmail spam folder...

11 December: Swimmers of the Month are coming in thick and fast - we did August's in September, etc, but we have now caught up. So congratulations to Andy Flett of Club Squad November's winner, and B Squad's Rheannon Sandell, December's. (We don't put these profiles on the web site.)

10 December: It gets worse. Topica mail may also be blocked by NTL, and BT Talk21 are promising an "enhanced service" which no doubt will do the same. Webmaster will investigate setting up a parallel list for affected email accounts.

9 December: Apologies to RSC mailing list members who aren't receiving emails because they are being blocked by BTOpenworld. It's a problem right across Topica, who are apparently trying to sort it out... You may still be able to read the list via lists.topica.com/lists/swimreading, but you would need to sign up for a Topica password.

5-7 December: The club's busiest weekend for years, with teams at three meets and one swimmer at another. Pride of place to the team at the junior sprint meet at Waterlooville - Chris Boyce and Markus Orgill are top boys in their years, further golds for Adam Barrett, Sarah Homer, Rachael Mills, medals and high places in often large fields for these and several others. A group from Top, Club and Age Group squads swims the Oxford Open, but the theft of their meet laptop means results will be a while coming through. Most of Top Squad are at the Bath GP - again, afraid no results available in time for this week's press report. And Holly Tanner is second junior (16 and under) in the 200 fly in her best swim at the Welsh Winters in Swansea.

28 November: Awards Night at the Ibis Club. Many thanks to all draw prize donors. The big news is that our Swimmers of the Year for 2003 are Emma Zadrozny and Russel Korting, with service awards to hugely respected coach Harry Wild (the Enstone Trophy) and club shop manager Jane Haas (the Grace Burt Bowl). The Reading Cygnets Friendship Cup goes to Joella Read and the Joseph Korting Memorial Cup to Leanne Haas. Thanks very much to Alan Porton of the Post and club president Roger Penfold for assisting with presentations. Report with pics should be in the paper Thursday. Stockport press report also now loaded via the meet calendar.

27 November: The webmaster seems to be having a little difficulty with one of his email addresses - please could anyone needing to contact me use the Talk21 address above. Thanks.

26 November: Proofs of the fantastic photos taken by Lynsey Thompson of Keith Thompson Photography can now be accessed via their web site www.keiththompsonphotography.com - the photos are on a password-protected page, but please email me or see your squad administrator for details. All profits go to club funds, as part of our drive for new timing equipment. many thanks to the Thompsons.

21-23 November: A long weekend at the Stockport Metro yields a high percentage of PB swims and Reading's first NQTs of the season via Emma Zadrozny (800 free) and Garry Dixon (1500). Full report in the Post Thursday.

15 November: Qualifying times for next summer's ASA national age group and youth championships have now been published.

14 November: Our latest Swimmer of the Month is Harriet Best of Age Group Squad, club champs medallist and one of our most improved competitors in the last year. Congrats Harrie! (And, er, apologies for getting the wrong squad when I first posted the news.)

13 November: Speedo reports now loaded via the meet calendar, and parents going to Haslemere this weekend can find a link there with pool directions.

12 November: News of the Speedo R3 draws. The A's, equal ninth out of 18 in the Premier Div South after the first two stages, go into the middle gala with Wycombe, Canterbury, Rushmoor, Brighton and Dover. The meet will be at Bracknell, but I don't know yet which club will host. And the Bs, an excellent equal fifth out of 14 in a Div 2 mostly made up of A teams, will be at Waterlooville along with Beau Sejour, Jersey, Maidenhead, Gosport, Romsey and Feltham. Again, the home club is in a different division so don't know who will be running it.

8 November: Mixed fortunes for the two Speedo teams. The As place fifth out of six in Guildford, in a meet marred by controversy over a disqualification (not Reading) which means full results are not available until Monday. The Bs place comfortably second to Maidenhead's first string at Central Pool, but are fourth overall as time trials are pasted in from two Channel Islands teams, one very strong and rejoining the pyramid at the bottom rung.

27 October: The result of the ballot is that from a very strong field, David Thomas is men's club captain for 2003-04. Congratulations to him and commiserations to the other three candidates, any of whom I'm sure would have done an excellent job. And thanks to James Golding and Jess Tyrrell, predecessors to David and Charlotte Zadrozny for their great work in the role.

23 October: Final Thursday club champs session, the 400 IM. Two top swims are Russel Korting beating five minutes for the first time and Dani Mason swimming a 5.07 which suggests an NQT might be in the offing. Full results here and report in the Post on Thursday.

22 October: Many congratulations to Charlotte Zadrozny, our new ladies' club captain. (The only candidate, but a really good one.) The men's captaincy will be contested by (in alphabetical order) Daniel John, Robert Knott, Matthew Sandell and David Thomas. Swimmers who will be 13 or over on 31st December are eligible to vote, and the ballot will be held on club night on 23rd October.

Two dates for your diary - our AGM is at the Civic Offices on 3rd November (adult membership form here) and Awards Night, again at the Ibis Club, on 29th November. It can't be stressed too much that this is a night for the whole club. The venue is excellent and tickets (available soon via squad administrators) will sell out quickly.

21 October: Lottsa news this week! Rebecca Alderson, Daniel John, Dani Mason and Emma Zadrozny represented Berks & South Bucks at the Inter-Counties meet at Sheffield on the 19th. Best swim from Becky, 5th in the 12/13 100 breaststroke, and B&SB placed a creditable 9th of 18 in their division. Holly Tanner has again been selected for the Welsh ASA's long-term development programme.

20 October: "C" and "D" squads will be representing RSC in the "Swim for Terri" on or near 6th December. The event will be held literally worldwide (including Nepal and Fiji) to raise funds for Terri Calvesbert, who was badly burned in a house fire and will need life-long plastic surgery. You can read all about it via this link and swimmers can download an official sponsorship form. (two pages, Word format); printed copies will also be available. Geoff Willcox has a video and DVD of the original TV programme which prompted the effort, which you are welcome to borrow. Please sign up to sponsor our swimmers.

20 October: Belated congratulations to Swimmer of the Month Elliott Packham!

18 October: The annual October graded meet at Central Pool. We hope our guests from Elmbridge, Milton Keynes, Soundwell (Bristol), Windsor and Wycombe enjoyed the meet as much as the large Reading contingent, and many thanks to all the Reading parents, both with swimmers participating and without, who helped put it on. Home swimmers Alex Macarthur and Sam Flory share the top boy trophy; Louisa Herring is top girl. Full results for session one here and session two here, report in the Post Thursday.

16 October: Boys' 1500 free at the club champs. Highlight - real fireworks in the last heat as Russel Korting blitzes nearly all the field to win the 14s group, but 13s winner Garry Dixon also swims brilliantly to slash Russel's heat lead in the closing stages. Full results here, report in the Post Thursday.

11 October: Brilliant atmosphere in the Speedo League tonight as Reading A place second at home to Leatherhead (fourth in the national final last season). The Bs also place second, in a seven-team meet in Maidenhead. Full report on these, the club champs 800 and the latest round of the national water polo league now accessible via the meet calendar.

9 October: The club championships kick off with the girls' 800 and one heat of the boys' 1500. Full 800 results here.

3 October: The Speedo League web site (via our links page) confirms the Round 1 fixtures are indeed as below.

3 October: The deadline for Melvyn's excellent numbers quiz has been extended to the date of the main club champs, 1/2 November. I can really recommend it as great brain exercise - you can download a copy here.

2 October: While the swimmers are yet to get into competition, RSC's water polo team has been in action over two weekends - you can read reports via the meet calendar. They compete next at Basingstoke on 11 and 12 October - it's three games per weekend and we are in the water at 12.15 and 6.30 on Saturday and at 3.00 on Sunday. If you aren't swimming or supporting the Speedo, why not go along?

2 October: A week to go before the first competition of the season, with the first distance events in the club championships. Please see coaches for news of changes to training this is bound to entail next Thursday. And as we have not heard anything to the contrary, we are assuming that the Speedo League on 11 October will go ahead as per the original notification - the A team are at home, with opponents Brighton, Amersham, Winchester, Haslemere and Leatherhead. And the B team are at Maidenhead, against the hosts, Isle of Wight, Romsey & Totton, Andover, Feltham, Worthing and Fareham B.

24 September: Early news of the Speedo League is that Reading "A" are provisionally at home in Rd 1 and at Guildford in Rd 2, the B team are at Maidenhead and then at home. These are yet to be officially confirmed and we'll keep you posted as soon as we know.

17 September: The 2004 Berks and South Bucks county championships consideration times can now be accessed here, and the full schedule here.

11 September: Congrats to the first Swimmer of the Month of the new season, Louisa Downs of Top Squad.

2 September: I completely forgot, we are again hosting our open graded meet on 18th October at Central Pool, afternoon and evening sessions. Click here for the full SP, including a consolidated entry form for visiting clubs and a form for RSC members. Closing deadline is a finely cut Thursday 18th September. We look forward to seeing you!

1 September: Welcome to the new season! The new meet calendar includes a few provisional fixtures, obviously with many more to come in due course. Please make a note of the Speedo League dates, one each in October, November and December as usual.

21 August: With numbers in the training squads thriving, why not take out adult membership of your club? It costs a mere £8 for the season and entitles you to vote in the AGM in October. And with the announcement of planned new pools for Reading, the more we have in membership at all levels, the more weight the club's opinion will carry. You can download a form here, to be returned to membership secretary Louise Barnes on a Thursday club night.

Training starts in the week beginning 1st September, but in the meantime here's a little something to keep the grey cells ticking over, have some fun with and raise funds for the club. Melvyn Jones has put together a "numeracy quiz", which you can print off here. Entries are a bargain pound a time (per whole entry, not per line!) and should be returned to Melvyn by Thursday 18th September, which will be our third club night of the new season. There will be a prize for the entry with the most answers. Click here for the entry form (pdf format). Enjoy!