Linda Merritt The SaddleBrooke Swim Club has over 100 members, and of those members, 20 are 80 years and older! Currently, the oldest is 89, but the Swim Club has had members in their 90s and as old as 104 in past years. Many of the current octogenarians first joined when Doug Springer started the…
Karin Bivens Doug Springer, former head coach of the SaddleBrooke Swim Club, crushed three all-time top United States Masters Swimming (USMS) national swim records in the men’s 75 to 79 age group at two meets this year! At the United States Masters Short Course Yards (SCY) Spring National Championship held in San Antonio, Texas (April 28…
It was a beautiful, sunny weekend on Feb. 19 and 20, centered between two storms. The SaddleBrooke Swim Club sponsored the National Pool Distance Meet at the Oro Valley Aquatic Center. It is a challenging meet, with a 1,650-yard swim Saturday morning followed by a 1,000-yard swim in the afternoon. The next morning, there was…
The Swim Club is again offering its free swim clinic to residents. “It’s been years since I swam, but I sure would like to swim laps for exercise (insert weight loss, injury rehab, strength, or competition), but, oh, I am sooooo out of shape, and my strokes need work!” If this sounds like you, the…
Dick Kreutzen Thirty-six SaddleBrooke Swim Club members showed up on Jan. 23 to swim in the club’s second annual Jack Fritz Pentathlon. It was a little chilly at the start, but it warmed up nicely when the sun crested the mountains. The morning turned out to be pretty nice. A pentathlon is obviously five events,…
Elizabeth Henley Members of this club have lots to celebrate, and we know how to have fun! Every spring (sans a pandemic), we have a team celebration event where we celebrate those who have won all-American awards. We also honor the recipients of the President’s Award and coaches’ awards, as well as Heritage Hall inductees. The highest honor…
Karin Bivens (Born April 25, 1916—Died July 20, 2020) April 25, 2021 would have been SaddleBrooke Swim Club’s oldest member Fred Klein’s 105th birthday! Coach Doug Springer was hoping that Fred could once again set new swim competition records as he entered a new age group! Sadly, Fred passed away last July. Due to the…
Elizabeth Henley For many years, Thanksgiving workouts were dedicated to fun relays. Coach Doug had a bucket full of balls. It’s not as easy as it looks to move a bunch of balls down a lane and then hand them off to your next teammate. Under the best of circumstances, it’s also not easy to…
Elizabeth Henley Part VI is about competition sanctioned by the United States Master Swimming organization (USMS). Events sanctioned by USMS are standardized, and USMS keeps records of times during the year for each of its events. The club entered a new phase of competition in 2011 when we entered the state short course yards meet. Since…
Elizabeth Henley Non-Sanctioned Competition Some of our members joined the club to participate in competitive events, and many of us were convinced by a very persuasive past head coach, Coach Doug, to do so. Club members generally have participated in events sponsored by our own club, Senior Olympics, and the United States Masters Swimming association (USMS),…