(above) Row 1: Bill Sulllivan, Cande Olsen, Joe Donohue, Bob Nissen, Yardstick Winner Kim Plewa, Lauren Wester-Garcia; Row 2: Juli Harpell-Elam, Debbie Goulian, , Nancy Wagner, Jim Sullivan, Diane Dinsmore , Richard Clew, Barbara Rushman; Row 3: Matt Gann, Kathleen Coffey, Barry Lass, Chachi Sabatino, Marcia Postallian, Melissa Griffe; Row 4: Bill Sjovoll. Bob Franks, Alan Vorhees, Barbara Wattenbach, , Irene Fisher, Dillard Kirby, Mike Iuzzolino, Deborah Fennelly, Jen Bauman, and Sarah Sangree.
Madison Area Master Swimmers Celebrate 16th Anniversary
Submitted by Barbara Rushman
While it is obvious that they didn’t actually swim from New Jersey to Australia, 58 dedicated Madison area Masters Swimmers did amass sufficient “pool yards” in 2019 (22.9 million yards, or 13,025 miles) to swim the distance to Melbourne, Australia- with 3,000 miles to spare!
The Madison Area Masters is a friendly group that swims together at Drew University, the Madison YMCA, and other locations throughout the year. This is the sixteenth year that the swimmers have tracked their yardage.
The Masters group celebrated the impressive results recently at its 16th anniversary annual awards breakfast, with record participation. Hosted by longtime swimmers Bob Nissen and Joe Donohue at the Harding Township Library, the group celebrated not just its collective performance, but also team yardage (4 teams were established), and numerous outstanding individual achievements. During the year, many of the swimmers also compete in various Masters’ swim meets, “open water” ocean races, and even triathlons, often winning medals and leading their age groups in performance.
Throughout 2019, each swimmer submitted his or her swim yardage on a monthly basis. The results were then tracked on a user friendly web site, so that swimmers could track total yardage and see how each was measuring up within the group. At the end of the year, the swimmer with the most yards is awarded the coveted “Doug Clark Championship Yardstick”, named in honor of Doug Clark, a Yardstick program leader and elite swimmer who sadly passed away from cancer in December, 2016. Every other swimmer in turn received a portion of a yardstick based on his or her performance as a percentage of the swimmer with the most yards.
This year’s winner of the prestigious Yardstick for the second year in a row was Kim Plewa of Rahway, with an amazing total of 1,271,346 yards- or 722 miles! Others who exceeded the exceptional one-million yard level included Jennifer Bauman of Parsippany and Katheleen Coffey of Rockaway Township. All swimmers qualified for some piece of the yardstick. The Yardstick awards ceremony was the highlight of the breakfast.
The team competition was one of our closest ever and went down to the last month before a winner could be determined. Captain Debbie Goulian led the team “Got H2O?” to victory with a team total of more than 6.1 million yards.
In addition to the Yardstick award and team competition, one swimmer was named “Bold Performer” of the year, for demonstrating improved performance, exceptional effort and a special commitment to the swimming program. This year’s winner was Elizabeth Jennison of Morris Township.
The group is logging most of its yards at Drew University and the Madison YMCA but some swimmers use other local pools. Adult swimmers of all levels from beginners to experts are welcome to the Masters programs. Workouts are tailored to individual ability. Coaching is also available during some of the workouts.
By adding more swimmers this year and increasing individual yardage, we plan to go even further- maybe someday around the world! We hope we will “see you at the pool.”
