Contents
Introduction
Swim England's latest position on events during coronavirus outbreak, 13 March 2020
New Records
Latest Scores for Beds Masters Decathlon Challenge 2020
Beds Masters in FINA World Rankings 2019
2019 Additions to the Beds Masters Honours Board
The Club Scene
-- Beavers Masters Bedford
-- Dunstable SC
-- South Beds Masters
-- Team Luton SC
Links

Introduction
This newsletter provides the latest Beds Masters records, Decathlon ranking and Swim England advice about the coronavirus outbreak. Those going to the British Masters Championships in Sheffield 24-26 April 2020 should keep an eye open for advice updates

Swim England's latest position on events during coronavirus outbreak
13 March 2020
Swim England is continuing to follow Government and Public Health England guidance over staging events in the light of the coronavirus outbreak – but will review the situation at a meeting next week.
A Swim England spokesperson said: "We have been receiving a number of calls regarding events taking place and we understand the concerns of our members and clubs.
"The current advice is that there is still no requirement to cancel sporting events, although we appreciate a number of other national governing bodies have taken the decision to so.
"We are continuing to evaluate what is an ongoing situation and we will be meeting with our colleagues at British Swimming on Monday to undertake another risk assessment for forthcoming events before deciding the next course of action."
Among the events to be considered at Monday’s meeting are the FINA Diving World Series, which is scheduled to take place at the London Aquatics Centre between 27-29 March, and the British Masters Championships at Sheffield’s Ponds Forge due to be held from 24-26 April.
"Cancelling events is not a decision we would take lightly but the health and wellbeing of our athletes, volunteers and spectators will be at the forefront of our discussions," added the spokesperson.
"In the meantime, we would encourage everyone taking part in all our aquatic sports over the weekend to enjoy the competitions but be mindful of the advice from the Government and Public Health England.
"The guidance we have received is that water and the chlorine within swimming pools will help to kill the virus. It’s important, however, to ensure that everyone visiting pools follows the latest hygiene advice to help reduce the risk of infection.
Advice for clubs
"Competitors should shower before and after entering the water, while spectators and volunteers should regularly wash their hands for 20 seconds using soap and water or a sanitiser gel.
"Most importantly, if you feel unwell, please do not attend events or training and seek appropriate medical advice."
Meanwhile, Swim England and British Swimming are advising clubs to consider Government guidance regarding any planned overseas travel.
The Swim England spokesperson said: "The Government has recently advised schools and colleges to cancel overseas trips for children under 18 until further notice.
"Swim England and British Swimming are advising clubs to consider this guidance in relation to any overseas trips that they may have planned. We also suggest clubs follow the advice regarding travel to domestic events.
"We will continue to review guidance from Government and issue further information accordingly."
Swim England will continue to keep everyone updated on its latest position regarding the coronavirus outbreak via www.swimming.org and its social media channels – Twitter and Facebook.
(Information copied from Swim England web site https://www.swimming.org/)

Swim England East Region announced a similar position (at present) for their events and development days, on their web site.

New Records
The following new Beds ASA Masters records have been set since the start of the year up to 10^th March 2020..

Short Course

Women

18-24	100 Butterfly	1:07.17	07.03.20	South Beds	Lauren Grice	Basildon
25-29	50 Butterfly	0:30.78	07.03.20	South Beds	Frances Merridan	Basildon
40-44	50 Backstroke	0:36.61	07.03.20	Team Luton	Kelly Cooke	Bracknell
50-54	200 Freestyle	2:28.64	16.02.20	Flitwick Dolphins	Liz Woolner	Sudbury
55-59	50 Freestyle	0:34.34	07.03.20	South Beds	Julie Moinet	Basildon
55-59	50 Butterfly	0:39.99	07.03.20	South Beds	Julie Moinet	Basildon
80–84	50 Freestyle	0:44.88	16.02.20	South Beds	Janet Masters	Sudbury
80–84	50 Backstroke	0:51.83	07.03.20	South Beds	Janet Masters	Basildon
80–84	100 Backstroke	1:49.82	07.03.20	South Beds	Janet Masters	Basildon
80–84	50 Butterfly	0:53.78	07.03.20	South Beds	Janet Masters	Basildon
80–84	100 Ind-Medley	1:53.97	07.03.20	South Beds	Janet Masters	Basildon

Men

65-69	100 Breaststroke	1:31.48	07.03.20	Team Luton	Colin Mayes	Bracknell
65-69	200 Butterfly	3:34.93	07.03.20	Team Luton	Malcolm Barton	Bracknell

Long Course

Women

25-29	50 Breaststroke	0:39.00	18.01.20	Team Luton	Laura Smith	Crawley
40-44	100 Freestyle	1:08.23	01.03.20	Team Luton	Jo Mitchinson	Swansea
40-44	200 Freestyle	2:21.53	01.03.20	Team Luton	Jo Mitchinson	Swansea
40-44	50 Butterfly	0:36.54	18.01.20	Team Luton	Kelly Cooke	Crawley
40-44	100 Butterfly	1:20.82	29.02.20	Team Luton	Jo Mitchinson	Swansea
40-44	200 Butterfly	2:47.62	29.02.20	Team Luton	Jo Mitchinson	Swansea
65-69	50 Freestyle	0:39.63	01.03.20	South Beds	Christine Ayers	Swansea
65-69	100 Freestyle	1:26.03	18.01.20	South Beds	Christine Ayers	Crawley
65-69	400 Freestyle	6:55.25	29.02.20	South Beds	Christine Ayers	Swansea
65-69	800 Freestyle	14:01.67	29.02.20	South Beds	Christine Ayers	Swansea
65-69	1500 Freestyle	26:17.28	26.02.20	South Beds	Christine Ayers	Swansea
65-69	50 Backstroke	0:47.64	19.01.20	South Beds	Christine Ayers	Crawley
65-69	100 Backstroke	1:45.66	01.03.20	South Beds	Christine Ayers	Swansea
65-69	50 Breaststroke	0:48.11	18.01.20	South Beds	Christine Ayers	Crawley

Men

25-29	200 Backstroke	3:02.04	18.01.20	Team Luton	Sam Bradley	Crawley
65-69	100 Breaststroke	1:34.57	19.01.20	Team Luton	Malcolm Barton	Crawley
65-69	200 Breaststroke	3:23.74	18.01.20	Team Luton	Malcolm Barton	Crawley
65-69	100 Butterfly	1:45.35	19.01.20	Team Luton	Malcolm Barton	Crawley
65-69	200 Ind-Medley	3:35.65	18.01.20	Team Luton	Malcolm Barton	Crawley
65-69	400 Ind-Medley	7:37.78	19.01.20	Team Luton	Malcolm Barton	Crawley

Many thanks to John Bellis for providing these records.

Latest Scores for Beds Masters Decathlon Challenge 2020
Here are the scores for the year up to 8 March 2020 and including 7-Mar-20 - Bracknell 25th Anniversary Masters. At this point in time most swimmers have only swum in one or two competitions.

The top five Beds women’s team ranking is :-

Rank	Beds Club	Points
1 (21)	South Beds Masters Swimming Club	7503
2 (26)	Team Luton Swimming	6824
3 (115)	Flitwick Dolphins SC	2465

The top five Beds men’s ranking

Rank	Swimmer	Beds Club	Age	Points
1 (126)	Ian Stoughton	Team Luton	61	2142
2 (233)	Malcolm Barton	Team Luton	65	1730
3 (295)	Paul Clarke	Beaver Mast	78	1535
4 (477)	Sam Bradley	Team Luton	27	1068
5 (607)	Colin Mayes	Team Luton	65	783

The top five Beds men’s teams are ranked

Rank	Beds Club	Points
1 (48)	Team Luton Swimming	5723
2 (187)	Beavers Masters Bedford SC	1535
3 (202)	South Beds Masters Swimming Club	1353
4 (224)	Modernian SC	1119

Beds Masters in FINA World Rankings 2019
The following are listed in the FINA Masters top-10 for 2019

Lomg Course
Women 35-39 Age Group 50M Breaststroke
5th 34.73 CARLA KING GBR

Women 35-39 Age Group 100M Breaststroke
9th 1:20.71 CARLA KING GBR

Women 50-54 Age Group 50M Butterfly
2nd 30.70 ELIZABETH WOOLNER GBR

Women 50-54 Age Group 100M Butterfly
3rd 1:10.70 ELIZABETH WOOLNER GBR

Short Course
Women 35-39 Age Group 50M Freestyle
10th 27.20 CARLA KING GBR

Women 35-39 Age Group 50M Breaststroke
6th 33.89 CARLA KING GBR

Women 50-54 Age Group 50M Butterfly
6th 30.82 ELIZABETH WOOLNER GBR

Women 50-54 Age Group 100M Butterfly
8th 1:10.24 ELIZABETH WOOLNER GBR

Women 75-79 Age Group 100M Butterfly
8th 2:01.25 JANET MASTERS GBR

Freestyles Relays
Women 100-119 Age Group 200M Freestyle
2^nd SOUTH BEDS MAST GBR 01:53.59 EVELYN C KING C IRVINE E MERRIDAN F

Medley Relays
Women 120-159 Age Group 200M medley
4th SOUTH BEDS MAST GBR 02:05.61 EVELYN C PEARSE S MERRIDAN F KING C

2019 Additions to the Beds Masters Honours Board
Three new entries have been added:-
1. Elizabeth Woolner (50-54 Flitwick) for her British Record in Long Course 50M Butterfly at London Aquatics Centre in a time of 30.70 which ranked her 2^nd in the World in 2019
2. Elizabeth Woolner (50-54 Flitwick) who ranked 3rd in the World in 2019 for Long Course 100M Butterfly at London Aquatics Centre in a time of 1:10.70
3. South Beds Masters Ladies 100-119 years Women’s Short Course 200m Freestyle relay team of Claire Evelyn, Carla King, Emma Irvine and Frances Merridan who ranked 2nd in the World for 2019 in a time of 01:53.59
(See Honours Board)

The Club Scene and Masters Training Sessions

Beavers Masters Bedford
Training sessions continue at a later time on Sundays, starting at 10am at Trinity Sports and Leisure Centre, Bedford. All Beds Masters are welcome to join us. Just pay at the door.
Report by Paul Clarke

Dunstable SC
Masters National Championships 2019
Michael Judd one of DSC’s performance squad athletes travelled to Sheffield for the short course Masters National Championships over the weekend of 26th and 27th October 2019. Competing in 4 races, Michael always prepares really thoroughly in training and this was no exception – he was more than ready for the challenge! With Tim Hutton DSC’s Director of Swimming in attendance, and the whole club back in Dunstable behind him, Michael did not disappoint and brought home a tremendous Bronze Medal for his efforts!!

Swimming in the 50m backstroke Michael swam in a brilliant 28.46 giving him a very credible 5th place position. He also competed in the 100m backstroke swimming in 1.02.68 hitting 29.73 at the 50m mark. In the 50m breaststroke Michael swam 32.09 a brilliant time!
Michael also swam in the 200m breaststroke and from the outset this was going to be a pretty special race indeed. Achieving a time of 1.13 at the 100m mark, Michael battled hard in the last 50m and achieved a fantastic time of 2.37 and a spectacular bronze medal to boot!! To medal at this very high level is no mean feat!
(Information from the Dunstable SC web site)

South Beds Masters
2019 FINA Masters World Rankings 2019
What a fabulous achievement! South Beds Masters 100-119 years Women’s 200m Freestyle relay team of Claire Evelyn, Carla King, Emma Irvine and Frances Meridian are ranked 2nd in the World for 2019 short course, and our 120-159 years Women’s 200m Medley relay team of Claire Evelyn, Sarah Pearse, Frances Merridan and Carla King are ranked in 4th place.
Individually, Carla King (35-39yrs) has 2 top ten rankings, 6th in the 50m Breaststroke and 10th in the 50m Freestyle. Janet Masters (75-79yrs) is ranked 8th in the 100m Butterfly.
Well done ladies! Link to the World rankings here.
(Information from the South Beds Masters web site)

Team Luton SC
Record Breaking Start to Masters’ 2020 Campaign
The seven Masters & Seniors competing at the South East Long Course Masters in Crawley established 2 new East Region and 9 new Beds County records, as they brought home 6 Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Bronze medals.

Malcolm Barton made the most of his first meet up in the 65 – 69 years’ age group, winning all four of his events, the 100m & 200m Breaststroke plus the 200m & 400m Individual Medley. He demolished the previous Beds County records in all four events. His times of 1:34.57 and 3:23.74 in the Breaststroke races were also new East Region records by margins of 6.55 and 17.47 seconds respectively. Just for good measure his 100m Butterfly split to kick off his 400m IM was also a new Beds record for his age group.
Sam Bradley lowered his own 25 – 29 years’ Beds 200m Backstroke record by 3.4 seconds to win in a time of 3:02.04. Competing in five events in one day, Sam also collected a silver from his 200m IM whilst finishing 4th in his 400m Freestyle.
Laura Smith earned her first Beds County Masters record with her winning time of 39:00 seconds in the 25 – 29 years’ 50m Breaststroke. That broke the previous record by 1.39 seconds. She followed this with two 5th places in her 100m Freestyle and 50m Butterfly.
Competing in the 18 -24 years’ age group, Alice Pinney claimed two silver medals for her 400m & 800m Freestyle swims. Alice also finished 3rd in her 200m whilst touching 5th in the 50m Freestyle.
Jodie Armstrong claimed her first South East medal touching 3rd in the 35 – 39 years’ 100m Butterfly, missing out on a Bronze in the 50m event by just 0.7 seconds.
Kelly Cooke came even closer to a medal finishing 4th in her 40 – 44 years’ 50m Butterfly. Her time of 36.54 was just 0.21 seconds away from Bronze but Kelly had the consolation of taking 1.71 seconds off the County record for her age group. That followed on from a County record of 1:10.06 over 100m Freestyle, a 4.06 second improvement on the 2013 record. Kelly touched 9th with Michelle Neal coming 12th in a personal best long course time, within the 2020 GB Masters qualifying standard.
(Information from the Team Luton web site)

Links
Beds County ASA Website Masters: https://bedscountyasa.com/category/masters/
East Region Website Masters: https://www.eastswimming.org/masters/
Swim England Masters Hub: https://www.swimming.org/masters/
Back copies of Beds ASA Masters Newsletters can be found at https://bedscountyasa.com/406/
And Earlier ones in the Archive at http://www.swimsite.freeuk.com/beds/news/news.htm
You can Subscribe to the Beds Masters Newsletters by email here: https://bedscountyasa.com/406/

Paul Clarke
Email: swimsite@freeuk.com

Archive: www.swimsite.freeuk.com/beds