WOWSA CONFERENCE - A CELEBRATION OF SWIMMING

WOWSA CONFERENCE - A CELEBRATION OF SWIMMING 2014

A meeting of the greats they have advertised it as - the good and great of open water swimming will be merging on the Isle of Bute for the WOWSA (World Open Water Swimming Association) conference and i am one of the lucky ones to get to go. Originally booked to be held in Edinburgh the organiser realised late on that the venue needed changing and so the Isle of Bute was picked, far better attraction i feel and a more beautiful location although a tad prohibitive for those that needed a more viable travel infrastructure to attend. Nice that it is held in Scotland, a place of great love to myself but possibly limiting the numbers that can attend due to the remoteness of the the location...we shall see. Regardless it will be wonderful to meet up with 'Facebook, linked-in and twitter' friends for the first time as well as those with whom i already know!

Arriving on the island late on the Friday night, it was merely a case of unpacking, our accommodation on the Castle Stuart estate as organised by Penny Warneken was superb, fully equipped and spacious too (just as well as you will find out!!!) Once unpacked Open water swimming pup Roscoe was free to explore his new territory whilst his human admirers opened a bottle of red and relaxed. We were joined later that evening by our other companion Ram Barkai who is the owner of the the International Ice Swimming Association http://www.internationaliceswimming.com/) who had spent an enjoyable evening with others that would be attending the conference.

Rising early the next day, sleep evading me most of the night, the sun shining bright already promising a day of warmth to the festivities. Heading to the conference, pup in tow loving the sights and sounds and clearly prepared to meet his new audience, we headed to the newly changed venue, having been promised the castle on Mount Stuart, we were now to be in a visitors centre, the wave of disappointment was clear to see but as i stated on the day it will be the participants that would make the event and sure enough they did.

The good and the great arrived, around 90 of them, all ego's aside as they met and greeted each other, the tone of 'wow i have admired you and always wanted to meet you' abounded in the warm fresh air. The head of the International Marathon Swiming Hall of Fame (http://imshof.org/) had also arrived along with the head of the World Open Water Swimming Association (https://www.worldopenwaterswimmingassociation.com/) Steven Munatones, the client base was vast and the experience and knowledge insurmountable. Swimmers from all over the globe were here, the amazing Shelley Taylor-Smith having travelled the furthest from Australia, the Irish with their amazing sense of humour and thirst for fun, Ger Kennedy, Allen Evans, Nuala Moore, Alan Ryan...could you ever want for a better more experienced group of people to mingle with....i was close to popping.

The venue itself, although hastily arranged was convenient for those exiting the ferry, but lacked the grandeur of the magnificent halls that had been promised, with delegated seated in a cinema, i can only liken this to placing the worlds greatest swimmers in a windowless room for two day to caging a tiger and poking it every two minutes! Speeches were made, one after the other, the superb to the almost barmy swims, the torture and the successes relived for all to hear, amazing power point presentations showing pictures of such swim feats that it strains the mind in awe and wonder of the human limit for endurance, the mental strength to complete such glorious tasks is phenomenal.

The good and the great showcased their experiences and how they work to inspire others to work hard, train hard and to do the same, inspirational to those that have never had such valuable information laid out before them. 

As stated this was a celebration of swimming and to that end awards and certificates were given over a conference luncheon in recognition of such feats, the awards themselves beautifully crafted, the certificates housed in a protective and formal outer covering as befitted the event. 

Out in daylight was finally a good time for one and all to socialise and network and they got straight to it after all this is part of the reason why they came. 

With so many great swimmers and great minds it was only a matter of time before new and wonderful swims were dreampt up, Jonty Warenken (the world ONLY disabled ice mile swimmer) coming up with the Para Five swim, five iconic swims around the globe for disabled swimmers (http://dailynews.openwaterswimming.com/2014/09/jonty-warneken-encourages-all-to-go.html) and idea swiftly agreed with by Shelley and Steven...it looks like we are good to go as they say!!!

For those that have been to conferences and possibly be bored stiff throughout this is one of those on the highly recommended list, gone are the ego's, the meeting of the good and the great is a fascinating time, old friendships reignited, new ones formed, meeting people who achievements you have followed on social media and read about in magazines and newspapers, Ned Denison for example, who geographically is so close but at times so far, a tall rather grand looking man who has a glint in his eye for the water. 

As to be expected group photos are a must, how to get so many in one shot...and in time as this devolving sport grows how to fit them all in one room!

The evenings were the time for true socialising and networking with more awards issued, and mutual admiral clubs being formed (quite rightly too), swimmers choosing to leave the enclosed formal room for wider spaces, you can not confine a swimmer after all even those non-swimmers were soon included in conversation and several times the words 'i have always wanted to have a go at that' where heard to be said...their inspiration knows no boundaries. 

Being on such a stunning location and not one to be inside for too long it was time to make use of the glorious weather and the scenery, Penny and super pup Roscoe and i went off exploring the Mount Stuart estate, and what an amazing location it is, the grounds are lovingly cared for as is the building itself. For such tiny legs that pup can walk and walk he did until he had had enough. 

The last day of the conference brought about more talks, more awards and a whole load more smiles with those that had been indoctrinated into the Halls of Fames quite rightly proud of themselves, it was an honour to be amongst such exalted people. Some had to head off and it was jigsaw of pure genius that saw our Irish friends fit so much luggage and so many people into one car....i am sure the journey back to the emerald isle was an interesting one for them. 

The conference finished with a swim.....well it would be rude not to...the organiser perhaps had not done any research into the caliber of swimmer in attendance set up a short loop course (These are people who swim from Russia to the USA) which again was disappointing as it would have been a privalige to have swam a longer distance with such a swimmer but  alas it was not to be. 

The evening saw us left to our own devices....well what to do....a social get together perhaps....and that is exactly what we did, our Russian friends, with Penny and Jonty providing food fit for a king,, as normal the dancing was started off by Jackie Cobell with Jonty's amazing voice joining in the festivities, a wonderful end to a fab weekend.

 Packing the next day was slow..ish....it seemed a shame to be leaving such a wonderful location with Mount Stuart estate more than delivering its promise of peace and tranquillity, the last farewell was said at the airport before we continued our journey home. Steven you were right, it was a Celebration of Swimming, ...looking forward to the next one already!!!

Photos as taken my myself and given by the wonderful Steven Munatones