Upcoming Events

September 20-21 OZ Mile Swim Beaver Lake, AR

September 27 Texas Ford Aquatics Masters 2025 Last Chance for Long Course Invitational Frisco, TX

October 12 Dallas YMCA Masters SCM Rodeo Relay Festival Dallas, TX

November 15 15th Annual Doug’s Best Friend Meet in Gladstone, MO

January 16 The First Chance Long Course Invitational in Little Rock, AR

January 17-18 Arkansas Masters SCM Invitational in Little Rock, AR

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!

Swimming Highlights

USMS Nationals Summer Nationals August 6-10 in Federal Way, WA

Kudos to our National Champions & Runner-ups

200 Free Relay of Calvin Schildknecht, Srdan Markovic, Tom Bullock, and Dominic Mastracchio finished in 1st place. Tom Bullock finished 1st in the 50 back, and 2nd on the 100 Back and 200 Free

Calvin Schildknecht finished 2nd in the 200 Breast, 400 Free and 100 Breast

Team Records were set by Tom Bullock in the 50 & 100 back & the 400 IM and by Calvin Schildknecht in the 50 Breast and 400 Free

Congrats to our qualifiers & participants: Tom Bullock, Gary Lehren, Sradan Markovic, Dominic Mastracchio, Calvin Schildknecht, Marvin Schwartz, & Ales Volcansek

USMS Nationals April 24 – 27 in San Antonio, Texas

Kudos to National Champions: Calvin Schildknecht: 50 Breast and 100 Breast Byron Shefchik: 400 IM

Great Finishes:

35+ 200 Medley Relay 2nd (Tom Bullock, Calvin Schildknecht, Jeff Enge, Srdan Markovic)

35+ 200 Free Free 3rd (Calvin Schildknecht, Srdan Markovic, Jeff Enge, Dominic Mastracchio)

Tom Bullock: 5th 200 Back, 9th in 100 Back, 14th in 100 fly

Jeff Enge: 5th 200 Free, 3rd 100 Back, 3rd 200 Back, 5th 500 Free, 7th 100 Free, 2nd 50 Back

Srdan Markovic: 5th 100 Back, 7th 100 IM, 7th 50 Free, 4th 100 Free

Doug Martin: 2nd 50 Free, 4th 50 Fly

Dominic Mastracchio: 10th 100 Back, 8th 50 Free, 5th 50 Back, 6th 50 Fly

Jaquintin Means: 28th 50 Breast, 40th 100 IM, 32nd 50 Fly

Calvin Schildknecht: 7th 1000 Free, 7th 100 Fly, 1st 50 Breast, 3rd 100 IM, 1st 100 Breast, 5th 50 Fly

Byron Shefchik: 7th 100 Back, 2nd 50 Breast, 1st 400 IM, 2nd 100 IM, 2nd 200 Fly, 2nd 100 Breast

Lots of records were set this Spring & Summer. Congratulations to all the record setters!

Records at the Hall of Fame Meet in Little Rock, AR (April 12) set by:

Tom Bullock, Debbie Lasson, Emily Larson (SDSM), Carie O’Banion, Dottie Burke (an amazing 18 records), Larry Golden, Linda Bland, Byron Shefchik, Jack Gooding, Gary Wright (DOC), Jullian Bickell

Records set at Arkansas Senior Championships: (March 21-23): Calvin Schildknecht & Byron Shefchik

Records set at Speedo Sectionals in Columbia, MO (March 13-16): Calvin Schildknecht

Hello Arkansas Masters!

As Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, we have 1 more event that helps extend that summertime feeling, the OZ Mile Swim Festival! Here are the details…

When: Saturday & Sunday, September 20th & 21st

Where: Beaver Lake Dam, Eureka Springs, AR

How: Register here www.ozmileswim.com

Who: This is a USMS sanctioned event. We also have accommodations for our younger swimmers with the Youth Wave with 13-18 year olds and our OZ Wave with 8-12 year olds swimming with an escort.

Why: Saturday is our HOG Charity Swim event where participants can swim multiple miles if they choose and raise funds for our charity partners, Swim Across America, The Rampy Foundation, and / or The Joys Of Swimming.

What: This is an Open Water Swim Festival! Charity swim and part of the Grand Prix series Saturday morning. Then into ARSI’s (Arkansas Swimming) FIRST USA Sanctioned Age Group Open Water State Championships at 11:30 AM on Saturday. With the Expo presented by Ozark Foundation on Saturday afternoon with our clinic conducted by World Champion and World Record holder Arlette Godges, live music, beverages and a good time. Then, the MAIN EVENT! All the races and excitement that the OZ Mile Swim is known for.

As part of being a registered member of Arkansas Masters, you are eligible for a $10 discount. Coupon code: arkmasters

If you are not interested in swimming in beautiful Beaver Lake, please consider being a volunteer. The OZ Mile team does a great job of treating their volunteers very well! Complimentary t-shirt, food, and beverage. Not to mention volunteering in order to give back to organizations with very important missions.

Happy Swimming!

Bonnie Adams, Arkansas Masters President

Photos from our chilly Labor Day swim at Melvin Ford Aquatic Center in Bentonville, AR. Big thanks to the swimmers who braved the chilly air and water, to Third Space Coffee, & the organizers!

How to apply for a grant:

Did you know that as a member of the Arkansas Masters LMSC, you might be eligible for a grant? We budget for several grants each year which are approved on a first come, first served basis. Grants can be used to (1) help pay for USMS coach certification class, or Adult Learn to Swim certification class, (2) defray costs to attend a Zone or National Meet, or (3) assist in the cost of hosting a swimming event. Please go to this page and read about all of the details and how you can apply. The process is quite easy, but you do need to apply prior to attending your event.

New Officials:

Do you have friends or family that cheer you on at Masters meets? Do you know young adults that need volunteer hours? Let’s ask them if they would like to become officials for our swim meets! It doesn’t take too much time to earn a certification, and we’re great people to spend time with for a few hours! Check it out and spread the word: how to become an official