East Dorset Open Water Swimming Club has held its inaugural Seahorse Challenge open water swim race in the beautiful Studland Bay on 27 June 2010. The race had been eight months in the planning and attracted a high class field of competitors from all over Southern England and the Midlands.

The event was held by kind permission of the National Trust and run in support of the National Trust and the The Studland Seagrass and Seahorse Study Group. Studland is the only coastal area in Britain where there is a known colony of breeding seahorses which makes it a very special place.

Club President Ali Budynkiewicz said “We had perfect conditions on the day, warm balmy weather and a nice flat calm sea. It really couldn’t have been better!” She said that the race had been a fantastic success and the organising committee had been greatly supported by the RLSS Poole and Branksome Lifeguards who provided the safety cover on the day. The club had been able to make a substantial donation to the lifeguards for the purchase of a number of swim buoys used for the Seahorse race.

The swim was over a standard triathlon distance of 3.8km. Starting from Knoll Beach, it took a triangular course heading towards the Training Bank, back towards the beach and then parallel to it back to the start / finish line.

The 93 swimmers who took part were very complimentary about the swim and the organisation behind it and were determined to return next year. The winner of each category was given a magnificent print of a painting of a seahorse by popular local artist Donna Stacey.

Also, the first male and female local non-wetsuit swimmers over the age of 40 were presented with the Roy Harding Memorial trophies. This special award was to honour the memory of Roy, a member and great supporter of the club who sadly passed away last year.

The oldest lady swimmer in the race, Jenny Ball from the Isle of Wight, was presented with a special Lush gift pack.

Seahorse Swim 2010 images credit Danni Callahan

Categories
Male non wetsuit (MNW)
Male wetsuit (MW)
Female non wetsuit (FNW)
Female wetsuit (FW)

Winners

Men non wetsuit	Richard Smiles	56.02	Bournemouth Dolphins
Men wetsuit	Guy Giles	55.17	City of Oxford SC
Ladies non wetsuit	Danielle Pryor	55.45	Sevenoaks Tri
Ladies wetsuit	Emily Abbot	1.08.16	EDOWSC
Roy Harding Trophy - Men	Rory Fitzgerald	1.00.19	Winchester Penguins
Roy Harding Trophy - Ladies	Kate Mason	1.10.05	Weyport Masters
Oldest Lady completing the race (prize donated by Lush)	Jenny Ball	1.42.20	IOW- Marlins SC

Results

Type	Position	Swim Time	Swimmer ID	Swimmer	Club	Notes
MNW	1	00:56:02	121	Richard Smiles	Bournemouth Dolphins
MNW	2	01:00:19	105	Rory Fitzgerald	Winchester Penguins	Roy Harding Trophy Winner
MNW	3	01:03:32	126	Matt Wardle	Kenilworth Masters
MNW	4	01:04:59	118	Stuart Purcell	EDOWSC
MNW	5	01:07:20	111	Roy McWhirter	Kenilworth Masters
MNW	6	01:07:56	110	Les Jessop	Wareham SC
MNW	7	01:08:12	109	Nicholas Ireland	Weyport Masters
MNW	8	01:08:20	114	Ian Morris	unattached
MNW	9	01:09:51	125	Andrew Walker	unattached
MNW	10	01:11:59	102	Jim Boucher	Lido Legends
MNW	11	01:14:08	107	Alex Harper	SLSC
MNW	12	01:14:30	115	Andy Myers	EDOWSC
MNW	13	01:14:42	104	Will Collings-Wells	EDOWSC
MNW	14	01:16:41	101	Ben Bennett	SLSC
MNW	15	01:17:33	120	David Rimmington	EDOWSC
MNW	16	01:21:35	113	Ian Middle	unattached
MNW	17	01:24:05	116	Richard Petitt	Salisbury Stingrays
MNW	18	01:25:16	106	David Fraser	Copthal Masters
MNW	19	01:28:28	119	Philip Richardson	unattached
MNW	20	01:31:11	124	Mark Vides	EDOWSC
MNW	21	01:32:05	112	Peter Meteau	Wareham SC
MNW	22	01:32:40	108	Kevin Hill	EDOWSC
MNW	23	01:33:43	122	Richard Tricker	SLSC
.
MW	1	00:55:17	212	Guy Giles	City of Oxford SC
MW	2	00:59:59	201	Richard Addis	Windsor SC
MW	3	01:00:38	219	Darren Morgan	unattached
MW	4	01:02:09	220	Gavin Munnery	Wincanton SC
MW	5	01:03:33	206	Lloyd Clark-Morris	unattached
MW	6	01:04:29	203	Glyn Bevans	unattached
MW	7	01:06:38	216	Richard Lines	Ringwood Rapidos
MW	8	01:08:35	213	Andrew Gill	VoTwo
MW	9	01:09:13	225	Mark Shakles	RLSS Poole Lifeguards
MW	10	01:10:09	210	Vince Fowler	unattached
MW	11	01:10:42	202	Mark Barrow	EDOWSC
MW	12	01:12:14	218	Phil Merritt	Wincanton SC
MW	13	01:12:56	217	Colin Lowans	unattached
MW	14	01:13:05	215	Sean Kirkwood	unattached
MW	15	01:13:50	211	Gary Giles	City of Oxford SC
MW	16	01:14:53	226	Jeremy Waller	unattached
MW	17	01:15:24	221	Andrew Newbury	unattached
MW	18	01:18:56	223	Carl Reynolds	SLSC
MW	19	01:21:30	222	Michael Regan	Wessex Wizards
MW	20	01:21:36	209	Adrian Feasby	unattached
MW	21	01:21:37	224	Steve Sadler	EDOWSC
MW	22	01:31:11	207	Keith Cummings	Ferndown Otters
MW	23	01:33:11	205	Stephen Boyt	unattached
MW	24	01:39:01	208	Sergio Di Noto	unattached
MW	25	01:39:03	204	Andy Blonden	unattached
.
FNW	1	00:55:45	316	Danielle Pryor	Sevenoaks Tri
FNW	2	01:03:23	306	Claire Hayward	EDOWSC
FNW	3	01:08:24	308	Martha Holman	EDOWSC
FNW	4	01:10:05	310	Kate Mason	Weyport masters	Roy Harding Trophy Winner
FNW	5	01:10:20	305	Catherine Hartle	unattached
FNW	6	01:10:25	323	Amanda Worsley	SLSC
FNW	7	01:13:35	319	Sarah Spurling	EDOWSC
FNW	8	01:14:04	318	Lindsey Shenton	IOW –Marlins SC
FNW	9	01:19:46	301	Linda Ashmore	Weport Masters
FNW	10	01:19:53	315	Joanne Postin	Basingstoke
FNW	11	01:20:11	309	Nicola Malin	Spencer
FNW	12	01:22:11	314	Julie Merrell	Poole SC
FNW	13	01:24:38	317	Kate Robarts	Basingstoke
FNW	14	01:25:05	320	Kate Todd	EDOWSC
FNW	15	01:28:09	324	Beverley Murray	EDOWSC
FNW	16	01:29:31	304	Liz Collins	Wessex Wizards
FNW	17	01:30:32	302	Jennie Boyt	EDOWSC
FNW	18	01:32:15	311	Ellery McGowan	Lido legends
FNW	19	01:36:02	312	Ann McGrath	EDOWSC
FNW	20	01:40:12	303	Naomi Branston	SLSC
FNW	21	01:43:15	321	Sarah Tunnicliff	OSS
FNW	22	01:50:11	325	Trudy Palmer	EDOWSC
.
FW	1	01:08:16	401	Emily Abbot	EDOWSC
FW	2	01:09:48	405	Nicci Dossett	unattached
FW	3	01:10:10	417	Katie Pollard	unattached
FW	4	01:17:45	413	Jessicah Mateau	Wareham
FW	5	01:22:32	419	Margaret Rouse	EDOWSC
FW	6	01:24:08	410	Louise Lowans	unattached
FW	7	01:24:10	408	Liz Hall	unattached
FW	8	01:26:41	421	Kirsty Staunton	unattached
FW	9	01:27:10	424	Rebecca Wilkinson	unattached
FW	10	01:28:09	420	Georgie Shand	unattached
FW	11	01:29:59	422	Yvonne Tibble	EDOWSC
FW	12	01:30:30	403	Lorraine Crook	Caldicot SC
FW	13	01:31:23	411	Penny Marshall	unattached
FW	14	01:34:58	406	Margaret Edgell	unattached
FW	15	01:37:30	418	Valerie Regan	Wessex Wizards
FW	16	01:40:31	404	Jane Dodd	unattached
FW	17	01:42:20	402	Jenny Ball	IOW – Marlins SC
FW	18	01:43:26	409	Rosemary Johnson	IOW – Marlins SC
FW	19	01:43:33	414	Caroline Morris	Salisbury Tri
FW	20	01:45:02	423	Elizabeth Walker	unattached
FW	21	01:48:38	407	Rosa Evans	Kenilworth masters
FW	22	02:02:37	425	Melanie McKenzie	unattached

Did not Finish (DNF) and Did not Swim (DNS)

DNF	322	Rebecca Wills	IOW – Marlins SC
DNS	103	Thomas Butler	SLSC
DNS	117	Matthew Pollard	SLSC
DNS	123	Michael Vessey	SLSC
DNS	214	Bruce Graham-Cook	unattached
DNS	307	Joanne Hitchens	unattached
DNS	412	Elinor Mateau	Wareham