New England Masters Swim Club (NEM)

The origins of New England Masters Swim Club (NEMSC) go back to May, 1970, when Dr. Ransom Arthur, then a Navy psychiatrist in San Diego, and John Spannuth, a swimming coach and AAU official., dreamed up the first national Masters swimming championships in Amarillo, Texas. There were 40 contestants at the meet. The next year 112 swimmers took part in the nationals, which were again held in Amarillo. Among them were four men who drove from Waltham, MA , in a VW camper: Ed Reed, Jr., then the coach at Tufts, Warren French, coach of the Waltham Boys Club; and two men who had been working out together every noon at the Boys Club and who were to become national prominent Masters swimmers and leaders in the national Masters program, Ted Haartz and his close friend, Hal Onusseit. Returning non-stop back to New England this handful of swimmers, who had placed third as a team at Amarillo, passed along their enthusiasm for the Masters program almost evangelistically to others.

NEMSC was organized August 1, 1972 with a constitution and a Board of Directors formed: Roger Nekton, Jim Edwards, Ed Reed, Sr., Warren French, Ted Haartz, Ginny Stephanos, Al Johnson and Enid Uhrich. The purpose of the club was to bring together former and future competitive swimmers, over the age of 25 years (now 18), to provide a positive swimming experience both individually and as part of a group.

At the first long-course nationals, which were held in 1972 under Doc Counselman’s direction in Bloomington, Indiana, flyers were distributed announcing a Masters meet to be held at the Waltham Boys Club that fall. Enid Uhrich ran the meet with 70 swimmers participating.

For several years the Medford High School pool was the Club’s “home” pool. Monthly mini meets as well as the annual SCY New England championships were held there. In time, the desirability of moving meet sites around throughout the New England area was recognized and 2-3 mini meets were being offered each month. The popular New England SCY championships moved to Harvard’s Blodgett pool (still hosting today) and the LCM championship meet at Brown. New England Masters hosted successful US Masters Long Course National Championships at Brown in 1978 (Enid Uhrich meet director) and 1985 (Dave Eskin meet director).

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2019 NELMSCHOF Inductees

New England Masters Trailblazers

Jim Edwards

• 2019 Inducted into the New England LMSC Hall of Fame (Contributor - NEM Trailblazer)

• Member 1972-2007 (deceased)

• Inaugural BOD member

• NEM Executive Committee President (1975-1977)

• NEM News Editor (1977-1991)

To understand Jim Edwards aka “JKE” and his importance to New England Masters Swim Club, one just needs to visit the NEM Newsletter archive and read any or all from July 1997- October 1991.

The following was taken from the November 1982 NEM News article, “High in Their 50’s – Profiles of Three Men Who Help Make Wilson and Katz Look Good in NEM’s 55-59 Division”:

(Ed. Note: the editor has been motivated to include a profile of himself in this newsletter by his desire (a) to honor the urgings of scores of our readers who want to learn more about this innately modest man and (b) to de-fuse the threats of a small but vocal character-lynching mob to compose and publish their own profile of him.)

Love of the water came early to Providence lawyer Jim Edwards (59 at the time of this article), who grew up in the summers in Barnstable on Cape Cod. Edwards swam backstroke and a little freestyle for the University of Michigan HS in Ann Arbor. During the early 40’s he tried unsuccessfully to make Michigan’s national championship team. Jim recalls, with pain not yet entirely assuaged, Coach Matt Mann barking at him, “Get out of there, Whitey, and let on of my boys have that lane!”

At West Point Edwards lettered for three years (1943-1945) by concentrating on the 440.

The first race of Edward’s Masters career was the 1500 in the 1972 Long Course Nationals at Bloomington, IN where he defeated former Olympian and move star Buster Crabbe (who was 15 years older than Jim).

While the NEM News readership in general seems to approve of Edwards’ editorial efforts, Edwards has vowed to continue, so long as his awesome responsibilities as editor of “The Tattler” continues, making objective, somber, straight-talking – but with a generous – assessments of his teammates.

Ted Haartz

• 2020 Inducted into the New England LMSC Hall of Fame (Pool Performance)

• 2019 Inducted into the New England LMSC Hall of Fame (Contributor – NEM Trailblazer)

• 2013 Inducted into the Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame

• 2009 Ted Haartz U.S. Masters Swimming Staff Appreciation Award

• 1996 U.S. Masters Swimming National Championship Meets Award

• 1982-Present Member of USMS Board of Directors

• 1978-1981 National Masters Committee (of the AAU) President

• 1976 Capt. Ransom J. Arthur M.D. Award

• 1972-1973 National Top Ten and Records Recorder

• 1971 October NEM News Profile of Ted Haartz

• 1971 Participated in the 2nd Masters National Meet in Amarillo, TX

• Inaugural NEM Board of Directors member

• NEM Nationals Entry & Relay Coordinator

• NEM Executive Committee

• Club: New England Masters (NEM) (1971-2005)

• USMS Profile

Ted Haartz, a former collegiate swimmer from Tufts University, turned his sights to Masters Swimming in 1970 after reading about the first Masters meet in Amarillo, TX. He competed in the second Masters National Championship in Amarillo in 1971. He became a charter member of the New England Masters Swim Club and quickly progressed to volunteering at the national level.

Ted received the Captain Ransom J. Arthur M.D. Award (USMS’s highest honor) in 1976 as a result of his volunteer service. Notably, he established and maintained Top Ten Times for Masters Swimming in all age groups and relays, commencing with the first Masters Nationals in Amarillo, TX, in 1970. This was in the days when that meant hand writing and typing results! Ted was a key player in the formation of the original 55 Local Masters Swimming Committees (LMSCs) that governed Masters Swimming on the local level.

He quickly rose to positions of leadership in the fledgling national organization while it was still a part of the AAU and trying to establish its identity. He served as national president and for many years as a swimming official. Significantly, Ted took charge of the effort in the late 1970s to separate Masters from the AAU, which allowed Masters to become a more independent organization that could raise its own funds, write its own rules, and determine its own destiny. At the 2013 U.S. Aquatic Sports Convention, Ted was inducted into the Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame.

The following is from an October 1977 NEM News profile of Ted:

Reasons for participating in the Masters Program: ‘Swimming has become my recreation, exercise, and a release for the tension I encounter in my daily life. I believe that I eat better, sleep better, and am generally healthier because of a regular routine of physical exercise. I also thoroughly enjoy the companionship and friendship of the hundreds of other Masters swimmers with whom I have come in contact.’

After his retirement and move to Arizona, Ted, of course became involved in his local group and switched to Arizona Masters. However, here in New England we still consider him one of our own and thank him for his contributions to the sport.

Enid Uhrich

• 2019 Inducted into the New England LMSC Hall of Fame (Contributor - NEM Trailblazer)

• Member 1971-1984 (deceased)

• Inaugural NEMSC BOD member

• NEMSC Secretary/Treasurer (1972-1977)

• NEMSC Treasurer (1972-1982)

• NEM News Editor (1972 – 1977)

• National Top Ten Recorder for Women – 1974-1979

• National Top Ten Recorder for Men and Women – 1980-1987

• 1978 Summer Nationals Meet Director

• National Masters Committee (of the AAU) Secretary (1978-1981)

• 1980 Capt. Ransom J. Arthur M.D. Award

• 1st USMS National Registrar – 1982-1990

Enid Uhrich was a dominant force in keeping Masters swimming running smoothly behind the scenes during the first decade of its existence. While she attended numerous competitions, she rarely competed, choosing instead to be part of the management of the competitions. Enid seeded heats and formulated and ran software programs for recording results. She was never averse to rounding up “volunteers” from the deck or audience to fill missing slots of timers and officials. 

Enid’s career in Masters swimming began when she served as the meet director for New England’s first Masters meet in 1972. She developed a cutting-edge database program to manage the club. Eventually Enid was tapped to compile records and Top Ten finishes for all the women in USMS. She also served as USMS Secretary from 1978-1981. Enid received the Captain Ransom J. Arthur M.D. Award along with Ed Reed in 1980.

The following is from the 1982 NEM News profile of Bill and Enid Uhrich:

In Bill Uhrich’s words, his wife Enid is “a lousy swimmer but great at paperwork and record-keeping.” That is certainly true, but it is too succinct to give any idea of the nature and extent of her decade of contributions to Masters swimming, both here in New England and throughout the country. It was Enid who, at the first long-course national Masters Championships in 1972, conceived the idea of combining small Masters groups from the Greater Boston area, New Hampshire and Rhode Island into one organization, the New England Masters Swim Club. For several years, as the club’s treasurer, newsletter editor, membership chairman, and the arranger, organizer, conductor and record-keeper of all its meets, she was almost by herself the administration of NEMSC.

The following appeared in 1985 in SWIM Magazine:

To me, Masters swimming has been the people. They are sociable, and there’s an aliveness. No matter what the age, there’s certain joie de vivre and I like the mixture of different ages all enjoying one another. Masters are intensely competitive without being aggressive. My times are getting better. I’m still at the bottom, but who cares? I’m better than I was, and that’s what counts. Everyone is a happy for you as for anyone else.