After being promoted to the top division last year, Oxford was in lane 7 for this year’s BUCS Teams Championship, racing alongside some of England and Scotland’s top swimmers upon their return from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. The BUCS Teams competition was controversially held …
The OUSWPA annual alumni dinner will be held this year on the evening of Saturday 21st April at Vincent’s club. There will be a drinks receptor before dinner and the estimated cost is £30, not including wine. This is a lovely event where current and …
2018 saw the return of the Oxford Dolphins vs Cambridge Marlins match for the first time in over 40 years. The Dolphins team has expanded hugely in recent years to become an integral and much loved part of OUSC. We are very grateful that the Match was able to return to Rosenblatt Pool and that the team was able to secure a huge win and be part of Varsity Swimming History.
A strong start to the Varsity match saw Oxford secure 1st and 2nd in the men’s 100m IM by Peter Todd and Jon Price, closely followed by 1st and 3rd place finish for Janet Chan and Imogen Laycock. Still tired from his first swim, Peter Todd returned to the pool for 50 back along with teammate Michael Shao to secure another first place win for Oxford. Emma Watts led the women’s 50 back from the wall, finishing with a three second PB and closely followed by Tilly Ansell in 3rd.
The first swimmer to dip below the minute mark was James Mason in the 100m free, finishing in first place with Maarten Swart finishing 3rd. Rosa Christie-Lowe and Giulia Filocca converted from their usual distance events to bring out the sprint in the womens 100m free, finishing 1st and 3rd respectively. Alex Picksley and Arman Karshenas stormed to victory in the 50m fly, finishing 1st and 2nd. Closing the first round Genevieve Nelson and Seconds Team Representative, Afrah Shibu, fought hard against the strong Cambridge butterfly swimmers to secure four more points for Oxford.
Swimming in near synchronization for the entire year, Caspar Paton and Maarten Swart were able to push each other through the 200m free with Caspar leading the first 100m of the race and eventually finishing in 2nd and 3rd place. Georgia Mason and Emma Watts joined the sub 2.30 club in the 200m free with some powerful swims that made the spectators whoop and wince in equal measures. Both James Mason and Jon Price returned to the water for their second event in the 50m breast, finishing in 2nd and 3rd place respectively. A 1-2 victory was secured by Janet Chan and Tilly Ansell in the 50m breast who both dipped below the 40 second mark and finished an impressive 4 seconds ahead of Marlins swimmers. The last event before the relays was the 50m freestyle which was, unsurprisingly, very close. In a nail-biting swim Leon Guerrero came in first and with Tom Lawrence touching out a Marlins swimmer by 0.4 seconds to secure 3rd. A strong performance from Rosa Christie-Lowe and Giulia Filocca placed Oxford 1st and 4th with Oxford winning to close the second round.
Since the 4x50m relays are stacked at double points, a strong team performance was needed to ensure the Dolphins maintained their lead. Oxford closed the meet with wins in the Womens Medley (Emma Watts, Janet Chan, Georgia Mason, Tilly Ansell), Mens Medley (Peter Todd, James Mason, Alex Picksley, Michael Shao) and Mens Free (Tom Lawrence, Leon Guerrero, Alex Picksley, Arman Karshenas) with the Womens freestyle team (Giulia Filocca, Afrah Shibu, Genevieve Nelson, Rosa Christie-Lowe) finishing a close 2nd to the Marlins Team.
Overall the Dolphins won by 104 points to Marlins 76! The success of this year was largely down to the hard work and dedication of every member but particular mention should go to Seconds Team Rep Afrah Shibu as well as meet managers Tarik Gooptu and Anand Jana for ensuring the smooth running of the day.
This year, Varsity was held at the Rosenblatt pool in Oxford on the 24th February. In the closest Varsity match to date, Oxford won the Women’s trophy with a 10 point lead, only for Cambridge’s men to do the same, resulting in a tie for …
As the rest of the counrty battled to prevent Storm Emma choking Britian to a standstill, the nations finest swimmers gathered for the 2018 British Swimming Championships. The warm Scottish crowd welcomed the championships for the first time since the olympic trials in Glasgow, eger …
An unprecedented technicality meant it was almost a win for the opposition, but with two controversial points reclaimed Oxford secured a draw in the 126th Varsity Swimming match.
The Rosenblatt pool hosted possibly the closest swimming Varsity to date with the Oxford women soaking up a 10 point lead only for the Cambridge men’s team to do the same, resulting in an even score overall for both teams.
The girls excelled in all disciplines, with wins for Juliet Flamank in the 200m Individual Medley, Charlotte Newman in the 100m backstroke and Zara Ryan in the 100m breaststroke. They also took the 7 points for first place in the 4x50m medley relay, led by Charlotte Newman in a Blues time and followed by Tori Lackey, Zara Ryan and Luiza Farache-Trajano respectively, with Luiza splashing out a new personal best in her first competition for three years! Courtney Sanders similarly thrived in her first ever Varsity, splitting a 28.53 in the 4x50m freestyle relay.
Tori Lackey swam another personal best in her 100m breaststroke individual, and the PB squad was joined by Lauren in the 100m freestyle, where she finished comfortably below the one minute barrier to join team mate Ellie Winter with a Blues time. Zara Ryan also dipped under the Blues time in the 100m butterfly, with Juliet Flamank just missing it by 0.1 seconds, still wet from having swum the 200m Individual Medley straight before. Suzanne Norman ensured a 1-2 finish in the 100m backstroke after
The Men’s 200m Individual Medley was also won by Oxford swimmer, Toby Mackay-Champion, who followed with a 100m breaststroke Oxford win later on and earned himself the Nick Thomas Swimmer of the Meet trophy for his impressive performances. Toby’s official recorded best time for the medley was 2.29.95, so Cambridge’s swimmer was shocked into second place when Toby pulled off an incredible Oxford record-breaking 2.03.92!
Despite Cambridge’s dominance in the freestyle events, the Oxford boys fought hard, with a series of Blues times being achieved by past and present Captains Dominic McLoughlin and James Towner in the 100m freestyle, Dominic Walker and Cameron Manley in the 100m backstroke, Tommy Lees in the 200m freestyle, Adam Bagley in the 200m Individual Medley, Toby Mackay-Champion and Matthew Williams in the 100m breaststroke and Toby again in the 200m Individual Medley. That’s an outstanding collection of swims from the boys and testament to the exceptionally high standard of swimming from both teams on the day.
Special mention ought to also go to Adam Bagley and Lara Reed, who both endured the grueling 400m freestyle after completing a 200m Individual Medley, with Lara putting up a great fight to beat a Cambridge swimmer to the wall in the 400m, whilst team mate Lucy battled it out alongside her but ultimately was touched out in the last stroke. Rodrigo Orselli also faced this race, touching in a solid 4.15.90, again just missing a Blues time.
The boys’ results also entailed a number of wins – well done to Dominic Walker, Toby Mackay-Champion, and the 4×100 Medley relayteam, Dominic McLoughlin, Toby Mackay-Champion, Ben Eastman and Cameron Manley, on gaining maximum points for OUSC.
We couldn’t have hosted such a successful event without the meticulous organisation of OUSC’s President, Tilly Ansell, and all the Officials who volunteered to help on the day.
Thank you to all those involved, including the supporters there watching, and well done to all the swimmers for such a successful season!
Written by Zara Ryan and Juliet Flamank
On Friday 16th February, OUSC headed up to Sheffield to compete at BUCS Nationals, with a team of 13. Despite a temperamental minibus and the ordering having the three fastest heats of each event at the beginning of each session, meaning many swimmers had to …
Over the Christmas vacation, 16 intrepid OUSC swimmers and two of their coaches travelled to Torremolinos for their annual training camp. A now familiar location with many at OUSC, Torremolinos provided a great destination for one of the most intense weeks of training in our …
This year varsity will take place on Saturday 24th of February at the Rosenblatt pool, Oxford. The details for the day are as follows:
On Friday 10th November OUSC packed their bags and headed up to Sheffield to compete in BUCS short course: a nationwide event with 49 universities competing, including Olympians. After an initial delay due to the door not shutting (sadly, Jamie Towner’s ego wouldn’t fit) OUSC …