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Sports

Curl-Burke Masters Swimming: Open to Everyone

Burke has the largest masters swimming program on the East Coast

Don't let the "Masters" in Curl-Burke Masters Swimming intimidate you: this group is open to all who want to learn to swim or swim better.

Coach Frank Marcinkowski has trouble deciding what his favorite part of working with Curl-Burke Masters is. "First, [my favorite part] would be taking that new tri-athlete or beginning older swimmer and developing them into a really good swimmer, knowing all of their fastest swimming of their lives lies ahead of them," he said. Marcinkowski also said that he enjoys "taking the high caliber, former college swimmer and working on a strategy of minimal pool yardage and workouts, combined with smart land strength and cross training, to also help them achieve the fastest swimming."

In 1985, when the Burke Racquet and Swim Club opened, Marcinkowski combined forces with senior coach and then aquatic director, Pete Morgan, to start a Masters swimming program. For many years, Curl-Burke Masters, the swimming program for adult swimmers, remained a small part of the Burke community. The program originally consisted of primarily former college swimmers, but once swimmers began leaving in the late 1990s, CUBU Masters decided to open its doors to any and all swimmers, whether beginners, tri-athletes, fitness swimmers, or former established high school and college swimmers. Today, CUBU Masters has rapidly grown to the largest Masters Team on the East Coast, the home for 550 swimmers.

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Marcinkowski's first coaching experience came from his senior year at the University of Notre Dame. There, he helped start and co-coach the university's first varsity women's swim team. After graduating and moving back to Northern Virginia, he knew he wanted to coach Masters swimming.

Typical practices for CUBU Masters include swimming anywhere from 2,000 to 3,200 yards. After long warm-ups of anywhere between 600-1,000 yards, swimmers take part in a transition set of moderate effort swimming followed by a main set of more aerobic swimming. Sets of kicking with and without fins and special drill sets for stroke development are also included in daily workouts.

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"We carefully plan our training schedule over the entire year to work the full range of energy systems and to peak and swim fast as a team several times a year," Marcinkowski said.

Marcinkowski can't do it all on his own though. Helping him are longtime, dedicated coaches Ben Viellieu, Mark Ruckstuhl and Sandy Veatch.

"The coaching staff is constantly coming up with ideas for making the program better," said Viellieu, who began coaching seven years ago after transferring to the area from the Navy. "Sandy runs outdoor workouts in the summer that are very popular and always challenging. Mark has recently taken over head coach responsibilities at the Burke site and has been instrumental in building long term training plans to get the team ready for local, regional and national competitions."

"It is very rewarding to see adults, who are very busy with their lives, take time out of their day to show up to workout," Ruckstuhl said. "It is also an incredible responsibility, too, because they are putting a lot of trust in the coaches."

The program holds the only regular summertime open water training in the area, where swimmers train approximately twice a month in nearby Gunston Cove on the Potomac. Swimmers also get the chance to bond outside of the water at team socials, at seasonal parties and by hiking and mountain climbing in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The teams compete in the Regional Northeast Masters Championship swim meet held every year and the National Masters Championship meet every other year.

"Being a part of such a large program, where all swimmers of all abilities, are treated and coached equally well - at their level of expertise - is fantastic," said Marcinkowski. "We have many cross training opportunities with our strategic triathlon partners, we have the most active open water training program in the mid-Atlantic, and we have great social and professional organization as well, all built on dedication, hard work, friendship and fitness."

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