News

Debs Byatt powered through to win her first silverware with the club.  Paddy was on hand with his usual tasty prizes.

This race celebrates a past president and handicapper and the ever present Yvonne.  They both contributed much to the club and continued our strong relationship with the South London SC at Tooting Bec.

The race resulted in the first silverware for Sally Stott.  Second and third place went to Mike Barron and Alan Mitchell.  Mario's daughter Anna presented the prizes, accompanied by brother Marcel and Mario's grandchildren.

Mario graced the Serpentine Swimming Club from the early 1960s for over forty years.  A naturally gifted musician, Mario piped the Christmas Day swimmers onto the board for many decades.  A true gent and great friend to all that had the honour to swim in his company.  Mario -  1932 - 2007.

Vanessa the Penguin was victorious in the 100m (110 yard) race for the John Sextone's All Clothes Race cup.  Closely followed by Heather Miller and Tony Schiemann.

Memories of a sunny morning's race.  It was watched-on by early arriving, bemused spectators on the other side of the lake expecting the seriousness of the Swim Serpentine event.  Instead, they witnessed the Serpentine Swimming Club at its gloriously frivolous, excentric best.

Also lots of memories from the last decade and the one before that; and the last century and the one before that.   A club event with a lineage stretching back to the Royal Humane Society origins of swimming in the Serpentine.

No fixture for the second week running meant no biathlon for the second year running.

So here are some past memories and background.

On Saturday 18th September we must race within the white buoyed area of the Lido.  This is due to the SwimSerpentine event that will be taking place at the lake.  The first of their many swims will commence at 08.15.

Being swum over 110 yards (100m) our All Clothes Race will fit neatly with arrangements for the lake on the morning.  It will also provide some amusing light relief to any unsuspecting spectators there to watch the SwimSerpentine event that starts on the opposite side of the lake.  The All Clothes Race will commence 8 o'clock sharp.

The Mario McClarnon 440 yard (400m) race will switch to Saturday 25th September.

The Dusty Rhodes Bowl was the first in "the race we missed" website series during the Covid suspension of our fixture calendar.  Though fixtures were suspended in March 2020, these catch-up reports did not start until September.  It is thus ironic that 12 months later the fixture was again cancelled, this time due to water quality caused by the algae bloom.

Here are a few memories of one of the club's many "characters" that have adorned our ranks over the decades.  Dusty -  WW2 submariner, Brentford docks stevedore and penny farthing rider.  He also found time to enter Masters' swimming events.

The club's second oldest racer Haydn Turner won the 110 yard dash for the Veterans' cup, with Nichola Sanderson victorious in the second race -  a gentle 440 yards (400m) for the George Brutton cup.  The Veterans' race is normally the curtain-raiser for the Alan Titmuss race in May.  Due to Covid 19 restrictions in place at the time the race was postponed and rescheduled for last Saturday.

As it happens, both trophies pre-date Haydn by one year, being first presented in 1935.  Brew Brothers Ltd, a Kensington car dealership, presented this Veterans' cup in 1935 and has been raced-for ever since.  1935 saw charming Frenchman Louis Fabre present the cup that has been used for the George Brutton race since 1991.  Louis' cup was competed for over four midweek races during the year 1935 and retained by the winner.   Fifty odd years later the cup came back into the club and was utilised for George's event.

Some interesting history here.  Louis Fabre joined the club in the 1920s and was a multi-discipline endurance event world record holder in 1949.  In the late 1960s Louis made an appearance on the BBC's prime-time TV chat show, "Dee-time".

We need your friends and family to join in the fast rising Parliamentary petition to:

DEBATE A BAN ON SEWAGE COMPANIES DUMPING RAW SEWAGE INTO WATER COURSES. 

Click this link 

We’re already over 51,000 votes, and 1,500 votes daily will get us to 100,000 votes by end of September. 

Some of you may have noticed “green gunk” and unsavoury smells when swimming in our beloved lake recently. It turns out that it was more than the usual end-of-summer green vegetation mass die-off.

We are sorry to inform you that swimming is closed at the Serpentine Swimming Club as of tonight until further notice as The Royal Parks have notified us of a blue green algae bloom.

Blue green algae can cause severe skin rashes, eye irritation, vomiting, diarrhoea, fever and pain in joints and muscles. As a result, the gates to the swimming area will be shut tonight, and not open until further notice.

• If you are on this week’s wardening list, please hold off until swimming resumes.

• If you were planning on swimming this week, please make alternate plans elsewhere.

Please note that we do not have any definitive information on how long this bloom will last, but based on a previous episode over twelve years ago, we are looking at a few days without swimming. 

In the meantime, rest assured that we will keep you updated on the water quality and hope to return to swimming as fast as possible.

SSC Committee