U.S. Masters Swimming Club of the Year Award

Recipient:	North Carolina Masters Swimming
Year:	2018
LMSC:	North Carolina

North Carolina Masters Swim Club (NCMS) had 40 workout groups across the state and 1120 members. When they competed within the state, they competed as their workout group. When they competed nationally, they competed as NCMS. The NC LMSC board was the governing body for NCMS, and they worked together to promote Masters Swimming in their state.

NCMS served their members by offering a stipend for coaches and ALTs instructors to become certified. The board was active in USMS conventions. The board initiated a monthly podcast where a swimmer or coach was interviewed and discussed items relevant to the swimming world. NCMS also partnered with the NC Swimming Hall of Fame, made inductions, and worked to find a permanent home for the Hall.

In addition to the monthly podcasts, NCMS communicated and educated their members with quarterly newsletters and a website. NCMS paid for swimmers to swim in relays and offered to pay up to $500 for a social event related to any sanctioned or recognized swim meet. This had proved as a successful way to improve interaction among the workout groups.

Notably, NCMS hosted four USMS National Championships and had a bid pending for a fifth. Also, NCMS hosted the USMS High Performance Camp, the only USMS camp of its kind in the country.