YMCA’s Masters Team Triumphs
Norm Scott volunteered to train a swim team at the Windward YMCA in 2010. Now that effort is paying off to the tune of top honors at the recent North Shore Swim Series. Ten of the team’s 20 members competed in the four- race series, with five placing in the overall ranking for their age group.
The series runs yearly from June to August at Waimea Bay, Chun’s Reef, Ehukai and Sunset beaches. The distance of the competitions ranges from 1 to 2.3 miles.
Scott, who has engaged in programmed swimming for nearly 40 years, said it all began after a serious injury while paddling. As a way to exercise and improve his strength, he dove into swimming at the Windward Y. There he met his would-be mentor Fred Trask, an avid swimmer who eventually was inducted into the my life for the better, and because I had learned so much about swimming in the intervening years, I thought it fitting to begin my own swimming program to pass along to others that rich, positive energy and spirit which Fred embodied. He was my inspiration, and the Y is the perfect place to continue his tradition. After all, that’s where it began so many years ago.”
Scott’s team has prospered in its two short years. The same number of members competed in the North Shore Series last year and none managed to place in the overall rankings. This year’s placing swimmers are Brooke Fitzharris and Gregg Gerber (first), Gail Kosiorek (second), and Julie Marlowe and “Coach Norm” (third). Member Crystal Hogue swam only the first race in the series, the Summer Sprint, and placed first in her age group.
“These swimmers made most every scheduled prac- tice of three times per week and worked hard while in the water,” noted Scott. “Their achievement reflects well on the themselves and the Y with its high traditions of community support and involvement.”
All age 18 and older (currently 22 to 68), the swimmers practice at the Y’s saltwater pool every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. For more information or to join the team, which is free for Y members, call 261-0808 or email achou@ymcahonolulu.org
