Team Captains’ Report: Valentine Tournament (delayed) 7th - 9th October 2022

Delayed due to Covid restrictions in February, Out to Swim ended up with a massive 29 Swimmers traveling to Amsterdam for the weekend representing Lanes 1 to 6. We entered six teams in the 4 x 50 Medley Relays and 7 teams for the 4 x 50 Free.

Upstream organised the whole weekend, starting with a Friday night swim, registration and drinks. Saturday’s races started at the very civilised hour of 12.30pm with a hectic twenty-minute warm-up and from then on, the pace continued. We did a lot of cheering, catching up with old European friends and winning medals. Our final tally was 58: - 37 Gold, 11 Silver and 10 Bronze. From our relay teams, covering a number of age groups (Men’s and Mixed):  4 x 50 Medley 3 Gold, 1 Silver, 1Bronze. 4 x 50 Freestyle 3 Gold, 1 Silver 1 Bronze.

After that it was dinner and party time at an amazing venue created out of the old Amsterdam Gas-works. Some made it back to the Hostel accommodation (organised by Danny) just in time to check out and make it to the brunch. All the food catered for carnivores, vegetarians and vegans. It was revealed that we had won the most medals and were presented with a trophy.  I thanked Upstream for a fabulous weekend and hoped that Out to Swim could return their hospitality next year at IGLA in London. As Daniel L posted: ‘For every gala I go to with OTS, I have more fun.’

Results https://upstreamamsterdam.nl/valentine-tournament-2022/