Masters swimming
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Masters swimming is a special class of competitive swimming for swimmers 25 years or older (Canada and the USA allow adults 18 and over and have an 18-24 age group). They compete within age groups of five years, with a swimmer's age group in a certain year determined by his/her age on the last day of that year:
Age Groups: 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, and so on at 5-year increments, the last group being for any age above 100 years.
The rules and distances are nearly the same as for competitive swimming. However, meet programs include 2 mixed (2 men/2 women) relay events in addition to the all men's and all women's relay events. Mixed relays are swam exclusively in masters' competition. The age groups for the relay events is determined by the sum of the ages of each team component, allowing for swimmers of very different ages to compete together in the same team. Age groups for relays are 100-119, 120-159, 160-199, and so on at 40-year increments.
Masters Swimming is a fast growing leisure activity, particularly in North America and Australia but also in Europe. Most towns or cities now have masters clubs. Typically these are very friendly and welcome newcomers. The minimum requirements to join a Masters club vary widely, anywhere from the ability to swim one length of the pool to the ability to swim a kilometre without stopping. Club members will follow a set of different drills and swims each time typically covering anything from 1.5 km to 3.5 km. Each club will have lanes and so whilst the younger and faster swimmers who are competing nationally and regionally are at one end, the other lanes are for hobbyists who make have taken up swimming quite recently.
[edit] FINA World Masters Championships
- See also: FINA World Masters Championships
FINA organizes the FINA World Masters Championships since 1986, but 2 editions were held in the pre-FINA era:
- 1978 – Toronto, CAN (non-FINA)
- 1984 – Christchurch, NZL (non-FINA)
- 1986 – Tokyo, JAP
- 1988 – Brisbane, AUS
- 1990 – Rio de Janeiro, BRA
- 1992 – Indianapolis, USA
- 1994 – Montreal, CAN
- 1996 – Sheffield, ENG
- 1998 – Casablanca, MOR
- 2000 – Munich, GER
- 2002 – Christchurch, NZL
- 2004 – Riccione, ITA
- 2006 – Palo Alto, USA
- 2008 - Perth, AUS
[edit] Records
Like in competitive swimming, there are World records for masters swimming, but they can only be set in masters meets. Some are more unusual than others, as when Bob Patten broke the 200m breakstroke world record at the 2004 Nationals meet in Savannah, Georgia. Patten broke this record 100 days after laparoscopic prostate cancer surgery, an unprecedented human achievement. Masters swimming records are available at the FINA website masters section.
