43rd Forde International Masters
February saw fourteen members travel over to Flensburg to take part in the 43rd International Masters event and as usual it didn’t disappoint. As usual we were treated very well by our hosts and shared some great relaxation time after the event. As for the swimming itself, we had two FINA podium successes with James Handford [21-24 yrs 50m Freistil (FS)] and Steven Allcock [45-49yrs 200m Rucken (Backstroke)] and a total 21 top three age band finishes. With every swimmer finishing in the top ten of their respective age groups there were some great swims and a lot to be proud of. Our age band winners were:
| GOLD | SILVER | BRONZE |
| Steven Allcock x 3 | Steven Allcock x 1 | Kyle McKenna x 2 |
| Elaine Fitchie x 2 | Carole Jepson x 1 | Carole Jepson x 1 |
| James Handford x 1 | James Handford x 1 | Russell Fray x 2 |
| Lee Williams x 1 | Jack Johnson x 3 | Ben Smith x 1 |
| Ben Smith x 1 | ||
| Lee Williams x 1 |
We were delighted to take over a gift of club hats and some key rings made by one of our age group swimmers, Matthew Bates. Our friends in Flensburg were really impressed with Matthew’s ingenuity and even more so when we explained that he had sold them to club swimmers at our Annual Championships and made £150 which he had donated to Club fundraising.