Carol Guibord
I first got involved in Masters swimming at 30 years old, shortly after the birth of my third child. I was looking for a way to get back in shape and joined a new Masters team at the Fairfield YMCA. What started as a simple goal to regain fitness quickly became something much more meaningful.
My swimming journey actually began much earlier—I started lessons at just 6 years old back in the 1950s. I fell in love with the water right away and went on to swim on summer club teams, becoming a strong swimmer over the years. As life evolved with kids, family, and work, I stepped away from swimming at times, but I always found my way back. I swam with Fairfield Masters for years, then joined the Marlins Masters team after Fairfield folded. When that team disbanded too, I kept swimming on my own at Powel Crosley.
As much as I love swimming, doing laps alone can get pretty boring. When Tassos Madonis started a Masters group at PCY in the afternoons, I was excited to join. It wasn’t very structured, but it was fun and brought back that sense of community. When Meredith took over and moved practices to 6 a.m., I swore I would never swim that early and went back to swimming solo. That is, until Chris Adamson’s “encouragement” (maybe a little harassment!) got me to give it a try. I hated it at first—but before long, I grew to love those early mornings in the pool.
What keeps me coming back is the people. Next to my family, the PCY Masters community means so much to me. It’s filled with kindness, support, and genuine care. Everyone shows up for each other, and there’s never any judgment. In fact, when my husband and I moved two years ago, I made it very clear—we weren’t going to live more than 20 minutes from PCY.
In the water, I love backstroke and freestyle, with the 200 backstroke being my favorite event. I’ll admit, I don’t love competing—the nerves can get to me—but I still participate from time to time because being part of the team means that much.
One fun piece of my story: my husband isn’t a swimmer, and over the years he’s occasionally joked that swimming has taken over our lives. I always remind him that he’s the one who started it. After my very first day at the Fairfield Y, I came home and told him I’d been invited to join their Masters team. His response? “Did you tell them you were 30 years old?” The very next day, I bought a swimsuit, cap, and goggles—and the rest is history.