European golds for Black Country girls

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Black Country ‘n’ Potteries Masters ladies are on a mission to claim the 280+ relay titles and records. The team of Alyson Fordham, Barbara Boxall, Lindsey Gowland and Kath Tunnicliffe celebrated a golden double at the European Aquatics Masters Championships in Å amorín, Slovakia, wining both the freestyle and medley relays in spectacular style.

BCPM relay team on podium with gold medals
Gold medalists (left to right) Alyson Fordham, Lindsey Gowland, Barbara Boxall and Kath Tunnicliffe

Kath Tunnicliffe, chef de mission, explained the plan to take the Black Country to Europe. Already British title and record holders, they relished the opportunity to share the story of the club, compete against the best in Europe, and show the world what ‘ladies of a certain age’ can do.

This time, for the first time, our ladies had competition: the BCPM team lined-up against 8 other 280+ ladies relay teams. With a combined age of over 2,500 years, the teams represented Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. A straight fight for the medals – the winning team would take the European title.

The 4 x 50m freestyle relay was the first event of the day. Gowland led, followed by Boxall and Tunnicliffe, and anchored home by Fordham. The team won gold by an astonishing 11 second margin in a time of 2:18:35 – which was also a European championship record.

The 4 x 50m medley relay followed. Tunnicliffe led out on backstroke, with Fordham on breaststroke, Gowland on butterfly, and Boxall anchoring home on freestyle. Again the team won gold by significant 7 second margin in a time of 2:41:85 – another European championship record!

The BCPM supporters club were delighted with the news from Slovakia:

Amazing! Brilliant! Fantastic! Inspiring! Masterclass!

“You inspire me to keep swimming as long as I can”

With the relay mission accomplished, there was time for some celebration, with the ladies demonstrating their sartorial style away from the poolside. Here is a rare photo of the fantastic four without their goggles!

BCPM ladies relay team
Glamourous BCPM ladies (left to right) Barbara Boxall, Lyndsey Gowland, Alyson Fordham and Kath Tunnicliffe

European Aquatics Masters Championships 2026

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Black Country n Potteries Masters’ inspirational 280+ ladies were aiming for individual and team glory at European Aquatics Masters Championship. The competition was held over 7 days, from 18 to 24 August 2026, at the x-bionic sphere, an outdoor Olympic pool in Å amorín, Slovakia.

Alyson Fordham led the way in the F70-74 freestyle sprint events, winning gold in both the 50m and 100m freestyle and setting new European Championship Records.

Lindsey Gowland also collected bronze in the 50m freestyle in the F65-69 age category.

Kath Tunnicliffe dominated in the F70-74 backstroke events, with silver in the 100m backstroke and bronze in the 50m backstroke.

But this was just the warm-up … BCPM’s 280+ ladies are on a mission to target the team events, and the 4 x 50m freestyle and medley relays were in their sights in Slovakia.

Alyson Fordham, Barbara Boxall, Lindsey Gowland and Kath Tunnicliffe were double-gold medal winners, and set new European Championship Records in both relay events.

A full-report of the BCPM’s fantastic four and their quest for 280+ relay glory is available here.

Individual results

Complete list of results from the European Aquatics Masters Championships 2026.

Alyson Fordham (F70-74)
1st place – 50m freestyle 31.55 (ER-CR)
1st place – 100m freestyle 1.11.28 (ER-CR)

Barbara Boxall (F70-74)
5th place – 100m freestyle
11th place – 50m freestyle

Kath Tunnicliffe (F70-74)
2nd place – 100m backstroke
3rd place – 50m backstroke
8th place – 50m freestyle

Lindsey Gowland (F65-69)
3rd place – 50m freestyle

Northern Wave Manchester Masters 2026

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Black Country n Potteries Masters swimmers were part of the record breaking Northern Wave Manchester Masters meet held at the Manchester Aquatics Centre on Saturday 8 August 2026. The BCPM ladies 70-74 team are in excellent form ahead of the European Aquatics Masters Championships in Samorin, Slovakia in August 2026.

Record breaking Fordham

Alyson Fordham set two long-course freestyle records in the female 70-74 age group:

1st place + European record in 100 LC Freestyle (01:12:68)

1st place + British record in 200 Freestyle (02:50:12)

Gold, silver + bronze for BCPM!

Alyson Fordham also topped the podium in the female 50 freestyle, joined by team mates Kath Tunnicliffe (2nd place) and Barbara Boxall (3rd place), for a BCPM clean sweep. The ladies 70-74 relay team is in excellent shape ahead of their record attempts at the Europeans later this month.

Meet results

Congratulations to all BCPM members on their excellent swimming. Our team reports an excellent event, in an excellent pool, with a great disco atmosphere.

A complete list of results is available https://swimming.events/events/14992/results.

Alyson Fordham (F70-74)

1st 50m freestyle, 50m breaststroke, 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle

Kath Tunnicliffe (F70-74)

1st 50m backstroke

2nd 50m freestyle

Barbara Boxall (swimming for Hornchurch) (F70-74)

2nd 100m freestyle

3rd 50m freestyle

Swim England Open Water National Masters Championships 2026

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Rother Valley Country Park (Sheffield) hosted the Swim England Open Water National Masters Championships on Sunday 26 July 2026. A small team of Black Country n Potteries Masters open water swimmers braved the forecast storms to compete in events over the 1km, 3km and 5km individual courses and the 4 x 500m mixed team relay event.  

Congratulations to Athene, Chloe, Lionel and Stuart who were 3rd in the mixed team relay event (O200-239), and to Diane who swam an impressive 8km in the lake. BCPM swimmers bought home 5 medals including gold for Stuart in the 3km event.

BCPM open water mixed relay team ready for action

Athene Schur

4th place in 1km (W45-49)

3rd place in 5km (W45-49)

Chloe Aitken

3rd place in 1km (W18-24)

8th place in 3km (W18-24)

Diane Ashbury

4th place in 3km (W50-54)

4th place in 5km (W50-54)

Jonathan Tate

4th place in 1km (O55-59)

Lionel Spittle

3rd place in 1km (O70-74)

Stuart Sherman

1st place in 3km (O70-74)

A complete list of results is available on the Swim England event website.

Staffordshire Masters Results – 19th April 2026

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Lovely day in Stafford for the Staffs Masters


Twelve club members competed for Black Country and Potteries


Here’s the headlines….


Alyson, Lindsey and Lionel all gained 4 first places a piece.


Roger and John = 3 each


Kath – 2


Clive, Jenny and Richard one apiece


Looking like Staffs records have been swept up by Alyson*, Roger who has to be congratulated for improving his own 50m freestyle time between his 85 and 86 birthdays! And Lindsey who improved her own 25m fly time from last year’s and took another county record in the 25m free.


*Now to Alyson, her four swims in the freestyle events would all be county and West Mids. marks with two breaking legendary  Jane Asher records set 22 years ago! However, as the timing system was haywire, these cannot be verified….but fear not…. Alyson will have them in a few weeks’ time!


Congratulations Athene and Richard, you will enter the Best Staffs Masters chart once April’s is completed, Athene 50 bk, Richard fly


Finally, 5 relays all winners
Many thanks Lindsey for organising and to Alyson and Barbara for coming a long way to ‘be presented’ and meet their BCPM teammates. Nice atmosphere poolside

West Midlands Masters. 14th March

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Alan Higgs Centre – Coventry

Congratulations to you all! Especially those who combined a win with either establishing or breaking a Staffs record …. they are identified with **

Others with the distinction of breaking/establishing a county record are:

Ian Hicks BCPM 100IM

Jonathan Tate BCPM 50 bk

John Done BCPM 200 br

Clive Keay BCPM 50,100 fly 400 free

You have a limited time to claim a county record, using the link below is where you do it!

PB Notification Staffordshire ASA

My personal swim of the day was Clive Keay in his 800m freestyle. I was the timekeeper on his lane, so watched him relentlessly putting in a fabulous effort for 32 lengths! He’s a man we haven’t seen compete for years! When he emerges, he’s absolutely stunning!

Lindsey Gowland BCPM 50,100fr, 50br, 50fly

Diane Asbury BCPM 1500**, 800**, 200 fr (our ice champs was baking!!!)

Lionel Spittle BCPM 800, 200, 100 fr

Kath Tunnicliffe BCPM 50, 100 bk

John Done BCPM 50, 100 br

Ian Hicks BCPM 100 fr** (congrats Ian in breaking the minute!)

Clive Keay BCPM 800 fr**

Jonathan Tate BCPM 100 bk

BCPM 4 x 50 280 plus Freestyle

Eleven Black Country n Potteries swimmers set twenty-nine new Staffordshire Masters County Records in 2025!

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At 85 years young, Roger Crannage continues to raise the bar for Staffordshire Masters, setting an incredible five new Open category records â€” a truly inspirational performance.

58 years his junior Sadie Turner made history by becoming the first woman in Staffordshire, aged 18 or over, to break the one-minute barrier for the 100m freestyle. This is a remarkable milestone. Sadie finished the year with an outstanding five county records.

Ian Hicks had  four record-breaking swims

Lindsey Gowland and Kath Tunnicliffe â€“ three county records each

Jennifer Powell and Athene Schur both claimed two county records,

Lynn Dawson, Sean Wilding, John Done, Tony Ward, and Richard Woodall bagged a record apiece 

These performances highlight the depth, longevity and quality of the BCPM’s swim club.

Thanks to Staffordshire Records Secretary Catherine Roe for her continued work in maintaining the county records.

Contact details: records@staffsasa.co.uk

Records can be viewed here:

Staffordshire County Records Staffordshire ASA

Women– 2025 Records

25 Fly 25–29: S Turner (BCPM) – 13.66

50 Fly 25–29: S Turner (BCPM) – 29.82

25 Free 25–29: S Turner (BCPM) – 13.20

50 Free 25–29: S Turner (BCPM) – 27.12

100 Free 25–29: S Turner (BCPM) – 59.38

200 Back 45–49: A Schur (BCPM) – 3:11.85

400 IM 45–49: A Schur (BCPM) – 6:58.89

25 Back 55–59: J Powell (BCPM) – 17.37

50 Back 55–59: J Powell (BCPM) – 36.85

200 IM 55–59: L Dawson (BCPM) – 3:35.51

25 Back 65–69: L Gowland (BCPM) – 15.09

25 Fly 65–69: L Gowland (BCPM) – 16.53

200 Free 65–69: L Gowland (BCPM) – 2:53.53

100 Back 70–74: K Tunnicliffe (BCPM) – 1:31.41

50 Free 70–74: K Tunnicliffe (BCPM) – 34.19

200 Free 70–74: K Tunnicliffe (BCPM) – 2:57.96

⸻

Open Records

400 Free 35–39: S Wilding (BCPM) – 5:19.77

100 Back 45–49: I Hicks (BCPM) – 1:08.50

100 Free 45–49: I Hicks (BCPM) – 1:00.89

200 Free 45–49: I Hicks (BCPM) – 2:18.66

100 IM 45–49: I Hicks (BCPM) – 1:09.50

200 Breast 65–69: J Done (BCPM) – 3:52.84

200 Breast 70–74: R Woodall (BCPM) – 5:03.86

50 Free 70–74: T Ward (BCPM) – 30.75

25 Back 85–89: R Crannage (BCPM) – 30.93

50 Back 85–89: R Crannage (BCPM) – 1:07.05

100 Back 85–89: R Crannage (BCPM) – 2:41.23

25 Free 85–89: R Crannage (BCPM) – 25.11

50 Free 85–89: R Crannage (BCPM) – 54.58

Breakout performance from Sadie Turner!

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Black Country n Potteries own Sadie Turner at 27 years old, has burst onto the international Masters scene with three fantastic swims at the European Masters Short Course Championships in Lublin, Poland.

Racing against the very best in Europe, Sadie delivered a superb set of results – 4th, 6th and 8th place finishes, top Brit in every race, and an incredible two lifetime PBs. As if that wasn’t enough, she also smashed three Staffordshire records and one West Midlands record along the way!

What makes this even more impressive is that Sadie achieves all this on just two high-quality pool sessions a week with Walsall Swim Squad, combined with regular weight training to build strength and power.

Sadie – everyone at Black Country n Potteries Masters salutes you
Outstanding sprint speed, huge progress over the past year, and performances you can be incredibly proud of. We can’t wait to see what comes next!

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Black Country n Potteries Ladies set new records

Earlier this year, the ladies from Black Country n Potteries set new relay records at the British Masters Championships in Sheffield in an impressive showing at the three-day event. The ladies set new records in the 280+ age group in the 200m Freestyle and Medley, as well as the 400m freestyle.

200WomensMedley280+2:34:03Kath, Alyson, Lindsey, Barbara25.10.25British Masters Championships (SC)Sheffield1st
400WomensFreestyle280+4:59:59Barbara, Kath, Alyson, Lyndsey25.10.25British Masters Championships (SC)Sheffield1st
200WomensFreestyle280+2:12:37Lindsey, Barbara, Kath, Alyson26.10.25British Masters Championships (SC)Sheffield1st

    The ladies also improved a previous record in the 160+ age group in the 200m freestyle

    200WomensFreestyle160+2:10:18Sadie, Laura, Jacky, Sharon26.10.25British Masters Championships (SC)Sheffield8th

    Congratulations on the new records. Here’s looking forward to setting new records next year.

    Black Country & Potteries 280+ Women’s Relay Team – A Remarkable Year

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    Lt to Rt: Alyson Fordham, Barbara Boxall, Kath Tunnicliffe, Lindsey Gowland

    The Black Country & Potteries Masters 280+ women’s relay squad have completed all ten of their record attempts for 2025 – five short course and five long course – and what a year it has been!

    Their story is as inspiring as their results. Of the four swimmers, only one (Alyson) represented her country in her youth. Two reached county level before taking 30-year breaks from the sport, while one didn’t start competing until her 40s.

    Between them they manage hip replacements, diabetes monitoring, and busy family lives (a combined eight children and ten grandchildren!). Only one trains regularly in a coached group – the others fit their sessions into public swimming times, supplementing with weights, Pilates, and the occasional dog walk.

    And yet… look what they achieved.

    Every single European and British record in the 280+ category – broken.

    Five brand new World Records – established.

    It’s a story of determination, teamwork, and proof that age is no barrier to excellence.

    Details of their records are listed below, but the headline is clear: 2025 will go down as a year of breathtaking achievements for this incredible team.

    World Records

    16.3.25 Derby LC 4 x 100 Medley 6.12.16

    16.3.25 Derby LC 4 x 200 Freestyle 11.41.75

    13.6.25 Stratford LC 4 x 100 Freestyle 5.04.66

    25.10.25 Sheffield SC 4 x 100 Freestyle 5.59.59

    26.10.25 Sheffield SC 4 x 50 Freestyle 2.12.37

    European and British Records

    22.2.25 Blackpool SC 4 x 100 Medley 5.57.65

    22.2.25 Blackpool SC 4 x200 Freestyle 11.29.12

    16.3.25 Derby LC 4 x 100 Medley 6.12.16

    16.3.25 Derby LC 4 x 200 Freestyle 11.41.75

    13.6.25 Stratford LC 4 x 100 Freestyle 5.04.6613.6.25 Stratford LC 4 x 50 Freestyle 2.15.57

    14.6.25 Stratford LC 4 x 50 Medley 2.37.01

    25.10.25 Sheffield SC 4 x 50 Medley 2.34.03

    25.10.25 Sheffield SC 4 x 100 Freestyle 5.59.59

    26.10.25 Sheffield SC 4 x 50 Freestyle 2.12.37Lt to Rt: Alyson Fordham, Barbara Boxall, Kath Tunnicliffe, Lindsey Gowland

    The Black Country & Potteries Masters 280+ women’s relay squad have completed all ten of their record attempts for 2025 – five short course and five long course – and what a year it has been!

    Their story is as inspiring as their results. Of the four swimmers, only one (Alyson) represented her country in her youth. Two reached county level before taking 30-year breaks from the sport, while one didn’t start competing until her 40s.

    Between them they manage hip replacements, diabetes monitoring, and busy family lives (a combined eight children and ten grandchildren!). Only one trains regularly in a coached group – the others fit their sessions into public swimming times, supplementing with weights, Pilates, and the occasional dog walk.

    And yet… look what they achieved.

    Every single European and British record in the 280+ category – broken.

    Five brand new World Records – established.

    It’s a story of determination, teamwork, and proof that age is no barrier to excellence.

    Details of their records are listed below, but the headline is clear: 2025 will go down as a year of breathtaking achievements for this incredible team.

    • World Records
    • 16.3.25 Derby LC 4 x 100 Medley 6.12.16
    • 16.3.25 Derby LC 4 x 200 Freestyle 11.41.75
    • 13.6.25 Stratford LC 4 x 100 Freestyle 5.04.66
    • 25.10.25 Sheffield SC 4 x 100 Freestyle 5.59.59
    • 26.10.25 Sheffield SC 4 x 50 Freestyle 2.12.37
    • European and British Records
    • 22.2.25 Blackpool SC 4 x 100 Medley 5.57.65
    • 22.2.25 Blackpool SC 4 x200 Freestyle 11.29.12
    • 16.3.25 Derby LC 4 x 100 Medley 6.12.16
    • 16.3.25 Derby LC 4 x 200 Freestyle 11.41.75
    • 13.6.25 Stratford LC 4 x 100 Freestyle 5.04.6613.6.25 Stratford LC 4 x 50 Freestyle 2.15.57
    • 14.6.25 Stratford LC 4 x 50 Medley 2.37.01
    • 25.10.25 Sheffield SC 4 x 50 Medley 2.34.03
    • 25.10.25 Sheffield SC 4 x 100 Freestyle 5.59.59
    • 26.10.25 Sheffield SC 4 x 50 Freestyle 2.12.37