Esther Lyman

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

  • 2012 USMS Rule Book Dedication

  • 2002 USMS Dorothy Donnelly Service Award

  • 2000-2011 USMS Database Administrator

  • 1998 Created the first-ever NE LCM All-Time Top Ten

  • 1998 Created the first-ever NE 1-Hour Swim All-Time list

  • 1996-2000 NELMSC Top Ten Recorder

  • 1991-1996 NEM Executive Committee

  • 1985-1991 NEM Information Chair

  • 1983 June NEM News Esther Lyman – Living Proof That Still Waters Run Deep

  • 1981-1984 NEM Secretary (Meet Results)

  • USMS Records

    • Pool – 1 lifetime relay

  • USMS Top Ten – 5 individual, 1 relay

  • Club: New England Masters (NEM)

  • USMS Profile

Over the years, Esther volunteered for a number of positions that involved rather tedious responsibilities at both the club and regional levels: New England Masters and New England Local Masters Swimming Committee, including repairing our Top 10 list for short course yards, creating an All-Time Top 10 list for long course meters and the 1-Hour Swim. She served for several years as an assistant to Tom Lyndon, NEM News editor, and also as the vice chair of the LMSC. In each of these positions, she brought her usual thoroughness to the task at hand, becoming expert on each of the responsibilities and then smartly finding someone qualified to take over.

In 1999, with USMS membership at 38,000, Tracy Grilli was given the additional responsibility of bringing the USMS membership registration process in house. She needed to hire a database administrator and the first person she thought of was Esther. Tracy knew Esther would be perfect. When she contacted Esther to ask if she would be interested, she thought about it for a moment and said, “Yes, I think I would like to do this.”

USMS couldn’t have hired a better person. Over the next 10 years, as the USMS membership grew to over 55,000, Esther was hard-working, meticulous, patient, flexible and very knowledgeable when it came to the management of data. If there was something she didn’t know, she researched to find the answer. If something didn’t look quite right or she thought there was a better way of doing it, she experimented until she figured it out.

Esther definitely understood the importance of the information she maintained, what its potential uses were, and why it had to be up-to-date, correct, and available. She took tremendous pride in her work and was very much appreciated by our members, local registrars, committees, and Board of Directors.

After the first year, Esther wrote, “It took a great deal of courage all around to strike into this unknown territory—bringing the function in house—but we all survived and can all take credit that the results speak for themselves, including all the registrars who have given patiently of their time and effort and all deserve a medal! Not all gold, but no DQs either.”

Profiling Esther Lyman, USMS Website July 19, 2000

New England Master Esther Lyman of Londonderry, N.H., lives by her credo, ‘whatever direction you take in life, be excellent at what you do.’ Faithfully following that credo, Esther has been of enormous benefit to many organizations and activities—none more so than her favorite—Masters swimming.

Esther joined New England Masters late in 1974, worked out three to four times a week and took part in several meets a month. Her NEM swimming career produced the usual bouquet of blue, red, and yellow ribbons and medals. However, Esther's attitude was, ‘it isn't whether you win or lose, it’s whether you show up.’ She soon started giving back to the sport, becoming assistant to then newsletter editor Jim Edwards and was club secretary for a term. During this period, she worked 48 hours a week, raised three teenagers, and earned a B.S. with high honors in computer science. In 1984, she went to work for a major computer firm.

Raised in Denmark, Esther’s introduction to swimming was in the salty, pungent waters of Copenhagen Harbor. After marriage to a U.S. serviceman in 1954 when she was pursuing a career in language translation, she relocated to the United States, raising her children intermittent with leadership in Girl Scouting and teaching adult and pre-school swimming at the YWCA in Nashua, N.H.

Esther took over New England Top Ten Times at a time when several people had been trying to patch it back together. After bringing the job "up to snuff" she continued to maintain Short Course Yards. She then searched back to 1972, "an utterly tedious and time-consuming job" to create an All-Time Top Ten for Long Course Meters and then an All-Time New England list for the One-Hour Swim. Fellow NEM Ed Gendreau took on the task for Short Course Meters.

In mid-1998, the New England LMSC needed a major tune-up. The interim chair, John Woods of Maine, asked Esther to serve as New England's first vice chair. She brought her usual thoroughness to the task, becoming expert on each of the LMSC's areas of responsibility. She suggested excellent candidates to fill vacancies that occurred, solving problems and offering suggestions. Feeling her mission as vice chair accomplished, Esther returned to her Top Ten responsibilities. The minutes of October 1998 Annual Meeting noted special thanks to Esther Lyman for invaluable services during this transition.

For her Top Ten endeavors, Esther created a database to store all old times, into which meet results could be added electronically. It contains the current personal best times of all swimmers, and the current Top Ten line-up. It can automatically identify and qualify times for submission for national Top Ten. Times for New England swimmers are electronically downloaded from national results. New national and world records are added to the database as an upper limit for comparison, and prior years' top ten last places as a lower limit. The database does most of the selecting once the times are in the system. It can provide similar services to individual clubs such as Maine Masters.

In her spare time Esther has been working with Carl House and others on the National Archives project. The goal is to identify birthdates and club affiliations from early Top Ten and All-Americans, and to develop a permanent type of identifier for all swimmers to unify each swimmer's data and help with "quality control" of the web pages.

Masters swimming continues its phenomenal growth because the Esther Lymans ‘just show up’ and are excellent in what they do.

2012 USMS Rule Book Dedication

From repairing her LMSC’s Top 10 list to being the USMS membership database administrator, Esther brought her usual thoroughness to the task. She often became an expert on each of the responsibilities and then smartly found someone qualified to take over. Over the years. Esther volunteered for a number of positions that involved rather ‘tedious’ responsibilities.

Esther was hard-working, meticulous, patient, flexible, and very knowledgeable when it came to the management of data. She took tremendous pride in her work and was very much appreciated by member, local registrars, committees, and the Board of Directors.

After the first year as the membership database administrator, Esther wrote, “It took a great deal of courage all around to strike into this unknown territory—bringing the function in house—but we all survived and can all take credit that the results speak for themselves, including all the registrars who have given patiently of their time and effort and all deserve a medal: Not all gold, but no DQs either.”

Tom Lyndon

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

  • 2005 Dorothy “Dot” Donnelly Colonies Zone Service Award

  • 2005 November NEM News Tom Lyndon Receives Dot Award

  • 2004 NEM 1-Hour Swim Coordinator

  • 1998-2003 NELMSC Chair

  • 1996 U.S. Masters Swimming Newsletter of the Year Award

  • 1992-1994 Colonies Zone Representative

  • 1991-2004 NEM News Editor

  • 1991 October NEM News Thomas Lyndon – Profile of a Leader

  • 1987-1991 NEM News column producer – Freestyle

  • 1985, 1986, 1987 & 1988 NEMMY Award – Most significant contributions to the club’s well being

  • 1984 NEMMY Award – Dr. Ransom J. Arthur Decade of Service Award for most contributions to Masters swimming and/or NEMSC over the preceding 10 years

  • 1977-1991 NEM President

  • 1981 May NEM News Hail to the Chief! Tom Lyndon, NEM’s President

  • USMS Records

    • Pool – 8 lifetime relay

  • USMS All-American

    • Pool – 1 individual

  • USMS Top Ten – 60 individual, 19 relay

  • Club: New England Masters (NEM)

  • USMS Profile

Tom was born on September 27, 1931 in Boston. He lived in Hingham for his first 5 years, then his family moved to Tennessee. Tom learned to swim at about the age of six at a summer day-camp in Knoxville, but he did not swim competitively until he went to college.

Tom graduated from Newton High School in 1949 and entered Bowdoin College that fall with the class of 1953. Although he had never swum competitively, he realized that he had competitive potential. When deciding where to go to college, the fact that Bowdoin had a pool and a swimming team was a consideration for him. He swam all four years as a sprint- and middle-distance freestyler. He was team captain his senior year and swam a 23.7 in the 50-free at the New Englands, which placed him third overall.

Tom majored in English and switched to American History. He was a member of the Army ROTC, and upon graduation, he was commissioned in the Reserves. Tom was immediately called to active duty where he was assigned to the Brooklyn Army Base. There he served until June of 1954 when he was sent to Puson, Korea. He arrived in Korea shortly after the armistice was signed. On release from the service, Tom entered Harvard Business School, graduating in 1957. After a number of positions, he became a financial administrator for 20 years in the public school systems (Wellesley, Natick, Danvers, and Wachusett). 

Tom became involved in Masters swimming in March 1973 after an article about Ted Haartz in the Boston Globe piqued his curiosity. He showed up at his first Masters meet at Medford High School where he swam the 50 free in 26.5 while wearing boxer trunks. By 1977, Tom had become the president of New England Masters, a position he held until 1991 when he became the editor of NEM News.

Of his service as NEM president, Tom said, “it became and has stayed a major part of my life and a part that gave me frequent and much more than sufficient rewards for the time I put into it. I chose to give the club a lot of time. I am happy I did. The club is healthy and has the people with the potential to move it along. I feel good about that.” His best memories of Masters were “not just the memories, but, even more important, the continuing friendships of the many fine people I have met, because we shared the same pools from time to time.” 

Barr Clayson, a close friend of Tom’s, sums it up: “The contributions made by Tom Lyndon to Masters swimming in New England are widely recognized. They have provided much of the glue that has kept our nifty and healthy club prosperous, competitive, and pleasurable.”

Ann Yelmokas McDermott

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

  • 1993-1994 NELMSC Chair

  • 1991-1993 NEM President

  • 1988 & 1989 Meet Director, NE SCY Championships at Bentley

  • 1986-1989 Coordinator, NEM Workouts and Clinics

  • 1983, 1984 & 1985 Meet Director, UMass Boston

  • 1982-1983 Coach, UMass Boston NEM workouts

  • 1980 December NEM News Mini-Profile of Ann Yelmokas

  • USMS Records

    • Pool – 1 lifetime relay

  • USMS Top Ten – 12 individual, 15 relay

  • Club: New England Masters (NEM)

  • USMS Profile

Ann’s swimming career started when she took an advanced beginner’s swimming class as an undergrad at Boston University. At that time, she was not able to swim with her face in the water. By her junior year, she was a member of the varsity swim team, swimming the freestyle and breaststroke events. She was inspired to join New England Masters after reading Phil Whitten’s Parade Magazine article about Masters swimming that featured Ted Haartz.

After graduating with a B.S. in physical education, health, and recreation, Ann coached high school and age group teams from 1977 through 1984. Ann was the coach for both the Men’s and Women’s swimming teams at MIT from 1982 through 1986. She was then hired by Simmons College as their first aquatic director when they built their first ever recreation center and initiated the first women’s swimming and diving team (1989-1995).

Ann left coaching at the competitive college level for three years to become the Boston University assistant director of recreation and aquatics (1986-1989). Moving to an administrative teaching role enabled her to have more influence on course offerings, training staff, and providing education series for university students, faculty, and staff. She was also able to provide teaching workshops for regional fitness instructors.

Over the years, Ann coached a number of Masters workouts including Tufts (Sunday mornings), UMass Boston (started coached workouts and served as a mini-meet director), Boston University (expanded, coached and supervised Masters workout program for members internal and external to B.U.), and Simmons College (started the Masters workout program).

Ann served as the President of NEM from 1991 through 1993 and the NELMSC Chair from 1993 through 1994.

During her time as a member of NEM, Ann also served as the NEM workout group information contact person and NEM Mini-Meet Director of many meets at UMass Boston, MIT, and Simmons. She also organized and coached a number of day-long stroke and sports medicine clinics at MIT that featured the best of NE college coaches, including John Benedick, Nancy Bigelow, Don Megerle, Bruce Hutchinson, Hank Dunbar, and Charlie Butt, to name a few. Ann hosted the MIT summer stoke clinic series (1983 through 1986) with John Benedick.

Ann competed in many, many events over the years including mini-meets, 1-hour and postal swims, regional championships, USMS short- and long-course championships, World Games, and open water swims.

Ann has a M.S. in athletic training from Northeastern and a Ph.D. in Nutrition Science; Specialization: Physiology, Exercise Physiology from Tufts. She completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Obesity Science and Genetics at Tufts 2002-2006. She is also a licensed dietitian nutritionist. Currently she is working as an independent health and education consultant.

Bob Seltzer

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Bob Seltzer started his competitive swimming career at Syosset High School in the late 1960s. He was recruited to swim in college but opted instead to “fully enjoy the diversions of college life in the late 1960s and early 1970s,” he recalls. “I went on a 20-year taper before joining USMS in the early 1990s.” 

Bob served as NEM president from 1996 through 2000. “At my first public speech as NEM President in 1996, I vowed to double membership in four years (1000 by 2000 was the slogan). NEM had a poor record of growing membership. As every business owner knows, it’s easier and cheaper to sell an existing client than find a new one. We conducted a study of member renewal rates and found that those people who competed and were affiliated with "coached workout groups" renewed membership at much higher rates. We created two major new competitive events with the expressed intent of growing NEM membership. The first event was the January 1997 One Hour Swim which we turned into an epic battle against the evil empire represented by Davis Aquatic Masters, the perennial National Champion. Under the able leadership of Fred Schlicher and through the creative use of email we turned it into a major calendar event. In March 1997, we held the first ever NEM Workout Group competition at Northeastern University. This was the brainchild of Ed Gendreau who kept pressuring me to think about NE Masters adopting US/NE Swimming organizational structure. I connected Ed's idea with our member retention program. I also used the North Carolina model where their regional competition featured local workout groups but they competed nationally at North Carolina Masters.  

It took us a few years and a few venue changes (Northeastern to Brown then Brown to Harvard) to perfect the NEM Workout Group competition format. Again, creative use of email helped promote the event throughout New England. We even had email rankings of various groups, very similar to ESPN power ratings in football, to encourage people to compete in getting the most entries processed by the deadline. Finally Rick Osterberg took over meet management from me and through his many innovations (webcam, live scoreboard, live results, rolling check-in) transformed the NEM Workout Group competition into very high quality championship meet. In time, it became a "destination event" and attracted visiting workout groups from around the country. 

The growth of Masters swimming in New England grew well beyond our initial targets. I was most fortunate to be a part of dedicated volunteers and am most proud that those that followed us have continued to keep Masters swimming in New England growing nearly 20 years after my last year as President of NEM.“

Bob has served several stints as founder of software/technology companies and he’s currently a managing director at an investment bank. 

Sharon Beckman

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  • 2020 Inducted into the New England LMSC Hall of Fame (Open Water/Long Distance)

  • 1983 Swam on the professional marathon circuit where she finished as the highest-ranked female marathon swimmer in the U.S. and third-best in the world. Swims included:

    • Length of Lake Memphremagog – 25 miles

    • Around Atlantic City – 22 miles

  • 1982 First woman from New England to swim the English Channel (21 miles). Her time of 9 hours 6 minutes was the 17th fastest time for men or women at the time and is still among the top 40 fastest female finishes.

  • 1982 Boston Light Swim – 8 miles, First place finisher overall

  • 1981 Boston Light Swim – 8 miles, First female & second finisher overall

  • 1977 Lake Michigan – 10 miles

  • USMS Records

    • Pool – 1 lifetime relay

  • USMS Top Ten – 8 individual, 17 relay

  • Club: New England Masters (NEM)

  • USMS Profile

Born in Chicago and raised in Park Ridge, Illinois, Sharon Beckman swam AAU as an age-grouper and then competed in high school and college. She was co-captain of the Harvard Women’s Swimming and Diving team under Coach Stephanie Walsh and captain of the Harvard Women’s Water Polo team. Walsh crewed for Beckman on her English Channel swim in 1982.

Sharon’s name (along with that of her sister, who swam the English Channel 24 years later) on the wall in the White Horse Tavern in Dover, UK

Sharon’s name (along with that of her sister, who swam the English Channel 24 years later) on the wall in the White Horse Tavern in Dover, UK

Sharon graduated from University of Michigan Law School and clerked for two federal judges, including Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. She practiced criminal and civil rights law in Boston and Chicago before joining the Boston College Law School faculty in 1995. She is founder and director of the Boston College Innocence Program, a clinical program where students and faculty represent innocent people wrongly convicted and imprisoned in Massachusetts for crimes they did not commit. She is a cancer survivor, wife, and mother.

George Brunstad

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  • 2020 Inducted into the New England LMSC Hall of Fame (Open Water/Long Distance)

  • 2010 Length of Lake Winnipesaukee – 22 miles, age 76

  • 2004 Became the oldest person to ever swim the English Channel (21 miles) at age 70 years and 3 days, completing the swim in 15 hours 59 minutes.

  • USMS Long Distance All-Star – 15 consecutive years (1996-2010)

  • USMS All-American

    • Long Distance – 44 (1992-2010)

    • Pool – 1

  • USMS Records

    • Pool – 1 lifetime individual

  • USMS Top Ten – 121 individual, 2 relay

  • Club: New England Masters (NEM)

  • USMS Profile

George Brunstad was a college swimmer in the 1950s but never attained elite status, partly because he only swam what he now calls short distances. “I later found that I am a true long-distance swimmer,” he says. “Looking back, I probably could have done well if they had the 10K that is part of the Olympics today. I do not claim to have a lot of natural swimming talent, many others have much more. I just worked hard and was blessed with endurance.”

George started Masters swimming under the old AAU near its beginning in 1973 and achieved some success in the pool, including National Championships in such events as the LC Meters 400, 800, and 1500 free, 400 IM, and 200 Fly. “But my true place proved to be in long-distance open water events,” he says. “I became the USMS Long Distance All-Star (one person per age group per year) for 15 consecutive years from 1996 through 2010, winning multiple National and World Championships along the way.”

George says his “best effort” in swimming was becoming the oldest person to swim the English Channel in 2004 at the age of 70. His swim was guided by pilot Michael Oram, assisted by Alison Streeter and observed by Marcy MacDonald, all Channel swimming legends in their own right. George’s swim was recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records and George was depicted in a Ripley’s Believe-It-or-Not cartoon. The swim received worldwide recognition and an account was read into the Congressional record.

George’s name on the wall of the White Horse Tavern in Dover, UK

George’s name on the wall of the White Horse Tavern in Dover, UK

George recalls that “the swim had an important purpose. Our church missions committee was trying to help a sister Haitian church whose pastor had a vision to start an orphanage and school in a remote area of Haiti where there were no public schools or even electricity. On my 69th birthday I started intensive training for a Channel swim with the purpose to fund this project with my wife Judy as the fundraiser. We were able to raise $55,000 by way of the swim to start this project and now the school [Center of Hope Haiti] has 126 full-time students in grades 1 through 9. The children are getting an education, have clothes, meals, comfortable quarters and electricity (generator) among other things. Our contribution was a starter and now many others have come on board to support its continued success.”

George’s 22-mile swim the length of Lake Winnipesaukee on his 76th birthday has also become part of the local folklore in the New Hampshire lakes region and among marathon swimmers. That swim was completed without a wetsuit (as was his Channel swim) and also featured a charity fundraising component.

Jennifer Dutton

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  • 2020 Inducted into the New England LMSC Hall of Fame (Open Water/Long Distance)

  • 2019 Inducted into the Vermont Open Water Swimming Hall of Fame

  • 2019 SCAR Swim Challenge – 15.2 km, 14.4 km, 27.3 km, 10 km

  • 2018 First person to swim the length of Great Sacandaga Lake, NY – 33 miles

  • 2016 Ninth person to swim the length of Lake George – 51.8 km

  • 2015 First person to swim the length of Keuka Lake, NY – 53.1 km

  • 2014, 2015, 2019 Kingdom Swim Border Buster, Lake Memphremagog, VT – 25 km

  • 2014 First person to swim the length of Torch Lake, MI – 19 miles

  • 2013 Lake Tahoe – 34.2 km

  • 2012 In Search of Memphre, Lake Memphremagog, VT – 40.2 km

  • Early 2000s Burlington YMCA swim across Lake Champlain, VT – 8 miles

  • 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2012 Boston Light Swim – 12.6 km

  • 1986 Candlewood Challenge, Candlewood Lake, CT – 10.5 miles

  • Club: New England Masters (NEM)

  • USMS Profile

Jennifer Dutton (nee Spencer) had a most ordinary high school swim career in Connecticut, then attempted college swimming at Bates College (ME) after a severe brain injury during freshman orientation. That season did not go very well, but she had completed a local 10-mile swim just prior to her injury and she soon found that the open water welcomed her back unconditionally. Since then, she has gone on to complete a wide variety of challenging open water marathon swims, including three firsts in Torch Lake in Michigan, and Keuka Lake and Great Sacandaga Lake in New York.

Jen has been a high school coach in MetroWest (mostly at Wellesley High School) for nearly 20 years, and has completed two, two-year stints as an assistant coach at Wellesley College. She has been a local Masters coach for two decades and is a USMS Certified Level 3 Coach. She has two college-aged kids who swim and play water polo and a husband who is her tireless support crew. 

Elaine Howley

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  • 2020 Inducted into the New England LMSC Hall of Fame (Open Water/Long Distance)

  • 2017 Inducted into the Vermont Open Water Swimming Hall of Fame

  • Third person to complete the Triple Crown of Monster Swims, solo crossings of:

    • 2016 Lake Tahoe – 21.5 miles

    • 2015 Loch Ness – 22.2 miles

    • 2011 Lake Memphremagog – 25 miles 

  • 32nd person to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, solo crossings of:

    • 2009 English Channel – 21 miles

    • 2009 Around Manhattan Island – 28.5 miles

    • 2008 Catalina Channel – 20 miles

  • 2019 Swim the Suck, Tennessee River, Chattanooga, TN – 10 miles

  • 2019 First female to complete the 3x Boston Light Swim – 24 miles

  • 2019 Solo circumnavigation of Absecon Island, NJ – 22 miles

  • 2018 Mackinac Straits, MI – 4.4 miles

  • 2018 Great Chesapeake Bay Swim, MD – 4.4 miles

  • 2017 END-WET race up the Red River, Grand Forks, ND – 36 miles

  • 2017 Mercer Island Marathon Swim, WA – 12.5 miles

  • 2017 Ice Kilometer, International Ice Swimming Association World Championships - 5th place

  • 2015 Lake Del Valle, CA – 10 km

  • 2014 First person to swim the length of Lake Pend Oreille, ID – 32.3 miles

  • 2012 Swim Across America Long Beach – 10 km

  • 2012 Fifth American to complete an Ice Mile, Boston Harbor

  • 2011 Ederle Swim, NY – 17.5 miles

  • 2011 Lake Willoughby Swim, VT – 5 miles

  • 2010 2x Boston Light – 16 miles, Fastest female

  • 2010, 2013 Kingdom Swim, VT – 10 miles

  • 2007, 2009, 2011 Flat River Reservoir, RI – 10 km

  • 2006, 2007, 2008 Boston Light Swim – 8 miles

  • USMS Top Ten – 1 individual, 1 relay

  • Club: New England Masters (NEM)

  • USMS Profile

Elaine K. Howley grew up in South Jersey’s summer league swimming ecosystem, and joined a club team in middle school. In high school, she could be relied upon to earn a solid second or third place in the 500 free or 200 IM (and whatever other events no one else wanted to swim), and thus earned her role as captain through persistence rather than speed. After spending her freshman year of college rather miserably rowing crew, she walked onto the swim team at Georgetown University, where again, she was not a point-earner but cracked the whip with the underclassmen during workouts.

During the summers while in college, Elaine worked as a lifeguard on Long Beach Island in New Jersey, which introduced her to open water swimming. In 2006, after having completed graduate school at Emerson College, Elaine began swimming more and her love the ocean drew her to open water. Her first official marathon swim was the 2006 Boston Light Swim, an event she now directs.

Since then, her resume has grown to include several record marathon swims, and she continues to plan and enjoy as many ultramarathon swims around the world as she can. A swimming journalist, Elaine documents the sport for several publications, including USMS’s SWIMMER magazine and the UK-based open water magazine, Outdoor Swimmer. She’s also deeply involved in the administration of marathon swimming, helping others to achieve their open water goals as a crew member, mentor, and observer both locally through the Massachusetts Open Water Swimming Association and farther afield through the Marathon Swimmers Federation.

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Fritz Bedford

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

  • 2006 Inducted into the St Lawrence University Hall of Fame

  • USMS Records

    • Pool – 14 lifetime individual, 8 currently held

      • 45-49: 50 Fly SCM 

      • 50-54: 50 Back SCY, 100 Back SCY, 50 Back SCM, 100 Back SCM 

      • 55-59: 50 Back SCY, 100 Back SCM, 50 Fly SCM 

  • USMS All-Star – 1 year pool

  • USMS All-American

    • Pool – 44 individual (308 points), 3 relay

  • USMS Top Ten – 110 individual, 9 relay

  • NELMSC All-Time Top Three – 212 points

  • Club: New England Masters (NEM)

  • USMS Profile

Fritz Bedford was born on September 10, 1963 in Cannan, NH, and currently lives in Etna, NH. He attended Hanover High School and Deerfield Academy. Fritz was named an All-American at Deerfield six times over two years. He attended St. Lawrence University from 1981 until 1985, earning a B.S. in Physics. While there, he earned All-American honors nineteen times over four years. Fritz earned his M.S. from the University of New Hampshire and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He worked in engineering at Creare (Etna, NH), Avery Research Center (Pasadena, CA), General Motors R&D (Warren, MI), Fluent/ANSYS (Lebanon, NH), Norwich University (Northfield, VT) and CD-adapco/Siemens (Lebanon, NH). Fritz swam Masters for the Rose Bowl Aquatic Club and the UV-Rays in White River Junction, VT. He is currently a software developer for Siemens in Lebanon, NH. He also coaches the Men's and Women's swimming teams at Hanover High School and continues to swim Masters with the UV-Rays. He is married with three daughters.

From the St Lawrence University Hall of Fame website:

A 19-time All-America swimmer, Fritz Bedford excelled in a variety of strokes and is among the all-time greats in Saints’ men’s swimming.

The Outstanding Male Senior Athlete Award winner in 1985, Fritz qualified for the NCAA Championships as an individual in each of his four years and was All-America in five individual events and three relays during his career. He was New York State champion in 50 freestyle and 200 backstroke and part of the state champion 400 medley relay team.

He was All-America in the 100 fly, 100 free, and 50 free and part of All-America teams in the 400 medley and 400 and 800 free relay teams as a freshman; All-America in the 50 free, 100 fly, and 100 free, and the 400 medley relay and 800 free relay as a sophomore; in the 50 free and 200 back and the 400 medley relay as a junior and in the 50 free and 100 and 200 back plus the 400 medley relay and 800 free relay as a senior.

Now a mechanical engineer, he earned his master’s degree at the University of New Hampshire and a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin.

Ted Haartz

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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.

Christie Hayes

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

  • 1997 Inducted into the William Smith College Heron Hall of Honor

  • USMS Records

    • Pool – 5 lifetime individual, 1 currently held; 1 lifetime relay

      • W70-74: 200 Free SCY

    • Long Distance – 2 lifetime individual, 1 currently held

      • W70-74: 1-hour ePostal

  • USMS All-Star – 1 year pool

  • USMS All-American

    • Pool – 20 individual (140 points)

    • Long Distance – 4 individual (28 points), 3 relay

  • USMS Top Ten – 410 individual, 37 relay

  • NELMSC All Time Top Three – 177 points

  • Club: New England Masters (NEM)

  • USMS Profile

Christie Hayes was born in Virginia in 1948 to ADM Jack, U.S. Coast Guard, and Bogie Hayes. She has 3 siblings in Virginia, Washington, and Alaska. She attended many different schools from Grades 1 through 12 as her family traveled the country with the U.S. Coast Guard. She graduated from high school in 1966.

Christie spent one year at Vejle Gymnasium, Denmark, as an American Field Service Exchange Student. She received a B.A. in English from William Smith College in Geneva, NY and an M.Ed. in Special Education from Wright State University in Dayton, OH. She also earned an M.S. (6th year) in Technology in Education from Bank Street College of Education in New York City. 

Christie swam and competed off and on as an age-grouper depending on where her family lived. She was a member of William Smith College swim team, and was named to the William Smith College Heron Hall of Honor in 1997.

Christie has been a member of U.S. Masters Swimming since 1973 and has earned national Top Ten rankings almost every year since then. She served as president of Connecticut Masters in 1977 to 1978. She earned two golds and two silvers at the first Master Swimming World Championship in Tokyo in 1986, and was featured in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd section for her wins. In February 2018, she set a national record in the 1-hour ePostal swim. In May 2018, she set four National records in 70-74 age group: 1650-, 1000-, 500-, and 200-yard freestyles.

Christie worked as a learning disabilities/special education teacher in Groton Public Schools from 1973 through 2008. During those years, she was the facilitator for the Student Assistance Team; Chairperson of the Groton Public Schools School Based Mentoring Program; a member of the Instructional Technology Study group and in-service instructor. She also served as an exchange teacher in Beloretsk, Russia, for one month in 1992. She was named Eastern Point Elementary School Teach of the Year in 1991.

Christie is also a committed volunteer, working with the Big Brother/Big Sister program, and is involved with St. John’s Episcopal Church, St. John’s Shoreline Soup Kitchen and Pantry, and her alma mater William Smith College. She won the Champion for Children Award from Town of Groton Department of Human Services in 2000.

Kathy Slifer

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

  • USMS Records

    • Pool – 3 lifetime individual, 1 lifetime relay

  • USMS All-American

    • Pool – 33 individual (231 points), 1 relay

  • USMS Top Ten – 222 individual, 14 relay

  • NELMSC All-Time Top Three – 98 points

  • Club: New England Masters (NEM)

  • USMS Profile

Kathy Slifer started AAU age group swimming back in the late 1950s, swimming for Coach Al Houston at the South Boston Boys Club. Many years later she joined Masters swimming, renewing her love for the sport and competition. “I am so grateful for this wonderful New England Masters organization, my supportive teammates and coaches, and the volunteers who make it possible for this 74-year-old to be sporting a Speedo!” she says.

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.

2019 NELMSCHOF Inductees

Maine Masters Trailblazers

Vermont Masters Swimming Club (VMSC)

Vermont Masters Swimming Club (VMSC) formed after several swimmers attended the Phillips Exeter meet in October of 1981. An ad was placed in the newspaper, organizational meetings were held in February and March of 1982, a constitution written, and officers elected in April. The St Michaels Pool was the central location for their coached Masters workouts. VMSC held their first practice on April 18th.

From the information packet for new members:

We are a group of people of all ages and abilities interested in a swimming program to improve our physical fitness. We hope that you will enjoy the camaraderie of the team while on your quest for physical fitness. After all, MASTERS HAVE THE BEST TIMES!

From the article “They Get their Kicks in the Pool” that appeared in August 19, 1982 issue of The Burlington Free Press:

The Vermont chapter of the U.S Masters Swim Association, an eclectic group of adults dedicated to improving their strokes, competing against their contemporaries and having fun in the process. Some 60 people ages 25-63 meet three times a week at the St. Michael’s College pool to hone their skills in Masters workouts.

From the article “Happy Birthday to Us!!:

It’s our birthday! On April 18, 1982, the Vermont Masters Swim Club first got all wet. Since that time, we’ve grown to over 100 members and become a real competitive entity amongst the northeast Masters swim groups, as well as providing a fitness routine for many non-competitors.

February of 1984, VMSC hosted the first (of 3 annual) Vermont Swim and Ski Triathlon – Giant Slalom race Saturday afternoon at either Mad River or Cochran’s (depending on the year), party Saturday night, swim meet Sunday morning at St. Michaels (the first mini meet at their home pool) and cross-country ski race Sunday afternoon at Camels Hump. The scoring system was quite intricate and was updated each year. There has never been anything like it!

2019 NELMSCHOF Inductees

Vermont Masters Trailblazers

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).

2019 NELMSCHOF Inductees

New England Masters Trailblazers

Jean (Hotchkiss) Archibald

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

  • A key member responsible for formation of the club and creating club constitution

Having started swimming with the Masters program in my 50’s, I can say with assurance that it has made all the difference in my health and my joy for the last 4 decades. I am swimming regularly with the BASS workout group at the Edge in Williston, VT. Over the years, Masters has meant a lot to me. It sure is the best for overall health!

Sharon (Forney) Battistini

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

  • Aquatic coordinator at Bowdoin

  • Coordinated Masters workouts at Bowdoin

  • Maine Masters Swim Club President

  • Meet Director for Bowdoin Meet

Sharon grew up in Toronto Canada in a family heavily invested in sport. She graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in Physical and Health Education and immediately joined the staff at the University of Guelph as a lecturer and coached girls’ basketball and field hockey. She played on the Eastern Canada Field Hockey team prior to coming to the US in 1971 on a two year visitor status to work as an Outward Bound instructor at Dartmouth College. Forty-eight years later, she is still here!

She coached boys high school soccer in North Carolina for 8 years before returning to New England to live in Harpswell, work at Bowdoin and raise a family. So where does swimming come in? It has always been a love of life and the best way to keep fit!

Joyce Brown

Joyce Brown.PNG

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

  • Key initiator

  • Positions served over the years President, Secretary, Registrar & Treasurer

Joyce held the position of Maine Master (Swim) Registrar and Treasurer for over 20 years. She also was a competitor and trained under Bowdoin’s famous swim coach Charlie Butt. She swam in many Maine Master Swim meets and competed in numerous National swim meets and placing 4th in freestyle at the Nationals held in Tucson, Arizona.

Joyce was also active in local swim activities. In 1978 she, with the help of Charlie Butt, started the Harpswell Swim program for the local school and held a two week summer swim program to teach beginners through advance Red Cross Life Saving program.

After her passing an endowment was established in her name to fund students in Harpswell and is administered by the Town of Harpswell. Thousands of Harpswell youths have learned to swim under Joyce’s swim programs.

Jim Edwards

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  • 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.