Jersey Long Distance Swimming Club
Affiliated to Swim England SER, BLDSA and CS & PF
Inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (IMSHoF) 2014
“Possibly; the best little swimming club in the world”
Affiliated to Swim England SER, BLDSA and CS & PF
Inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (IMSHoF) 2014
“Possibly; the best little swimming club in the world”
Introduction
The island of Jersey is the largest and most
southern of the Channel Islands. Jersey is situated 14 miles from the Normandy
coastline of France and 100 miles south of Great Britain. With 45 miles of
beautiful coastline there are plenty of beaches and bays to swim from.
Denize Le Pennec kick started long distance swimming in the island and is perhaps the reason behind our ever growing and successful club today. September 1966 saw Denize wade ashore at Dymchurch, Kent after a 24 hour 51 minute swim across one of the busiest shipping channels in the world. At the time Denize was 16 years of age and set a number of records. Also in 1966 she went on to become the first Jersey to France swimmer and became the first Round Jersey swimmer in 1969. Thanks to her pioneering spirit our club now boasts an ever increasing tally of successful swims of which the latest figures can be found on the ‘Roll of Honour’ page.
The early 1970s saw the iconic Fort Regent swimming pool open, greatly improving swimming facilities in the island. Fort Regent was home to Jersey Swimming Club (JSC) and the JLDSC originated as a branch of the JSC.
It is almost 40 years since the club was founded and 1974 saw the first committee meeting of the JLDSC with Maurice Lakeman as President and other committee members including Fay Devereux, Leighton De St Paer and Leslie Minty. After the foundation of the club, Jane Luscombe became the second person to swim around the island in 1976.
The foundation of the club was the starting point for what has become possibly the most successful open water swimming club in the world. Jersey hosts two local swims which are now becoming natural precursors for many swimmers contemplating a future Channel swim.
And so our club looks onwards and upwards with a number of local youngsters taking on personal challenges each year and inspiring the next generation.
Denize Le Pennec kick started long distance swimming in the island and is perhaps the reason behind our ever growing and successful club today. September 1966 saw Denize wade ashore at Dymchurch, Kent after a 24 hour 51 minute swim across one of the busiest shipping channels in the world. At the time Denize was 16 years of age and set a number of records. Also in 1966 she went on to become the first Jersey to France swimmer and became the first Round Jersey swimmer in 1969. Thanks to her pioneering spirit our club now boasts an ever increasing tally of successful swims of which the latest figures can be found on the ‘Roll of Honour’ page.
The early 1970s saw the iconic Fort Regent swimming pool open, greatly improving swimming facilities in the island. Fort Regent was home to Jersey Swimming Club (JSC) and the JLDSC originated as a branch of the JSC.
It is almost 40 years since the club was founded and 1974 saw the first committee meeting of the JLDSC with Maurice Lakeman as President and other committee members including Fay Devereux, Leighton De St Paer and Leslie Minty. After the foundation of the club, Jane Luscombe became the second person to swim around the island in 1976.
The foundation of the club was the starting point for what has become possibly the most successful open water swimming club in the world. Jersey hosts two local swims which are now becoming natural precursors for many swimmers contemplating a future Channel swim.
And so our club looks onwards and upwards with a number of local youngsters taking on personal challenges each year and inspiring the next generation.