College Club Swimming Makes Waves

Contributed by Jason Weis, NELMSC College Club Swimming Liaison

ATLANTA, GA — Over President’s Day weekend this February, I traveled to Atlanta, GA to participate in the third annual College Club Swimming Summit. College Club Swimming (CCS) is a new governing body that was founded with the help of U.S. Masters Swimming. Now in its second year, CCS serves as a bridge between high school swimmers who didn’t or couldn’t swim on a varsity team in college and U.S. Masters Swimming.

Much like USMS, CCS is led by an Advisory Board consisting of volunteers who are elected to two-year terms and serve as leadership on their local teams. Although CCS is backed by USMS, it is financially independent and almost entirely student-run, with just a small number of CCS alumni and USMS members sitting on the Advisory Board. USMS helps provide infrastructure for CCS to keep swimmers in the sport and aims to transition CCS members to USMS after graduation.

College Club Swimming Summit participants in Atlanta

This past year, CCS launched a wide variety of enhancements for its members. A new USMS-CCS bridge membership allows CCS members to swim in USMS sanctioned and recognized events while continuing to represent their CCS team in a new College Club Swimming LMSC. Additionally, CCS hosted its first Regional Championship series, with successful meets hosted at Rutgers University in the Northern region and Nova Southeastern in the Southern Region. CCS acquired its first sponsor in FINIS, the title sponsor for the CCS’s second national championship meet. Held at the Ohio State University from March 29-31, the 2019 FINIS College Club National Championships featured online meet entry through Club Assistant and drew 1,863 athletes from around the country. Online meet entry for all CCS meets is scheduled to become available to CCS Clubs in Fall 2019.

Georgia Tech was the 2019 FINIS College Club Swimming National Champion pc: @collegeclubswimming

At the Summit, Advisory Board members discussed a wide variety of topics, including best practices for clubs, inclusion and diversity within CCS, and amended rules of the governing handbook. For the first time, all three committees of the Advisory Board (Club Development, Rules, and Competition) met separately to discuss specific challenges and issues within CCS. It was an incredibly productive summit, resulting in improved organization and structure within the Advisory Board while promoting a low barrier of entry to CCS with the goal of maximizing CCS membership.

In the New England area, there are currently about 10 CCS-affiliated clubs, including Harvard, Northeastern, UMASS, UVM, URI, CCRI, Brown, and UCONN, with several more intending to join for the 2019-2020 season.

Jason is currently serving as an alumni-advisor to the CCS Advisory Board and is the chair of the CCS Rules committee. If you’d like more information about CCS, want to register a team, or have other questions, please contact him.

NE LMSC Presents 2018 Service Awards at Championship Meet

Contributed by Tara Mack, GBM & Awards & Recognition Chair

BOSTON, MA -- The New England LMSC proudly presented several awards to outstanding members during the 2018 NE LMSC SCY Championship Meet.

---

Coach of the Year:  Dan Rogacki

Dan Rogacki with NE LMSC Chair Douglas Sayles

Welcoming, Enthusiastic, Big Heart, Record Keeper, Funny, Remarkable

Dan’s team all commented on his record keeping as well as making each of them a handmade birthday card, and they shared how Dan has built a loving, supportive team that feels more like a family of which they are all grateful to be a part. 

 

---

Distinguished Service Award:  Rick Osterberg

Outstanding Service to Masters Swimming & NE LMSC SCY Championship Meet Director

Rick has been the SCY Championship Meet Director for over 15 years and has repeatedly demonstrated outstanding service to Masters Swimming on many levels and consistently promotes Masters Swimming at the Club, NE LMSC, and National levels.

Nominators and supporters repeatedly discussed Rick as demonstrating excellence with respect to his role as the NE LMSC SCY Championship Meet Director in addition to the following: best meet director, supportive, encouraging, thoughtful, quality, dedicated, caring, supportive, running the best meet, great music, great announcer, above and beyond, kind, friendly, fun! 

---

Appreciation Award: David Graham

David Graham with NE LMSC Chair Douglas Sayles

Encouragement, Support, Volunteerism, Humor, and an All-Inclusive Spirit

David’s supporters all recognized the tireless efforts he engages in to promote all kinds of swimming events, from pool to open water. He was thanked for a variety of reasons, including for being a personal kayaker in the Kingdom swim, and received accolades for his outreach in all avenues of swimming. A true supporter of the sport!

 

---

Appreciation Award: Joel Feldmann

Enthusiasm, Encouragement, Kindness, Love of the Sport and Others

Joel’s nominators mentioned repeatedly that Joel not only encourages everyone on the team, she calls them if they miss a practice to see if they are okay. She is nurturing and strong, and that has proven to be quite an amazing combination.

---

Lifetime Appreciation Award:  Priscilla Davis

A few of our officials at the SCY Championship meet

Over 40 years of Service, Laughter, Encouragement, Kindness, and Commitment

Priscilla Davis's team of 13 active officials does a masterful job of tirelessly running our Masters swim meets throughout the year. Each championship meet (WPI and Harvard), they spend 20-25 hours on their feet officiating. They also officiate at all our mini meets throughout the year. Not only that, they are professional, good humored and obviously love what they do. New England is blessed to have such an experienced and friendly group of officials running our meets.

---

APPRECIATION AWARD 2018: NE LMSC OFFICIALS

The following officials were also recognized for their outstanding and tireless commitment to provide us all with the best meet experiences while maintaining the professionalism of the sport:

Priscilla Davis

Mary Anne Lustgraaf

Bob Fredette

Jack Kurkul

Ed Gardner

Bob Menck

Ken Galica

Lisa Black Shouldko

Betsy Russell

Sue Hoey

Cam Townsend

Steve Davidson

Steve McAlarney

---

Frank Wuest Open Water Swimming Award: Maura Twomey and Paul Goudreau

Paul Goudreau and Lyn Duncan

Lyn Dyncan and Maura Twomey

Frank Wuest invited us to live our best lives. He invited us to embrace the sport of swimming as a vehicle to get involved, to participate, to shine, and to be a part of an incredibly special community as well as to stay fit and active in the pursuit of the negative split! Frank’s passion for the sport was contagious. He was a fast swimmer and he was a committed cheerleader for us all as a collective as well as for all of us individually. With a glint in his eye, and a pace clock in his head, he encouraged us all to go for it! Frank truly represented all that the word community stands for and he did it with grace, ease, humor, love, camaraderie, and at times a little cajoling.

In conjunction with his wife Lyn Duncan, and on behalf of the NELMSC, as the Awards and Recognition Chair, I am honored to announce the 2018 recipients of the Frank Wuest Open Water Swimming Awards: Maura Twomey and Paul Goudreau

Thank you, Frank for continuing to remind us what the most important thing is and always will be: Each other.

Douglas Sayles and Alford Green Recognized as NE-LMSC Contributor and Coach of the Year

Contributed by Tara Mack, NE-LMSC Awards and Recognition Chair

WALTHAM, MA - Douglas Sayles and Alford Green were recognized for their exceptional contributions to the New England LMSC at this year's LMSC Annual Meeting, held on October 16. Sayles was honored as the NE-LMSC Contributor of the Year, and Green was celebrated as the NE-LMSC Coach of the Year.

Sayles currently serves as the chair of the New England LMSC. He was elected in 2015 after previously serving as the vice chair, registrar, and interim open water chair. Doug is actively engaged at the local, regional and national levels. He is an organizer and coach of the 175-member SwimRI team, helps coordinate and promote events, attends the annual USMS Convention and biennial USMS Leadership Workshop, and regularly communicates with the USMS national office regarding various governance and administrative issues.

Green was the founding coach of Worcester Area Masters (WAM) in May 2011. Since that time he has welcomed swimmers of all levels to the pool, working tirelessly to building a thriving team and closeknit community that has reached 75 members. Additionally, Alford took over as meet director for the December NE-LMSC and Colonies Zone SCM Championships last year, hosting the event at Worcester Polytechnic Institute for the first time. This year's meet will be December 9-11, again at WPI, in Worcester, MA.

Inspired to tap into our New England pioneering spirit, the awards were custom designed and made to honor the recipients in a unique and original way while also showcasing and celebrating the appreciation from the recipients' teammates. More about the artist, TylerAnn Mack, can be found at the end of this article.

Below are some kind words from NE-LMSC members regarding this year's very deserving award winners. Thank you, Doug and Alford, for your dedication and service to USMS and its members in the New England LMSC. We are honored to have you and to recognize you!

---

Contributor of the Year - Douglas Sayles

View fullsize

Tara Mack, Awards and Recognitions Chair, presents the Contributor of the Year Award to Douglas Sayles

"Douglas has significantly impacted swimming in RI by organizing and promoting swim events in the greater Providence, South County, and Newport County areas and consistently communicating and recruiting. His efforts are not limited to pool swims, but open water events as well. Plus, his hair is always perfect." - George Alexandre

"Organizes and recruits new members for Newport Athletic Club and SwimRI. Serves as Chair of the LMSC and participates at the national level. Heck of a nice guy!" - Trent Theroux

---

Coach of the Year - Alford Green

View fullsize

Tara Mack, Awards and Recognitions Chair, presents the Coach of the Year Award to Alford Green

"Through Alford’s leadership as coach, WAM has seen continuous growth in the past five years and has attracted a broad range of masters swimmer profiles: from serious triathletes, to recent college graduates, to recreational swimmers, and to those joining a swim team for the very first time – Alford has made WAM accessible to every swimmer and every set of goals. The inclusive culture Alford promotes resonates amongst all members, creating more than just a workout group but a community we affectionately refer to as our "WAM-ily" (or WAM Family)."  - Courtney Beidler

"It had been many years since I'd swum competitively when I joined the team. Alford has shown me as much time and attention, sometimes more, as many of the better swimmers. He is patient and kind and has a great teaching style. I can't believe how much I've improved in the short time I've been on the team, and I attribute that to Alford's coaching. A number of other swimmers, several who have never been on a team before or even completed more than a lap or two, have joined the team this year and made great strides, too. I was a little wary of getting back into the pool, but Alford's patient style has made practicing with the group easy." - Nancy Olesin

---

About the Artist - TylerAnn Mack

TylerAnn Mack has been painting for over 6 years and has been working with other mediums for over 16 years.  A New Hampshire native and former swimmer herself, she channeled the flow of water and the freedom of being in water while creating these one of a kind works of art.  A graduate of the New Hampshire Institute of Art, TylerAnn currently lives in Massachusetts on the Cape where she will be able to find inspiration from her proximity to "our" beloved water.

Her artwork can be viewed and purchased by visiting:  www.tylerannmackart.com

MBCC Against the Tide Hopkinton Recap & Cape Cod Precap

Cape Code Event Info

Contributed by Ruth Anam

View fullsize

This past Saturday, June 18, marked the 24th anniversary for Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition’s (MBCC) Statewide Annual Against the Tide Swim, Kayak, Walk, Run, and/or Aquathon fundraising event at the beautiful DCR’s Hopkinton State Park. Hundreds of participants, including dozens of swimmers, joined the effort to raise over $86,000 (and still counting) towards MBCC’s unique goal of breast cancer prevention. Awards and prizes were handed out throughout the morning to the top fundraisers and fastest competitive athletes. 

View fullsize

If you were unable to take part in the event festivities this time, MBCC will be holding another morning-only, family-friendly Against the Tide event on the Cape. The 17th Statewide Annual Swim, Kayak, Walk, Run, and/or Aquathon event will take place on Saturday, August 20 at DCR’s Nickerson State Park (Flax Pond in Brewster, MA). Participants will enjoy swimming in the pristine waters at Flax Pond and can take pride in participating in one of the America's Top 50 Open Water Swims. Against the Tide consists of the following swim components: a 1-mile competitive swim beginning at 8:30 AM and a 1-mile recreational swim beginning at 9:45 AM. There is also an Aquathon option starting at 8:30 AM for individuals to take part in the competitive swim and dash straight into the USATF-certified 5K or 10K run. There will be an Aquathon Transition Tent to hold participants’ belongings. 

View fullsize

There really is no reason to miss out on the August 20th Against the Tide event: registration is $40 per event activity for adults and $25 per event activity for students, with all proceeds going towards MBCC’s unique prevention work. Bring a friend, family member, or a colleague! All walk-in registrations are welcome after online registration closes at noon on Friday, August 19. Additionally, the MBCC is in need of angel swimmers for the August 20 event. Please contact Ruth Anam if you are interested in this volunteer role. To register for Against the Tide and for more information, please visit www.mbcc.org/swim and/or call 1-800-649-6222.

View fullsize

Upcoming Event Information

August 20 Against the Tide Press Release

August 20 Event Flyer

August 20 Info & Directions

Eighth Annual Charles River One Mile Swim Recap

Contributed by Kate Radville, Race Director

Results

View fullsize

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

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.

Swimming Saves Lives Hits New England Again

For the third year in a row, the New England LMSC will celebrate “April is Adult-Learn-to-Swim” Month. This is the time of year when USMS members nationwide focus on others and share the gift of swimming by volunteering to teach adult swimming lessons in their local communities. As of this writing, the 15 New England teams listed below plan to run Swimming Saves Lives Adult Learn to Swim programs in 2016.

If you know of adults who could benefit from swim lessons or if you want to volunteer to help teach, please reach out to any of the teams below or contact Sue Jensen at swimmingsaveslives@gmail.com or Bill Meier at billmeier1961@gmail.com. A few hours of your time could change or save a life!  

Also, contact Sue/Bill if your masters team is interested in running a Swimming Saves Lives program this spring or summer. Some funds are still available to provide financial support for lifeguard salaries, etc.

If you are interested in more comprehensive ALTS instructor training that will enable you to teach swimming as a professional option throughout the year, consider taking the ALTS certification course in Boston on April 23, 2016.

The Swimming Saves Lives program is made possible through donations to USMS’s Swimming Saves Lives Foundation. To learn more, visit the April is Adult Learn-to-Swim Month and Swimming Saves Lives Foundation websites or contact USMS Education Manager Holly Newmann at holly.neumann@usms.org.

---

Massachusetts

Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington, Bill Meier, billmeier1961@gmail.com

Cambridge Masters Swim Club, Cambridge, Sue Jensen, swimmingsaveslives@gmail.com

Martha’s Vineyard Masters, Vineyard Haven, Les Cutler, cutlerl@comcast.net

Pittsfield Polar Bear Masters, Mary Dickson, marydickson48@gmail.com

Score 4 More, Boston, Mamenasha Tesfaye, phinnswimmers@gmail.com

Worcester Area Masters, Worcester, CJ Dickson, cj.qkona@gmail.com

Vermont

Burlington Area Sink or Swim, Kimberly Fry, kimberly.fry07@gmail.com

Intrepid Athletics, Inc., Rutland, Natalie Boyle, intrepidathletics@yahoo.com

Johnson State College / Norwich University, Cara Hancy, cjthvt@gmail.com

Killington Aquatic Club Masters, Killington, Kristin Schiessl-Alf, killingtonaquaticclub@gmail.com

Stowe Swimmers Foundation, Stowe, Charlotte Brynn, cbrynn@theswimmingholestowe.com

New Hampshire

TBD

Rhode Island

MWR Lobster Swim Club, Naval Station Newport, Amy Bourke, Amy.Bourke@navy.mil

Newport Athletic Club Masters Swimming, Middletown, Paul Dow, Pdow@neboatworks.com

Maine

Maine Masters, Waterville, Tim Lecrone, tlecrone@msn.com

PenBay Masters Swimming, Rockport, Susan Rardin, susanrardin@gmail.com

---

Thank you to everyone who contributes your time to participate in these worthwhile programs!

April is Adult Learn to Swim Month!

The Governors of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont have all issued proclamations of "April as Adult Learn to Swim Month." We in the NELMSC are ready to celebrate!
Fifteen masters teams, representing all five states in our LMSC, are running Swimming Saves Lives programs and offering free swim lessons to adults in their local communities. A huge shoutout to these program directors, and all of the masters swimmers on these teams, who are donating their time as swim instructors this month: 

Maine
Maine Masters: Tim Lecrone, Alford Youth Center, Waterville
Penobscot Bay Masters: Susan Rardin, Penobscot Bay Y, Rockport

Massachusetts
Cambridge Masters Swim Club: Sue Jensen, Harvard University/Blodgett, Cambridge
Martha's Vineyard Masters: Elizabeth Lytle, YMCA of Martha's Vineyard, Vineyard Haven
Simon's Rock PaceMakers: Bill Meier, Simon's Rock @ Bard College, Great Barrington
Pittsfield Polar Bear Masters: Georgette Keator, Pittsfield Family YMCA, Pittsfield
Worcester Area Masters: CJ Dickson, Central YMCA, Worcester
YMCA of Greater Boston: KerriAnn Foley, Boston

New Hampshire
Granite State Penguins: Karin Stokes, Londonderry & Salem Workout Clubs, Londonderry & Salem

Rhode Island
MWR Lobster Swim Club: Denise Vieira & Mike Garr, Chafee Fitness Center, Naval Station, Newport
SwimRI: Paul Dow & Doug Sayles, Newport Athletic Club, Newport

Vermont
Burlington Area Sink or Swim: Kim Fry, The Edge, Williston
Johnson State Masters & Norwich University Masters: Cara Hancy, Johnson State College, Johnson
UV Rays: Catherine Pearson, Upper Valley Aquatic Center, White River Junction
Stowe Masters: Charlotte Brynn, The Swimming Hole, Stowe

FREE ADULT SWIM LESSONS!

Research shows that adults aspire to swim more than any other fitness activity. Yet according to the Centers for Disease Control, 37% of American adults cannot swim the length of a pool. It's not too late! If you know anyone who never learned how to swim, is afraid of the water and/or needs to improve their strokes or breathing technique, contact any one of the masters teams above or email swimmingsaveslives@gmail.com to schedule free swim lessons.

GIVING BACK

The Swimming Saves Lives program provides the perfect opportunity for masters swimmers to give back
to the sport they love by sharing their expertise and passion with beginning swimmers. If you'd like to volunteer to be a swim instructor this year or next, send an email to swimmingsaveslives@gmail.com. Training tools (a 10-page training manual and accompanying video) are provided.

INTERESTED FOR 2016?

Would your masters team like to run a Swimming Saves Lives program in 2016? Please contact Sue Jensen, the New England SSL program coordinator, at swimmingsaveslives@gmail.com to receive SSL Program Overview that will provide all the details for getting a program up and running. Grant money received from the Swimming Saves Lives Foundation to our LMSC will cover all your lane space rental and lifeguard salary expenses.

NE-LMSC Chair Bill Meier Wins Prestigious USMS Donnelly Service Award!

PRESS RELEASE

Prepared by Rich Burns
Swimmer Gives Back – and Gets Recognized!

United States Masters Swimming (USMS) is a membership-operated nonprofit organization of
over 60,000 swimmers from across the country. USMS’s mission is to encourage adults to swim.
From beginners who enjoy the camaraderie of fellow swimmers to those who like the challenge of competition there’s a place for everyone.

Masters Swimmers don’t just confine their participation to the pool. There are many volunteer
opportunities for the talent, expertise and generosity of its members. USMS recognizes the
commitment of those who give back with the Dorothy Donnelly Service Award, honoring one of
USMS's outstanding volunteers. The award recognizes those whose contributions stand out in
service to local, regional, and national programs. Up to 15 people are selected each year with
nominations coming from LMSCs, clubs, and individuals.

Bill Meier is an early crusader for the adult Learn-To-Swim programs promoted by USMS’s
Swimming Saves Lives Foundation.

Based on the success of Bill's program over the last two years at the Bard College PaceMaker
Swim Club, he received a $5,000 grant from the Foundation to develop and support adult swim
lessons throughout New England. He created New England’s "April is Adult Learn-to-Swim
Month" campaign. Under Bill's leadership, eight New England Masters teams will be conducting
Swimming Saves Lives programs during the year, using Masters Swimming volunteers to teach
over 400 people how to swim.

The Swimming Saves Lives Foundation has officially adopted Bill’s "April is Adult Learn-to-Swim
Month" concept as a national campaign. At Bill's urging, the governors of Massachusetts, Maine,
New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont have proclaimed April as "Adult Learn-to-Swim
month." Bill’s dreams and vision have greatly expanded awareness of U.S. Masters Swimming’s
program for the lifesaving benefits of swimming for adults.