[15 – 17 November, 2019]

Our first BUCS competition of the year got off to a great start on the Friday with Goggy getting a win for UCL in the 1500m freestyle (after just swimming in 2 relays!!). In the evening we prepared for the rest of the weekend by eating burgers at GBK (maybe not the best pre-race food) and were up early for the following morning’s races.

Saturday was a successful day, with some great PBs and Maya making the 50 back final and going sub 30s for the first time! Not to mention Goggy also getting a bronze medal in the 800m!! The day ended with some Italian food and a viewing of Johnnie English 3. The weekend finished with some great swims, especially from John and Maya, who both got PBs and then we all headed back to London after a fun weekend of racing.

Justin and Rebecca rallied the troops for another class weekend of swimming in Sheffield!

[30/10/2019]

The night which UCL Swimming Club is famous for, Shark Run, even more appealing this year because it fell on Halloween!! With our two Social Secs (Rob and James) being masters of the English language, they devised the idea of calling this year’s event…drum roll please…’SPOOKY Shark Run’.

To mark the occasion, our sharks (Rob Hilton and Becca Lin), terrorised the rest of the club with RED (not blue) paint. Rob later stated that being a shark in his fourth year at UCL was the proudest moment of his life.

Our two sharks for the evening (Check out the pristine DIY job on the fin and t-shirt from Becca)

After starting our mission at ULU, swimmers attempted, but failed miserably, to evade the two sharks in a route that went via the Main Quad, The Northumberland Arms, The Court and The Fitzrovia. Eventually finishing at Roxy which suffered from some serious queue management issues, many of the team could be seen enjoying a McDonald’s, whilst waiting for the 29 and covered head to toe in red paint.

Another fantastic evening for the team and we are looking forward to many more throughout the year!

Outside the Fitzrovia – lots of smiles, red paint and cheese balls

[26/10/2019]

Another year, another pilgrimage to Cambridge, and yet again, UCLUSC did not disappoint. Well rested after a two-hour coach journey from the Royal Albert Hall, we arrived at the educational capital of the UK in suitably respectable style, goggles in one hand, KFC Bargain Bucket in the other, to take on anybody that stood in our way.

Possibly due to the debatable pre-competition nutritional tactics, particularly from the two Robs, and the fact that we were missing some key players, the team has seen better days in the pool. Nevertheless, plaudits must be given to John Telensky and Anna Spentzou for tackling the 100 fly! Also, special mention to our VP, Becca Lin, for swimming…well everything really.

We then enjoyed a delicious Thai meal before heading off to mark our territory at the Regal! With the theme being Tube Stations, our ingenuity in costume design demonstrated why we all deserve to be at UCL. From Chalk Famers to Nuns (Seven Sisters), from Napoleon (Waterloo) to Shepherds (Bush), our team impressed every innocent onlooker in town.

Despite briefly worrying (halfway down the motorway) that we had left the entire Imperial team behind in Cambridge, we were informed that they had actually all taken the train back to London earlier that evening. Once again, UCL had shown its superiority.

Thanks for a great trip everyone, especially to the Fitness team for coming along to support!

See you all next year!

[19/10/2019]

UCL Swimming Club’s first competitive outing of the season did not disappoint, with us winning the year’s first round of London League.

Leaving all other London universities in our wake, including Imperial, Kings and Brunel, UCL dominated both the individual and relay events to conquer London League yet again. Despite fearsome tactics by Brunel in the 8x50m mixed freestyle relay of putting their four male swimmers on the first four legs, UCL fought from almost a length behind to touch the wall first – is there nothing we can’t overcome?!

Special mention must go to our elite performers in Goggy, Maya, Oskar, Alvin, Janis, James, Daniel and our resident captains: the ‘Mighty Medic’ Rebecca and the ‘Fake Frenchman’ Justin. Apologies if I missed anyone out (please blame Rob Brunton).

We celebrated by taking a classic team victory photo in the pool after the afternoon’s rather undramatic events. It must be noted however that this was after all the other teams had done exactly the same thing…maybe we should let them know that they have nothing to celebrate?

Onto the next round and well done team!