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Berkshire and South Bucks ASA history

This is the first of what I hope will be a series of reminiscences about swimming in the counties from people who were helping promote the sport in the area before even the parents of many current swimmers were born.

Many thanks to Counties past-President Tom Chambers for this contribution, and if anyone has further memories to add please email them to webmaster@bsbasa.org

"I can only go back to 1957, when there were only two indoor pools in the county – Slough Swimming Centre and the Arthur Hill pool in Reading, where races were finished at a rope. For county championships, clubs had to bid to hold them, such as £5 to hold the freestyle championships, and as the other clubs such as Windsor, Wycombe and Maidenhead had only outdoor pools, invariably Reading and Slough got the best of the meets.

"The next indoor pool to be built was either the 50-metre pool at Wycombe - up until then they swam at the outdoor pool at Bassetbury Park – or Central Pool in Reading. [Reading was built in 1966 or 1967 and I think Wycombe is newer - ed]

"Windsor SC got very few of the championships or age groups because they held them in the river. About 1960 they built the outdoor pool, followed by the 55 yards pool in Slough with its 5m, 3m and 1m diving boards and two shallow ends.

"The county was one of the first to hold age group competitions and these were mostly at that time swum in the outdoor pools.

"The clubs in the county had a very strong polo section and were members of the London water polo league."