1066 Trip to the Berlin International Swim Meet (ISM)

On Friday 6th March eighteen excited swimmers from 1066 Swimmers and nine adults flew to Berlin for the prestigious ISM, which hosted swimmers from twenty countries over the weekend. This is the 5th year the club has attended the ISM giving local children the opportunity to swim in a major international event.

After the event we were able to visit the DDR museum, which traced the history of Berlin as it was split by the allies after the second world war until the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. The swimmers were given a guided tour and learnt about life after the war in East Germany. The next trip was to Frankfurt(Oder) organised by our friends from ESV Frankfurt Oder Swimming Club, this included a visit to a farm where four hundred handicapped people worked and were looked after, their work in Pottery was exceptional. Next on the agenda was a trip to a nature reserve then after lunch the swimmers went rock climbing then to Poland for shopping and an evening meal. The last day was taken up by a visit to the Sea Life Centre and the Aqua Dom where you went up through the middle of an aquarium in a lift and saw fish swimming around you.

As for the swimming the squad did well attaining 80 personal bests out of 103 races. The highlight came from Ella Watson in the breaststroke who gained three medals, Gold in the 200m, Silver in the 100m and Bronze in the 50m final. Ryan Lee achieved a seventh place certificate in the 200m Backstroke. Tired but happy swimmers arrived back in the UK on Wednesday evening and would like to thank their kind sponsors the Isobel Blackman Foundation for supporting the 1066 Swimmers enabling local children to experience these educational events.