OUR CLUB
Our Story
For 140 years, Guernsey Swimming Club has been part of island life — teaching generations to swim, developing competitive swimmers and bringing people together through a shared love of the water.
Founded on 23 August 1886, GSC is Guernsey's second-oldest sporting club. From our beginnings in Victorian Guernsey to the Club we know today, swimming has changed enormously — but our purpose has remained remarkably familiar: giving people the opportunity to learn, develop, compete and enjoy swimming throughout their lives.
GSC TODAY
One club. A lifetime of swimming.
Today, GSC provides opportunities from a swimmer's first experiences in the water through to competitive swimming and swimming throughout adulthood.
Our Learn to Swim programme builds the foundations for a lifetime in the water. Our competitive pathway gives swimmers the opportunity to train, race and progress, while Adult Swimming provides opportunities to improve technique, train for fitness and performance, and compete through Masters swimming.
At the heart of it all are our volunteers. Teachers, coaches, officials, committee members and many others give their time to keep the Club moving forward — continuing a tradition of volunteering that has shaped GSC for generations. GSC remains entirely volunteer-run today.
THROUGH THE GENERATIONS
140 years in the water
1886
The beginning
Guernsey Swimming Club holds its first meeting on 23 August. The men-only summer club holds its early galas in the Albert Dock.
1923
A changing Club
Permission is obtained from the St Peter Port constables for a mixed gala at the Ladies' Pool at La Vallette.
1960s & 70s
Floodlit galas
Floodlit galas at La Vallette become a popular part of Club life, featuring swimming, diving and fun events, alongside water polo.
1976
A new era
Beau Sejour opens, giving GSC access to a modern indoor facility and allowing swimming to become a year-round activity.
1986
100 years
GSC celebrates its centenary, returning to La Vallette for a special event inspired by the floodlit galas of earlier decades.
2011
125 years
GSC returns to La Vallette for its 125th anniversary gala — the first swimming gala held there by the Club since 1986. The evening concludes with a torch-lit procession of 125 torches, one for every year of GSC.
2012
An Olympic moment
Long-serving GSC volunteer and President Jo Norman carries the London 2012 Olympic Torch as it passes through Guernsey — a proud moment for Jo and the Club she had already served for decades.
2026
140 years
GSC celebrates 140 years of swimming in Guernsey. Jo Norman is awarded the British Empire Medal for services to swimming after almost five decades of volunteering with the Club.
GENERATIONS OF GSC
More than a swimming club
Across 140 years, generations of swimmers, families and volunteers have become part of the GSC story.
Children who first learned to swim with the Club have gone on to compete, teach, coach, officiate and volunteer. Parents who first arrived poolside with their children have become part of the team that keeps the Club running. Friendships formed through swimming have lasted long beyond someone's time in the pool.
For some, GSC has provided the pathway to compete at the highest levels available to them. For others, it has simply provided a place to swim, belong and enjoy the water.
The generations change. The people change. But the sense of Club continues.
OUR HERITAGE
Stories worth preserving
GSC's history lives in the trophies, traditions and memories passed from one generation to the next.
Our historic collection includes trophies from the Club's earliest years, celebrating not only achievement in the water, but the people and contributions that have shaped GSC.
A lasting connection between today's swimmers and generations of GSC before them.
LEADING THE CLUB
Our Presidents
Since 1886, generations of Presidents have helped guide GSC through more than a century of change and development.
A record of those who have led the Club from its earliest years to today.
| 1886–1888 | E. Holmes |
| 1889–1890 | G. Metcalf |
| 1891–1892 | S. Barbet |
| 1893–1905 | H. Mauger |
| 1905–1919 | B. Creasey |
| 1919–1924 | V. Creasey |
| 1924–1946 | F. Fulford MBE |
| 1946–1948 | W. Green |
| 1948–1949 | J. Ross OBE |
| 1949–1956 | W. Palmer |
| 1956–1961 | C. Lacey |
| 1961–1964 | F. Le Poidevin |
| 1964–1967 | H. Bisson |
| 1967–1970 | D. Churchill |
| 1970–1971 | E. Fisher |
| 1972–1980 | J. Wilkinson |
| 1981–1982 | L. Robilliard |
| 1983–1986 | L. Brouard |
| 1987 | S. Mees |
| 1988 | B. Veillard |
| 1989 | D. Smith |
| 1990–1993 | G. Herridge |
| 1994–2012 | J. Norman BEM |
| 2012–present | C. Butt |
140 YEARS AND COUNTING
The next chapter
In August 2026, past and present members came together at La Vallette to celebrate 140 years of Guernsey Swimming Club, returning to a place that has played such an important part in the Club's history.
Much has changed since those first swimmers took to the water in 1886, but GSC continues to be shaped by the people who give their time, share their love of swimming and create opportunities for the generations that follow.
We're proud of the story so far. And we're looking forward to the next chapter.