Another year, another trip down to the BN Swimming Gala and Festival of Sport in Hertfordshire, and another medal or two for my partner Dave! This year saw the biggest turnout ever (around 135), a horde of naked people milling around the pool. It was also the fastest, most organised gala I’ve attended. Dave and I were munching our late dinner at Maccie D’s long before 10 p.m!
There were an incredible 71 races on the schedule, along with several team relays. Swimmers competed in front crawl, backstroke, butterfly stroke and breaststroke categories, and – and this is always great to see – even the slowest swimmers won big cheers when they finished. The best swimmers will now be invited to join Team BN to compete at the international competition in Barcelona.
I took myself to the sports hall for some pickleball. There were eight people playing, and another group whacking away at badminton. And yet another group was playing squash. These games are a great addition to the evening as it allows the non-swimmers to attend and get a bit of exercise, too.
A giant shout-out to everyone who volunteered at the swim and to everyone who took part! That goes especially for the team of BN members and staff who started, timed and judged the races, and those who collected the results and passed them along to the swimmers. Cheers as well to the venue, which kept its café open during most of the evening. A lot of hard work goes into making the evening a success, and it certainly was.
As with any BN event, there was lots of friendly chatter and great support and encouragement for the competitors. The event draws people from all over - I met some who’d come from Newcastle and Devon and I’m sure many other parts of the UK were represented.
Event organiser and BN Sports Officer Ian Munt told me he was ‘impressed with the incredible turnout of members for Swimming and sport - our largest number ever - it was fantastic to see so many people having such a great time including a number of first-time attendees. The Sports hall and squash courts were busy all through the evening and proved a really popular part of the Gala evening. Of course, none of this would happen without all the help and support from our incredible volunteers and the venue, Outdoor Active, who had everything in place and hosted us through the evening. A huge thanks from me to everyone and congratulations to Desford Swim for taking the number one team spot from Watford Swim this year! It was great for around 20 of us to round off an exciting evening, winding down at the Cinnamon Lodge after the event for a great curry.’
Before we left for The North on Sunday, Dave and I dropped by Sunfolk to see what it’s like now. The answer is: fabulous! We got a chance to glance into one of the glamping pods and – I say this as someone who hates camping – it looked like somewhere I’d like to stay for a night or two.
The clubhouse is completely different from what we saw several years ago, before the refurbishment. The kitchen is fully equipped, including a tap that gives you everything from cold to boiling water. There are snacks and various teas, coffee and chocolate. The whole place is welcoming, well-run and full of friendly people.
I hopped into the hot tub for a few minutes and was contemplating a swim when I got side-tracked and ended up sitting around a table outside the clubhouse, having coffee and chatting. Yeah, there’s that chatting again! The weather was warm enough for me to enjoy a bit of nudity, but soon the clouds began looming overhead, and Dave and I headed home.
Nudie weekends almost always turn out to be special. I dunno what it is, but I’m looking forward to the next one!
Image: ARB