COMPETITION – Arizona Masters Swimming

Swim Meets February and March!

January 27, 2025

There are are 3 swim meets coming up in February and March! Registration closes January 29 for the Polar Bear. The Distance meet and AZ State Championship are scheduled for March.

February 2 2025 Polar Bear Classic – UofA Hillenbrand Aquatic Center, Tucson, AZ – Meet Information Flyer
March 1-2 2025 Winter Masters Distance Invitational – Oro Valley, AZ – Registration Link
March 15-16, 2025 Arizona SCY State Championship Meet : Registration Link

Grow Up Swimming is coming to Arizona!

Click here to download the Flyer for more information

COMPETITION

Goodbye to Summer

November 11, 2024

by Terri Stauffer-Schmidt

We said goodbye to summer this year at the 2024 Ron Johnson Invitational Swim Meet. It was unusually warm for late October. But it didn’t distract anyone from another amazing year of great swims and fun times.

A huge shoutout to Swim Devil’s Masters for hosting this meet and to our race director and Swim Devil – Katy James.

Teams were scattered around the three pools attempting to stay out of the sun. Swimming your event was a chance to cool off.

A HUGE Thank you to the officials for their time volunteering and keeping the events moving. Thank you also to all the ASU students who helped keep times.

Gallery

Broken Records

The following records were broken:

World records

Kelly Harrigan 40yrs Mesa Masters:
- 100 SCM back 1:02.74
- 200 SCM back 2:13.49
Jeff Commings 50yrs Dolphins of the Desert
- Tied 50 SCM breast 28.72

USMS Individual Records

Jeff Commings 50 yrs Dolphins of the Desert
- 200 IM 2:11.13
Trinity Kay 24yrs Swim Devil Masters
- 200 IM 2:16.17
- 200 back 2:15.08
- 50 back 29.07

Relay Records

The Swim Devil Masters 18-24 woman’s 200 and 400 medley relay
- Trinity Kay 24 back
- Karli Sewell 23 breast
- Emma Treadwell 25 fly
- Kira Stanley 24 free

200 MR 1:59.71
400 MR 4:23.37

New Board Members

Katy James announced the new 2025 AZLMSC Board Members for 2025. Barbara Sloan chair, Kelly Harrigan, Vice Chair, Lisa Harris secretary and Rome Yount treasurer.

Happy Halloween from Kelly and Barb

Articles

USMS Summer Nationals

August 31, 2024

Its a WRAP!

221 Teams Represented 1268 Swimmers Entered!

by Terri Stauffer-Schmidt

The Summer Nationals Swim Meet in Mission Viejo is over, but how amazing those 5 days were. The weather was more than perfect, and the officials and volunteers carried it off without a hitch. The Marguerite Aquatics Center was a beautiful location that easily accommodated the swimmers and the cheering crowds. The Arizona swimmers were amazing. They not only competed with their strength and their hearts, but they had fun enjoying the event.

Kelly Harrigan shined. This is what she had to say:

Summer Nationals are a wrap. A few months back I decided to look up records for my new age group, 40-44. After seeing the 200 back I thought “hey, that’s possible”. Immediately after, the self-doubt inner voice said “no way, you will fail”. I knew I would have to fight with this voice to succeed and after a few weeks I bought a bracelet that came with a positive quote. “There are sharks all around you, but you’re a shark too. So sharpen your bites, and strap on your fins. Jump into the water and get after those wins”.

Kelly Harrigan – World Record Holder, 200 Backstroke – 2:20:72 (WOW!)

Slowly I started to think the world record was achievable, but I was still keeping it a secret. I was afraid if I let people know but then failed, I would not only let myself down, but also my teammates, coaches, family and friends. I knew this was a stupid thought to have and everyone would support me no matter what, but my inner voice was still there.

About 6 weeks ago I pushed through my fears and quietly mentioned to my coach Laura Smith/MAC Swim coach that I thought I could break a world record. I knew Laura would be anything but quiet about it. I was flooded with support everyday at practice from coaches and teammates. That was the last little thing I needed to kill off the little voice saying I couldn’t do it.

So now I am going home with a world record, six gold medals, four top 3 all time world times, two top 10 all time world times, six individual gold medals and multiple best master times. I know I could not have done this without the support I received. I am so thankful to everyone!

Arizona Swimmers hanging out on Friday afternoon.

Nationals is a great time to find old friends!

On the left is Al Keith, a friend I reconnected with after not seeing him in 20 years (he was swimming for a team in Virginia). In the middle is my husband, Geoff Glaser, who was serving as the coach for Dolphins of the Desert.

Jeff Commings on the right, broke a World Aquatics Masters world record and a USMS record in the men’s 50-54 breast stroke with a time of 29.23.

Articles

Swimmers came out in force for Sedona Meet

May 17, 2024

The Paul Cate Sedona Spring Classic Swim Meet and Social was held May 4^th this year. It was one of the best weekends to spend in the beautiful Sedona Community Pool.

This year’s theme was Star Wars. May 4th is Star Wars Day, an informal day to celebrate the Star Wars franchise. The date comes from the popular line, “May the force be with you”, which is often said by Jedi masters in the movies as a sentiment of goodwill. At some point the saying became May the 4th be with you and thus the theme of this year’s swimming meet. The swimmers got into the act celebrating the day.

Sun City Masters and Sun City West Masters brandishing their light sabers

The meet was named in honor of Paul Cate. He had been honored in years past. It’s only recently that the swimming meets have started up again in Sedona and once again named in recognition of Paul.

Paul grew up swimming in Tucson. Around 1985 or 1986 he along with Kelly Donatell’s mom, K. Busche, started a summer swim team in Sedona. The team grew quickly and joined USS for the few swimmers who wanted a longer swim season. They founded the local U.S. Masters division of the Sedona Swim Team as well as what is now the Sedona Swordfish in 1987. He transitioned from the Swordfish to an assistant coach with the Sedona Red Rock High School swimming teams when the program started. Paul grew the program from nothing to its peak of 80 kids,”. Paul’s wife Monika donated to this year’s high point winners. Paul won his decade for high point winner at the meet. Cups were given out in his honor.

Lynn Morrison and Paul Cate and the honorary Paul Cate mug

Even though he is retired, Paul continues to help where needed and can always be found cheering on the pool deck. He has always done what he could to provide opportunities for people to swim. He is a huge reason why there has been and still are opportunities for both kids and adults to swim competitively in Sedona.

People came from all over the country to participate in the Paul Cate Sedona Spring Classic and Social. Haley Penfield (previously Holverson) flew from Tennessee specifically for the event.

Paul was her coach for 3 years when she swam at Red Rock. Cathy Harrington came for her first competitive pool meet since 1977 after being encouraged by Kelly Harrigan. Lynn Morrison and Paul have been best buddies since grade school and the neighborhood swim team Kingston Knolls. Paul was her superhero. She called him “Fido.” When she was being bullied, she would call out “Fido” and within seconds Paul was by her side – to be her protector. They won all their swimming events as long as it wasn’t breaststroke. Lynn said, “he will always be my Fido and definitely why I traveled from Dallas to be here with everyone to celebrate Paul Cate (Fido)”. This was Linda Marousek’s first swim. She’s been swimming for about 1 ½ years but was mostly on top of the water with competitive rowing in California. She cam from New Mexico and is happy to be participating. Devi Piper said Sedona is her favorite place and was delighted to attend this meet with a couple of swimmers from her club in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

Andy Johns, Starter and NAU head coach, Director Liz Hobbs and Asst. NAU head coach, swimmers Kelly Donatel, and Maria Smith

MAC Head Coach Paul Smith with MAC teammates, Tyler Lovemark, Ethan Fischer, Craig Kingson and David Curtiss

A huge thank you to everyone for a fun, competitive experience. Great swim everyone!!

Article by Terri Stauffer-Schmidt

COMPETITION

2024 SCY State Championship

April 29, 2024

The weather was warm, and the swimmers were HOT at this years SCY State Meet at the Saddlebrook Swim Club in Oro Valley. There were 27 total events with 12 in state teams and 6 from out-of-state; Colorado, Nevada, California, Washington State and New York. A big thank you to Rome Yount and his crew who did a wonderful job officiating the meet and moving it along. A big thank you to the young volunteers and all the meet officials.

Drone Shot of Oro Valley pool and Meet swimmers (Courtesy of David Curtiss)

Katie Kenny (Phoenix Swim Club Masters) greets Masters Legand Jean Hofmann

Barb Sloan, Nina Brown, Liz Scott & Gynt Clifford SCW Masters Observing greatness

The following SCY National Records were set this year:

Jeff Commings from Dolphins of the Desert 50-54 Age Group
- 200 Back 1:53:63
- 100 IM 53:41
Richard Burns from Tamalpais Aquatics 80-84 Age Group
- 50 Fly 32:12
- 200 Back 2:44:23
- 200 IM 2:50:39
- 50 Back 33:72
- 100 Fly 1:18:55
- 100 Back 1:15:20
Laura Val from Tamalpais Aquatics 70-74 Age Group
- 500 Free 6:13:73
The Saddlebrook Masters 75+ Relay – T. Ashton, J. Spiegel, D. Springer and L. Moreno
- 400 Medley Relay 6:37:39

Congratulations to these outstanding swimmers. To check all the meet results go to our Events page.

Annual Meeting

On Saturday afternoon the annual meeting was held with 49 in attendance. There was plenty of food for everyone, but the beer went fast. Jeff Commings talked about the Nationals and a new program called “Grown-Up Swimming”. It’s geared toward getting fun adult summer leagues in major cities across the country. It’s meant to rekindle the fire and passion for adult league swimming. USMS agreed and has partnered with Grown-Up Swimming to help get the organization going – and growing. The mission is to get as many adults swimming as possible. Hopefully getting people into a pattern of fitness. It’s about bringing a fun atmosphere to swimming. Jeff is in hopes of bringing it to the Phoenix area by next year.

Arizona Masters Swimmers and the AZLMSC Board of Directors attending the annual meeting.

This year’s winner of the Gruender Award was Leslie Nock, the coach of the Sun City Starrs. Leslie grew up in Central New York. She swam in age group swimming throughout high school. She went to college for music, her instrument being the trombone. Her grandparents lived in AZ and encouraged her to check out ASU. She got her bachelor’s in music from ASU. After graduation she was looking for a job and found the military. As it happened, they had an opening in the music program. It was a perfect fit.

After a distinguished military career of 30 years, Leslie settled back in Arizona. She swam with the team in Sun City from 2019-2020. Then the current coach had to leave. Leslie volunteered to take on the job. Her physical training from the military helped her to decide, although shoulder issues were keeping her sidelined. She worked to become a level 3 coach and a certified USMS official. She enjoys the challenge of a diverse group of swimmers. Some are highly competitive and others not. Trying to balance all that she feels makes her a better coach. Approximately 50 swimmers have access to the pool every Monday-Friday for 2 hours. Leslie could not do all the training and teaching without the help of other swimmers in the club who are also certified. She draws from them, and they from her. Someone is always on deck, but not necessarily Leslie. She feels this is a way for other team members to give back. She credits Barb Sloan and Coke Lepinski with collaborating with her to make it all work.

Her team was the mid-size team winners this year. Nineteen members were in attendance when Leslie received her award at the luncheon. Well deserved!

Katy James right (Swim Devil and AZLMSC Chair, awards the Gruender Award to Leslie Nock (Sun City Stars left)

Achievement awards were also presented. Barb Sloan presented to Gynt Clifford for her outstanding performance in both the National Senior Games and the most recent Masters World Meet in March in Doha, Qatar. Leslie Nook awarded Mary Ann Case for her participation in the 2024 World National Swim Meet in Doha, Qatar. Coach Jeff Commings presented to Aiden Barg- in the one-hour virtual swim, he won 1st place in his 18-24 age group. He swam 3,870 yards. In addition, Jeff presented to Relays:

Men’s 18+ 1st place: Aiden Barg, Julien Mathias, and Marcelo Cabral. They swam 12,420 yards.
Mixed 18+ 1st place: Aiden Barg, Julien Mathias, Ellen Geiger, and Christina DiGiacomo. They swam 17,545 yards.

Barb Sloan (SCW Masters coach), Gynt Clifford, Mary Ann Case and Leslie Nook (Sun City Starrs coach)

Not sure who this is but love the shirt.

COMPETITION

AZ SCY State Meet – Phoenix Swim Club

February 9, 2023

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Arizona Masters SCY State meet at Phoenix Swim Club, March 18th – 19th, 2023!

There were 3 National Records achieved at the meet:

Joanne Menard (75-79)- 1000 Free 15:13.53
Joanne Menard (75-79) – 500 Free 7:27.08
Kristin Jaffe (85-89) – 50 Breast 50.28

Congratulations to Joanne and Kristin.

Team Scores

1st Place for Large Teams – Saddlebrook Masters
1st Place for Medium Teams – Sun City Starrs

2023-AZ-SCY-State-Meet-–-Phoenix-Swim-Club-results

2023-AZ-SCY-State-Meet-–-Phoenix-Swim-Club-high-point-by-age-group

2023-AZ-SCY-State-Meet-–-Phoenix-Swim-Club-team-scores

COMPETITION

Winter Masters Distance Invitational Meet

December 30, 2022

February 25 and 26th, 2023, Saddlebrook Masters is hosting the Winter Masters Distance Invitational Meet at Oro Valley! This meet, formerly known as the USMS National Pool Distance Invitational, will have both SCY and LCM distance events. Its all distance all the time!

2023-Winter-Masters-Distance-Invitational-1500M_Results_with_cumulative_splits

2023-Winter-Masters-Distance-Invitational-1650_1000_Results_with_cumulative_splits

COMPETITION

2023 Polar Bear Classic

December 23, 2022

Sunday February 5th, 2023 will see the return of the Polar Bear Classic, hosted by Ford Aquatics Masters, at University of Arizona Hillenbrand Aquatic Center!

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COMPETITION