Kathy Batts
Katherine Jane Batts, MBE (born 9 April 1960) is a 65-year-old British channel swimmer and channel swimming coach as well as a teacher of pool lifeguards and first aid.
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Open Water Swimming Highlights
- Batts has completed 18 English Channel relays, the latest relay crossing with Last of the Summer Waves, the oldest Ladies team in history.
- On 6-7 August 2013, she crossed the English Channel from England to France in 22 hours 31 minutes 11 seconds at the age of 53 to join the Half Century Club.
- On 16 June 2015, she completed the 45.8 km Manhattan Island Marathon Swim in New York City in 9 hours 36 minutes 57 seconds at the age of 55.
- On 21 August 2016, she completed a 34.8 km crossing of Loch Lomond in Scotland in 18 hours 7 minutes 48 seconds, the 57th person to complete it as the oldest person to complete a crossing.
- Batts serves as the Treasurer of the Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation.
- Batts previously served on the Channel Swimming Association committee.
- Batts serves as a coach together with Kevin Murphy and Ian Muir at The Kings Swimmers' Swim Camps.
- Batts completed an English Channel relay crossing at 57 years 3 months together with Sally Minty-Gravett at 59 years 11 months 24 days, Ellery McGowen at 70 years 10 months 12 days, Chris Pitman at 66 years 23 days, Dee Richards at 62 years 11 months 1 day, and Irene Keel at 76 years 9 months 5 days on 8-9 July 2017 in 15 hours 17 minutes.
- On 26 September 2017, Batts completed a crossing of the Catalina Channel from Santa Catalina Island to the Southern California mainland in 18 hours 28 minutes 8 seconds at the age of 57, observed by Steve Robles and Sumner Williams, and crewed by Kevin Murphy to achieve the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.
- On 7 October 2017, she completed a widthwise crossing of Lake Tahoe in 7 hours 41 minutes 48 seconds with -1°C air the night before the 8:30 am start in 13°C water in a record-setting swim with frost on the ground and fresh snow on the mountains, escorted by Tom Linthicum.
- On 2 September 2018, she completed a crossing of Lake Tahoe in 19 hours 59 minutes 38 seconds at the age of 58 years 4 months.
The King's Swimmers
Her swimming achievements date back to 1975 when she was a member of the youngest mixed relay team to swim the Channel. The same year she swam Lake Bala and was hooked on long distance swimming. In 2017 she was a member of the oldest ladies team to swim the English Channel.
She competed in the World Masters Swimming Championships in Brisbane, Australia, in 1988 and was a member of the first British Ladies team to complete a two-way English Channel in 1996. In 2011 she was a member of the first ladies relay team to swim around the Isle of Wight and in 2012 she had the honour of not only carrying the Olympic Torch at Deal, but also starting the days relay – an accolade bestowed because of her services to the Community as well as her swimming and Lifesaving achievements over many years. In 2015 she swam around Manhattan Island. Her other swims include Loch Lomond, Lake Windermere, Walton to Clacton, St Germans to Kings Lynn and the Inter Services Championship in Lake Bala. In 2017 she swam the Catalina Channel and achieved the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming. In 2018, Kathy swum the length of Lake Tahoe in California and became the first British Lady, first European Lady and third British person to complete the swim.
Kathy has represented the Royal Life Saving Society South East Region in Lifesaving and Lifeguarding and has won the National Championships in both disciplines several times during several decades. She was a crew member on an Royal Life Saving Society lifeboat for nine-and-a-half years. She is a Royal Life Saving Society National Training Assessor for lifesaving, pool lifeguarding and beach lifeguarding; a First Aid Instructor; and is Level Two Power Boat qualified. Kathy is also a Flt. Lieutenant in the RAF Reserve and a Section Commander for RAF cadets.
The Loveleys
Batts was a member of The Loveleys, a group of women who took 17 hours 50 minutes 50 seconds to swim 56 miles around the Isle of Wight in a island circumnavigation swim. Liane Llewellyn (a 2-way English Channel swimmer), Paula Foreman (2-way English Channel swimmer), Lucy Donnelly, Rachael Cretten and Becky Hedges were the other members.
The Loveleys. Why?
Batts is the Oldest Team member who has swum in English Channel relays since the age of 15 and managed them in every decade of her life including one two-way crossing and hundreds of individual solo swims of the seas and lakes throughout the UK. After having coffee with Kevin Murphy, she really wanted to do another first and they came up with three possible swims including the Isle of Wight. She ran the idea past Foreman and they decided to pursue this further.
English Channel video
2017 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year Nominees
Batts was nominated for the 2017 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year by the World Open Water Swimming Association:
1. Katherine Batts (Great Britain)
2. Dr. Caroline Block (USA)
3. Arianna Bridi (Italy)
4. Chloë McCardel (Australia)
5. Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazil)
6. Pat Gallant-Charette (USA)
7. Ludmila Maller (Russia)
8. Jaimie Monahan (USA)
9. Aurélie Muller (France)
10. Barbara Pozzobón (Italy)
11. Sarah Thomas (USA)
12. Julia Wittig (Germany)
2017 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year Nomination
Katherine Batts has long supported channel swimmers as a fellow relay member, an administrator with the Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation, and a coach with The King's Swimmers. With her 18th career English Channel relay completed in 2017 (on the oldest Ladies team), decades of service to help others achieve their channel swimming dreams (first with the Channel Swimming Association and now with the Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation), completed a swim across Lake Tahoe on the latest crossing in history, and as a coach mentoring others on the physical, mental and logistical side of the channel equation, Batts declined numerous invitations since the 1970’s to attempt a solo Channel swim. With her children grown and out of the house, the lifesaving professional was finally able to focus on herself and achieved the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming in 2017. For her four decades of selfless service to benefit and help other swimmers, for her kind, patient demeanor to support others in their dreams, and for her late-season Lake Tahoe crossing and Catalina Channel crossing that enabled her to become a Triple Crowner, Katherine Batts is a worthy nominee for the 2017 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year.
External links
- Katherine Batts Honored With An MBE
- Marathon Swimmers Federation bio
- Who Will Be The First Octogenarian To Swim The English Channel?
- CCSF Has So Much to Give, Offer and Share
- Women On The Water: Katherine Batts, Vicki Keith, Catherine Kase on WOWSA Live
- Dr. Chris Stockdale Talks About Enjoying The Sport On WOWSA Live
- Kathy Batts Culminates With Her Own Achievement
- Katherine Batts Giving It Her All
- Never Too Old Around Manhattan Island
- Sally Minty-Gravett MBE On High
- Kathy Batts SponsorMySwim campaign
- The Loveleys
- How Lovely Was The Swim Around Wight
- Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation
- The Channel, It Takes A Half Century For Kathy Batts
- Crews Are Made of Special People
- The Kings Swimmers' Swim Camps
- Be Motivated, Be Inspired, Swim The Dream
- These Ladies Don't Batt An Eye To Age
- World Open Water Swimming Association
- Open Water Swimming
- The King's Swimmers Have Deep Roots In The Open Water
- From Leisure Swimmer To 6 Hours In 4 Days
- The Legacy Of Loch Lomond
- Eddie Spelling of the Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation
- Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation
- Marathon Swimmers Federation bio
- Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming
