U.S. Masters Swimming

DRIVING ADULT FITNESS

U.S. Masters Swimming officially began May 2, 1970, after Captain Ransom J. Arthur, M.D., a Navy doctor in San Diego, convinced John Spannuth, then president of the Coaches Association, to hold the first National Masters Swimming Championships in the Amarillo Aquatic Club pool. Arthur felt that if the incentive was appealing, it would give older swimmers (ex-competitors and beginners alike) a goal for keeping physically fit. Dr. Arthur’s vision of adults improving their fitness through swimming has grown over the years into a nationwide organization of nearly 60,000 adult swimmers.

U.S. Masters Swimming encourages adults to enjoy the health, fitness, and social benefits of swimming by providing more than 2,000 adult swimming programs and events across the country, including open water and pool competitions. USMS’s nearly 70,000 members range from age 18 to 99 and include swimmers of all ability levels. During the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was certainly much harder for adults to participate in and take advantage of all that USMS had to offer. USMS wanted to make sure their members were still feeling connected and had access to information to help get them through that tough time. They did this by providing more than 40 articles on drylands training, mental health, open water swimming, coronavirus and swimming, and many more. One of their articles had over 700,000 views! They also created the first-ever virtual swim meet!