THE A. A. U.AGE GROUP SWIMMING PROGRAMBob kiphuth, the retired swimming coach at YaleUniversity who is regarded as "Mr. <strong>Swimming</strong> in theUnited States," on many occasions has acknowledged theA. A. U. age group program with making the greatest singlecontribution to the success of the American swimmingmovement.After the recent National A. A. U. Men's Indoor<strong>Swimming</strong> Championships at Bartlesville, Oklahoma, bothArlie Schardt writing in Sport Illustrated, and Joseph M.Sheehan, the number one swimming writer on the NewYork Times, paid great tribute to the A.A. U. age groupswimming program. Both sportswriters, among the mostrespected on the Mainland, credited the program for makingpossible the outstanding performances by our leadingswimmers in the championships.In the 12 years since the inauguration of the"formal" program more attention has been focused on the"burgeoning program"(to quotedirectly from Mr. Sheehan'sreview of the indoor championships) in the last year thanever before.However, early in this articles we must introducea word of caution, expressed over two years ago by Mrs.Beth Kaufman, "the mother of age group swimming." Shepointed out quite convincingly:"If we do not lose sight of what we are now accomplishing—where participatiOn In the program is whatcounts—If we do not place too much stress on records,medals and trophies, we will give our country a wonderfulgroup of young people trained under the watchful eyeof our own Amateur Athletic Union."Quite humbly we have accepted the important assignmentthis year to serve as chairman of the Age GroupProgram, following the retirement of Mrs. Kaufman. Itwas shw who directed the efforts of the program for thelast eleven years. When the program was inaugurated itwas estimated that perhaps six or seven thousand participated.Today we have almost 200,000 boys and girlsenrolled in the program.In addition to introducing perhaps one millionyoungsters to the fastest growing organized sport in theUnited States the A.A. U. Age Group <strong>Swimming</strong> programhas had a profound effect on the swimming facilities inour 50 states. Whereas swimming at one time was considereda summer sport, though the impetus of the agegroup program, swimming is now carried on 'round theclock and 'round the calendar with meets scheduled almostevery day of the year. Of course, an end product of thissurge has been the construction of many thousands ofswimming pools, both indoors and outdoors.More than any other sports, swimming is a "family"affair.With youngsters under ten swimming in competition,it was only natural that mothers and fathers wouldbe on hand as "chaperones." It wasn't long before thesesame mothers and fathers were pressed into service as"officials" at meets. Today, swimming has a larger listof ' ,trained officials" than any single sport in the nation.These same officials are the mothers and fathers of tomorrow'snational and Olympic champions.Statistics can be boring and meaningless in discussingthe program. Even so, we can't overlook a fewfigures to point up the extent of the A, A, U. program.From a modest start 12 years ago, in 1961 44 A,A. U. district associations, including <strong>Hawaii</strong> (where youngstershave been swimming for ;centuries as early as theycould walk), sponsored formal programs. Not a singleother program is carried on by as many A. A. U. groups!A year ago, events for boys and girls up to 16years of age hit an all-lime peak of 592 events with theaddition of 60 new events in 1961. When the program wasstarted there were only 114 events.The only major change this year has been theaddition of 17-year-olds to the program. The Age GroupCommittee felt that this group of youngsters was beingdenied competition to which they were rightfully entitled.Harold HellerAge Group<strong>Swimming</strong>It so happened that many of our "younger" stars wereoutswimming the 17-year-olds in regular imen's and women'ssenior competition and many of these "older" ones tendedto become discouraged.No discussion' of A.A. U. Age Group swimmingwould be complete without a formal salute Mrs. BethKaufman, the original chairman and the only chairmanuntil her retirement from the post in December.Few more dedicated officials have ever been associatedwith the A. A. U. Almost single-handedly NI r s .Kaufman coordinated this program which spanned the entirenation. A staunch advocate of the original concept ofthe program—to provide an opportunity to swim for healthand fun—she courageously fought all movements to "Modify"the high ideals incorporated into the program when itwas launched.Perhaps the proudest moment in Beth's life camelast year at the National A. A. U. outdoor women's championshipswhen she hailed the ten young ladies who capturednational titles— every one an active participant inthe 1961 age group program. The average age of the tenwas 15.9 years. There isn't a single star among our boysand girls earning the headlines that Beth doesn't knowpersonally.Always in the background at a meet, whether alocal, district or state age group competition or a Nationalchampionship, Beth has follow with an intenseand motherly interest a program which has seen the UnitedStates take over the swimming leadership of the world.It has always been difficult to get Mrs. Kaufmanto talk about the program itself. She "plays down" thecountless records that fall by the boards every time agroup of youngsters plunge into the water. But she willdiscuss quite seriously the fact that Lynn Burke and Chrisvon Saltza, two of our youngest Olympic gold medal winnersat Rome, made significant contributions to the agegroup swimming efforts— and she fairly beams recountinghow the greatest breaststroker the world has everknown, Chet Jastremski of Toledo, 'Ohio, and Indiana University,had his name listed annually from age ten through16 on the list of top performers.Our age group swimmers are among the best goodwillambassadors of the nation. We are proud of the foursomethat Mrs. Rose Mary Dawson chaperoned in Japanlast summer where our youngsters competed against thebest on the Home Island.The swimming eyes of the othermations have beenwatching the work of our age groupers with more thancurious interest. Although no formal programs, to myknowledge, have been organized in other countries, wecan expect this development at any time.What impresses those. identified closely with swimmingin other nations, as well as those with only a slightknowledge of this wonderful, health-building activity, hasbeen the seriousness of our competitors. This is definitelynot an "intra-mural-type" program where the youngstersswim merely for the exercise. Yet, we find nationalchampions continuing to swim against youngsters in theirown age group. This has been a tremendous source ofencouragement to every youngster who climbs up on thestarting blocks at the command, "Take your marks!"May it always be so.
HAWAII SWIMMING C LUB 'S"<strong>1962</strong> 14th ANNUAL KEO NAKAMA SWIMMING MEET,AND THE HAWAIIAN A. A. U. AGEGROUP OUTDOOR SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS"by S. SakamotoThe <strong>Hawaii</strong> <strong>Swimming</strong> Club stages its Annual <strong>Keo</strong> <strong>Nakama</strong> <strong>Swimming</strong> and Diving Meet(1946-<strong>1962</strong>), and also the <strong>Hawaii</strong>an A. A. U. Age Group outdoor <strong>Swimming</strong> Championships tohonor and perpetuate the name of <strong>Keo</strong> <strong>Nakama</strong>, as one, who more than anyone else wasresponsible for restoring <strong>Hawaii</strong>'s place and trend in modern competitive swimming aftera dismal lapse of some six years, after Buster Crabbe's 400 meter freestyle victory in the1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games.This year's meet will be doubly significant as it will be especially dedicated to<strong>Keo</strong>'s recent conquest of the treacherous Molokai Channel on September 28, 1961.This outstanding feat has added a page to <strong>Hawaii</strong>'s already colorful aquatic history....the first officially recorded accomplishment of such an undertaking. This will, indeed,be a challenge to the future greats and aspirants of the waves, to swim a distance of 27miles of mountainous waves, awesome currents, and Shark-infested blue Pacific, in arecord time of 15 hours and 37 minutes.9
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