Upcoming Events
Mar. 31-Apr. 2, 2023, South Central Zone Meet, Lewisville, TX.
May 20, 2023, 17th Hall of Fame Meet, Little Rock, AR
June 11, 2023, Make a Ripple 9 Meet, Overland Park, KS.
For a full listing of events around the country, visit the USMS Events Calendar.
For events happening within our zone, visit the South Central Zone Event Calendar Page.
Interested in hosting a meet? Here’s a Meet Checklist to help!
Swimmer Spotlight – Kathy Adams
Our newest Swimmer Spotlight highlights Kathy Adams who swims with the AquaHawg Masters at the Jones Center in Sprindale. Read all about Kathy here.
New Records Set at the Bentonville Meet
We had a fun meet at the Bentonville Community Center in March. Scott Halliburton reports that the following Arkansas Masters swimmers set either state or citizen records at the meet. Also know that you can find all of our records on the ARK Masters webpage. If you find any corrections (this is a tedious manual process, so thank you Scott!), please contact Scott at: scott.halliburton@gmail.com
Mary Llew Anders (60-64):
50 Back, State and Citizen
100 Back, State and Citizen
200 Back, State and Citizen
100 IM, State and Citizen
Dottie Burke (80-84):
50 Back, State and Citizen
100 Back, State and Citizen
200 Back, State and Citizen
Carie O’Banion (60-64):
100 Fly, State and Citizen
Stephen Stitt (75-79):
500 Free, State and Citizen
Myron Recob (80-84):
100 Back, State
Scott Halliburton (60-64):
200 Fly, State
Mark Jechura (55-59):
400 IM State
Gary Wright (65-69): (Lives in Cabot, but swims for DOC masters)
200 Fly, State
400 IM, State
Swimmer of the Year! Bonnie Adams
Each year, an Arkansas Masters Swimmer of the Year award may be given to “an ARKM swimmer who excels in and/or out of the pool, and who contributes to the spirit of Arkansas Masters Swimming.” The recipient of this year’s award was Bonnie Adams. The three members who nominated her detailed her accomplishments as both a swimmer and coach. Her contributions to our swimming community are many, and you can read all about them here. Keep up the great work Bonnie.
Plan to attend the 17th Annual Hall of Fame Meet!
The Little Rock Masters are hosting a Short Course Yards meet on Saturday, May 20th and we would love to have swimmers from around the state attend. The meet begins at 1:00 with warmups at noon. Register here, and contact the meet director, Calvin Schildknect with questions: calvin.schildknecht@gmail.com
Triathlon Season is Approaching…
Many masters swimmers train for triathlons rather than swim meets – each have their own focus areas. Here is a good article from USAT describing 6 strength exercises to assist in improving your swim.
Mens Relay Gets Faster!
These men, representing the Little Rock Masters, had the fastest time in the country for the 4X200 Free relay in their age category (35+) last year. This year, they beat that time by 1 second, and they hope to finish Number One again! On the topic of relays….Did you know that the relay rules are different for Yard and Meters meets? The USMS Rule Book explains it best:
Short course (25) yards—18+, 25+, 35+, 45+, 55+, 65+, 75+, 85+,95+… (10-year increments as high as is necessary). The age of the youngest relay team member shall determine the age group. Relay teams must swim in the oldest age group for which they are eligible.
Short course (25) meters and long course (50) meters—72–99, 100–119, 120–159, 160–199, 200–239, 240–279, 280–319, 320–359, 360–399 … (40-year increments as high as is necessary). The aggregate age of the four relay team members shall determine the age group.
Pictured Left to Right below: Srdan Markovic, Byron Shefchik, Aras Karakivrak, and Calvin Schildknect.
Arkansas Masters Swimming 