SWIMMING
I was a proud member of the prestigious Otter Swimming Club (logo above) whose Headquarters were at Chelsea Swimming Baths (London) during the late 1950s to early 1960s ... and was fortunate enough to be coached (particularly in Dolphin Butterfly) by a famous Olympic coach of those times, Bill Juba.
Here I'm sporting the badges of both the Otter Swimming Club and the Intermediate qualification of the Royal Life Saving Society.
Swimming has been about the only sport that has really interested me & about the only one that I have been reasonably good at too! I remember attaining my `Elementary`, `Intermediate`, `Bronze Medallion`, `Bronze Cross` and 'Junior Instructor' Life Saving qualifications with the RLSS (Royal Life Saving Society) whilst at School (during the period 1957 - 62). Funnily enough, the latter three came in handy again when I left the Army because my first job as a civilian (1974) was as a Swimming Pool Attendant at Dewsbury Baths. The Baths Manager and his Assistant looked at the medals and certificates as if they had `come out of the Ark`! I secured the job though which helped to pay the bills for 6 months!
Whilst schooling I
recall being a guinea pig for the ASA (Amateur Swimming Association) Personal
Survival Tests as well.... along with a few of my contemporaries. We
attained both the Bronze & the Silver medal, I remember, and eventually
received and sported the appropriate badges for these on our track suit tops
and/or trunks .... but, as I say, we were just the guinea pigs for these (in
late 1962). It looks as though these Tests (in 2009 entitled "The
ASA Guidance for School Swimming") have been developed to beyond our
(fellow scholars) early recognition!
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Just CLICK on each Thumbnail below to take you to the full-sized Image.
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| The requisite 'Home Counties' certificate that we all strived to attain as quickly as possible! | The School 'Proficiency' certificate that most of us attained by our first year in Senior School. | For our (the Schoolboy Freestyle Team) winning the Kent Schools' Swimming Association County Championships in 1961. |
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| The ASA/ESSA 'Medallist' certificate. | For representing Kent in the English Schools' Swimming Association Divisional Championships in 1961. | For our (the Schoolboy Medley Relay Team) when placed 3rd at the Kent Schools' Swimming Association County Championships in 1961. |
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| The RLSS 'Elementary' Life Saving certificate | The RLSS 'Intermediate' Life Saving certificate | The RLSS 'Scholar Instructor' Life Saving certificate |
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The ASA Silver Award for 'Personal Survival' |  |
This section last automatically updated: 30 December 2010 18:55
