The Juice
FM 2013 Inspiration Award for Sporting achievement
goes to Big
Ricks Outdoor Swim Team very own superstar
Darran "Supa" Redman Dyke
Juice FM paid tribute to Merseyside’s most inspirational
people.
The 2013 Inspiration Awards held at the Isla Gladstone Conservatory on Thursday
18th April hosted by Juice FM Breakfast presenters Adam Weighell and Leanne
Campbell
Awards awaiting the Merseyside’s most inspirational people
Looks a Bit Posh for Supa.. lucky he had the new Mrs Supa to look after him
Dinner is over so Lets Get this Party Started
Juice FM Breakfast presenters Adam Weighell and Leanne Campbell
its the Sports Award time.. Drum Drum Roll.........
congratulations Darran. well deserved ..
The winner of the Achievement in Sport Award was Darran Dyke
The Achievement in Sport Award in association with
Volkswagen Van Centre Liverpool.
Leanne : In August 2005, Tim Denyer was just a few hundred
yards from completing a swim across the channel when exhaustion hit. He was
struggling to swim against the strong currents when he felt someone swimming
alongside him.
Mark Rickhuss had been training Tim and when he realised he
was struggling, had jumped in to give him the motivation to carry on. And it
worked! They swam into France together.
However, once French soil had been reached, Mark boarded the
support boat and sadly passed away. He was just 41
This inspired Marks friend Darran to attempt the crossing in
Marks memory. Swimming as part of a team he completed his first crossing in
2011 and just missed out on a double crossing last year due to bad weather.
They will be attempting this again in July, raising money
for cancer research.
who gave up...? Ricks..? Never..;-) Don,t worry Big Ricks haven`t given up..!!! we are alive and well and training hard..;-) we will be back blogging in weeks if not days... The New open water session is almost upon on us all... yippeeeeee i can all hear you cry;-)
Big Ricks Swim Team all the guys got together for the first time this year to celebrate the wedding of Ricks channel swimmer Dougie Dugmore ....
As always we have to have a Blog read along as you listen Tune...and this one kills 2 birds with one stone tune, first its perfect as in "We are never gonna give you up on Open water swimming not matter how cold we get..!( well supa daz might ) and 2nd its perfect as its Doug,s new wife Mrs Copeland`s Favorite tune from when she was in her 20,s ;-)) its the 80,s classic never gonna give you up by Mr Rick Astley..( Click on arrow in the picture above to hear Rick at his best while u read..!! )
The New Mr and Mrs Dugmore,.x
March has been a funny old month for the team..!!On the one
hand we’ve had lots of thing to celebrate on a personal level to us, Ricks
swimmer Stuart Dugmore finally tied the knot to his long time partner Mrs
Copeland this month, after what seemed an internal time together 18yrs we
think..!! Most of the team were young, slim and had hair when they 1st
got together... ;-) so this month has been more one of Partying than
swimming..!! With 2 team stag trips, one to a 90,s weekend at Butlins! , and
then another to the Famous Cheltenham Gold cup and then wedding. . You can see it’s been a busy one...Everyone in
the ricks team wishes Doug and Lisa and life time of happiness together x
Stag Trip No 1 Ricks @ a Butlins 90,S weekend in Skegness.!! we had a great and messy time celebrating Young Doug,s stag weekend best say no more ;-))
However it’s not all been partying..!!! we are still
sticking to our swim plan of training 3 times week, and sometimes 4...some of the Guys are doing even more, the
ones doing the swim 4 life 24 miles in
24 hours event in April are up to 5
times , even with the partying...!!..But March has been funny old month the UK
...why..?? Because of the weather... It’s been freezing..!! And we do mean freezing....
often its minus 10 and worse ,heavy
snow week after week...plus there has
been a biting cold wind which seems to have been with us for months... ..I know
us English love to talk about the weather all the time, but March and now the beginning
of April have been a shocker...
Stag Trip No.2 Ricks @ theWorld Famous Cheltenham Gold cup. Prince William and Kate, plus 80,000 race goers , were joined by 22 chubby open water swimmers..! and did we party....!
As always the Stag is the only winner/ Doug enjoying his last day of freedom before the open water wedding of the year ..
We Don`t know who these guys were, but we could tell they wanted to crash big ricks stag Day as they walked past us on the way to the posh enclosure , it must have been the Hot Brandy's we were having at the time which made them smile....:-)) to be fair it would have been a pleasure for William join us, after all he is a ex water polo player .. which is almost a swimmer...!!! "Duke and Duchess Of Cambridge top couple ."
Our hopes to return to open water sometime in April look
very slim, the water temp at our open water training venue Swam Pool is currently
3.4 degrees...(Last year it was nearer 9) ..
No Swimming Today..! this was taken 30th March. Crazy.. 6ft snow drifts in England at Easter..
one of team did brave the cold sea over in Bournemouth over the Easter weekend .. Ricks Basher Bates joined up with our Twin open water team mates from The Seabrook Seals swim team for there annual Easter Monday bunny dip..! now the seals are a hard core OW team...no winters off in warm swimming pools for the them, the team have been swimming every week in the sea in Dorset regardless of the bad weather, which is amazing effort any time, but particularly this winter ..
Some of the seals team pre swim on Easter Monday , Ricks Basher is the one looking very cold and nervous with the red and yellow hat with the pink bunny ears.!
as we said the seals are hard core OW swimmers, good job as the air temp on Easter Monday as we walked from our cars to Fisherman,s beach was a chilly 1 degree, add to that it was blowing a gale...it was must have been well minus temps...and as for the sea..!! lets not even guess ..it was bloody freezing..
Off we go..!! there was no hold back the Seals swimmers, they were in a flash , on the other hand Ricks Basher is last at the back no looking very keen to get in...and u would be right.. we can think of better things to do on Cold Easter Monday Morning...!
its was cold but great fun, The Seabrook seals team are great bunch of people, always make new swimmers welcome, always have a smile on there faces always have the odd cake or 2 for you to enjoy once the swim is over..if you are ever in the Bournemouth area , then i would look them up, you will be so glad u did..;-) as we said training still goes on at full steam in the pool until the Open water starts again which at the moment looks like Wednesday 1st of May , but no worries really we are fitter than we have ever been at this time of yr ...the our winter training has gone 100% better than previous year , as for once we had a plan to work to thanks to our coach at perry Beeches sc masters..we,ve been working on our strokes ( not just front crawl ) , our breathing , our speed our endurance , even been working on our Racing..!! anything really that breaks up the routine , the winter swimming as been a breath of fresh air this yr...fingers crossed we will see a massive improve when we hit the cold water..!! okay we can always dream and hope of an improvement at our age..;-)) Ricks..
most open water swimmers seem to find pool
training boring why..??? Ricks train with Perry Beeches Masters in the
winter...every session is productive and so much fun.!! All u need is a bit of
imagination and a few swim toys...and even channel and open water swimmers will enjoy it ..;-)
balance Board,stretch cords ,Drag shorts, etc...our kits bags for training is huge,....lol
Here are just a few of Ricks & Beeches sc sessions over the past few weeks or so that might be useful to some before everyone's return to open water next month...;-)) ( for 100,s more of Ricks session just click this link tom our facebook page Big Ricks Training sessions
Enjoy...all of them are Easy....,!!! well they are according to the coach..;-) Ricks until next time...keep swimming...;-)
Well as you know today is Valentine’s day.., A day to show
your love, to give your heart to the people closest to you..!.. , it’s a
special day for everyone not matter what country you happen to live in, So what
better day could have been chosen for 3rd Global" Swim For Your Heart" event to take place.......Big Ricks
Swim Team are always Proud to take part and show our support to the Swim For
Your Heart Day.I,m sure you are aware
of how important the Fight To Beat Heart Disease is to everyone in Ricks Swim
Team, we Know HeartDisease can be
prevented if we all work together..
Swim For Your Heart 2013
http://www.swimforyourheartfeb14.com/
So Today , why not
make time out of your busy day and go for chilled relaxing swim.. Maybe
use the time think of love ones Past and Present , or just Swim for Your Heart, after you have swam
please Try and support your local Heart Charity where you can, they need our
help To Beat Heart Disease ...Ricks had a nice swim 8000m this morning , it
maybe not have been chilled and relaxed , but we will be thinking of Big Rick.
as we Swam....Rx
The Amazing Pat Gallenant Charette ultra open water champion swimmer and Founder of Swim For Your Heart
The idea of Swim Your Heart was the brain child of Pat
Gallant Charette from Maine in the United States, 60-year-old Pat (sorry for
dropping your age in Pat...you look much younger) is full-time nurse who cares
for her three young grandchildren and is inspiring friends around the world
with her attitude and marathon swimming achievements.
Pat kicked off 2011 by founding the non-profit Swim for
Your Heart February 14 organisations that support heart disease-related charity
groups through a worldwide swim. The swim for your heart day in now support by
28 countries
Despite all the demands on her time, Pat manages her time
well enough to train and travel the world to honour the memories of her two
late brothers. With hundreds of miles of training under her cap, Pat
started her summer season by becoming the oldest American woman to complete the
English Channel in 15 hours and 57 minutes. Not content, she headed west
and became the oldest woman to complete the Catalina Channel in 14 hours and 11
minutes. And is now in training to swim the Cook Strait in New Zealand in
2012..!! the lady is simply amazing...Ricks are proud to have Pat as friend and
we are also proud that we are able help her in a small way to
spread the word about Heart Disease through swimming in the UK
"Swim for your Heart.. February 14th 2013."
From recreational swimmers to elite swimmers YOU CAN JOIN
IN! Simply find your favourite lake, pool, ocean, river on February 14;
swim for a mile or an hour or 30 minutes. You can also participate by
donating to a heart program of your choice.
By getting involved as either a swimmer or supporter, you
are joining with others throughout the world in thought and action to bring
awareness of heart disease and its prevention. http://swimforyourheartfeb14.com/
you know BIg Ricks love our blogs songs...well this is great UK band Status Quo , with their Fabulous song Rockin all over the world....come on everyone, lets spread this message around the world.." Swim For Your Heart Today and Everyday""...( now click the arrow above , turn it up loud and sing along...we all love a bit of Quo) happy swimming everyone ...Ricks
Big Ricks Swim Team & The British Heart Foundation
Question ..As open water swimmers do we consider the swimming pool heaven or hell..???
It’s almost time for the return of Ricks Fun & lighthearted blogs about our all experiences as Open water swimming team .,It’s been a while (thank god we hear you cry), since we last made a blog post , so you will have to bare with us whilst Basher Bates remembers how to type ( and spell ) ....! ,But we are coming back for one last year...
Basher on the Run to hide from the open water Skin purists, who didn`t know he once owned and wet suit.. and swam in it..;-)
As per the norm...we will still start every blog, with a loosely (very loose) link , between swimming and a class Song , its so you can listen to a great song as you read and hopefully it will put you in a great mood for a minute or 2 and maybe start you thinking ..Hmmm i should have a go at open water swimming, it looks fun..and if these chubby middle aged men from the midlands can do it , then surely i can..!! YOU CAN... ..., give it go ..you will be so glad u did... so on with the blog, if you can spot the tedious link please let us know, as Paul seems to seems find a link between all these records where normal people can not, Rick.
Okay..its what you wait for every blog...what is the tedious link between swimming and a class song this week.?? , well the class song is Band On The Run by Wings..., Hmmm a great song u will agree but what is the link...easy....;-) for last 2 months ( and 3 months to come ) we have been doing nothing but indoor pool training , 4 times a weeks , in 3 different pools, which means instead of looking around the beautiful outdoor venues we are used to in the summer , we are staring at four wall's... ...Que Macca...( simply click the arrow on the picture about to hear the great song ) told you the link to swimming was Loose
Stuck inside these
four walls
Swimming inside
forever
Never seeing no one,
nice again
Like you, Big Ricks ,
you Big Ricks..
If we ever get out of here
Thought of giving it
all raised To a registered charity
All we need is a pint
of water a day
If I ever get out of
here
If we ever get out of here...!!!!!!!!!
We Are Ricks , get us out of here Now...
Winter Training!
No matter what standard of open water swimmer you are from the
likes of superstar OW swimmers like Keri-Anne Payne or Trent Grimsley , to swimmers who have just taken to open water to old swimmers coming back to the sport ( Like Ricks ) , we all
have one thing in common we all have attempt to
do some sort of training in the winter
...!! So what is the ideal OW training programme , not for Keri-Anne or Trent as that
would be like from another planet to us mere mortals , but what
is OW training meant to be for the likes of you and
me.?
Channel 2013 starts here .!! pictured ricks Captain Robert Cash at Walsall gala baths..!
Swimming in the winter months is not something we look forward to, you either
love it or hate It.? ,you ask yourselves are you working to hard or too little, should you hit the warm swimming
pool sooner than later , or stay at the freezing lakes and seas as long as you can ( if not all winter ),should you listen and read what others are doing and have
done , or keep faith and trust yourself that what you are doing is right for
us, and hope IT will pay off come the summer ..?
...these are just a few of the many questions we all as open water swimmers will ask ourselves,
year after year after year ... big ricks ask one more question , no matter whatever your approach and choice you to take to training , how
do we make it fun.!!!
Is This one of reasons way Open water swimmers hate swimming in indoor pools..its the thought of Having to use the dreaded Swimmers clock..
the blog will be running your way shortly...;-) winter training how make it more fun ...? Ricks
Maybe this is you..., maybe in trunks or shorts..pressure goes both ways..
you plan to swim at your local pool
or gym and just as u are about to jump in, a none swimmer turns up...and u get
that sinking feeling , that all day planned 50 x 100,s will end up being 2000m
kick and half an hour in the steam room .;-)
or
you plan a your 1st session back in the pool for years and years, you think no trunks are needed , well this is a gym pool not London 2012, just as you are about to do your 40 lengths breaststroke , you turn around to Find a Micheal Phelps look alike with kit bag and all standing there.., you heart sinks.,
what do i do..??? move to the next lane,.? go ahead and risk it , on the hopes he looks a better swimmer than he really is, or do u think ...Hmmmm ,you look around ,. there's not many in the steam room i see , think i,ll start my comeback to swimming tomorrow..!!
2012 was an amazing year..!! but 2013 will be better... Lets Make It A Great One Ricks x
Not better way to see out the old , and to look forward to new than with a bit of Frank..!!! with The best is yet to Come...of that we are sure for 2013... we will catch u up in few weeks with a total update of all Big Ricks planes for 2013..but in the mean time sit back and let old blue eyes entertain you for a few blissful minutes...Take it away Frank Ricks x ( simple click on the arrow in the picture above to hear the chairman of the board sing )
Big Ricks Swim Team..
( a few of members of ricks team on its Christmas Jolly )
To finish the mighty 2012 it had to be the best Christmas song around, the great Michael buble doing the Xmas classic Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas , (click on the arrow above to Mike at his best )
Big Ricks 26th Annual Christmas Bowling champs.. The winner as always the might edge .!! Gary. well he was only drinking half`s according to Richard .;-)
we only one thing to say , and that is to wish everyone a great and mad Christmas , 2012 was one to
remember for sure ....!Hopefully Ricks will catch up with some of you at a lake , pool , river, sea in
2013 ..have fun and swim safe over Christmas everyone Ricks ;-).x
ricks Basher and the Gimp.. Paul and Doug raise a glass to everyone for a great 2013.
Ricks will be back in 2013, much bigger ( much bigger after Christmas eating and drinking ).. and better than ever...hope we will get see and meet and swim with many more of the open water crew from around the country ..2013 will the best yr yet for us all...R x
A normal sight for channel swimmers who have to do part , if not all their winter training in public swimming baths around the UK..
Hi Everyone..these are just some of Big Ricks swimming Sessions over the past 2 months as we make our very slow recovery back into hot and boring pool swimming training and racing after a summer of nothing but open water "heaven " , Ricks use 4 different swimming pools ( two 25m pools and one 33.83m pool and one 30m pool ) Our Open water training takes place at Swan Pool ( 800m lap approx ) from april to October We hope they are of use to some on you who are maybe planning to dip your toe into open water swimming in 2013 , Trust us when you do , you will never look back;-)..R x
Additional Equipment needed for these sessions...Fins,Paddles,Snorkel,T-shirt,Pull Buoy,Kick Board , Drag Trunks always.!! and more..
Big Ricks always start its blog with a tune , to get you in the mood as you read , and just because this is a training page , it should be no different..so what is the best song or theme to get you in the mood to train...You know it already...sorry ladies but it can only be Getting stronger from Rocky..!! a lads classic...simply click the the arrow in the picture above to hear the boys training classic tune...and but the end on the song, u will be ready for 10k set or channel solo easy..lol ricks ( we do have to add, we think Rocky needs to work on his Bufferfly stroke , shocking springs to mind lol )
This video will help with those who do not know what Phelps Fly kick drill is.
