Author: Adam Bagley

Varsity 2017 – 25th February

Varsity will take place on the 25th February at Parkside Pool in Cambridge. The timetable for the day is as follows: 12:00  – Swimming Warm-Up and Spectator Access to Balcony 12:45  – Swimming Teams’ Parade 12:55  – Swimming Events Start 14:30  – Swimming Award Ceremony 14:45 […]

Poseidon Dinner 2016 – 9th December

This is a message from Nick Thomas, chair of the Poseidon Club. Contact Nick for more information about the dinner: Poseidon Club 2016 2016 has been an amazing year for Oxbridge open water swimming feats! Under the proactive captains, Laura Fenwick for Oxford and Laura Schubert for […]

Season’s Schedule 2016-2017

2016

Training camp –– Oxford University –– Monday 26th September – Saturday 1rd October 2016 (-1 week MT16)
Held every year at the Rosenblatt Pool in –1 week. A good time to dust off the cobwebs and get back into a training regime.

 

Freshers’ Fair –– Oxford University –– Wednesday 5th October – Friday 7th October (0th week MT16)
Held every year in the Examinations School in Fresher’ Week. Great time for people interested in trying out for the team to meet current team members, like the captains.

 

OUSC Team Trials –– Oxford University –– Saturday 8th October (Time 16.00-1800 )(1st week MT16)
Swimming try-outs for the official Oxford University Swimming Club at Rosenblatt Pool. Events involve two 50m swims (one on freestyle, one on another stroke). Also a great chance to meet other people, even if you don’t make the final team.

 

OUSC Fresher’s Meeting/ Meal –– TBC/TVC –– Wednesday 12th October (Time 16.00-1800 )(2nd week MT15).

The first official meeting of OUSC 2016-17. Attendance is expected. It is followed by the Freshers meal at The Varsity Club –  the first social of the year. Make it count!

 

Friendly Gala –– Oxford University –– Saturday 29th October (1700-1930)

We host a friendly gala during the year against several other Universities, on home turf (Rosenblatt pool). Everyone should make himself or herself available, as we like to enter more than one team. Great fun for all involved. PARTY + PIZZA AFTER.

 

Cuppers –– Oxford University –– Saturday 19th November (17.00-19.30)

Rosenblatt Pool is host to Cuppers, the inter-collegiate swimming competition. Absolutely anyone from the university can be part of the competition, and the more people who attend, the more fun it usually turns out to be!

 

BUCS Short Course Championship –– Sheffield –– Friday 11th – Sunday 13th November (5th & 6th week MT16)
Held on the weekend at the end of 5th week at Sheffield’s Ponds Forge, one of the best and fastest pools in the country. Anyone attending this meet must be prepared to leave on the Friday and return on the Sunday evening.

 

BUCS Regional Qualifier–– Sunday 29th November Friday 13th – (8th week MT16)
A select team will race against the top teams in the South to qualify for BUCS national final in HT.

 

Training Camp –– Oxford University –– Monday 7th – Saturday 12th December (9th week MT16)
Training after Michaelmas term, important to keep up the Aerobic base and not lose fitness after the hard work in the term

2017 

Training Camp –– Torremolinos, Spain –– Tuesday 03nd January- Tuesday 10th January (-1/0 week HT17)
Included are 26-28 hours of water time, up to 4 hours land training and up to 4 hours in the classroom. All Squad swimmers with any ambition of swimming in the Varsity Match must attend this camp. If you don’t think you can afford the trip, but would love to come, speak to the treasurer and the coaches.

Oxford Brookes Dual Meet–– TBC (~January) (HT17)
An open meet that is compulsory for the senior blues squad who expect to be selected for the varsity match. The competition results are usually used to help the coaches decide on the final varsity team, along with several other variables.

 

BUCS Long Course Championship –– Sheffield–– Friday 17th to 19th February ( 4th/5th week HT 17)
OPTIONAL – Held on the weekend at in Sheffield, 2 weeks before Varsity. Anyone attending this meet must be prepared to leave on the Friday and return on the Sunday evening. Each club is limited to two swimmers per event so if you are entered you’re expected to swim.  

Varsity Match –– Cambridge –– Saturday February 25th (HT17)
Held every year alternately at Oxford and Cambridge. The 2017 match will be held in Cambridge. All swimmers should plan, prepare and be available for this gala.

 

BUCS Team Championships National Finals –– TBC (0th week TT)
Finals held at the Student Games in Sheffield.

 

Oxford win Cross-Channel Relay

Oxford win Cross-Channel Relay

5 Members of OUSC; George Stannard, James Manning, Dan Manners, Naomi Vides and Tilly Ansell, and one from OUWPC, Steph Millin, were selected in early Hilary to take part in a swimming race against Cambridge. Unlike in Swimming Varsity, where each member of a relay […]

Oxford win Henley Classic Open Water Race

Oxford win Henley Classic Open Water Race

Swimmers are known for their love-hate relationship with the sport, particularly the early morning training sessions. But whilst morning training typically begins around 6am, the Henley Classic takes things a step further with a start time verging on ‘middle of the night’. When your alarm […]

Track the Varsity Channel Swim!

The week of the 10th Varsity Channel Relay has arrived! The provisional start time is 1am on Monday 4th July, but this will be pushed back if the weather conditions change.

You can live track the team’s progress by following their boat, Suva, here:

We are also hoping to post live updates from the club Twitter Account.

Thanks for Simmons & Simmons and Metaswitch for supporting the team!

Simmons and Simmons LogoMetaswitch logo

Henley Open Water Swim and Mob Match – 26th June

Henley Open Water Swim and Mob Match – 26th June

Queenford Lakes saw a record turn out of students & alumni taking part in the open water Varsity team trials last weekend. The swimmers raced over a 1km course, non wetsuit, in a bid to make the dark blue team for the third annual open […]

Naomi Vides Elected 2016-17 Sports Federation President

Naomi Vides Elected 2016-17 Sports Federation President

Many congratulations to Naomi Vides, member and former captain and president of OUSC, for being elected to the post of president of Oxford Sports Fed! Speaking of her goals for this role Naomi said: “I’m incredibly excited to have been elected the 2016-17 Sports Federation […]

125th Annual Varsity

Next year marks the 125th year of Oxford University Swimming Club’s existence. The very first Varsity match took place in 1892 against Cambridge. This match predates the 1896 Athens Olympics, the first in modern times, and is the oldest swimming fixture in the world. We have been a gender equal and diverse club since very early in our history. Below is a picture of the woman’s swimming squad from 1928

Ousc 1928

In addition to this momentous anniversary next year, in 2016 we will also be celebrating our tenth biannual Varsity open water channel relay.  Every two years since 1998 Oxford has competed against Cambridge to race across the twenty one miles of the English Channel, with each swimmer swimming for an hour at a time. This is a gruelling task for all who take part and our ability to field a team and complete the race ever two years is a testament to the consistently high standard of the club. More information about the Channel swim can be found here.

Varsity Channel Relay Swim 2016

Varsity Channel Relay Swim 2016

Between 2nd – 7th July, 6 Oxford University open water swimmers will race against the Cambridge team as a relay, to cross the English Channel by swimming from Dover to Calais on the French coast. A great article on the race can be found here Following […]