Back to the Pool – Adirondack Masters and US Masters Swimming

By Kathy Meany

As swimmers and triathletes in the great Northeast, we are fortunate to live in an area where we have access to beautiful lakes and outdoor town park pools to swim in throughout the summer months. But like it or not, the outdoor season comes to an end, and we are forced to move our workouts to an indoor pool at a local fitness club, high school, college or community center. The challenges of returning to swimming in an indoor pool for many months of the year can include finding a facility with lap swimming hours that match our schedule, getting a lane, endlessly staring down at the black center line, and dealing with the effects of chlorine!

For some of us, the reality of returning to indoor swimming is mitigated by the opportunity to swim in programs sponsored by Adirondack Masters Swimming (AD-LMSC). Adirondack Masters Swimming is one of 53 local Masters swimming “committees” (LMSCs) affiliated with United States Masters Swimming (USMS), the national governing body of competitive and recreational swimming for athletes age 18 and above. Adirondack Masters, one of three of the committees in New York State, covers the greater Capital Region, Hudson Valley, Mohawk Valley, Adirondacks, and the Leatherstocking region.

Who are the swimmers who comprise the membership of Adirondack Masters at the local level and United States Masters Swimming at the national level? Many of our members swam competitively as kids in age group programs and/or as young adults on high school and college teams who want to continue training for and competing in races and meets once youth swimming opportunities are in life’s rearview mirror. Many of our members are “lapsed” competitive swimmers, those who swam competitively at an earlier time in their life, got out of it for any number of reasons, and want to get back into training and competing later in their twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, sixties … you name it! 

Some of our members are triathletes who appreciate the importance of a good swimming stroke, want to improve their performance in the swimming leg of their events, or want to add variety and diverse goals into their training during the off-season. And the majority of our members are dedicated recreational swimmers who have no interest in competition but want to take advantage of Adirondack and US Masters resources and programs for continuing on their fitness journey.

There are diverse benefits and advantages to becoming a member of Adirondack Masters/US Masters Swimming. US Masters Swimming offers a TREMENDOUS collection of workouts to tap into for athletes of all interests and ability levels, as well as a vast collection of training tips and instructional articles and videos. These are great resources, especially because many of our members train on their own instead of with a workout group or in a coached program.

Membership is often a gateway to opportunities to enjoy the fun and camaraderie of swimming with others, sometimes in a clinic with certified coaches, in a group fitness event, or in an ongoing coached Masters workout program. As the number of athletes in our area committed to swimming returns to pre-Covid levels, Adirondack Masters is pushing for more coached Masters workout programs where adults of all skill levels can improve their strokes, increase their fitness, and enjoy the company of like-minded athletes. Time in the pool and the intensity of training are so much more enjoyable when swimming with friends!

For those interested, membership in Adirondack Masters/USMS allows the opportunity to swim in open-water races and pool meets in our committee, those in nearby states, as well as across the nation. USMS offers an impressive calendar of sanctioned meets and open-water races across the country. Our local meets include all standard competitive swimming events: 50-, 100- and 200-yard freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and individual medley events; 500-, 1000- or 1650-yard freestyle; and several medley and freestyle relays. Training for even two or three of these events in an upcoming meet can offer many advantages, including the motivation needed to get to the pool and get the workouts done, and a chance to benchmark progress by comparing times from one meet to another in a standard distance with relatively standard conditions.

We often hear that, “Swimming is a lifelong sport,” truly evident in our 80- and 90-year-old members. But, “Swimming is a lifelong sport,” also because, for most us mortals, it will take a lifetime to come close to “mastering” all of these strokes and racing all of these distances!

On the Adirondack Masters calendar for this fall are two meets: the Kingston “First Capital” Masters Meet at the Kingston/Ulster County YMCA on Sunday, October 8, and the Leatherstocking Masters Meet at Hartwick College in Oneonta on Sunday, November 5.

As we move towards this winter and next spring, we’ll be hosting our annual New Year’s Group Fitness Workout; one clinic on Preparing for a Masters Swim Meet and another on Open-Water Swimming Skills; and our annual meet at Skidmore College and one at Mohonasen High School. In the summer, we partner with US Masters Swimming and Green Leaf Racing on the annual Betsy Owens/Terry Laughlin Open-Water Swim Races in Mirror Lake.

For information about and registration for fall events, visit: adms.org. On our website, you will also find the link to register for membership in Adirondack Masters/US Masters Swimming, as well as postings about future events and links to communicate directly with our Adirondack Masters officers. You can also follow us on Facebook at Adirondack Masters Swimming.

There is a misconception that Masters swimming is only for “expert” swimmers or that Masters swimmers are swimmers who are “old.” Yes, many of our swimmers are extremely competitive in their age group and in their events, and, yes, we have the privilege of having members who are super, super seniors. But Adirondack Masters Swimming and US Masters Swimming are truly welcoming of all levels of swimmers ages 18 and over. All that’s needed is an appreciation for the sport! Jump into the pool and give us a try!

Kathy Meany (kmeany2@verizon.net) is vice-president and sanctions chairperson of Adirondack Masters Swimming. She is a retired teacher, principal, and school district superintendent who is an avid swimmer, cyclist, triathlete, hiker, pickleball and tennis player. Kathy volunteers in many capacities in the community.