Serpentine Swimming Club

The 2025 Emmi Hunte series winner - Charles Cottam

Charles won the 50m leg of the series in February

A four race series curtailed to three due to that pesky blue-green algae.

Always great to see Emmi and family

Emmi, ever-present early mornings

Emmi Hunte has been an ever present and dedicated club member during her four decades with the club. For many years she would arrive by 6am daily to open up the changing room and make sure everything was all spick and span. Emmi was a regular Saturday racer who won the Christmas mornning race in 2004 and again in 2012. Emmi is still a regular, but mostly to be seen very early on midweek mornings.

Elvira's Hyde Park roots are with the now defunct Serpentine Lido Lifeguard Club, though she has been a member of our swimming club since the 1998. Elvira has been a regular racer in the past, but work and family commitments have got in the way in recent years.

Emmi was often first away on Christmas Day

Emmi has twice won the Christmas Day race, being the first lady to win the race in 2004, and winning again in 2012. But she has only once been a Peter Pan cup winner.

By the early 2000s there was no gender distinction in our races. All swimmers competed as equals under the eyes of the handicapper - the Bridge to Bridge race (our summer "Blue Ribbon" event) was won by a lady in 2022.

The exception was the Christmas Day race for the Peter Pan cup. During the 1990s, to encourage the still handful of women swimmers a small “Wendy” cup was provided each year by the club to be presented to the first woman home. As with the Peter Pan cup, this was retained each year by the winner.

Many saw this as unfair as all swimmers in the race were competing under a handicap and the small cup provided by the club was in no manner as grand as the Peter Pan trophy presented by the race sponsors, the Greenbury family. The AGM of 2003 sought to rectify this. The concept was by no means acceptable to all at the meeting. The compromise outcome was for the first swimmer home to be deemed the winner of the Christmas Day race, with the Peter Pan cup presented to the first man home and a Wendy cup to the first woman.

No issue arose for the 2003 Christmas Day race. However, in 2004 the race was won by our very popular veteran Emmi Hunte. Many, including the race sponsors the Greenbury family, thought it very strange and unsatisfactory that a small alternative cup was presented to the race winner rather than the grand Peter Pan trophy for which the club and the event has a global reputation.

The issue was addressed at the 2005 AGM with a proposal that the race winner would be presented with the Peter Pan cup, irrespective of gender. The motion was passed virtually unanimously, with many who opposed the proposal at the 2003 AGM speaking this time strongly in favour.