jaar waterpolo bij GSA

board was responsible for the swimming trunks. Not that the water polo players ordered it for themselves. For some reason I forgot, they put on something else. Swimmers still swim around in this wedding product.

Next to the pool where we train on Wednesdays, there is such an attractive tower that you can jump from. A few members with no fear of heights wanted to take a dive down and so a new division was born; GSA

diving. It never got big I think I’m able to count on one hand the number of divers. It was small but nice until

the last diver got back problems.,

In short, GSA members did not have it easy in the past. It was a hard life or at least a hard swimming life. Thanks to the early members, and I only half count myself I'm not that old yet the club still exists. They helped build up a nice reserve, which we hope we get to use celebrating this jubilee year. They have laid the

GSA members did not have it easy in the past. It was a hard life or at least a hard swimming life.

foundation for a thriving club that has almost as many members as it use to when the water polo team was a part of us. I can't substantiate it with figures, but I have the feeling that we also have more female members and that a few times I open my eyes in the shower (when they’re actually open) and I see a large group of forty lovers and many fast swimmers. They don't all disappear after their training at GSA. They have also ensured that there is a board that has been functioning for quite a few years now and a lively social committee that’s supported by swimmers and board members. Although it always remains to be seen with those individualistic swimmers; there is no telling what will happen.

Love Swim 2018, uitreiking triatlon medailles

afdeling nooit ontstegen. Klein maar fijn totdat de laatste springer het geloof ik aan zijn rug kreeg, dat kan je er blijkbaar ook van krijgen.

Kortom GSA’ers hadden het vroeger helemaal niet makkelijk. Het was een zwaar leven of in ieder geval een zwaar zwemleven. Dankzij hen, en ik reken mijzelf daar maar half toe, zo oud ben ik nog niet, bestaat de club nog steeds, hebben ze meegeholpen om een lekkere reserve op te bouwen, die we hopelijk voor een flink gedeelte te gaan verbrassen in dit jubileumjaar. Ze hebben de basis gelegd voor een bloeiende vereniging die bijna net zoveel leden heeft als vroeger met de waterpoloërs erbij. Cijfermatig onderbouwen kan ik het niet, maar ik heb

het gevoel we ook meer vrouwelijke leden hebben en die enkele keer dat ik

mijn ogen onder de douche opendoe, zie ik een flinke club veertigminners en veel snelle zwemmers.

Die verdwijnen niet meer allemaal nadat ze hun opleiding bij GSA hebben gehad, naar de andere gay zwemclub, zoals vroeger. Zij hebben er ook voor gezorgd dat er een bestuur zit dat nu al een flink

aantal jaren wel functioneert. En er is zowaar een levendige activiteitengroepje, dat nog wel wat extra steun van bestuur en leden mag krijgen. Al blijft het met die individualistische zwemmers altijd afwachten. Er blijft geen peil op te trekken.

Outgames Montral 2006, Uwe, Wim, trainer Cor, Joost, Peter, Arthur, Koen

Interview

Mathilde, our first celebrity

In the 25 years that Gay Swim Amsterdam has existed, many famous people have swam at the club. Mathilde Santing is one of the best known and one of the first members of the club.

Joost Kool

M

athilde, how did you get to the club?’

I was introduced to it by Dia Huizinga. Dia had just started and she took me along. I participated in tournaments in Paris and Berlin and later, of course,

also in the Gay Games in Amsterdam. My father was a very good swimmer and he taught us how to swim. Of course we also had lessons, but in the afternoon we

went to the swimming pool with him. He could swim very well. ’ ‘I have always really enjoyed Gay Swim. I was also disqualified once; think because of an illegal turning. Once, stood in line for the start of a competition, and automatically started singing, instead of doing swimming warmup exercises. As a singer, this felt completely natural. The anticipation is a similar feeling and it triggered me to think , ‘I'm going to start singing in a minute’ , and then 'Oh no, I'm going to swim in a minute' . I stood in that row in my bathing suit. That was comical. ’

‘The Gay Games were really great. In the beginning there was skepticism. Then the newspapers would say 'What is this, are those gays going to swim together?' All those people who came to Amsterdam at the time were all sporty, nice and fun people. That was amazing. And parties of course. During the Games I saw my first water polo match. That was great. Now I'm 63, but when I saw that, wow, I looked at it wideeyed. ’

Does the breathing technique of swimming help with singing?

‘I am convinced that swimming helps with singing. If you understand how breath support works and you want to practice it and you don't want to strain your voice, swimming can help you with that. Frank Sinatra, for example, learned to sing so well through the wind instruments in his orchestra. He saw those broad backs and asked them 'What exactly are you doing?' . Then he went swimming, also under water, to increase his lung capacity. He had such an unbelievably good breathing technique. ’ ‘When you sing, you have an ever changing agenda. You are often on stage in the evening and that was difficult to combine with weekly sports. When I found out that I was having a problem with my ears, which was also a problem with singing sometimes, I stopped swimming. ’ ‘I caught a cold at the Gay Games. That also bothered me on stage. But I have now started swimming again, in the De Mirandabad. The first few times also together with Dia. The De Mirandabad is a delight. ’ ‘I have very good swimming goggles, which are integrated into my swimming cap. That works very well against those ear and nose problems. I also have very good earplugs. ’

‘Do you remember anything from the first training session at GSA?’

‘No, little. But when Dia says that we went to that very first training together, I believe it immediately. I do know that I had a swimsuit with a zipper that always had to be zipped by someone else; Cor (one of the old trainers) often did that for me. I would really like to swim outside, in open water. I like the smell of the fresh outside water. I often went swimming outside with a friend. I also surfed for a while. Then we went to

Muiden or Muiderberg. That friend was very good at that, she taught me. ' ‘Once last summer I was late at De Mirandabad and

the cash register was already closed. I was so looking forward to it so,I rented a car and drove to the Amstel

and there I saw a nice jetty. It said 'No Trespassing' , but I wanted it so badly... I had a lovely swim in the Amstel. ’