objectives
practices
coaches
frequently asked questions

The Cambridge Masters Swim Club (CMSC) was started in 1997 by Stephanie Wriede Morawski. Stephanie is the current Director of the Program and the Head Coach of Harvard Women's Swimming. CMSC has grown over the years to over 150 swimmers who range from well-conditioned fitness to top-level former US and collegiate swimmers.

CMSC is for all levels of dedicated masters swimmers & triathletes. These swimmers include individuals who use the program for fitness and swimmers training to compete at meets around New England as well as the Masters National Meet every spring and summer. Masters swimmers ages range from 19 to over 90.

CMSC holds most workouts at the John W. Blodgett Pool located at Harvard University. The Harvard Malkin Athletic Center pool and Boston University's Case Center Pool are also used. There are usually more than fifteen workouts per week at regularly scheduled times. Workout distance is normally between 2000 and 4000 yards in 1 or 1.5 hours. Club members choose the time and number of workouts to fit their schedule and training regimen. The current workout schedule can be viewed on this web site.

Objectives

CMSC's goal is to promote fun and fitness and to challenge individual swimmers to improve their skills - regardless of their ability. Swimmers are all encouraged to train hard and remain committed to improving their speed and technique as part of the program.

In the early fall, the main focus of practice centers on teaching proper stroke technique to help prevent injuries from occurring as training distance increases later in the season. The distance and the intensity of the practices increase as the season progresses. Shorter sprint workouts become essential as preparation for local and national meets begins in the fall and all members are encouraged to sign up for meets to improve and to contribute to the success of the team through participation in these local area events. The coaching staff believes that everyone should experience the excitement of competition, even if only occasionally, in order to get the most from the sport.

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Practices and Intensity

One of the crucial factors that generates success in the program is the determination and the competitiveness of its members. Every workout is filled with challenges that must be overcome for improvement to occur. Physically, these challenges range from workout intensity, to time intervals, to distance being swum. Mentally, a swimmer might have to deal with fighting through a workout after a tough day at work or concentrating on stroke technique through physical exhaustion.

CMSC swimmers try to help and push each other positively in workouts through technique suggestions, encouragements and most often, humor. Experienced swimmers offer a wealth of information on skills, training and competition to old and young swimmers who are swimming in a competitive environment for the first time. This environment and sense of teamwork helps each member to improve their skill level in several areas including, mental toughness, physical endurance, and stroke technique.

Team members are encouraged to push themselves to their threshold pace and even beyond. This is the crucial point where teamwork comes into play. Having the support of thirty swimmers every workout fosters a great work ethic and pushes a swimmer to achieve more than they think they are capable of. Not only does this type of intensity improve those training for meets; it also drastically improves swimmers who have never had a reason to push themselves in the pool. It moves the traditional lap swimmer beyond repetitive lap swimming, to a new level of intensity, aerobic conditioning, and fitness.

Another feature of CMSC is the flexibility of the coaching staff and its ability to respond to the needs of individual swimmers. Whether it is feedback on a practice, questions on technique, or simply understanding the reasoning behind a set, the coaching staff never hesitates to come to the aid of its swimmers. Helping swimmers achieve a new level of skill and fitness is one of the goals of this club, but helping swimmers to have fun, enjoy the team atmosphere, and maybe even find a little passion about swimming, is what the Cambridge Masters Swim Club is all about.

For more information, visit our FAQ page.