Rushmoor shine with nine medals at National Masters Championships

Rushmoor took five titles in a successful GoCardless Swim England Artistic Swimming National Masters Championships 2025.

The Aldershot-based club left Sheffield’s Ponds Forge with nine medals overall in a fun, yet competitive, masters event.

They made a strong start to their campaign in the technical duet event, taking three out of the six gold medals available.

Louise Ross and Rachel Davies defended their title in the 40-49 years event with the overall highest duet score, finishing on a total of 61.8384.

In the 50-59 years category, Carrie Nightingale and Janice Brignull represented the club and finished nearly eight points clear of their opponents.

Andrea Holland and Carolyn Macdonald then took the gold in the 60-69 years with a beautiful swim to Hallelujah.

City of Bradford also enjoyed a successful morning, with two gold medals. Bethany Seal and Orla Cassidy edged out Walsall’s duet by under a point to take the title in the 18-24 years event, whilst Charlotte Hughes and Emma Knight retained their 30-39 title.

Team Bath took the final gold in the 25-29 event. Annabelle Toole and Innez Merrett finished on 57.4535 to win by just over a point.

In the free combination competition, City of Bradford and Rushmoor rounded off an excellent morning with a gold apiece.

Bradford’s video game inspired routine was awarded 62.1667, the highest score of all combinations entered, and the gold in the 25-39 category.

The winners of the 40-64 event were Rushmoor, with a well-executed routine which put them nearly six points clear of the rest of the field.

Aqualina finished on top in the 18-24 years event, swimming a routine to the soundtrack of Netflix show ‘Squid Game’. The routine showed impressive height on the acrobatics and the team were thrilled to receive a score of 61.8333.

Close calls in the technical team

The technical team competition proved just as competitive, with four categories and four different winners.

In the 18-24 category, the podium places were determined by less than a point. Walsall were the eventual winners with a Celtic inspired routine, finishing on 57.3101.

City of Bradford took their fourth gold of the day in the 25-34 category, with Denton grabbing their first in the 35-49 event.

Rushmoor closed off the session in style, taking the gold in the 50-64 event with their routine to the Footloose soundtrack.

The technical solo session showcased 38 solos from clubs across the country. Jeanne Ansley from City of Leeds was the sole entrant in the 80-89 category, but her performance wowed judges and spectators alike, finishing to a huge reception from the crowd.

Seymour took a clean sweep in the 70-79, 60-69 and 50-59 categories, showcasing some incredible flexibility and alignment. Susan Innes, Carola Hoepke and Sarah Anderson took the respective golds.

Louise Ross took her second gold for Rushmoor in the 40-49 event with a swim that showed great extension, and Jessica Sanders delivered an energetic performance in the 30-39 event to take a gold for Bramcote Aquastars.

City of Bristol were victorious in the two largest categories. Laura Perry took the 25-29 title scoring 63.3727, and the final gold of the day was awarded to Aimee Lawrence.

The Bristol swimmer had the highest score of the day with 64.9768, narrowly beating City of Bradford’s Isobel Davies by 0.1.

You can see the full results for the GoCardless Swim England Artistic Swimming National Masters Championships here.

Images: Will Johnston Photography