With most swimmers enjoying a well deserved summer break it was left to Etwall's 'elite' open water squad to tackle the British Open Water 3k Masters Championships.

Faced with shall we say, breezy conditions at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham the team of Captain Briggs, Ruth, Helen and Clive all battled well in the choppy waters of the main regatta lake.

First shock of the day was the news the start would be from a dive!  nice!  Second shock was from dive to hitting the water! The third was the strength of the wind in parts of the course.

Ruth and Captain Briggs swam well judged races to become the fourth and fifth Etwall Masters to win British titles this year.  Ruth fresh from her training camp in Italy comfortably won the 50-54 age group, whilst Briggs won the 45-49 group by an impressive 15 minutes.

Helen won a well deserved silver in the 30-34 yrs with a well paced race and Clive just missed out on a medal by a narrow margin to take fourth place in a very competitive 35-39 age band.

British Open Water Meet, Nottingham, Aug 2008