U.S. Masters Swimming Club of the Year Award
| Recipient: | Masters of South Texas |
| Year: | 2022 |
| LMSC: | South Texas |
MOST is really the appropriate acronym to describe Masters of South Texas, the 2022 USMS Club of the Year. Masters of South Texas made the MOST out of every opportunity to help their swimmers improve and their community to thrive. In existence for over 20 years, MOST provided a variety of weekly workouts that challenged the abilities of each individual swimmer. Each day at practice had an assigned theme to ensure swimmers had the proper technique and efficiency focus tailored to each swimmer. 70% of the club’s members had volunteered to give back to local workout facilities and reach out to the San Antonio community.
Not only had the team maintained a high membership retention rate but they helped create two new USMS Masters programs in the area. They provided certified coaches and some of their registered swimmers switched to the new teams. Through these efforts, Masters Swimming continued to grow in south Texas. To help attract younger adults, the club assisted in the development of a college program in the area: Trinity University Swimming and Triathlon Club. Communicating through their website, bi-monthly newsletters, and their Facebook page, MOST kept members updated on the various team activities.
When not training or swimming in local or national meets, team members could be found volunteering as timers for swimmers participating in ePostal swim events, at high school championships, and the Texas Senior Games. They worked with other organizations such as triathlon “Water Angels”, providing free lessons thru the Amputee Coalition and donating suits/goggles to children from low-income families. “Monica’s Mile” was their annual fundraising event, in cooperation with three area triathlon clubs. This event had raised over $40,000 over the previous nine years supporting Wounded Warriors in their quest to provide pool related rehab services. MOST also financially supported free swim lessons for children through the area’s YMCAs and other aquatic-based programs. To help build their club, MOST offered a four-week swim class each spring for adults. This not only was a great marketing tool to help attract new swimmers into the organization, but it provided recently certified coaches hands on experience taking the skills they learned and applying them on the deck. Building bonds with new swimmers lead to a community focused environment that fostered friendships and supported the variety of skill levels of swimmers. The five words that MOST used to describe their team were Welcoming, Encouraging, Friendly, Challenging, and Fun. These ideals were evident in the many activities and programs that promoted Masters Swimming in south Texas.