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Tenth Charles River One Mile Swim (Sanctioned)

Contributed by Kate Radville, CRSC

BOSTON, MA -- The Tenth Charles River One Mile Swim will take place on June 2, 2018. The USMS sanctioned swim will feature chip timing, fabulous t-shirts, fun prizes, gorgeous scenery and a convenient location in the heart of downtown Boston. Wetsuits are optional, making this the ideal early season tune-up for your open water swimming.  Please visit our website for registration information or email us with questions. Join us to either swim or volunteer and help us make our tenth swim our best swim yet!

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MAMA Swimmers Lead the Way at the Mighty Merrimack Swim

Contributed by Al Prescott (MAMA), NE LMSC Treasurer

LOWELL, MA -- The Minuteman Masters turned out in force to support the Mighty Merrimack 1- and 2-mile Swim on August 6. Next year's race is scheduled for August 5, 2018.

Pictured left to right are:

"Big" Al Prescott, 1st overall non-wetsuit, 1 mile
Mark Devlin, 1st overall non-wetsuit, 2 mile
Kathy McGovern, 1st overall female, 2 mile
Denise Veenstra, 1st place age group, 2 mile
Maria Beconi, 1st place age group, 2 mile

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12th Annual Narrow River Turnaround Swim

Contributed by Alison Kates, Program Coordinator, Narrow River Preservation Association

Results

Race photos

 

NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI -- On Saturday, June 24th, 114 swimmers took part in the 12th Annual Narrow River Turnaround Swim, braving torrential rain. Starting and finishing at La Farge Park in North Kingstown, the route led swimmers a half mile down the Narrow River, where they turned around to return and complete the mile swim.  

2017 Narrow River Turnaround Swim first place finishers (L to R) Stuart Cromarty, Diane Leith Doucett, and Matt Gilson. Photo credit: Frank McQuiggan 

This year the swim was held on the birthdate of the late W.E.R. La Farge, a longtime benefactor of the Narrow River. W.E.R. donated the land for La Farge park to the Town of North Kingstown and a nearby plot of land to the University of Rhode Island Rowing Team for their boathouse and access to Narrow River. W.E.R.’s daughter, Louisa La Farge, and granddaughter, Lindsay La Farge Rosston, swam in the race and his step-daughter, Heather Lee, was the honorary swim starter.

Stuart Cromarty won the Men’s Wetsuit Division while Matt Gilson placed first in the Men's Non-Wetsuit Division. Diane Leith Doucett took first in the Women’s Non-Wetsuit Division and Emily Mitchell won the Women’s Wetsuit Division.

The Narrow River Turnaround Swim is hosted annually by Narrow River Preservation Association (NRPA), which aims to protect and preserve the Narrow River and its Watershed. The swim is generously supported by local sponsors and by URI Rowing and O.A.R.S..

Check out The Narragansett Times coverage of the race here.

Eighth Annual Charles River One Mile Swim Recap

Contributed by Kate Radville, Race Director

Competitors at the start of the Eighth Annual Charles River One Mile Swim

On June 11th, 2016, the Charles River Swimming Club hosted its Eighth One Mile Swim in the Charles River Basin. The race, which took place on a single loop course between the Massachusetts Avenue and Longfellow bridges, was the largest in the club’s ten-year history.

This year's race drew a record number of swimmers to the river. The introduction of electronic, chip timing allowed for real-time results and an expanded field of 144 athletes. Conditions, including bright sun and flat water, were ideal for an open water competition. For the second year in a row, the top finisher was a woman. Alana Aubin (26) of Watertown, Massachusetts narrowly edged out Frank Wuest (56), of Boston, Massachusetts to earn her victory. Overall and age group winners earned gift certificates for a day of canoeing, kayaking, or stand up paddle boarding with Charles River Canoe and Kayak, one of the club’s generous sponsors, as well as "I Swam the Charles" pint glasses. 

The Charles River Swimming Club is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2005 with the dual purpose of organizing competitive swimming events in the river and facilitating the return of public river swimming. After a long history of pollution, the Charles has benefited tremendously from the Clean Charles River Initiative, which began in 1995. It is now clean enough for swimming on most summer days, and the annual swim race is organized in part to raise awareness of this fact. 

Overall winner Alana Aubin receives her prizes from race director Kate Radville

Overall winner Alana Aubin receives her prizes from race director Kate Radville

If you are interested in getting involved with the club as a volunteer or participating in upcoming events, please visit the club’s website at www.charlesriverswimmingclub.org. The club is run strictly by volunteers and would like to extend its gratitude to the swimmers and volunteers who made this year’s event such a huge success.