Queen of Hideous Swims #5

Who are they?

Rob has been swimming since childhood, mostly as a recreational swimmer. He joined OTS in 2010 and has taken an active role in running the club since 2015. He is currently the club’s Membership Secretary. Rob says “OTS is a wonderfully friendly and varied collection of individuals. Joining the club is one of the best things I’ve ever done”.  

Looking back at the swim

Imagine the scene: a naïve but enthusiastic 10-year-old in his first swimming gala. Having joined his local swimming club just the week before, the only race still available in his age group was 1 length fly. Keen to participate, he signs up. Unfortunately, no-one had told him he’d have to dive from a block the size of a skyscraper, he couldn’t dive anyway and he had no idea how to swim fly! Needless to say, the result was rather predictable. Nil points for technical ability, speed or gracefulness, but dix points for effort and comic entertainment.

Fast forward around 50 years. The naïve and enthusiastic little boy is now a member of OTS, only fatter, balder and in older skin. Despite the excellent coaching from the wonderful team at OTS, fly would continue to elude him: a combination of having the flexibility of an ironing board and a seeming inability to translate perfectly clearly articulated instructions from poolside into actions in the water.

But what is this? A possible answer to all his problems – Tee and Steph’s Fly Friday sessions! Do you struggle with fly? Would you like to improve your technique? Would you like to be able to swim fly in a race? Yes, yes and thrice yes! As so it was. A series of Fly Friday sessions with a range of drills to improve technique: tadpole (undulating with arms at the side); does my bum look big (enough) in this drill (more undulation to ensure buttocks teasingly break the surface of the water); Biondi drill; one arm drills; fins; no fins, turns.

My goal was 50m fly in a 25m pool at the 2019 Middlesex Masters meet. No time target, just to finish without being disqualified. The good news is that the target was achieved. I managed to finish the race without disqualification, something that many will know doesn’t always happen! I’d like to say that my swim was an example of beautifully swum fly that will be talked about for years to come. The truth is, it was exhausting and in my desperation for survival and oxygen, much of the technique I’d been practising failed to materialise. Nevertheless (and I hate to admit this publicly), I did enjoy the Fly Friday sessions and it gave me hope that my lifelong ambition to be able to swim fly properly could – possibly with more Fly Friday practice – be realised!