LCM | 1001pools

Sharp Enough in Sandwell (Race Report from Pool #794)

10 May 2026 I’ve been too busy with work and life while trying to squeeze swimming into the former to writeup my racing and the great 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games pool, the Sandwell Aquatics Centre, which became pool #794 on my #1001Pools list. I was up there on Sunday, May 10th, for their first ever Masters meet and, other than a brief episode after my 200 freestyle, had a great day. I always love swimming in a “games legacy” pool, having enjoyed swimming in: Multip

May 104 min read

Race Report: From Woking Warmup (#790) to Action in Aldershot (#791)

25 April 2026 When I was mapping out my ambitious return to racing during my "dry days" in January and February, I found a perfect pair of bookend competitions to an "events as high quality workouts" period, with lineups as mirror-images: March 21st's Derbyshire Open Masters Championships April 25th's Bracknell-Wokingham Swim Club's National Qualifier meet Five weeks apart, both in a long course pool without a separate warmup/cool-down pool (for maximum lactate-joy), and both

Apr 243 min read

A Swimming Derby in Derby (Pool #778)

22 March 2026 The organisers of the (gala name aside) excellent " Derbyshire Open Masters Championships" missed a brilliant branding opportunity to name this the "2026 Swimming Derby in Derby." Held at the most(ly) excellent Moorways Sports Village (now pool 779)... (click to enlarge pictures) ... this one day event afforded me the opportunity to finally get in my first racing of 2026, and to have a bit of a short weekend getaway with my wife. Thanks to a couple of health "

Mar 214 min read

Wild About Warsaw (#769)

16 December 2025 I don't think I've ever been more surprised by a city than I was by Warsaw. Admittedly, I had done very little reconnaissance ahead of this trip so my pre-conceived notions of Poland were overly-influenced by memories from letters from a friend of mine who worked here in the post-Solidarity, re-opening to the "west" days of the early 1990s. Letters which painted an expectant and hopeful society, but bleak skies and an even bleaker infrastructure. I fully r

Dec 15, 20253 min read