Swimming can be competitive no matter the age
London Silver Dolphins are hosting Ontario masters’ swimming championships
Posted By Sean Meyer
MARK SPOWART PHOTOThe London Dolphins will be co-hosting the upcoming provincial championships – along with the London Aquatic Club – March 19-21 at the London Aquatic Centre. The club will have 75 of its own 120 members competing at provincials, including, (bottom left) James Dickey, Cathy McDonald, Andrea Maxwell, Scott Mitchell, John Waring, Adam McLellan and Greg Lewis (middle left) Paul Gribble, Jessica Blake, Manny Pardo, Jeff Christofferson and (back row) Chuck Grace.
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Chuck Grace has been swimming for nearly as long as he has been walking.
For the past 43 years, Chuck has competed in swim events all the way up to the masters' level where he now competes as a member of the London Silver Dolphins. And although the 52-year-old might be considered old by some people, he has first hand proof that age really is just a number.
"We were at nationals last year and there was this swimmer, he was 100 years old. He kind of epitomized or symbolized masters' swimming. On dry land he was awkward, he walked with a cane, he had his grandson with him to make sure he didn't slip on the deck," Chuck says. "But once you are immersed in that liquid, it doesn't matter if you have arthritis, it doesn't matter if you are a little overweight, it doesn't matter if your hip does work anymore. Gravity goes away and you can keep moving almost infinitely. It is about people moving, staying active, keeping the heart beating. The pool is a great medium for that."
It seems there are more people agreeing with Chuck's opinion as masters' athletics continues to grow.
"It's really for anybody and everybody. Right now the roster is in the neighbourhood of 120 and we have a waiting list. We literally couldn't pack any more bodies into the pool and not hurt somebody. It has become very popular," says Chuck who has been swimming with the Silver Dolphins since their inception 27 years ago. "We have three fulltime coaches, two on deck on any given day. We are swimming five hours a week; Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday. Now being adults – people have busy lives – hardly anybody comes every day. You come and go as you choose."
Chuck says the members also choose just how competitive they want to be in their swimming.
"There are 120 people on the team, half of those people will never choose to compete and that is just fine. That is not what this is about. Of the remaining half, probably 10 or 15 people got talked into provincials just because of peer pressure, but competing isn't the number one priority in their lives," Chuck says. "Then there is about a third of team – for a whole host of reasons – choose to compete. They could be ex-age groupers and Olympians who want to keep doing that. There are people who simply want to enjoy improving, challenging themselves. There is no question there is another group of people who are in it to win."
The club members who are looking for that challenge will get that chance during the upcoming provincial championships that are being co-hosted by the Dolphins and the London Aquatic Club, March 19-21.
The Dolphins, who are considered a Tier 1 club and will have the largest team at the provincials with 75 members, are preparing for an event that will draw 500 competitors to London.
"There will be 500 competitors, but they will bring a lot of people with them. One or two might have an entourage. It is 500 adults, plus family, kids, spouses, coming to enjoy London for the weekend," Chuck says. "By necessity they are going to be in a hotel, spending money on dinner. They might do some shopping if we can get out of here early enough. These are very active, engaged people."
Putting together a provincial championship has proven to be a challenging undertaking for the club.
"It is almost bizarre in its complexity. It is two-and-a-half days and it has to be done right. It is a championship meet, so there is no forgiveness if we get this wrong. On the deck we have to have two-and-a-half day's worth of timers for every lane, officials. In the back office we have people who are keeping track of times, sorting order, figuring out points, who won, who didn't. As you move off the deck the seating and logistics take care of themselves, but are going to have massage tables, we will have people taking pictures that can be purchased off the web," Chuck says. "At championship meets it is traditional there be a grazing table of food, perpetually for two days, for the swimmers. It is also traditional that we feed the officials, snacks, water and then lunch. The city plays a big role in making sure the facility is ready and clean, lane ropes are ready to go. And of course we need lifeguards."
The actual competition portion of the event isn't the only thing club members have had to plan for.
"The social is a huge undertaking; adults don't come to swim meets so they can go back and watch TV in their hotel rooms, they go out and party. There is an expectation the host will organize some things for that. We've engaged most of the restaurants and pubs along Richmond Row, there will be swimmers wandering up and down Richmond St. Saturday night," Chuck says. "We've had to organize our sponsors to help us defray some of the costs. We had to outfit the volunteers, we ordered 150 T-shirts. There is no way we could pull this off with out the help of LAC – London Aquatic Club. London Aquatic Club has this huge stable of trained, qualified officials that we will draw upon. The timers, the parents from LAC are helping out."
It is that assistance that Chuck says has allowed the Dolphins to host the provincial championships.
"We are joint-sponsoring the meet because we couldn't pull it off without their help. We probably have the horsepower to staff officials and timers, but these are the people who want to be in the water at the same time. That's very awkward to do," Chuck says. "We couldn't do it without them so we are hoping to make a contribution to their success as well. Most of the net profit from this will go towards sponsoring the kids program. They haven't finalized it yet, but there is a hope we can invest in some of the infrastructure for the new pool down at Thames so they can host some meets down there with the right lane ropes, the right timing pads and the right scoreboard."
The competitors at provincials are people Chuck says really epitomize the strength of masters' athletics – and swimming in particular.
"That is the great thing about masters. I can accommodate all those very diverse needs. We don't care why you want to swim. Our motto is fit, fun and fast. That is in priority order," Chuck says. "Coming out to work out, we are going to get your heart rate up for an hour; you are going to get fit. There are lots of studies that show swimming is one of the best things you can do. Swimming is one of the fastest growing masters' sports in the world. We will be hosting provincials. Nationals every year attract 800 to 1,000 swimmers. We have six people on our team going to the worlds this year in Sweden."
The popularity of masters' swimming is reflected, Chuck says, in the kinds of athletes these events attract. Order trainerWeb hosting
"I don't know if the general public appreciates it, but we are going to see some 40- and 50-year-olds swim some times that are just fantastic. These guys are swimming fast, really, really fast. We see at nationals and worlds 40-year-olds swimming within one or two percent of Olympic standards," Chuck says. "There is a whole other conversation to be had on what are the limits of human performance. How old can you be and still put out some incredible performances. We will see (at provincials) some performances that are scary. You will look at these 50- and 60-year-olds that are ripped. They are training five to six days a week. They are putting up remarkable performances; performances that I don't think anyone expects from people who are suppose to be old. We have not seen the limits of human performance relative to aging."
And although Chuck says someone's age really is relative to their level of health and physical activity, he also knows it means he has many years to go to reach at least one of his goals.
"Every five years when I change age group I get excited to compete again, to see what you can pull off as a 40-year-old or a 45-year-old or a 50-year-old or whatever. That record (in the 105-year-old division) is mine, I am all over it. That was the joke we had when we watched that guy last year at nationals," Chuck says. "We said that is so cool, can you imagine aspiring to that. Then you go, 50 years; I have to wait 50 years to break that record. You kind of think of yourself when you get into your 50s as maybe getting a little old then you go, I have to wait 50 years to break his record. Then you realize you aren't even close to old yet."
Want to know more?
The Ontario Provincial Championships for Masters' Swimming takes place at the London Aquatic Centre, March 19-21. For more information visit www.2010provincialchampionships.com.
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