Ground Fulham Pools Founded 1916 | Website Club home page | |
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Full name West London Penguin Swimming and Water Polo Club | ||
The West London Penguin Swimming and Water Polo Club is a masters swimming and water polo club based in London. It is an Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) registered club in the London region. The masters swimming teams are composed of male and female swimmers of all ages, with an intermediate level for casual and former competitive swimmers and the advanced level for more experienced and competitive swimmers. Some swimmers are also nationally ranked.
The club has a number of water polo teams, with the competition level teams participating at the highest level in the British Water Polo League (Men and Women categories). Club member Francesca Snell was selected to the Great Britain Olympic Water Polo team for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
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History
The Hammersmith Ladies Swimming Club was founded in 1916 for women swimmers and the Penguin Swimming Club was a men's swimming club founded in 1921. With mixed gender swimming clubs a rarity in the early 20th century, the clubs co-existed for many years, training in and around Hammersmith area, notably the Hammersmith Public Baths in Lime Grove.
Little is known about the Hammersmith Ladies Swimming Club however, Penguin SC was a notable presence in swimming circles. They featured in the 1935 opening of the Uxbridge Lido, and played against the USA Olympic Water Polo team in 1948 at the open air pool in White City. Penguin SC remained at the forefront of British swimming right up to the 1970s when they merged with the Hammersmith Ladies Swimming Club in 1976 to form the Hammersmith Penguin Swimming and Water Polo Club before adding "West London" to their name to reflect a broader representation in London. The masters swimming section remains rooted in the Hammersmith and Fulham area but the club is open to all.
Training
The masters swimmers train three times per week at the Fulham Pools on Lillie Road (Mondays and Fridays), and St Pauls in Hammersmith (Wednesdays). All sessions are evening sessions as most members are adults with daily commitments. The water polo teams train at Shell Centre in Waterloo reqularly, with the women's squad also using St. Pauls school on Wednesday.