WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT — Masters swimming is back at the Upper Valley Aquatic Center (UVAC) in White River Junction, Vermont.
Sue Jensen and Beth Estel celebrate their 200 fly N.E. records. Photo: Rachel Reynolds
The 12th Annual Leaf Peepers Masters Swim Meet returned on November 20th after a one-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. Masters swimmers from all over New England and beyond made it to the Green Mountain State that was one of the best in recent years.
Several records were broken. Beth Estel, of the Granite State Penguins, broke the USMS Short Course Meters (SCM) record in the Women’s 65-69 50 meter breaststroke with a time of 41.39. Estel also set three other New England SCM records in the 200 meter butterfly, 3:31:38; 100 meter breaststroke, 1:32:00; and the 400 meter freestyle, 5:37:53.
Rachel Reynolds and Aron Reynolds face off in the 200 IM
Sue Jensen of the Charles River Aquatics Masters also set a New England SCM record in the Women’s 60-64 200 meter butterfly with a time of 3:17:23. Greg Weissman of New England Masters set a New England SCM record in the Men’s 60-64 50 free with a time of 27.91 and Rachel Reynolds of the Granite State Penguins set a New England SCM record in the Women’s 30-34 100 meter backstroke with a time of 1:08:91.
Upper Valley Rays swimmer Lili Leonard-Heath, 32, also knocked it out of the park in the 50, 100, and 200 meter breaststroke events. Leonard-Heath will travel to Florida next year to represent New Hampshire at the Special Olympics USA Games and she will join seven other New Hampshire swimmers and 300 swimmers from around the United States and its territories.
According to meet organizer and Upper Valley Rays Head Coach Barbara Hummel, there were 92 entries and 83 swimmers competing. The Upper Valley Rays had the team with the most entries at 23.
“Not our biggest meet, but it was among the biggest,” Hummel said. “We have many new Upper Valley Rays on the team, and a lot of them were eager to see what a Masters meet is all about. So, about 25% of the meet entries were from UVRays. For swim meet veterans, there have not been many Masters meets during the pandemic, so people were eager to compete and to see their friends again.”
The youngest swimmer at this year’s meet was Keith Chatinover, 21, who also travelled the farthest. Chatinover swims for the Mountain View Masters in Silicon Valley, California.
The oldest swimmer was Donald McDermott, 85, from Maine. McDermott swims with the Maine Masters Swim Club and he competed in three events: 200 meter backstroke, 50 meter backstroke, and the 100 meter freestyle.
Prize treats baked by Susan Reid
One of the best things about the Leaf Peepers swim meet are the baked treats. Almost every swimmer went home with an apple pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate chip cookies, and other assorted goodies. Susan Reid baked all these goods for months and she outdid herself with this year’s “awards table,” for which the meet is famous.
New England Local Masters Swimming Committee Hall of Fame chairwoman Tracy Grilli was happy to return to the Leaf Peepers swim meet.
“Whether I swim well or not, it’s a wonderful opportunity to see swimming friends, new and old and of course there are the baked goods … yum,” Grilli said.
“I like how well-run the meet is,” said Crystie McGrail of the Great Bay Masters Swim Team. “Everything goes very smoothly. (UVAC) is a nice pool and there was great communication before and after the meet by the hosts. It's a friendly bunch of people and I definitely recommend showing up.”
Christian Avard is a long-time masters swimmer and NEM newsletter contributor.