Black Country n Potteries Masters were presented with the Major George Evans Memorial Trophy by Staffordshire County Swimming Association at The Staffs Masters in Stafford on April 14th 2024.

The presentation was made by President and BCPM member Tony Ward. The trophy is given by the county committee members to individuals, a group or club who’ve done something outstanding.

Black Country n Potteries were recognised for…

• Growth ….. from 15 members to 34 members in 5 years
• Channel relay swims by club members, including a ‘Guinness Book of Records’ World Record by the oldest mixed combined age team (Lionel, Caroline and Di + one)
• Tony Ward was Technical Delegate at The World Para Swimming Championships in 2023
• Tony and Helen provide significant input into Masters events at all levels, including the National Championships
• Club members set 34 new county records in 2023 – Lionel, Martyn and Ian five each, Lindsey, Kath and Roger four, Justine three and Di and Jaq two.
• Kath secured five Long Course National Championship titles, Sadie Turner three Silvers, and Lindsey two Silvers and a Bronze
• Kath won individual world titles at Fukuoka, Japan in the 50 and 100m Free, 100 and 200m back, and broke her own British Record
• Female squads dominated the 4 x 50m Short Course National Championships winning both the Medley Relay (Jen, Justine, Lindsey and Barbara) and the Freestyle (Sharon, Kath, Jen and Lindsey) 
• Short Course National Championships: Kath five golds, Lindsey two golds, Barbara and Athene two bronze each.

Five members of Black Country n Potteries were part of two relay squads who swam the channel in August 2023. 

The first of these crossed on August 20th, Brainwaves, and finished in a time of 12hrs 21mins, a Guinness World Record (to be officially confirmed) for the oldest four person mixed relay swim. This team included Chair of BCPM, Caroline Jones, Diane Asbury and Lionel Spittle.

Team bch had to wait nearly a week in Dover before heading off for a very impressive swim of 11hrs 59mins This squad included club members Martyn Finney and Paul Tucker.

Their efforts were all to raise desperately needed funds for The Brain Tumour Charity and Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

With the start of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on the horizon, here’s a round up of the involvement of Black Country n Potteries Masters club members.

Justine Doody was able to keep teammates up to date with the development of the new 50 m pool during the building phase. The company she works for built it! She got to trial the water quality way before any one else. She’ll be a volunteer in the pool area as a ‘Host’ to sponsors and corporate hospitality. 

Lionel Spittle will be running a leg of the Queen’s Baton relay in Wolverhampton on Sunday 24th July. This is in recognition of his magnificent fund raising achievements for The Brain Tumour Charity.

Another five BCPM members join Justine as volunteers in the aquatic centre to assist in the swimming and diving competitions. Jennifer Powell will be in field of play, Sharon Evans, a protocol team member, Club Chair, Caroline Jones, a host for Fina personnel, Diane Asbury and Kath Tunnicliffe will work in the athletes areas.

As volunteers they’ll help make Brum ’22 a truly memorable Commonwealth Games and put Birmingham on the global map. They are also excited about it’s reopening in 2023 (once adapted), as 50 metre pools are quite a rarity in the West Midlands. Could it’s location in the centre of the country make it an obvious choice for future national and international masters competitions?

One of our own!

Huge congratulations to Lionel Spittle, one of the Batonbearers for the Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton Relay.

Lionel has raised £7,000 for The Brain Tumour Charity in memory of his beloved wife Linda. To commemorate five years of losing her to a tumour, and to mark his 65th birthday, Lionel undertook his remarkable 65 Challenge.

This saw him swim 65 lengths of WV Active Central Baths pool, where he also works as a lifeguard, cycle 65 miles, then run 65 laps of Aldersley Stadium to raise money for the charity.

But the fundraising doesn’t stop there. Next year, to mark his 70th birthday and 10 years since losing Linda, Lionel will be facing a Relay Channel Challenge with friends (and other club members) to swim the English Channel. The feat will again raise money for The Brain Tumour Charity along with Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

You can cheer on Lionel and many other Batonbearers as the Queen’s Baton Relay hits the streets of Wolverhampton on Sunday July 24.