Maine Masters (MESC)
Formed in 1988 at Bowdoin College after several regular swimmers (who had been Masters swimmers in other states), approached the Bowdoin Athletic Dept. asking to form a Masters team. Key initiators along with the Bowdoin aquatic coordinator held several organizational meetings where bylaws were created, and officers were elected. Hosted the first meet at Bowdoin in October of 1989.
From the article in the October 20, 1995 The Times Record:
Starting a Maine-based Masters program wasn’t a simple process. It took months of organizing and eventually submitting a proposal to Bowdoin. It became a reality, thanks to a core group of agitators that included Erswell, Forney, Joyce Brown, Sandy Potholm and Peter Packard.
The Maine Masters swim Club is an organized program of swimming for adults. Members participate in a variety of ways ranging from lap swimming to international competition.
In addition to the foundling group in the Brunswick area, Maine Masters members swim in eight to 10 pools across the state. The program’s popularity and growth has taken its founders by surprise. Maine Masters has become a well-organized structure in this state from a handful or brainstorming.