About MTSC Masters

Our Mission Statement

Our mission is to provide the Middle Tennessee swimming community with opportunities for achievement in adult fitness and competitive swimming in a structured and focused aquatic environment. We are dedicated to accomplishing our goal of optimal fitness by designing a series of systematic building blocks that include: coached workouts that address the physiological aspects of training, improvement of stroke technique, and development of essential skills and confidence to enable competition in our sport. Most importantly, we will work to achieve our goals as a team, whose members are united in spirit and in friendship.

MTSC is a club member of United States Masters Swimming, Inc.

MTSC is proud to be sponsored by

So why swim Masters?

First, examine history. Babylonian bas-reliefs and Assyrian wall drawings point to very early swimming skills among humans. The most ancient and famous of drawings depicting men swimming are to be found in the Kebir Desert. These drawings are estimated to be about 6,000 years old. Many of the world’s ancient civilizations swam, including the Egyptians, the Phoenicians, the Persians, the Romans and the Greeks. Plato once declared that anyone who could not swim lacked a proper education! Even Julius Caesar was known for his swimming prowess.

Next, think about striving for excellence in our sport. The ancient Greeks certainly did. In Olympia, Greece, the Olympic Games were held every four years with the first recorded games in 776 B.C. When the Roman Empire conquered Greece, the Olympic Games became less important and ended in A.D. 394. In time, earthquakes, floods and landslides buried the Olympia valley – the site of the ancient festival. Archeologist Richard Chandler unearthed the site in 1766.

Third, think of the very essence of the Games. A Frenchman named Pierre de Coubertin believed the spirit of the ancient games could promote world peace through an international sporting competition. The first modern games were held in Athens, Greece in 1896. The same sport that provided the world with Hollywood’s Esther Williams and Tarzan marked its homecoming in Athens, Greece with the 2004 Olympiad. Hail to the unconquerable Olympic Spirit!!!

2004 offered us an opportunity to watch our Olympic heroes, who continued to inspire us and to provide great role models that we can emulate. Thousands of swimmers nationwide took steps toward becoming an Olympic athlete; comparatively few made the team. While many US swimmers took home medals from Athens, we in the adult swim fitness community also found some unique opportunities to set goals and took steps in the year 2004. We intend to continue these goals in 2005 and beyond!

In April 2004, MTSC traveled the "Road to Indy" and attended its first United States Masters Swimming Short Course Nationals meet that were held in Indianapolis. Indy is now in the history books, with a very strong showing by MTSC, including 4 top 10 performances!

In 2005, we worked to solve our Equation for Success, with many reaching the honor roll, with Top 10 finishes in national championships,

In the 2005-2006 season, masters swimmers from around the world will join together in Palo Alto, California for the 2006 FINA Masters World Championships. Each MTSC Masters' swimmer will earn his or her "Passport to the Worlds" through hard work and desire. It will be a daunting task for those who undertake the challenge of this most Amazing Race, but our team always rises to the occasion. Just look what we've accomplished: One swimmer was a silver and bronze medalist in the 2005 Special Olympics State Games, and another set three records in the State Senior Games. Many swimmers enjoyed personal best times, so everyone channeled his or her "inner warrior", and shared in success globally.

What will our next training cycle bring? Stay tuned....

Benefits? You bet! By joining MTSC Masters, you will receive coached workouts by USS and ASCA certified coaches. All of our training cycles will address physiological adaptations of workouts that insure safe and effective methods. We will offer inhouse events of OLYMPIC proportion that will inspire you to continue training and push your level of fitness to optimal levels. We will also attend local competitions (for those who want to compete) that help build confidence and competence as we prepare for our next challenge. All workouts will incorporate stroke technique drills, and we will offer free stroke clinics each quarter to equip swimmers with a working knowledge of the competitive strokes and proper turns for each event.

Costs for the program include a once yearly $25.00 USMS fee, and $40.00 monthly training fee. Now is the time. Don’t wait to set a goal for 2006! Come and join us for a purposeful fitness curriculum that will enhance your fun, fitness and friendships in the Middle Tennessee swimming community.

Back to Top