Some time ago I discussed Ned Denison’s 3,5 & 9k annual swim list which runs each year and is available here on the Sandycove Island Swimming Club website.

For some years now, Ned Denison has also maintained a list of swimming achievements by Sandycove Swimmers and those swimming within the area. For the last few years since the actual club was formed, after season’s end, relevant swims for the year are added and the committee discuss and ratify the final list before release.

Actually known as the County Cork & Bit of Kerry list, the list includes the Sandycove regulars, other distance swimmers within the region, and visitors, particularly those who have participated in the Cork Distance Week (which originated in the 2008 & 2009 Champion of Champions swims, for those of us who were there). It also includes swims on the Waterford coast. The list includes swimmers from Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Dublin, Clare, the UK & USA, Australia and some others.

This year’s list was discussed back in October and it was released this week.

At this time of year, when the media is full of Best-Of lists, and reviews and recommendations of sports books of the year thus has become, in my view at least, an astonishing record of (primarily Irish) swimmer’s achievements.

Starting with Lisa’s double English Channel solo and leading through swims around the world and all over Ireland, I think this is one of the great documents of Irish sport and probably one of at least some interest to open water swimmers around the world.

The committee accepts the word of swimmers (in good standing) where such swims as don’t have observers are added (like the 5k+ swims that I did on Project Copper this year)  or Craig and Gabor’s swims, or where club members are observers.

This link will take you directly to the Google Docs file where you can view or download it as a PDF, (or here where I’ve added epub & mobi options).

Every year this list grows, every year behind every name and distance and location is a world of interest. Each swim carries its own story, its own joy reduced to these entries. As Ned says, if you are not already on this list, maybe next year will your first entry. Or maybe it’ll be your most successful, longest or toughest entry. maybe you are coming for the Distance Week. This is a great document to be part of, because it’s a great group of people to be part of.