Visiting Fla from UK - Training + Rowdy Gaines Classic

Swimming-wise, those are great choice. I trained with the St Pete team back in 2003 when I was on vacation there and it was an awesome group. The Rowdy Gaines meet is probably one of the fastest 25 SCM courses in the country; I was there for the first one and it was a great meet then. I can only assume it's gotten better. I can't comment on staying with families, but you should be able to find a great place to stay in St Pete on vrbo or airbnb. As for the Rowdy meet, there are decent hotels right next to the pool so you can roll out of bed and walk next door to race.

UK-David I have a reverse question for you. I am heading to the UK in Sept and will be staying near Northampton and/or Oxford area. Any suggetions on folks to swim with while I am over there or swimming options in general? I live in Indianapolis so Pat's advice is probably the best for your Florida trip. Here in the US its fairly "uncommon" for folks to offer "board and lodging" and that is more common in Europe. If you have any suggestions on meet options or places to research I would appreciate that also.

UK-David I have a reverse question for you. I am heading to the UK in Sept and will be staying near Northampton and/or Oxford area. Any suggetions on folks to swim with while I am over there or swimming options in general?..... If you have any suggestions on meet options or places to research I would appreciate that also. Thanks for your comments. I am quite new to Masters swimming so not too knowledgeable about different clubs. Corby where I used to be a member is a new International 50m pool and they have masters training 3-4 times a week but only a handful of members. It is about 20 miles from Northampton. You could post on a UK masters forum to get better advice for the Oxford region. Hereford, Gloucester and Birmingham Masters swimmers are regular posters: www.swimmingforum.co.uk/ General pool/club finder here: www.swimming.org/poolfinder You could visit me, stay with my family (as a guest – no charge!) and swim in Uppingham, Rutland: 40 miles from Northampton. Let me know nearer the time. I run a small swim training group for tirathletes and ironmen 3 mornings a week but also do my sprints training here: sportscentre.uppingham.co.uk/.../swimming-pool-timetable We could also swim in Rutland Water: inspire2tri.com/.../open-water-swimming-events-in-rutland-water There are currently 3 advertised competitions in the UK in September. One is on the beautiful island of Jersey which I will be going to. They have every distance from 25m to 1500m for freestyle + an open water event in the sea on the Sunday. It is a 50 minute flight from Birmingham – nearest airport to Oxford. I saw Kirsten Cameron smash the world 800m free record there last September. A very friendly meet and nice medals! UK Masters calendar: www.swimming.org/.../competition-events If you are into wild swimming then a trip to Wales, Snowdonia to swim in mountain lakes might be an idea. www.wildswimming.co.uk/.../

UK-David I have a reverse question for you. I am heading to the UK in Sept and will be staying near Northampton and/or Oxford area. Any suggetions on folks to swim with while I am over there or swimming options in general? Chris, I used to travel to Reading frequently on business (2002 to 2010) and the Reading Masters (www.readingswimclub.org/) was a great group to swim with. It's a bit of a journey from Oxford, but a perfect place to stop in for a swim en route from Heathrow to Oxford. As for open lap swimming in the UK, I did that, as well, but generally found the pools so crowded - very hard to do much other than easy, stretch out swimming.

UK-David - how long do you plan to be here in the US when you visit? For 2 weeks I think: 1st to 15th October or thereabouts.

UK-David I have a reverse question for you. I am heading to the UK in Sept and will be staying near Northampton and/or Oxford area. Any suggetions on folks to swim with while I am over there or swimming options in general? I live in Indianapolis so Pat's advice is probably the best for your Florida trip. Here in the US its fairly "uncommon" for folks to offer "board and lodging" and that is more common in Europe. If you have any suggestions on meet options or places to research I would appreciate that also. Hi - Northampton have some strong Masters swimmers - not sure if it is a separate section of the swimming club or whether they just join in with everyone else. I'm not too sure about Oxford. We (Kenilworth Masters) are about 45 mins from Oxford on a good run (training is in Warwich and Leamington Spa) are a dedicated Masters club (one of a small number) and would be happy to have you as a guest, even just for one or two sessions. Let me know nearer the time.

Hi - Northampton have some strong Masters swimmers - not sure if it is a separate section of the swimming club or whether they just join in with everyone else. I'm not too sure about Oxford. We (Kenilworth Masters) are about 45 mins from Oxford on a good run (training is in Warwich and Leamington Spa) are a dedicated Masters club (one of a small number) and would be happy to have you as a guest, even just for one or two sessions. Let me know nearer the time. Rob - thanks for your response. Once I firm up my plans I will get back with you and UK-David on options and hopefully we can swim together.

Thanks for your comments. I am quite new to Masters swimming so not too knowledgeable about different clubs. Corby where I used to be a member is a new International 50m pool and they have masters training 3-4 times a week but only a handful of members. It is about 20 miles from Northampton. You could post on a UK masters forum to get better advice for the Oxford region. Hereford, Gloucester and Birmingham Masters swimmers are regular posters: www.swimmingforum.co.uk/ General pool/club finder here: www.swimming.org/poolfinder You could visit me, stay with my family (as a guest – no charge!) and swim in Uppingham, Rutland: 40 miles from Northampton. Let me know nearer the time. I run a small swim training group for tirathletes and ironmen 3 mornings a week but also do my sprints training here: sportscentre.uppingham.co.uk/.../swimming-pool-timetable We could also swim in Rutland Water: inspire2tri.com/.../open-water-swimming-events-in-rutland-water There are currently 3 advertised competitions in the UK in September. One is on the beautiful island of Jersey which I will be going to. They have every distance from 25m to 1500m for freestyle + an open water event in the sea on the Sunday. It is a 50 minute flight from Birmingham – nearest airport to Oxford. I saw Kirsten Cameron smash the world 800m free record there last September. A very friendly meet and nice medals! UK Masters calendar: www.swimming.org/.../competition-events If you are into wild swimming then a trip to Wales, Snowdonia to swim in mountain lakes might be an idea. www.wildswimming.co.uk/.../ UK-David - Thanks for the information I appreciate your help. As I get closer to the time I will get back to you on my plans and let you know what I intend to do. Hopefully we get to swim together. Also how long do you plan to be here in the US when you visit?