VMST Part 2: Early 1980s
Researching and recording the history and development of Masters Swimming in Virginia has been a most interesting project! I have had a chance to correspond with various old friends and reminisce about good times.
Beginning.
Here's a summary of what I know so far. Masters Swimming appears to have begun its growth in Virginia in the late 1970s. Karin Stronach, of Hampton, was the contact person in the first few years. Karin was working at a pool at Langley Air Force Base in the early to mid 70s. A woman who had moved there from Alaska told Karin about the program. After Karin joined, the USMS Registrar referred other Virginia inquiries to Karin. Nancy Miller
(Richmond) and Forrest Sullivan (Virginia Beach) both told me that they responded to an article in Parade Magazine (1978, I think) and called the number given. They were given Karin Stronach's name as the contact. Nancy participated in a meet in 1978 in Fayetteville, NC. Forrest swam in his first meet at Duke in 1979.
Charlene Magee and Mike Stott, both from Richmond, learned of the program through the YMCA. Charlene swam in a YMCA meet in Frederick, MD, in 1978. She had seen a flyer posted at her Y. Mike was encouraged to enter a Y meet at UMBC in 1979 by some friends at his Y. The friends didn't go to the meet, but Mike did.
A meet in September of 1978 in Fayetteville had a significant number of Virginia swimmers. I have heard many stories about the Virginia swimmers recruiting family and friends to swim on relays for team points! Following that meet, the Duke University meet in April, 1979, had number of swimmers from various areas of Virginia. There were swimmers from Hampton, Virginia Beach, Richmond, Martinsville, Wytheville, Waynesboro, and probably other areas. This meet was important because we got to know each other and obviously shared a common interest in and passion for swimming competitively.
Organizing
How did Masters Swimming in Virginia develop into such a strong sport, with a strong state-wide team? Why didn't we form separate, small teams? I think the reason was the camaraderie that grew as swimmers throughout the state got to know each other. A major factor was the Masters Swim Camps. UVA conducted a Masters Swimming Camp over Memorial Day weekend for several years. I think it was the camp in May,1979, when Forrest Sullivan, Judy Martin , Nancy Miller, Mike Stott, and others had time together in the evenings to talk about the sport, make plans, and form lasting friendships.
In the summer of 1979 or 1980, Forrest hosted a team party and meeting at his house. At that meeting, the team was more formerly organized. Elections were held and other team business was initiated. Forrest was elected President, Mike Stott was Vice President, Bill Ossa (Hampton) was Treasurer, and Judy Martin was Secretary. Care was taken to include swimmers from various parts of the state. In the early years, we made a conscious effort
VMST History - Part 2
to be inclusive. I believe that this inclusive attitude has remained a major attribute and attraction of VMST.
You may notice that Nancy Miller's name is not included among the VMST officers. That is because at the same time the team was getting organized, the administration of USMS was growing also. Nancy and I were involved in the USMS/LMSC side of the sport. More on that in next month's LMSC newsletter.
Workout Groups/Coaching
Masters Swimming has developed the faster and the stronger in areas where there are coached workouts. I know about the development of workouts in Virginia Beach and in Richmond, but I need information from others about how your workout group got started.
In Virginia Beach, a group began swimming together on weekends at the Y. In 1981, the Y began a "Swim Conditioning" class coached by Karen Utsch. After a year, Mike McGee took over the coaching duties and continued coaching the group until December of 1994. What a group! Mike swam the English Channel in 1987, and we all felt a part of this experience.
In Richmond, practices first began at the Jewish Community Center in 1979 or 1980. Then, a group met and decided to have rotating sessions - one each week - at the downtown Y, the JCC, Briarwood, and maybe the Southside Y. Each of the pools agreed to accept members of the other pools on a reciprocal basis for this program. Nancy remembers 20-30 at the first meeting, including Marie Kelleher , Charlene Magee, Ron Basso, and Terry Laughlin. Ron and Terry agreed to function as coaches and organizers. This went on for about a year
but gradually fell apart. The JCC program continued once a week. Jim Miller was hired as JCC coach in January, 1981. He coached at the JCC until September, 1983. Nancy took over the JCC program then, and it still continues. The Briarwood program began in 1981 or 1982. Jim was coaching at both the JCC and Briarwood for awhile, then as the Briarwood program increased, he concentrated his efforts there.
Nancy says the first nationals for the Richmond group was 1983 in Fort Lauderdale. Jeanne Crouse , Tory Kiley, Deb Cain, and Diane Cayce were there. At that time, the Briarwood group did not know Diane. She was training at VCU. As Nancy said "Oh, the memories ..."
Meet at ODU
Our first Masters Meet in the LMSC was at Old Dominion, October 4-5, 1980. Forrest Sullivan and I were meet directors. I remember working with Judy Martin, John Sultan, and Carl Russ to get this started. Looking over the meet results, I recognize a few names of VMST swimmers who are still participating: Nancy Polisky (Miller), Judy Decker (Martin), Charlene Burke (Magee), Betsy Durrant, David Oakes, John Sultan , John Schrum, Mike Hechtkopf, Don Farmer , Alec Thomson, Mike Stott, Carl Russ, Forrest Sullivan, and Calvin Barnes .
Other names you might recognize
from that first meet: Sue Skiff (now a
member of VMST),
John Flanagan
,
Tazewell Banks
,
Nick Berenyi
, Lawrence
Cohen,
Matt Flanagan
,
James Ferguson
,
Dorothy Resseguie
(she was meet director of
meets in Fayetteville), Babs Carter, Lorraine
and
Frank Murphy
, Rick Marable (we saw
him at Nationals in Buffalo), Jim Pope,
Raymond Snead,
Dave Dutrow
, Kelly
Lemmon, Charles Smith,
Stanton Craigie
,
and Wilhelm Ossa.
