U.S. Masters Swimming Club of the Year Award
| Recipient: | Michigan Masters |
| Year: | 2011 |
| LMSC: | Michigan |
Michigan Masters (MICH) membership had increased to 777 members, and they had hosted 14 local meets, 8 open water swims, and one State Championship meet in a single year. Attendance at the events increased over the previous three years and their State Championship exceeded 330 swimmers. In 2009, MICH won the Regional Team Division at Long Course Nationals in Indianapolis and in 2010, they placed 4th at Short Course Nationals in Atlanta. In the previous 3 years, MICH set 19 relay and 19 individual FINA World Records. Members also set 32 individual and numerous relay USMS Records.
MICH members Frank “Skip” Thompson, Ralph Davis, and Gail Dummer contributed articles to USMS’s Swimmer magazine. Thompson wrote: “Volunteer Profile”, “Swimming Without Air”, and “First Ever 360-399 Relay Records”. Davis wrote: Volunteer Profile “Frank Skip Thompson”, “The Gift of Life”, and “Features Showcase: Members at USMS.org”. Dummer wrote: “Masters Swimming by the Rules”. She also wrote the 1986 ASCA publication: “Weight Modification Behaviors of Age-Group Competitive Swimmers”.
MICH members comprised 93% of the LMSC membership and they had held all 9 LMSC Board positions. The LMSC’s website, www.michiganmasters.com, also served the 2 Michigan clubs and the 6 Michigan workout groups. MICH members had received 6 Dorothy Donnelly Service Awards, 3 Kerry O’Brien Coaching Awards, a Speedo/US Masters Coach of the Year Award, and a Captain Ransom J. Arthur M.D. Award. In 2010, Lois Kivi Nochman, became the first woman MICH member to be inducted into the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame.
From 1993 to 2010, MICH hosted 7 Stroke Clinics, including the Mike Bottom Swimmer Clinic. The MICH head coach was Skip Thompson; the club had 30 other coaches lading different workout groups. MICH coaches frequently attended ASCA and MACA clinics.
In 2008 a MICH Scholarship fund was formed. It presented grants of $1000 each to three high school student/swimmers, to assist with college finances. In 2010, a Holiday Relay meet was held, and proceeds were donated to the ALS Association (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) for research.