International Athletes to Compete in the UK

It’s our turn to host the INF (International Naturist Federation – www.ifn-fni.org) swimming gala this year which will also take place at the Ken Marriott Leisure Centre, Bruce Williams Way, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV22 5LJ, with swimmers staying at the Britannia Hotel, Coventry, over the weekend of 6-8 November. Swimmers from nine nations will be competing for international naturist glory. Our team has been selected from the swimmers at our national gala held earlier this year.

The teams start to arrive on Friday afternoon and in the evening we meet for a welcome drink, then in the morning it is off to the swimming-pool for the gala. On Saturday evening we have an awards dinner, when we give out the cups for the relay races and then dance into the night. On the Sunday morning we have a tour of Coventry’s tourist attractions, for which we hope to have Lady Godiva as our guide.

There are still some places available for swimmers – we need men and women aged 18 to 24 and 25 to 29 to be able to swim two to three styles so that we can take part in the 8 x 50 m breaststroke INF challenge cup. We also need a family for the family relay - a breaststroke race of 3 x 50m for two parents and one child under the age of 16 or one parent and two children under 16. If you can fit the bill, please get in touch with me at sports@british-naturism.org.uk.

We also want people to come along and cheer the team to victory over the rest of the world! To be representing Great Britain at an international sporting event is something to be proud of and beyond the reach of all but a few UK citizens. It’s also a great way to show our connections with the wider naturist world and a chance to meet naturists from overseas and show them the best that the UK has to offer.