Forever Summer...

It maybe Autumn but it feels like a

Forever Summer to Ricks.....

( Play as you Read such a beautiful song..)

Big Ricks Cold Water King...The Badger..!!
Gary is the undisputed King of cold water..the Edge has risen in only a month  from being the 2nd biggest  girl guide after Darran for his disliking of cold to the  cold water King.....sure he takes his time to get in, sure he wears a  David Beckham tight fighting revealing top to keep warm and show off his manly figure to ladies (and gents..) before getting in , but get in his does..46 degrees was the temp on Sunday..and he did a mile and half swim..top marks young man, you put the rest of the team to shame.

Its Forever Summer for Big Ricks , still Training @ The Swan.(20-11-11)

 (but only Just.!!!) Basher wishing everyone would just go away so he could get out..

Finally after 15 minutes of messing about Paul dives in..

it was the fastest lap in Swan history....!!

As time draws to a close on the Swan for a few months, all our efforts  have to return to the pool, like it our not we have 2 way channel swim to get ready for...which means a lot of swimming over the next 4 months is needed..as we are sure all of us will have to do at least 4 hours each if we are to be successful and join a very small list of teams who have completed a 2 way English Channel Swim..

Big Ricks Training Pools

Walsall Gala Baths , some of Ricks team  train here 3 times a week, 
if your interested contact Walsall SC for more details
http://www.walsallswimmingandwaterpoloclub.co.uk/  

Perry Beeches Pool,Bham
some of Ricks Team train here 3 times a week with Perry Beeches SC.
if you want more details http://www.perrybeechesswimming.co.uk

De Vere Village Pool. (2 lanes 25m)
Nice charming pool to swim in..
http://www.DeVere-village-hotels.co.uk

As many Training Sessions as we can fit in will put up later in the week...

we hope they might be of some use ( good or bad.!!) for those who are planning channel swims in 2012, we now have 12 months experience under our belt of what it takes to go from pool swimmers to open water, we have made mistakes along the way, hopefully we have learned from that and can improve in 2012..well that's the plan..!!  good luck to everyone 2012....Ricks

The Super Chest....

The White Board used in  the Channel Crossing says it All..

The Super Chest..
(a must to be Played as you read)

Big Rick Super Star ..Darran "Super Chest" Dyke
Flying  on his way to gold at the ASA Midlands Championships in April

The Future Mr and Mrs Super

Ricks Star...Darran aka "Super Chest" has had amazing 2011 in and out of water..,
Daz, started of the year off in fine style by asking the beautiful Karen would she fancy being his  wife Maybe..!! to which she said Yes..;-)) all the team wish them all the best for wedding in 2012 x

Super look cool and unshaven at The Great Salford Swim
 in May.. he went on to win the 44-49 age .!!

Super looking even more chilled out than normal at the Great North Swim
he won the 2 mile 44-49 age and 3rd overall 

Daz forever smiling after another successful swim..
this time at the Great London Swim in July

The Super powering along in the English Channel in July..
Darren helped Ricks team to be the fastest CSA Men`s relay of 2011

The Super is The British 100m Champion 2011
won at British Masters Champs held in Sheffield in October

Super is the most laid back and chilled person you will ever meet, he is nearly always the butt off the jokes in the team but does he care...? Never .!! why.. because he`s just to cool..!

The Man is a star....!! 

Supers list of Swimming achievements  in 2011


The British Gas ASA British Master Championships in Sheffield
Gold in the Mens 44-49 100m Freestyle ..


Big Ricks Swim Team English Channel Swim July 2011
The Channel Swimming Association Fastest Men`s Relay of 2011


The British Gas ASA  Midlands Age Group & Masters Championships
Golds in the Mens 44-49 age. 400m, 100m and 50m Freestyle 
and was part of  2 winning relay teams


The British Gas Great Salford  Swim @ Salford Quays
1st Place in the 1 mile  44-49 age group ( 19th over all )


The British Gas Great North Swim in Lake Windermere 
1st Place in the 2 mile 44-49 age group ( 3rd overall )


Member of The British Heart Foundation Team of 2011


The British Gas Great London Swim in the Albert Dock
3rd Place in 1 mile 44-49 age group..

                                          Super`s 1st  Dip in the swan

                                Super at the Great North Swim 2011

                                                      Super in the Channel

Mmmm Super...Thinking....!!
if you think 2011 was good just wait till you see what happens 2012..

The Super Chest II ....at a blog near you in 2012.....

Supa Daz..!!

British Heart Foundation Team of 2011

The Beautiful  BHF Heart Glass Award

Big Ricks Paul collected the award on behalf of everyone in Big Ricks Swim Team..
Paul is pictured here along side The British Heart Foundation  Chief Executive
Mr Peter Hollins  (5/11/11)

Big Ricks  1st ever Team Swim At 
The BHF Bournemouth Pier to Pier Swim 2008

Ricks Channel Team 
 Part of Big Ricks swim Team in 2011

Ricks Swimmers,Friends and Family
 @ The BHF Bournemouth Pier to Pier Swim 2011

Big Ricks Swimmers  at  The BHF
Heart of England Swim 2011

Long May The Light Shines  Bright On Big Ricks Swim Team..

Full story to follow....

We all  miss Mark everyday...

everything we do as Big Rick,s Team is dedicated to his Memory     

Kellogg`s Swimtastic Awards 2011...

Big Ricks Proud to be Part of the Kellogg`s ASA
Swimtastic Awards At Sheffield,s Ponds Forge Int Sports Center (5/11/11)
(Gary,Keil and Paul) 

Swim With Stars .
(Award Finalists along side Great Britain Aquatic Squad having a spot of fun before the dinner latter in the day..everyone had a great time ) 

Swim Done.
now time for the Kellogg`s ASA Swimtastic Awards 2011 

Our Host for the Evening was former Olympic Bronze Medalist Swimmer Steve Parry...this video is Steve,s opening address (watch very Funny) before the dinner and then awards. Steve did  an amazing Job..!

We enjoyed  a beautiful dinner with some great company on our table.

Kellogg’s ASA Swimtastic Awards are a national honour set up to reward outstanding non-elite achievements and unsung swimming stars across the country, and for the first time this year they were held  Ponds Forge in Sheffield, one of the best aquatics venues in the UK. 

Big Ricks were at the swimtastic,s to support Ricks  very own Basher ( Paul) who had  was nominated  for the Fundraiser of the Year award , by fellow ricks swimmer Nick platt ...did he win......?? watch and see

Paul along side Olympic Swimmer  Cassie Patten
with the award for Fund Raiser for 2011 .. 

The of Fundraising Award was presented to Paul Bates, who has raised over £18,000 for Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation as part of Big Ricks Channel Swim team in 2011 . Paul set up the swim team in 2008 in memory of his friend, Mark Rickhuss, who sadly suffered a heart attack whilst helping his friend to complete a channel swim in 2005. Paul, along with his friends have raised over well over £30,000  for the British Heart Foundation by completing open water swimming events all over the UK and they recently swam the channel in honour of Mark.

Ricks 3 celebrate a win not just for Paul but for everyone in Big Ricks Team

Ricks 3 with the Beautiful and charming Cassie Patten

there was only one song of the night, big ricks danced along with all the other amazing people from the world of swimming...it was an amazing night , Big Ricks were so proud to part of it...the song is Big Gary`s Favorites Reach for the Stars ..By SClub 7.....take in away gaz........

Gary and Keil showing there moves along others guests from our table Liz and Alison, and others winners at the swimtastic,s 

Not to be out done by Gary & Kel,  Paul decided to grace the dance floor to show off his classy moves   and Michael Buble  singing voice..!!! Mmmmm never seen a dance clear so quickly .. we all decided Paul might be great sportsman..but his dancing and singing skills suck..!!! sorry basher, the team think you should  stick to swimming and leave the team dancing to Big Edge....

Big Ricks..Fastest CSA 6 Man Channel Relay Team 2011

The Awards Presented  At The CSA Dinner
some amazing swims were done in 2011

The Channel Swimming Association
William Charles Maycock Memorial Sheild
Mens Fastest Channel Relay 

Richard,Gary,Darran,Rob,Doug and Paul.
on the Beach in France...

Big Ricks Swim Team
The Winners for 2011

4 of Big Ricks Channel Team
Gary,Paul,Darran and Rob

Big Ricks

We Rocked and Became Champions 

Ricks Swim With The Seals..!!

The Seabrook Seals Swim Team
 after a lovely Pier to Pier swim in Bournemouth (30/10/11)
(Paul,Ann,Caroline,Emma,Dee and Nicky)

After many months of joking between Ricks and The Seabrook Seals Swim Team..,about whether one day Ricks would man up and finally take up the Seals challenge and swim together, Well when all seemed lost for another year, just as Ricks were packing away their hats , goggles , trunks and bottles of baby oil ( don`t ask.!!)  for the winter. , A swim was set up for Sunday (30/10/11) at 9.0am at Boscombe Pier...when  finally Ricks would swam with the Seals...!

" The Seabrook Seal  mobile "

Okay Ricks had a meeting, and straws were drawn..!! and volunteer  was chosen..Paul was the man chosen to undertake the The Seal Challenge..Paul rolled up at Boscombe pier shortly after nine on a wet and cold Sunday morning...he spotted the seals who were already getting change for Acton.. Dee,Caroline,Emma,Nicky,Ann and Beach Walker Ken..all said hi..and told Paul to get a move on, as the plan was to swim from Bournemonth Pier ( 1.5 miles away)  back to Boscombe pier...to which Paul asked how do we get there......we use the Seals Mobile off course..

Now, as you know all open water swimmers are a friendly bunch, But as Paul entered the Seals mobile on that short  drive down the sea front to Bournemouth pier..he thought this is  a bit different from the norm, for starters how many times do you meet 5 ladies for the 1st time and within  5 minutes your in your trunks along side the girls in there costumes and your in Seal Mobile traveling to swim a couple of miles in the sea..!! Crazy..lol 

we got dropped of a short walk from the pier as we slowly made our way down to sea..the Seals decided it was time to do their  best Gene Kelly impression of singing in the Rain...check the video above to hear the 1st time on national blog the Seals " Extraordinary Rendition "  of the Seabrook SealTheme Tune....i,m thinking Britain Got Talent for the seals..!! i have to laugh even now...as i think about  seeing the faces the passers by on the beach front all dressed in there winter clothes as girls walked passed in just swimming costumers singing at the top of their voices, along with and Ann rolling in the sand..!!! Crazy...;-))

A brief meeting before the off to make sure someone of good character,
 trustworthy had in his secure possession  Dee keys..Ken was chosen .!!

Swim Time..Its almost November ,its freezing cold, it blowing a storm
and we are going swimming..!
Welcome To The World Of The Seabrook Seals Swim Team....crazy all of them ..!! ;-)))

Well the swim went Great, the sea was lovely and warm and the 9ft waves and dodging the surfers was only a small problem...lol .it was said after by one of seals , it was like swimming in a tumble dryer...but it really was great fun ..Crazy...!!!

The Seabrook Seals
The seals are new (ish) open water swim team formed by Dee Seabrook,
 Ricks have no doubt the Seals are going to make a massive impact on open water swimming in the years to come, their  fun and enthusiasm  for all things swimming really is infectious..and big ricks are proud to be there friends.. 

It Can only be one tune for this weeks Blog, after watching Ann from  Seabrook Seals Laughing, singing and rolling about on the beach Sunday morning..!! it had to be the The Amazing Adele and Rolling in the deep...!

Big Ricks Swims Dorset...

Branksome Chine Beach , Bournemouth

Big Ricks Did a few cheeky Sea swims over the October school half term, and we thought we would a do a few little Video,s  show other open swimmers like ourselves where in Dorset you can swim.!! 

Branksome Beach was a beautiful place to swim, its about 2 miles to swim in to Bournemouth for here...nice safe place to swim.. and a bonus there are loads of coffee bars on the seafront  for a warm up coffee and piece of cake after..

Sandbanks Harbour Nr Poole

Sandbanks is a beautiful part of Dorset, you will find it in between Poole and Bournemouth , The Sea is not and long one,  (unless you want to swim onto Brownsea island ) but its such a sight to see....it rude not to jump in and have fast dip. just be warned keep an eye out for the windsurfers .!!;-))

Swanage Bay

The Beautiful Dorset town of Swanage is a perfect place to swim and train, really safe..hardly any boats to speak of to look out for...its about a mile swim to go from the pier to the white cliffs opposite ...but its easy to do longer or shorter swims if you want ..and again there are loads of places to eat and drink after...;-)

Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life..... !!

The Captain and Alex @ The Swan on Sunday.(23/10/11)
Looking on the bright side of things now the COLD swim is over.!!
(you will see what we by cold at the end of the Blog.!) 

October is has been a funny old month...it started off so well., The 6 hr test swim at Swan Pool on the 2nd October was blessed with amazing weather and even more amazing water temperatures 62..

6 swimmers undertook the 6hrs test and all completed the challenge, Richard ,Gary and Paul from Ricks all came down to lend their support to swimmers  by swimming an hour or so with them to try and keep them company..How ever..some of Ricks team were a massive let down...Super chest  and The Gimp always ..but not normally  these 3....!!!

Okay...this is the official Results from the 6hr Test Swim...as you can see it was great swimming by the guys and girls who got up early and started and ALL finished the swim...Not so good where Ricks 3..Miss Sloppy Alsop, Mr Chunky Boy Cash and maybe the worst of all 2013 solo swimmer  Mr Burford White...!!! Who all went out partying instead of swimming? The mighty Mr Earthquake who was not happy...!

The Don & Basher
Survivalifeguard Channel Swimming Club
Channel Cup 2011

The Badger..
Survivalifeguard Channel Swimming Club
Channel Cup 2011
Sunday 16^th was started of with a few pictures with the Survivalifeguard channel cup..; Big Ricks are very proud to be members of the Survivalifeguard channel club... The Club is run by Dan, Richard, and Jeremy...who apart from giving great advice about all things to do with open water and channel swimming, also give advice and teach about all things to with Life saving...  It’s due to their hard work that swimming at    Swan Pool is always done to highest safety standards ...,   

The Survivalifeguard Channel Club
Pictured from L to R. Dan,Richard and Jeremy, and Paul Watson..
Paul also won the channel Cup, but even better Paul Won The John Rickhuss Cup.
It was sad the whole team could not have been here for the pictures, but apart from Rob who was away playing Polo, The rest where nowhere to been seen..., anyway once that was over Paul and Richard went of to do a couple of miles swim in the still warm  water ( 13 degrees)...but Dan had other plans for Gary....

As you can see from the Video above, Gary along with Dan, had to do his duty in the Life Boat...Its part of the safety at Swan Pool, especially when training in the winter months, everyone  who wants to swim at the swan has to have some knowledge of some life saving.. 

The Safety Boat being man handled  into the Swan (23/10/11)..
it always has to in the water and maned before any swimming can take place...

Rob Looking a bit nervous..he has just found out the water temperature is 9 degrees

Sooner or later the water was going to get cold. It’s almost November  after all....we have been spoiled this yr, the first few weekends in October have felt more like summer  and the water temp felt the same...But not this week....the water  temperature   has dropped  4 degrees in a week..!!As you can see from the Video above...Rob was not his normal Jump straight in and swims self....

But Rob , along with Richard and Paul  and the regular nutters  at the Swan did get in . God was it cold...Rich and Paul managed  a lap, but Rob decided  it was not for him today and  quickly got out...and as usually once out he had some Cashy words of wisdom to share.”” If You Don`t Feel  Right...You Get Out””  .

Rob earned praise from Dan...There is No shame for the Captain here- you have to be honest with yourself at the start of every swim so that you don't put others in danger having to rescue you. Well done Rob..!!

Paul and Rob can laugh now the swim is over..!!
okay who on for next week then....????

Big Ricks Paul is Doing a 2 Way Aspire Channel Swim...

Paul has Reached France..., and is now will on his back to England 
he has  now done over 1700 Lengths in 4 weeks. (The Channel is 1416 Lengths in a 25m pool...)

We wish him well...it will be good practise for when Ricks Channel Starts for Real in November..

Aspire help and support people who have spinal Cord Injuries
Go on have a go, it will get you fit, and you will have fun telling your friends you are swimming the channel... And the best part... As result of your hard work...You will have helped others have a better Life... 
www.aspirechannelswim.co.uk .

OK...... SO What if the water going to be minus 9 !!! So What if Super Chest and The Gimp and Sloppy has given up Months ago.!!! , So what if you can`t feel your  hands and feet for a week..!!So What if you if you get sickness and uncontrollable diarrhea !!,So What if your hair and body turn blue and green from the Algae ..!!! We are open Water Swimmers and We love it..!!!! but as your swimming , just as your hands and feet are turning blue and your thinking what the hell am i doing... Why not just give a whistle and things will turn out for the best.!!( if your lips are not froze) 

A massive thank you to Miranda at Cancer Research UK for inviting Ricks to join fellow Fundraisers at The University of Birmingham for Thank You Event & Cancer Lab Tour last weekend. Mr and Mrs Super( Daz and Kaz !) Went along for Ricks and had great time. Ricks, as part of the our channel fundraising efforts donated some of the money raised to CR U.K. thus far that amounts to £ 4,350.50. A massive thank you to everyone who sponsored us with the channel swim, the final overall totally including the British Heart Foundation denotation is not yet known, but put it this way its just unbelievable. Rx