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Senior swimmers hope for (back)stroke of good luck
Prepare for state competition
By KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER, Daily News Correspondent
Members of the Washington Wave Senior Swimming Club are busy preparing for the North Carolina Senior Games set for Saturday in Raleigh.
The swimmers, 55 and older, have been meeting twice a week at the Moore Aquatic & Fitness Center under the direction of their coach Scott Pake.
“They are working hard and they’ve improved quite a bit,” Pake said recently. “It’s not just about going to the meet; they’re really into it.”
Diligently swimming laps in the pool has helped the club members improve their techniques and build stamina. The activity is offered through the Grace Martin Harwell Senior Center and funded by the City of Washington.
The swimmers practice for two months leading up to the state competition. After that, they go on hiatus before gearing up again in preparation for next spring’s regional Greenville-Pitt County games, according to Pake.
For Alan Schaffter, the self-proclaimed ‘“baby” of the group at 57, swimming is much more than an enjoyable hobby that may bring him an award or two this week.
In his late 40s, he had a heart attack and later had a quadruple bypass. “I was in terrible shape, terribly overweight,” said the former Navy flight officer.
The heart attack was a wake-up call and eventually he turned to the sport he enjoyed earlier in life. A competitive swimmer as a child, high school student, and college freshman, he said he was drawn to the aquatics center after moving to Washington from northern Virginia in 2004.
Despite being out of shape, he decided to enter the regional competition in April after training for only two months. After that, he continued to swim in preparation for the state meet, where he received two first- and two second-place awards. Swimming soon became a way of life.
“I just feel a lot better and I get a chance to meet some other people here in town,” Schaffter said. “I’m not a competition junkie. … When I get up on the starting block, I get just as nervous as I did as a kid.”
Schaffter said swimming allows him to eat normally and not gain weight. Along with go to the club sessions, he swims on his own four or five days a week.
Phil and Jean Becker, the only married couple in the club, were novices when they took their first dip in the pool less than four years ago.
“Neither one of us could swim the length of the pool when we took swimming lessons,” she said. “Our coach, Mary Al Stox, kept telling us we could do it and to just keep going.”
Their perseverance paid off and both have competed in the state senior games. Jean has brought home medals and Phil is hopeful about his chances of finishing at or near the top this year.
“It’s good exercise,” he said. “We’re told that the doctors at NASA say the best exercise is jumping on the trampoline and the second best is swimming.”
By KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER, Daily News Correspondent
Members of the Washington Wave Senior Swimming Club are busy preparing for the North Carolina Senior Games set for Saturday in Raleigh.
The swimmers, 55 and older, have been meeting twice a week at the Moore Aquatic & Fitness Center under the direction of their coach Scott Pake.
“They are working hard and they’ve improved quite a bit,” Pake said recently. “It’s not just about going to the meet; they’re really into it.”
Diligently swimming laps in the pool has helped the club members improve their techniques and build stamina. The activity is offered through the Grace Martin Harwell Senior Center and funded by the City of Washington.
The swimmers practice for two months leading up to the state competition. After that, they go on hiatus before gearing up again in preparation for next spring’s regional Greenville-Pitt County games, according to Pake.
For Alan Schaffter, the self-proclaimed ‘“baby” of the group at 57, swimming is much more than an enjoyable hobby that may bring him an award or two this week.
In his late 40s, he had a heart attack and later had a quadruple bypass. “I was in terrible shape, terribly overweight,” said the former Navy flight officer.
The heart attack was a wake-up call and eventually he turned to the sport he enjoyed earlier in life. A competitive swimmer as a child, high school student, and college freshman, he said he was drawn to the aquatics center after moving to Washington from northern Virginia in 2004.
Despite being out of shape, he decided to enter the regional competition in April after training for only two months. After that, he continued to swim in preparation for the state meet, where he received two first- and two second-place awards. Swimming soon became a way of life.
“I just feel a lot better and I get a chance to meet some other people here in town,” Schaffter said. “I’m not a competition junkie. … When I get up on the starting block, I get just as nervous as I did as a kid.”
Schaffter said swimming allows him to eat normally and not gain weight. Along with go to the club sessions, he swims on his own four or five days a week.
Phil and Jean Becker, the only married couple in the club, were novices when they took their first dip in the pool less than four years ago.
“Neither one of us could swim the length of the pool when we took swimming lessons,” she said. “Our coach, Mary Al Stox, kept telling us we could do it and to just keep going.”
Their perseverance paid off and both have competed in the state senior games. Jean has brought home medals and Phil is hopeful about his chances of finishing at or near the top this year.
“It’s good exercise,” he said. “We’re told that the doctors at NASA say the best exercise is jumping on the trampoline and the second best is swimming.”
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