SEPTEMBER 2013
SUNRAYS | 65
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
Sun City residents Karen Welcome, George Steele, Brian Buckmaster, Steve Ritzwoller and Richard Hahn participate in U.S. Masters
Swimming, which both coaches swimmers and oers opportunities for competition.
setting and sticking to a plan.” Masters
competition has provided Richard with
some unique experiences. Last summer
in Omaha, he swam in the pool in which
Olympic tryouts had been held two days
earlier. In California, he competed in a
50-meter outdoor saltwater pool that he
describes as being “crystal clear with a
slick feeling to the water.”
—
George Steele participated in swim
teams in junior high and high school,
and attended Texas Tech on a swimming
scholarship. He had not competed since
college until he joined the Aquatics of
Georgetown Masters Swim Team in
January to support a neighbor in setting
goals. “With a little bit of instruction,
you can become a lot more comfortable
with your breathing and stroke rhythm,
and learn to swim more efficiently,”
George said. “Swimming contributes
to a healthy heart and lungs and is a
low-to-no-impact joint experience.”
—
Brian Buckmaster learned how to swim
by signing up for his high school swim
team. He played water polo and swam
competitively in high school and junior
college, then became interested in bicy-
cling and didn’t swim for decades until
moving to Sun City Texas. Friends en-
couraged him to join the Georgetown
Masters Swim Team in order to compete
in the 2013 Short Course Regional Fi-
nals held at UT Austin in April 2013.
He swam in five events and medaled in
three. Although he believes bicycling
burns more calories, Brian still enjoys
the social benefits of belonging to a team
and traveling to compete in events.
—
Steven Ritzwoller, who last swam on his
high school team, came out of his aquatic
retirement after 55 years. While partici-
pating in the Coached Lap Swim Series
with Sun City Texas resident instructor
Donna Duffy, Steven joined the George-
town Masters Swim Team in January
2013 because he needed a reward for his
efforts. Since then, he has participated
in meets in Bryan, Texas; at Rice Uni-
versity in Houston; and at UT Austin.
WHAT IS MASTERS SWIMMING?
U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS) is a
national organization that provides or-
ganized workouts, competitions, clinics
and workshops for adults, ages 18 and
older, who are dedicated to improving
their fitness through swimming. The
nonprofit has more than 50,000 mem-
bers, a few of whom are in their 90s
and even 100s. Although membership
is required to participate in competi-
tive USMS events, competing is not a
requirement for membership.
Ben Francois, head coach of the George-
town Masters Swim Team, said, “We
coach all abilities, all ages—from those
who can just make it across the pool to
former college athletes and even triath-
letes.” Only about half of the Georgetown
Masters Swim Teammembers actually
compete, primarily in Short Course (25-
yard and 25-meter) and Long Course
(50-meter) pool events. Some team
members want to improve their time or
technique, while others want to stay in
shape, but all members benefit from hav-
ing a structured workout to keep them
challenged. Francois explained that a
structured workout has three parts, each
of which can be tailored to different abil-
ity levels: a warm-up, drill sets that focus
on strokes and technique, and challenge
sets in which you are “comparing your
times to your times.”
JOIN THE TEAM!
If you swam competitively in high school
or college, or would like to be a serious
lap swimmer, Sun City’s five Masters
Swimmers invite you to consider the
challenge of taking your fitness commit-
ment to the next level. To explore struc-
tured workout options with Karen, Rich-
ard, George, Brian, and Steven, contact
KarenWelcome at kmwelcome06@gmail.
com. For more information on Masters
Swimmers programs, visit usms.org,
swimgeorgetown.com or nitroswim.com.
