What is Masters Swimming?

I’m often asked by my non swimmer friends “What is Masters swimming?” Often they think it’s some qualification I’ve achieved through my many yards of practicing.

According to Wikipedia, “Masters swimming is a special class of competitive swimming for swimmers 25 years and older. Premasters is normally included as well, from 18 years old (Canada, United States and Australia) or 20 years old (Europe).”

The U.S. Masters Swimming website has a more thorough definition. It says; “USMS is a national membership-operated nonprofit organization that provides membership benefits to nearly 60,000 Masters swimmers across the country. These benefits include insurance, SWIMMER magazine, sanctioned events, and many others. USMS and its 52 Local Masters Swimming Committees (LMSCs) provide direct support to more than 1,500 Masters Swimming clubs and workout groups. Structure and organization of USMS programs vary and are driven by factors such as pool availability, instructor or coach availability, community support, and finances. The majority of locations offering Masters Swimming programs have coaches on deck. Coaches write workouts and provide feedback and instruction.”

If you ask different Masters swimmers “What is Masters swimming?” and “What does it mean to be a Masters swimmer?” you’ll get many different answers. That’s because one of the really cool things to me about Masters swimming is how it attracts adult swimmers from all walks of life who are at many different ability levels. And they’re all swimming for different reasons. Some are swimming to compete (like me), some are swimming to stay (or get) in shape. Others swim because they are triathletes who need to swim as part of their training.

There are Masters swimmers who have been competing all of their lives, and others who have never competed and started training/competing later in life. Then there are others who don’t compete at all, but love to train. There are Masters swimmers who like to compete in open water races and others who prefer swimming pools.

The U.S. Masters website says that most programs are coached. I think this is the optimal situation for Masters swimmers, as having a coach on deck can help you improve as a swimmer. Where I live there are several non coached Masters groups who gather among themselves to train and swim as well. One of my favorite workouts of the week is one of these “gatherings” on Saturday morning that starts at or near 8am, finishes at or near 9am and then we go out for bagels.

What does being  Masters swimmer mean to me?

Getting my swim in on the road

U.S. Masters swimming is an organization that has changed my life. I have swum off and on since college, but mostly off. About 5 years ago, I became a Masters swimmer and started training and competing again. I travel a lot, so I train with many different groups. Some are coached, some are not. And many times I train by myself. I’ve had to learn how to train again, and at age 48 it’s different than at 18. I take better care of my body, I stretch more, and Masters swimming has helped me eat better as well. Before I started training 5 years ago I was overweight, overstressed, and going down a bad health path. Becoming a Masters swimmer has been a real life saver to me. I feel I’m in the best shape of my life and have connected (and reconnected) with great friends. I look forward to practice, I look forward to swim meets, and I enjoy getting together with my swim friends and sharing stories about swimming, family, and everything going on in our lives. I look forward to many more years of Masters swimming.

What does being a Masters swimmer mean to you?