Having been a committee member for 16 of the last 18 years, and having served as the club’s treasurer for over 10 years, Philip has been a constant backbone of Out to Swim (OTS). One of the first members of the club, he has served as Club Chair, Chair of the Middlesex ASA Masters committee, Chair of the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics (IGLA). He is also a qualified ASA Starter and Judge and has officiated at County events as well as refereeing at OTS’s own GLLAM competitions. He has been a key team member in OTS’s representations at local, national and overseas Masters tournaments in breaststroke and individual medley events. 

Since joining the club in 1992 after seeing an advert in a gay newspaper, Philip has played a fundamental role in developing OTS into the largest masters swimming club in the UK. During his tenure as treasurer Philip has not only been the “steady hand on the tiller” and ensured the financial stability of the club, but has been a key figure in developing the club and making it what it is today. His enthusiasm for swimming and LGBT sport and his meticulous effectiveness in managing the club’s finances has ensured that new projects, from an OTS stall at Pride to substantial increases in coaching and pool time, have been successful. The expansion of the club to include diving, water polo, synchronised and open water swimming is a credit to the astuteness and strategic thinking that Philip brings to the committee and OTS more generally. He advocates the club as a fantastic resource for LBGT people, providing health and fitness and a sense of community that is as important now as it was in 1992 when HIV was impacting on many LGBT lives.

Congratulations to our very own Alex Davies and all at Sport London for securing a place on the final shortlist in their bid to bring the Gay Games to London in 2018.

Alex has worked tirelessly of late in her role as Bid Chair and getting shortlisted is an incredible achievement. Ever since swimming in the 2010 Gay Games in Cologne, when the possibility of London as a location was first considered Alex has worked within a team to turn this vision into a reality; including taking on the role of Chair of Sport London, a network of sports clubs including Out To Swim, in 2012. It has been, Alex said, like having a second fulltime job. And yet her energy, commitment and her enthusiasm for London holding this extraordinary event remains solid.

Speaking to Alex I got a real sense of what this means to her as both a swimmer and as a member of our LGBT community. The Gay Games is more than just a celebration of sport, although that in itself is an exciting prospect, is also a shared experience, an affirmation and an opportunity to form friendships with other LGBT athletes around the world. Alex cited a Russian athlete who spoke to her recently on what the games meant to him; a chance to compete within a sporting environment in which being gay is not only accepted but celebrated. Indeed, since its conception in 1980 the Gay Games was always intended to be a vehicle for a change and there is still much change needed around the world. So this is now London’s chance to contribute and to welcome over 12,000 participants from over 70 nations, under the same banner of “Inclusion, participation and personal best.

Yet there is still much to be done. Indeed your support is needed more than ever now to make our bid successful; whether this is registering your name as a volunteer, offering a skill that could support the bid or considering how you could raise £100 as part of the 100-out giving initiative. This is very much a community event, our community, and we all need to consider how we can support Alex and her team through this final stage and to ensure that the baton is now passed on to London. If you want to find out more please contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  and let’s invite the world to London in 2018!

So once again a group of OTS'ers descended on Cobham hall for the 4th swim camp.  This year we trialed the incorporation of lessons, so we had swim school along side swim camp. According to all who attending it was a great hit and something we hope to repeat.

Friday night session was a hard two hour session and was harder on the lungs than we had imagined due to extra strong chlorine.  However, we all survived and after the session we all sat around the big dinner table in the common room eating cake and drinking a beer or two!  An hour later we were joined by the ducklings who were just buzzing from their first session.

Saturday morning brought another challenge - swimming through a sea of mist!  But in true OTS style the session was adapted 4 lanes went into 2 and a great set of singles was completed!

Land training brought swim camp and swim school together working in the gym on a circuit session with only two swimmers missing and James working harder on taking his photos rather than the exercises at each station. While this was happening we finally got the chlorine/mist/fog problem sorted (half the problem was we ran out of gas!) What was so lovely is that these problems did not put a cloud over the camp and in fact brought us all closer together.

Saturday evening saw us complete another 2 hour set, another hour for the swim school and then a fabulous meal from the school kitchen; if only all school dinners could taste this good.

Sunday morning was a mixture of technique and then relays with the swim school joining in too. Once again we were blessed with great weather and many took advantage of this to explore the grounds of Cobham - They truely are amazing. So once again another successful swim camp and a successful first swim school camp.

Some more photos are available here.