Wellington School Pupils is National Champ at Unusual Sport of Finswimming!
24 Jan 2019
A Wellington School pupil has achieved an outstanding array of victories in a most unusual sport.
Jasmine Farrer, In Year 10 competed at the UK National Finswimming Championships in London.
She came first in all 6 of her events for her team, Neptune Finswimming Club (from Bristol) and set 4 new age group records and a National record in the 200m. In the final event, she swam with the mens’ team, who also came first! Well done Jasmine – a superb performance. Jasmine swam the 50m without breathing – a remarkable achievement!
As well as her personal achievements, Jasmine also scored points for her club, and overall Neptune Finswimming Club were the club champions – and delighted to win!
Finswimming is a form of swimming when athletes use a monofin or flippers to move through the water. They either swim on the water’s surface using a snorkel or underwater by holding breath. Events exist over distances similar to swimming competitions for both swimming pool and open water venues.
“I started fin swimming when I was 9 years old, on a suggestion from my sports teacher at my village primary school in Hong Kong. Although it is quite a new sport in many countries, it has been popular in Eastern Europe since 1950s. For me, I really enjoyed the speed of swimming with a mono fin ( it is like a mermaid’s tail, although perhaps less glamorous!) and that you have to learn new skills and ways of swimming. It really is thrilling to go so fast through the water!” commented Jasmine.
“Over time, with a lot of regular practice (2-3 times a week), I found that my skill and confidence improved and I started to compete in local competitions, which were very exciting and I really enjoyed competing as an individual and as a team. In 2012, I was selected to join the Hong Kong squad to compete at the All China National Championships, which was a great honour and, although that time I didn’t win any races, I learnt a lot.
Since then, my finswimming skills, strength, and technique have improved and, through perseverance in training (now 4-5 times a week), and a huge thanks to the dedication of my coaches, I have had the honour of representing Hong Kong (2012-2018) in competitions in China and Japan and, more recently since my move to Wellington School (in 2016) I have been honoured to represent the United Kingdom (at club level) at the World Cup in Lignano, Italy in 2018. The sport in the UK is growing fast and we recently held the UK National Championships in London with clubs from all over the UK and Europe participating.
If you like swimming, like the excitement of moving fast through the water, and like to try something new… then you will LOVE fin-swimming ! Try it !” concludes Jasmine.
Finswimming was pioneered in the 1930s and the first competition was held in the sea in 1951.
It is now overseen globally by the World Confederation of Underwater Activities (“CMAS”) and is officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee. It is one of the fastest growing sports, gaining popularity in Europe, the Middle East and Asian countries
The sport’s first world championship was held in 1976. It also has been featured at the World Games as a trend sport since 1981 and was demonstrated at the 2015 European Games in June 2015.
Photo caption: Jasmine Farrer – National Finswimming championships