Anonymous
06/12/2025 13:53
Subject: Oldest record at your summer pool?
Anonymous wrote:I wonder if any of these records are a product of the high yardage/burnout-creating training I experienced back then? Even in summer swim we used to swim absurd amounts of yardage. If your body could handle it, you got fast really quickly. If not, you became a diver.
Yes! 1980s/90s swim practices were brutal. Many of us left so young because of them. (Doubles at age 9, and such.) I remember having to do snakes at each summer league practice, and our pool had 10 lanes! You couldn’t stop! And we had to do free (10 lanes continuous), then fly, then breast. Most of us didn’t wear caps and many of us didn’t wear goggles. And we certainly didn’t bring water bottles to practice. We did, however, eat jello straight out of the packages.
Anonymous
06/12/2025 13:46
Subject: Oldest record at your summer pool?
Every single one of our team’s old records (1978, 1982, 1984, 1988) are breaststroke, which, as a GenX 1980s breaststroker, is a riot. We didn’t even know a pullout was a thing (we would have been DQed), and we did extra wide frog legs and not the whip kick. I argue with my daughter that our way may have been faster (at least at the rec level), with 8 records on our team board for breaststroke, all of which took place between 1978-1988. GenX breaststrokers represent!!!!
Anonymous
06/12/2025 13:34
Subject: Oldest record at your summer pool?
MCSL pool. We have at least one record from the 1970s.
Anonymous
06/12/2025 13:25
Subject: Oldest record at your summer pool?
I just retyped all of our records into swimtopia! Our oldest is 1975.
Anonymous
06/12/2025 13:04
Subject: Oldest record at your summer pool?
Anonymous wrote:I’m OP at the 1982 record pool and the best 8U we’ve had in the past decade was the only one who had a chance and she was just a tiny bit off.
It’s very true about the lack of club swimming back then. Where I grew up, I can think of only 3 kids across 5 grades who started club swim before middle school, and not one of them lasted past HS. The record holders before my time included multiple Big 10 and PAC 12 college swimmers and some who went to Olympic trials.
The kids who were crushing summer swim in 8U and 9-10 were just top all-around athletes who were more focused on soccer and went on to be college soccer or field hockey players. They probably had really high aerobic capacity from how we used to train for little kid soccer, which was running laps or suicides for 30 minutes and then 15 minutes of soccer drills and then a scrimmage for 15 minutes. I don’t think kids are made to run like that anymore.
It's true that our 1980s-era record is for 8U, so this makes sense.
Anonymous
06/12/2025 12:59
Subject: Oldest record at your summer pool?
I wonder if any of these records are a product of the high yardage/burnout-creating training I experienced back then? Even in summer swim we used to swim absurd amounts of yardage. If your body could handle it, you got fast really quickly. If not, you became a diver. 
Anonymous
06/12/2025 12:56
Subject: Oldest record at your summer pool?
I’m OP at the 1982 record pool and the best 8U we’ve had in the past decade was the only one who had a chance and she was just a tiny bit off.
It’s very true about the lack of club swimming back then. Where I grew up, I can think of only 3 kids across 5 grades who started club swim before middle school, and not one of them lasted past HS. The record holders before my time included multiple Big 10 and PAC 12 college swimmers and some who went to Olympic trials.
The kids who were crushing summer swim in 8U and 9-10 were just top all-around athletes who were more focused on soccer and went on to be college soccer or field hockey players. They probably had really high aerobic capacity from how we used to train for little kid soccer, which was running laps or suicides for 30 minutes and then 15 minutes of soccer drills and then a scrimmage for 15 minutes. I don’t think kids are made to run like that anymore.
It’s very true about the lack of club swimming back then. Where I grew up, I can think of only 3 kids across 5 grades who started club swim before middle school, and not one of them lasted past HS. The record holders before my time included multiple Big 10 and PAC 12 college swimmers and some who went to Olympic trials.
The kids who were crushing summer swim in 8U and 9-10 were just top all-around athletes who were more focused on soccer and went on to be college soccer or field hockey players. They probably had really high aerobic capacity from how we used to train for little kid soccer, which was running laps or suicides for 30 minutes and then 15 minutes of soccer drills and then a scrimmage for 15 minutes. I don’t think kids are made to run like that anymore.
Anonymous
06/12/2025 12:45
Subject: Oldest record at your summer pool?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We have one from I think 1986, but it might be a different year in the 80s. Some people at our pool assume there was an issue with the timers that day, because it's just so absurdly fast compared to the other records.
False start that didn't get caught or may have been prearranged, "you go then I click."
Though, I've heard that summer leagues used to be much more competitive now prior to the year-round clubs like they have now. I know at our pool many of the best swimmers don't bother doing summer leagues. I mean the club swimmers that do summer league are pretty fast, but they aren't A times or anything. My DD beat every club swimmer of the same age this year at the time trials in freestyle.
The top 15-18 yo swimmers in our CSL club have all gone on to swim at D1 schools.
Anonymous
06/12/2025 12:44
Subject: Oldest record at your summer pool?
Our oldest is 1986.
Anonymous
06/12/2025 12:40
Subject: Oldest record at your summer pool?
Anonymous wrote:We have one from I think 1986, but it might be a different year in the 80s. Some people at our pool assume there was an issue with the timers that day, because it's just so absurdly fast compared to the other records.
False start that didn't get caught or may have been prearranged, "you go then I click."
Though, I've heard that summer leagues used to be much more competitive now prior to the year-round clubs like they have now. I know at our pool many of the best swimmers don't bother doing summer leagues. I mean the club swimmers that do summer league are pretty fast, but they aren't A times or anything. My DD beat every club swimmer of the same age this year at the time trials in freestyle.
Anonymous
06/12/2025 12:36
Subject: Oldest record at your summer pool?
For our boys record board, we have one swimmer who has every male record starting with 8u through 13-14 yo. He just turned 16 yo, so we'll see if he sweeps that category too. He didn't take any of the 15-18 yo records as a new 15 yo, but he has a few years left.
Anonymous
06/12/2025 12:31
Subject: Re:Oldest record at your summer pool?
Our oldest is '98 I think. A friend's record from the late 70s was just broken in the last few years at her NVSL pool! Took that long for an 8U Fly record to fall.
Anonymous
06/12/2025 12:18
Subject: Oldest record at your summer pool?
We have one from 1964!
Anonymous
06/12/2025 11:48
Subject: Oldest record at your summer pool?
We have one from I think 1986, but it might be a different year in the 80s. Some people at our pool assume there was an issue with the timers that day, because it's just so absurdly fast compared to the other records.
Anonymous
06/12/2025 11:37
Subject: Oldest record at your summer pool?
Most of ours are recent, save for one from 1982. I think about that kid a lot!
I remember as a summer swimmer in the 80s being fascinated by the records that never seemed to get broken and felt ancient (but were really just 10-15 years old).
I remember as a summer swimmer in the 80s being fascinated by the records that never seemed to get broken and felt ancient (but were really just 10-15 years old).