Sue Walker
I started swimming Masters back in the seventies when a friend invited me to work out with the Gamble Nippert group. I had never even heard of Masters swimming, but I thought it would be fun to have other like-minded people to swim with. It turned out to be much more than that—many of the friends I made back then are still swimming with me today at PCY.
Swimming has been part of my life for a long time. I swam summer league as a kid and loved it. As a teenager, I had ambitions of swimming year-round, but I couldn’t convince my parents that joining the Marlins was a good idea, and my high school didn’t offer women’s swimming. So, I was out of the pool for a while. During my senior year of college, I realized I could get back into swimming and joined the team for my final year. I’ve been swimming almost continuously ever since.
What keeps me coming back—even though I hate getting up early, especially in retirement—is the team. I can swim on my own, but it’s so much more fun and motivating to be part of a group.
One of my favorite things about Masters swimming is that people of all ages can come together and enjoy swimming and each other. There’s no other avenue I know of that brings together such a diversity of ages and backgrounds. It doesn’t matter whether you want to be competitive or just keep in shape; everyone is welcome.
We have great coaches and a wonderful variety of workouts, but what really makes this team special is how we support each other both in and out of the pool. From team socials and cold-water dips to special-occasion suits and sauna wisdom, there’s always something entertaining coming out of this group. And I have to give a special shout-out to our fabulous Social Committee!
These days, I enjoy working on improving my stroke technique. As I get older, I’m probably not going to get any faster, but if I can correct some bad habits, maybe I can hold on to the same speed a little longer. It can be tough changing something I’ve been doing the same way for so many years, but it’s rewarding when I finally get it. My current challenge is fixing my backstroke.
Swimming has given me many long-lasting friendships over the years, but the best thing it gave me was the chance to meet my husband, Bill, through Masters swimming. It doesn’t get any better than that.