Bournemouth & Poole join the OTS Family

Bournemouth & Poole are OTS’ newest member. Born from a small, but tightly knit group of local LGBT swimmers, Bournemouth is now a proud member of the Out to Swim family.

They officially started in January and after a period of integration, they have steadily become a flourishing part of the Aquatics scene in the area.

So far, they have been keen to participate in local events with members joining events such as London Pride and the Northern Wave event in Manchester where the whole club came together.

Vicki Carter awarded a BEM

Vicki Carter, one of our club’s founding members was awarded a British Empire Medal in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours.

Vicki is a tireless champion for diversity and inclusion and has helped many swimmers through their swimming journeys by being a tireless swim teacher.

Vicki is also a passionate open water swimmer and, amongst her many achievements, Vicki swam the Channel in 2019 and in 2025 circumnavigated Manhattan.

Newcastle joins the OTS Family

In January, we welcomed Newcastle to the Out to Swim Family.

They started in January, but have steadily grown and are now a proud member of the Out to Swim family. They now run 4 sessions a week and participate in various social events in Newcastle and further afield.

If you’re visiting, or a local say, come say hi.

OTS Newcastle at their inaugural swim.

Michelle Weltman is awarded an MBE

Our own Head of Aquatics, Michelle Weltman was awarded an MBE in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours List.

Michelle has been the Head of Aquatics at Out to Swim for years and has always championed diversity and inclusivity in the world of aquatic sports.

Michelle previously coached Paralympic athletes and is proud to receive this honour and to continue coaching Out to Swim.

“I’m very overwhelmed, very proud and it’s special for me because it’s for disability and LGBTQI sport and it’s pride month. I never did what I did for an award, I do it because I feel enriched and passionate about it.”

Brighton branch name change

“Out to swim South” announced today that it has changed its name to “Out to swim Brighton and Hove”.  The club was formed in 2006 when a few members from the London Branch moved to Brighton and set up the Brighton Branch.  The London branch was formed in 1992 and celebrated its 30th anniversary last year.

One of the reasons for the name change is that the Brighton club is now registered in Sussex, whereas previously the members had been registered in London but living and swimming in Brighton and Hove.  The move will also allow the club to participate in local competitions and be more integrated into the local swimming community.

In doing so the Brighton club is now one of the largest, if not the largest masters swimming club in Sussex with over 80 members.  This marks a significant milestone in Brighton and Hove’s sporting community as for the discipline of all masters swimming clubs in Sussex the LGBT+ club is the biggest.  The club is also one of the largest LGBT+ sporting clubs in Brighton & Hove.

At the same time our branch in Bristol formally known as “Out To Swim West” will be known as “Out to Swim Bristol”.

OTS Christmas party 2022

Merry Christmas everybody and a big thank you to everyone who came to and performed at Out To Swim’s Christmas Party 2022!

We were delighted to have the Hilarious non-binary drag powerhouse Sue Gives a Fuck as host. Sue brought us energy, laughter, and FasHUN with our very own bin bag drag on a dime competition!

We were thrilled to have the hilarious lesbian comedy duo shelfcomedy and the incredible drag performer freidaslaves also join us. Freida’s energy was exciting and infectious, and thanks to Shelf we will never listen to Alanis Morrisette the same way again 😂

The night also featured our annual ‘naughty or nice, frosty or fabulous’ festive costume competition.

A huge Congratulations to our women in red who came out on top with their impressive matching outfits (all made by hand!) and congratulations also to the runners up! You all looked fiercely festive!

Thank you Sue Gives a F*ck, Shelf Comedy and Freida for joining us, and thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate with us.

Here's to another fantastic year for Out To Swim!

The Vintage Group - for older swimmers

As an older swimmer, I had been thinking for some time about the challenges and benefits of swimming as the body ages. Talking to other Out to Swim members, I found a great interest in discussing these issues and with encouragement from the Head Coach, Michelle, I organised some on-line meetings back in August where we all shared our swimming and aging stories. Participants universally supported my thesis that swimming is the best exercise for older people and Michelle proposed a monthly training session at Oasis. This turned out to be a great opportunity to continue talking after our swims, at the pub with a pint and excellent pies.

Vintage swimmers now have around 30 members who self-identify as older and range from 50’s to 70’s.  We also swim regularly across most of the lanes in Out to Swim so that we remain visible to everyone.

If you would like to join us, we have a WhatsApp group. Click here to join and get access to our session on Arrivaly.

Alternatively, you can email me at swimcompetition@outtoswim.org

Christopher Preston December 2022

OTS takes an icy plunge with Zone3

A group of brave OTS members and friends took an icy plunge at Brockwell Lido last week for an ‘Urban Winter Swim Experience’ hosted by Zone3, and supported by Wiggle.

Led by two-time Paralympic swimmer and triathlete, David Hill, our swimmers were first put through their paces with a poolside warm-up to get the blood flowing before braving the 6⁰C waters. Once in their Zone3 thermal wetsuits and neoprene accessories, the guests were led through a series of exercises to regulate their breathing and safely acclimatise their bodies to the cold water.

Regen-James Gregg, Publicity Officer for LGBTQ+ aquatics charity Out To Swim, said “It was fantastic to be part of this event with Zone3, promoting the message that aquatics is for all.

“It’s great partnering with brands that share our ambition for widening access, and our members enjoyed their chance to test out Zone3’s new robe and thermal wetsuits during their cold water experience – as well as their dip in skins at the end.”

At the culmination of the session Hill invited swimmers to take off their wetsuits to experience the exhilarating benefits of cold water swimming – swiftly followed by a chance to warm up with Zone3’s Heat-Tech Changing Robe.

The group ranged from seasoned ultra-swimmers to first-time cold water enthusiasts, with the event aiming to communicate that swimming is open to all, regardless of experience and background.

David Hill said “It was great to coach the group and see everyone’s smiling faces after a very cold session. Everyone can enjoy the physical and mental health benefits of open water swimming, whether it’s at your local lido in town, in a lake or the sea.

“If you’ve still got cold feet, try going with a friend and getting yourself some appropriate kit – you only need to be in the water for 90 seconds to feel the benefits.”

London Swimming Sub-Committee Statement

Dear London Swimmer,

We know that over the last couple of months, some members have been frustrated by the difficulty of getting into London swimming sessions.   We’re all too aware that most sessions appear as “fully booked” on Arrivaly for the entire fortnight ahead - and we're sorry that some people haven't been able to train as often as they'd like.  The London Swimming Sub-Committee, along with other club officials, are trying to improve the situation as quickly as possible.

In reality, few sessions have been completely full on the night.  That's because some members book sessions and then cancel in the days or hours beforehand; and also because there are still a few people booking sessions but neither attending nor cancelling. We're pleased to see the number of ‘no shows’ has been steadily declining, but not cancelling remains highly unfair to other members who want to swim.

There are four things we can all do immediately to help - the first of which you’re already familiar with from club communications in recent weeks:

1. If you’ve booked and then can’t make it, don’t forget to cancel -  and please do so as soon as you know you can’t come.   Currently, the Arrivaly app won’t let you cancel in the last hour before the session starts, so at the very latest make sure you’ve done so by then (we'd hope that's possible for everyone to do in all but exceptional emergencies.)  
   

2. If you want to go to a session that’s showing as full on Arrivaly, do use the waiting list - most people who did so in October were then offered a space to book. Look out for emails that notify those on the waiting list when a space has opened up (currently, you don’t automatically get ‘moved up’ to a full booking, though we’re exploring if that can be a feature we add in the future).
   

3. For the rest of November, we're asking all members to limit the number of sessions they book to a maximum of three per week.  We're really sorry to have to ask this - we've long prided ourselves in being able to offer more than that - but while we're sorting out longer term solutions, it’s the fairest way to make sure as many members as possible get the chance to swim.
   

4. When you’re booking ahead, please be realistic about whether you’ll be able to make it to a particular session.  At the moment there’s some ‘panic buying’ going on - a few people seem to be booking any open slot they can, and then deciding nearer the time when they actually want to swim.  That’s unfair on other members.

Fully booked sessions and no-shows have been a problem for many leisure and sports operators who moved to booking-only systems this year.  OTS is currently able to offer barely half the pool capacity we had pre-pandemic - all the pools we hire are still limiting numbers, and when ULU closed down, we lost our highest capacity venue.   Also, as many of you are aware from previous communications, the club was losing money in the first five months after reopening, with some sessions attracting very low attendance - a couple were dropped from the timetable as a result.

It’s fantastic news that so many people have come back this autumn, and also that so many new members have joined us,  but this attendance turnaround has happened faster than we can book more space - which across London is anyway very limited in supply.  The club is actively looking for more, including new venues and times.  Realistically though, big changes aren’t possible until the new year. 

The good news is we're adding one more session to the weekly timetable from November 12th - a return of Friday afternoons at the London Aquatic Centre, now in the lunchtime slot of 1-2pm. We'll have two lanes of the iconic 50 metre pool, and anyone from lanes 1-7 will be able to attend. We’re aware it's not a time which will suit everyone, but we're hoping it will prove a useful extra option for those who have some flexibility within the working day and take a bit of pressure off other slots. To start with, we’re offering four weeks of sessions, until 10 December; if those are well attended, Fridays at LAC will return as a regular part of the timetable.

We’re also hoping the coming of December will ease a little of the pressure - training is usually less popular in the run up to Christmas, as people’s diaries fill up with less healthy social activities! 

Some members have asked whether we can return to the pre-pandemic 'walk in' system.  Because of Covid protocols still in place at our pools, which don’t allow groups of people to gather indoors, and also the risk of members being turned away from full pools after travelling some distance to swim, we don’t think this is an option in the short term.  Other members have suggested we follow the lead of leisure chains who fine or suspend people who don't turn up for sessions they've booked.  That would be very different from the way Out to Swim has traditionally operated, but we are exploring what steps we can take if regular 'no-shows' continue.

The club hopes to offer further news on how we can improve the situation in the coming weeks - in the meantime, thank you for your patience, and please follow the advice above.

The London Swimming Sub-Committee

Changes to Isolation for fully vaccinated individuals:

Following changes to the law on Monday 16th August members who are fully vaccinated will no longer be required to self-isolate if they are identified as a close contact of a positive Covid-19 case.

For our members, this means if you are identified as a close contact, by either Track and Trace or Out To Swim, you may return to training without isolation provided you can provide proof to the coach at your session that you:

1. Have received both Covid-19 vaccinations shots or hold a medical exemption AND

2. Have received a negative PCR result following your notification.

A free PCR test can be done either at a test site near you or it can be ordered online or by calling 119.

If you are identified as a close contact by Track & Trace you must inform the club if you have attended a session or event within 48 hours of your notification.

There are no changes to anyone who tests positive – you are legally required to self-isolate for 10 days or from the day your symptoms started, regardless of your vaccination status. You must inform the club you have tested positive if you have attended a session or event within 48 hours of your positive result.

Notification of positive tests and isolation should be sent to both headcoach at outttoswim.org and hello at outtoswim.org

We are saddened to announce the death of George Gardiner

It is with great sadness that we share with you the passing of long time Out To Swim member George Gardiner.

George was instrumental in helping the club grow to the success it is today. He helped found our artistic swimming team, the first in the UK to host mixed teams, managed our 21st celebrations and kept the website up to date for many years.

As is tradition when one of our members passes all members are invited to celebrate their life by doing a length of their favourite stroke during one of our sessions this week.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family and friends. 

In Memory of George, we wanted to share a post by his oldest friend Paul:

‘Unfortunately, I have some very sad news. Early on Saturday morning George passed away, finally losing his battle with cancer. He did so in Italy exactly where he wanted to be, doing what he wanted to do and as content as I have seen him for a long while. His death followed a severe brain seizure, but he died in my arms peacefully and knowing he was much loved. George’s lasting wish was to be back in the Italian countryside and on Friday night he enjoyed a wonderful meal in a  hilltop village with some of our dearest friends. George’s family and I have agreed his ashes will remain here in Italy under a new tree planted to remember him by. We will be holding a simple  cremation service in Italy next week and there will be a memorial service in London a little later in  the summer when we can all celebrate the life of our dear friend, this kind, generous and caring  man.’  

George was an active member of Out To Swim for many years from about 2006 to 2016. He attended many competitions including the Gay Games in Cologne and was one fo the founding members of the OTS Angels Artistic Swimming Team back in the day when it was just 15, middle-aged, hairy men trying to do the underwater splits to Lady Gaga! We will remember well the many practice sessions and laughs in the run up to the Cologne games and the close friendships formed as a result. George’s love of all things electronic lead him to put together our underwater speaker system which has since travelled around the world in its’ little wheelie case and is still in use to this day.  

When we did the Channel relay in 2009 our team of twelve had been diligently visiting Dover Harbour for several weeks, shivering in the cold and bemoaning our training regime having to stay in for 60 minutes; George decided he would join us one weekend. After our hour swimming as we sat shivering and wrapped up on the beach, George was nowhere to be found. We became more and more concerned and after two hours were at the point of calling out the lifeguard when to our chagrin, George casually strolled out the water and up the beach announcing what a lovely swim he’d had and he might go back in again except he had a bruise on his head… We think, to this day he is the only person who managed to swim into Dover Harbour wall having ‘failed to see it’  as he was swimming along!  

Over the years, as it grew, OTS has had to evolve in great stages to stay current and meet new requirements and legislations. When George joined the club he was quick to get involved and his superb, analytical, lawyer’s brain was a key part in one of these big steps. He helped form the current club constitution and set the framework for its change to charitable status. He was a  regular at every club AGM and was well known for his political input ensuring each AGM was never a dull event!  

George also used his extensive computer knowledge and time to update the club website and catalogued much of the OTS history which, up till then, had just been somewhat piecemeal.  Together with the committee of the day the club was able to progress into the OTS we know and love today.  

George spent as much time as he could in Italy in recent years helping Paul develop the house from an old wreck to a beautiful hilltop villa. Many from OTS joined George for his 50th birthday there in 2016. This Wonderful weekend summed up George’s generous nature organising accommodation for everyone and providing an amazing three day party of food, wine and entertainment.  

Around Christmas of 2021 when George first found out he was ill he was told he might have six months to live. We all thought this was a bluff and he would be about for a good few years to come. Turns out that diagnosis was pretty accurate. Over the years we have lost good friends at  OTS which is only natural in such a large club. Nevertheless, each time, it’s a reminder to appreciate our friends whilst we have the chance. Following a difficult year for us all, let's look forward to reconnecting with friends as life returns to normal and take a moment to reach out to those who perhaps need a little more help than usual. 

George, you may be gone but you will not be forgotten and you join the list of fondly remembered  OTS alumni high kicking and free styling somewhere in the cosmic infinity pool.

Phil Collins awarded an MBE

Phillip John Collins, not to be confused with the singer Phil Collins, is one of the club’s founding members.

A nice, warm and friendly presence poolside, Phil was awarded an MBE at his year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List for parliamentary and voluntary service.

ASA Volunteer of The Year Award - Rob John

Many of you will know that I usually only win anything when there's no-one else in my age group. Not this time! I turned up at the Great Hall in Birmingham University on Saturday morning knowing I had been shortlisted as an Award Finalist for Volunteer of the Year, but not really knowing what that meant. It transpired that there was a bronze, silver and gold award for many of the award categories and I ended up walking away with the GOLD award!! 

So a big thank you for putting my name forward and a special thank you to Tess for writing and submitting the nomination itself. The event was very well organised and the awards were presented throughout a long and enjoyable lunch. We sat on tables of 10 and there were at least 20 tables. The awards were presented by Paralympic Champion Ellie Robinson and Olympic bronze medallist Daniel Goodfellow. Here are some pics of the event: http://www.swimming.org/asa/news/general-news/d/27863

While I'm delighted at winning the award (and will milk it for as long as others will allow me to), I should mention all the other people within OTS who give their time, knowledge and expertise in all sorts of different ways to make us the great club we are. It simply wouldn't work without that essential volunteer input. Oh dear, this is starting to sound like an over-emotional acceptance speech, so I shall just say THANK YOU!

Rob